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Pigs, also called hogs, swine, boars (male) or sows (female), are ungulates native to Eurasia collectively grouped under the genus Sus within the Suidae family. The nearest relatives of the swine family are the peccaries and hippopotami.



The majority of pork in the marketplace today is CURED-like BACON and ham--while the remainder is termed "fresh." Today's pork is leaner (about 1/3 fewer calories) and higher in protein than that consumed just 10 years ago. Thanks to improved feeding techniques, trichinosis in pork is now also rarely an issue.

Water is the most abundant nutrient in our body and plays an important transmission function in every body cell and tissue. Sixty percent of our body weight is water. The fact that you can live without food for a long period of time, even months, but live only for a few days without water is true. Under normal conditions, the body releases about one quart of water daily. Therefore, replacement to equal the losses is very important for survival.

Dehydration is the most common problem of water imbalance due to water losses and deprivation. The effects of dehydration on nutrition can adversely affect ones health. Dehydration is the major cause of ones diminished ability to perform during endurance activities. Body water is lost through the stomach, respiration, sweat, and the kidneys. It is recomended that 24oz of water a day should be taken. This amount can double or even triple with endurance type exercise.



A note about water: More and more evidence shows the benifit of being well hydrated.

Studies show that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated (likely applies to half the world's population), leading to possible health problems such as fatigue. In 37% of Americans, the thirst mechanism is so weak that it is often mistaken for hunger, leading to over-eating. Even MILD dehydration will slow down one's metabolism as much as 3%.



Bottled Water: Some types of bottled water are not subject to the same regulations as tap water. These are regulated as food products, and their regulations are largely related to sanitary food handling and processing practices. Bottled water manufacturers will provide a detailed report on the quality of their product to consumers who call to request it.

Sugar produced from cornstarch; comprised of glucose (dextrose), maltose and higher sugars; 70 percent to 80 percent solids

Sugar based sweeteners are those such as that developed from corn starch. The development of the various types of corn syrups, maltodextrins, and high-fructose corn syrup from corn starch sources could be called one of the greatest changes in the sugar and sweetener industry over several centuries. In the late 1800s it was found that corn starch could be hydrolyzed and a sugar formed. It was not until the 1970s that it became commercially a major product bringing about changes in the food industry. Over-reliance in the food industry and over-indulgence by consumers of these processed sugers, particularly high fructose corn syrup, has most likly contributed to obesity in many western countries.



These sweeteners are processed and refined using a series of separation, and grinding processes. Finally, the products are converted and fermented. From this processing a five classes of corn sweeteners are formed. This does not include the corn syrup conversion into high-fructose corn syrup.

Salt is one of the most ubiquitous food ingredients around. Those who think of salt only as something used to perk up flavor might wonder what could possibly give this ingredient the level of importance it has gained through the ages. In reality, there is much more to this crystalline cube than first meets the eye.



Besides enhancing taste, salt has several other functions in food products. It acts as an antimicrobial or microbiological control agent. It contributes to certain chemical reactions that create a wide variety of food characteristics.



Sometimes the terms "salt" and "sodium" are used interchangeably, but technically this is not correct. "Salt" is sodium chloride. By weight, it is 40 percent sodium and 60 percent chloride.

Most foods and tap water contain sodium and chloride. Sodium is an essential nutrient, a mineral that the body cannot manufacture itself.

Because of sodium's importance to your body, the excretory and nervous systems guard against under-consumption of salt, which is a threat to your body's nerves and muscles. Other ions such as calcium, magnesium, and potassium are also very important. Concentrations of these ions are held in narrow ranges by the kidney.



The association between eating salt and the risk of blood pressure increasing is difficult to quantify. Some people are sensitive to changes in salt intake whereas others can adjust so that blood pressure does not rise at all.



Americans typically consume 4,000-8,000 mg each day, well above their daily needs. A goal for moderation for all adults, (including pregnancy and lactation) is approximately 2,400 mg of sodium per day.

Sodium lactate is natural salt that is derived from a natural fermentation product, lactic acid. Lactic acid is produced naturally in foods such as cheese, yogurt, hard salami, pepperoni, sour dough bread and many others by the action of lactic acid starter cultures (also known as a "good" bacteria) on the sugars that are naturally present in the food products. The production of the lactic acid increases the acidity of the product, flavoring the product with a desired taste characteristic and offering some protection from spoilage. Salts of lactic acid are a more powerful pathogen inhibitor than the lactic acid itself. Since salt is the best preservative that can be used in food products by creating an undesirable environment for bacteria, sodium lactate has a distinct advantage over sodium chloride since it contains 50% less sodium. This gives us the pathogen inhibiting characteristics needed, while keeping sodium levels low when compared to traditional meat products. Sodium Lactate should not be confused with lactose, the sugar found in milk products. This same lactic acid and the lactate salts of lactic acid naturally occur in all animal and human muscle tissue. The production of lactic acid is as important part of the energy metabolism of muscle tissue. During the normal metabolic cycle in our body, about 120 grams of lactic acid is produced daily (Ir. J. T. De Koos, Die Fleischerei, 1/1993). Sodium Lactate is a known component of the stratum coreum layer of the skin. (Cosmet and Toilitries 93, 85, 1978). Sodium lactate is produced by the natural fermentation of the sugars from corn or beets. These sugars are fermented with lactic acid starter culture, similar to those used for cheese or yogurt production. The fermented solution is mixed with caustic soda (same used in pretzel and bagel manufacturing to coat the outside) to form sodium lactate in the same fashion soy milk is mixed with Calcium Sulfate to form tofu. These natural salts were the first natural ingredients found to inhibit the growth of botulism causing bacteria (Clostridium botulinum).

Flavor(s)

This term is usually followed by a specific food item. The flavor shows the consumer that the product has the taste of that specific food item, but not necessarily containing all the ingredients to produce that flavor. For example, butter flavor is not really butter added into the food. Dried food can be used as flavoring such as cheddar cheese. Movie popcorn has butter flavoring added to it, which is flavored vegetable oil and much cheaper than actual butter. Ingredients of butter flavoring include everything but butter such as partially hydrogenated soybean oil, Beta Carotene, TBHQ, Dimethylpolysiloxane, etc. The resulting flavor is produced, but the health risks are increased. See Artificial Flavor. The label “flavor” is to imitate a certain food item’s taste without putting all the necessary ingredients without changing the texture.

"Bulk Popcorn Popping Supplies - Popcorn, Coconut Oil, Butter Toppiong Etc." AV Outlet Home Theater Products Theater Seats, Roller Shades, Projection Screens, Popcorn Poppers and More. Web. 16 May 2011. .

A chemical compound that is used to preserve food by retaining the moisture in the food to make it juicy and more pleasing when consumed.

According to Larry Borchert, a professor of

muscle biology and meat science at the

University of Wisconsin at Madison, hams do

not naturally hold water. The two proteins that make up the muscles of a ham, actin and

myosin, bind together to form a complex

protein known as actomyosin. Actomyosin is

not water-soluble, but it is salt- soluble. Thus ham manufacturers

must inject sodium phosphate into

supermarket hams to

enable the muscles to retain water. The

advantage of this treatment can be that a ham does not end up completely

dehydrated after processing. The disadvantage, however, is that the ham can be so pumped up with water, or "highly extended," as Borchert phrased it, that it

takes on an unpalatably damp, spongy texture

and a watered-down flavor. This was the case with all of the "water product" hams and, to a lesser degree, the "hamwater

added"

Autolyzed yeast extract is a substance that results when yeast is broken down into its constituent components. It contains some free glutamic acid, which is the chemical in MSG that triggers reactions in MSG sensitive people. It is used as a less expensive substitute for MSG, leading some health and consumer advocates to object to its use in foods. As with MSG, the industry claims that yeast extract is a natural substance with no harmful effects, and opponents claim it causes a variety of health problems.



Autolyzed yeast extract is naturally produced by growing, harvesting, and concentrating yeast cells. The yeast self-digests (autolyzes), breaking down the cell walls, and creates a savory base used to formulate a multitude of different flavors.



Autolyzed yeast (containing the cell walls) or autolyzed yeast extract consists of concentrations of yeast cells that are allowed to die and break up, so that the yeasts’ endogenous digestive enzymes break their proteins down into simpler compounds (amino acids and peptides).



Yeast autolysates are used in Vegemite (Australia), Marmite, Promite, Oxo (New Zealand, South Africa, United Kingdom, and Republic of Ireland), Cenovis (Switzerland) and Vitam-R (Germany). Bovril (United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland) switched from beef extract to yeast extract for 2005 and most of 2006, but later switched back.



The general method for making yeast extract for food products such as Vegemite and Marmite on a commercial scale is to add sodium chloride (salt) to a suspension of yeast, making the solution hypertonic, which leads to the cells shrivelling up; this triggers autolysis, in which the yeast self-destructs. The dying yeast cells are then heated to complete their breakdown, after which the husks (yeast with thick cell walls) are separated. Removing the cell walls concentrates the flavors and changes the texture.

Sodium diacetate is a molecular compound of acetic acid and sodium acetate.



In general it is used as an antimicrobial agent in baked goods and other foods, and inhibits growth of many deleterious micro-organisms in dough and bread. At the same time its mild acid properties develop the pastry aroma without introducing too much acid or shallow a flavor character note.



The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) affirmed sodium diacetate as a direct food substance generally recognized as safe (GRAS) and permitted the use in food with no limitation other than current good manufacturing practice

it is a chemical food additive whose chemical structure resembles Vitamin C or Ascorbic Acid. It is used in the food processing industry to preserve the color of cured meats and related products. It actually is a chemical salt of Erythorbic Acid.

Sodium Nitrate (Nitrite)

Sodium Nitrate and Sodium Nitrite are both salts used as preservatives in processed meats. Sodium Nitrate, NaNO3, is used as a food preservative because of its anti-microbial properties so food stays fresher longer. It is also used broadly as a fertilizer and in the late 19th century was used in the manufacturing of gunpowder. There is controversy of its use because it can produce nitrosamines, which cause cancer, when food with sodium nitrate is cooked at high heat. Sodium Nitrite, NaNO2 , is chemically similar to Sodium Nitrate, and is used to sustain coloring and preserve freshness in meats and fish. Without the coloring, hot dogs would get a grayer color over time. Sodium Nitrite is also found in dyeing, printing, and bleaching textile fabrics, coating metals, and manufacturing rubber chemicals. Over-consumption of sodium nitrate can increase the risk of pancreatic cancer. Nitrates are naturally occuring in cauliflower, spinach, and other vegetables as well.

Tufts, Veronique Von.

"What Is the Diference between Sodium Nitrite and Sodium Nitrate?" Edinformatics -- Education for the Information Age. Web. 16 May 2011. .

Also called corn sugar and grape sugar, dextrose is a naturally occurring form of GLUCOSE.



GLUCOSE: The most common form of this sugar is dextroglucose, a naturally occurring form commonly referred to as DEXTROSE (also called corn sugar and grape sugar). This form of glucose has many sources including grape juice, certain vegetables and honey. It has about half the sweetening power of regular sugar. Because it doesn't crystallize easily, it's used to make commercial candies and frostings, as well as in baked goods, soft drinks and other processed foods. Corn syrup is a form of glucose made from cornstarch.

The process begins with high quality, pigment rich, fresh paprika pods. They are washed, carefully dehydrated, and ground to a fine mesh size to improve extraction of the pigments. The ground paprika is extracted from the cellular mass and concentrated to a liquid oleoresin raw material which is later standardized with soybean oil or canola oil. Aquaresins are made water and oil dispersible by the addition of mono- and diglycerides and lecithin.



Extract

The distilled or evaporated oils of foods or plants (such as nuts, seeds, fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, bark, buds, roots, leaves, meat, poultry, seafood, fish, dairy foods, or eggs) that are dissolved in an alcohol base or allowed to dry to be used as a flavoring. Food extracts as they are often labeled, are used to add a concentrated flavor to many food dishes, especially baked goods and desserts, without adding additional volume. Available in solid (cubes, granules or powdered), liquid or jelled form, extracts may be labeled as pure, natural or artificial. Pure and natural extracts are governed by laws in many countries that require compliance with procedures that take the extract ingredients directly from the named flavor, such as extracting oils directly from the vanilla bean to make pure or natural vanilla extract. Artificial extracts are flavors that do not necessarily use any ingredients directly from a source named for the extract but instead used combinations of ingredients to arrive at a flavor representative of the named food extract, such as artificial lemon extract. Some of the most widely used extracts include vanilla, almond, anise, maple, peppermint, and numerous solid or jelled extracts such as beef and chicken bouillon or meat demi-glaces. As an example of how the pure and natural extract is made, vanilla extract is created by soaking vanilla beans in water and an alcohol-based solution where it ages for several months, during which time the vanilla flavor is extracted from the bean. Anise extract, a sweet licorice tasting flavoring, is produced by dissolving the oil of anise seeds into alcohol.



Grape extract is produced to assist with the wine making process. Compounds from the skin of grapes are extracted and added to the wine in order to impart tannin, color, and body into a wine. The characteristics of the wine can be changed dramatically by the amount of time the wine is in contact with the skins. If the grapes are in contact for too long, the resulting wine may be too potent, or what is sometimes called “over-extracted”.



Juices of fruits and vegetables are often extracted as juice extracts to be used similar to other food extracts, as a flavoring when preparing foods. A common utensil for the purpose of extracting lemon juice is available to assist with home recipes requiring a lemon flavoring.

Potassium is a mineral that is found naturally in foods and is necessary for many normal functions of your body, especially the beating of your heart. Potassium is important in controlling the activity of your heart, muscles, nervous system, and just about every living cell in your body. Potassium helps activate enzymes for the use of amino acids, and is involved in bone calcification, the conversion of blood sugar into the stored glycogen for energy reserves, muscle contraction & coordination. It plays a role in maintaining the water balance & integrity of your cells. It is important to nerve transmission. It is involved in the transport of choline for acetylcholine synthesis in your brain. Protein & carbohydrate metabolism, glucose breakdown, & glycogen (stored glucose) are all potassium dependent. It is yet to be completely understood its function on the thyroid gland. Naturaly found in: kelp, fresh & dried fruits and vegetables, rice, wheat bran, potatoes, bananas, orange juice, apricots, nuts, seeds, grains, mushrooms, molasses, and some seafood.

Any of a class of sweet,Soluble Carbohydrate,as sucrose,glucose,sucrose from sugar cane and sugar beets.

We get our energy from the nutrients in food. The main sources of energy are carbohydrates (starches and sugars), fats and proteins. The body can be compared to an engine that converts the energy in food into the energy we need to live. Sugars and starches are forms of carbohydrate. Nutritionists recommend that about half of our energy should be supplied by carbohydrates. The majority of this should be from starchy foods like cereals, rice, potatoes, pasta or bread, with the remainder coming from sugars. During digestion (the process by which we break down food substances ready for absorption and use by the body) complex starchy foods are broken down into sugars.

A white or colorless, crystalline, water-soluble solid, used chiefly in the manufacture of mineral water, and as a source of other potassium compounds