Controlling the nutritional and health quality of food

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Extract from the article: Food products are made up of different components. These may include nutrients, various other natural components, as well as additives or foreign substances. For Martin Kokou Aziato, Agrofood Engineer, at the Institute of Technology and Agronomic Res

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Food products are made up of different components. These may include nutrients, various other natural components, as well as additives or foreign substances. For Martin Kokou Aziato, Agrofood Engineer, at the Institute of Technology and Agronomic Research (ITRA), there are different reasons why it is important to regularly control and analyse the biochemical components of foodstuffs, whether they are natural or non-nutritive.

Food contamination is also a major problem, affecting the health of one in ten people worldwide each year and affecting the income of farmers, the food industry and trade. « When we take food, it is actually to meet certain nutritional needs. So to do this, we must ensure the nutritional composition of these foods before consuming them », explains Martin Kokou Aziato, Food Engineer, at the Institute of Technology and Agronomic Research (ITRA).

Furthermore, the technological treatment that these foods undergo can also lead to contamination, either directly or indirectly. « Thus, the hygienic or sanitary quality of the food must be checked before consumption. The sanitary quality of food is the set of properties and characteristics of a food product that gives it guarantees of health and safety. Checking the authenticity of high-quality ingredients thus ensures quality and guarantees that the declaration of products is correct », recommends Martin Kokou Aziato.

It is possible to have the nutritional value, but it should be pointed out that if there are certain dangerous chemical substances present, this can have an impact on the health of the consumer. So they should be avoided as much as possible.

« The nutritional and health quality of the food must necessarily be checked before consumption. The nutritional quality of a food is the totality of these elements, including proteins, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins, which are necessary to make up for certain deficiencies or to ensure the normal functioning of the body », says Martin Aziato.

Given the large number of different controls and biochemical analysis to be carried out, it is necessary to have a good expertise, an adapted and sophisticated infrastructure and a wide range of equipment as well as a large portfolio of methodologies, in order to be able to fully satisfy all the needs of the clients.

William O.