University of Macau / Faculty of Law

The demand for deep fried chips by public and the number of people entering the fast food industry in the form of fast food outlets has increased tremendously. Frying oils are very expensive and are the most important ingredient used in the preparation of fried foods. Due to high oil costs and lack of knowledge, frying oils are used to their maximum. This has resulted in the abuse of deep fried chip cooking oils. The overall quality of the deep fried chip cooking oil used in the South Central Operational Entity of the eThekwini Municipality is not known but abused cooking oils have been identified by Environmental Health Practitioners (EHP's) during routine inspections of fast food outlets. Considering all of the above, the objectives of the proposed research were: (l) Determine the overall prevalence of the use of abused deep fried chip cooking oils at fast food outlets in the South Central Operational Entity of the eThekwini Municipality. (2) Determine in which supervision areas in the South Central Operational Entity the use of abused cooking oil is most prevalent. (3) Determine current/reported practices in preserving the quality of chip oil. (4) Make appropriate recommendations to owner/managers of the fast food outlets and to Environmental Health Practitioners. The study design was observational utilizing a Rapid Epidemiological Assessment (REA) technique, with both a descriptive and analytical component. All fast food outlets making deep fried chips in the South Central Operational Entity registered with the eThekwini Health Department at the time of the study were included in the study population. The Lot Quality Assurance Sampling (LQAS) method was used to determine the overall prevalence of the use of abused oil and to determine supervision areas reached the predetermined service target. A total of 100 fast food outlets were sampled. An oil sample from each fast food outlet, which was taken and sent to a laboratory where an Oxifrit Test was done on every oil sample taken. The Oxifrit Test was the benchmark in this study. EHP's of eThekwini Municipality collected further data by means of an observational checklist and a closed-ended questionnaire, which aimed to establish cooking oil preservation practices. The study revealed that 60 of the outlets had oil that was acceptable whereas 40 had oil that was unacceptable (abused oil). In the multivariate analysis the only factors significantly associated with abused oil were the condition of the fryer and frequency of oil change. Supervision Areas 6, and 4 had more abused deep fried chip cooking oil than average in the South Central Operational Entity. For further prioritization, Supervision Areas 6 and 4 fell below the decision rule for majority of acceptable oil preservation practices, thus Supervision Areas 6 and 4 will be targeted for intervention. Intervention will include education, monitoring and ultimately enforcing the law by EHP's to ensure safe use of deep fried chip cooking oil in the South Central Operational Entity within eThekwini Municipality. / Thesis (M.P.H.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, 2006.

Thesis (M.Tech.: Biotechnology)-Dept. of Biotechnology, Durban University of Technology, 2007 xi, 114 leaves / Eighteen traditionally leafy vegetables consumed as food or medicinal compounds by a majority of people in the KwaZulu Natal province of South Africa were analysed for the presence of potentially harmful chemicals (antinutrients) and for their toxicity and mutagenicity. The purpose of the study was to determine whether leafy vegetables were safe for human consumption. Chemical analysis showed that none of the vegetables contained cyanogenic glycosides, however all the vegetables contained oxalic acid ranging from 24.1 mg/ml to 798.2 mg/ml with Solanum nigrum, Portulaca oleracea and Mormodica balsamina showing the highest concentrations. Most of the vegetables contained negligible amounts of phytic acid and saponins, except for Momordica balsamina (3.01 mg/ml and 1.83 mg/ml, respectively). Fourteen of the plants contained alkaloids with Portulaca oleracea having the highest content (1.53 g total alkaloids/5 g leaf material). Eight of the plants were found to inhibit trypsin activity. These chemical analyses were carried out in duplicate and the mean and standard deviation were used. The Ames test revealed that none of the leafy vegetables produced a mutagenic frequency above 1, except 10 000 µg/ml organic extract of Senna occidentalis (mutagenecity considered at mutagenic frequency above 2), thus none were considered mutagenic. All 18 organic extracts did not kill off more than 50% brine shrimp and were thus considered non-toxic. On the other hand the aqueous extracts of seven vegetables, namely, Physalis viscosa, Amaranthus dubius, Justicia flava, Bidens pilosa, Senna occidentalis, Chenopodium album and Ceratotheca triloba, killed more than 50% of the shrimp and are thus considered toxic above 100 µg/ml. The MTT assay carried out on the organic extracts indicated that 17 vegetables did not kill off more than 50% of HepG2 cells and were thus considered non-cytotoxic. The aqueous extracts of four vegetables, namely, Justicia flava, Asystasia gangetica, Momordica balsamin and Senna occidentalis, however killed more than 50% of the shrimp and were thus considered cytotoxic above 1 000 µg/ml. It may be concluded from the antinutrient analyses and the bioassays on the 18 vegetables that caution needs to be maintained with the consumption of certain leafy vegetables included in this study, especially Senna occidentalis.

Thesis (MTech (Engineering))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2008 / While there is a standard for quality and environmental auditors, there is no local or international standard for food safety auditing, which means auditors from different certification bodies can use their own discretion when auditing food establishments. There is a requirement to investigate the quality of work performed by South African food safety auditors. in order to establish whether they do in fact add value when conducting registration and certification audits. This is also an indication of the importance of improving and maintaining a high standard of food safety in the food services industry. The overall concept of food safety in South Africa IS clearly not defined. understood by only a few consumers, and not widely accepted. Research has shown that food retailers in South Africa in general do not believe food safety auditors are competent. In the wake of the Sudan Red scare two years ago. a long awaited food safety initiative was launched in February 2006. The scare pertaining to a carcinogenic food dye. which found its way into spices on local supermarket shelves, mobilized food industry role players to improve food safety standards. Under the auspices of the Consumer Goods Council of South Africa (CGCSA), the body responsible for establishing best practices and implementation standards, Food Safety South Africa (FSSA) will enable an organization to determine the exact nature and extent of possible and actual problems along the food supply chain. The key objectives of this research study are to determine whether one food certification standard is needed in South Africa and to assess the value added by the food auditors to their clients. Social research will be conducted within the ambit of the dissertation, with case study serving as research method. Both quantitative and qualitative research paradigms will be used to gather data for the research survey in support of the research question. forming the crux of the dissertation which reads as follow: "How can food safety auditors increase value added to the audit process in food environments in South Africa?"

Most smallholder farmers in South Africa are characterized by poor resources such as land, labour and capital while they play an important role in poverty alleviation especially in poor rural areas. Smallholder farmers are increasingly recognized because of their contribution to household food security. The world markets are increasingly being integrated due to globalization and liberalization. As a result, smallholder farmers are facing increasing market competition, not only in international markets but in local markets as well. However, smallholder farmers often face a number of barriers to accessing these markets arising in part from the tightening of food safety and quality standards requiring compliance with phytosanitary and sanitary standards and growing power of supply chain integration. Furthermore, the viability of these smallholder producers is constrained by institutional obstacles which include lack of access to information, high marketing and transaction costs and low quality and lack of critical volume in the absence of bulking up arrangements, etc. These barriers have contributed to the exclusion of smallholder/small-scale farmers from formal markets. In order to address these obstacles and speed up the pace of agrarian reform many support schemes (farmer support programmes) are now being designed to specifically address market access and value chain issues through unique co-innovation arrangements to improve the farmer’s access to profitable international chains. A number of farmer support programmes (FSP) have been implemented in South Africa to reduce the risk of a lack of capacity and a lack of economic and/or financial experience in smallholder farms. Intervention measures have been instituted to these smallholder farmers to assist them to move out of poverty through agricultural production. The aim of this study was to understand the roles played by farmer support programmes in addressing income and welfare levels and sustainability of smallholder farmers in South Africa. Eighty nine (89) farmers were interviewed for this study and almost half (49%) of them received support from various organizations while 51% of the sampled farmers did not receive any support. The study was designed to compare the two groups between the treated and control group to assess the impact of these programmes.Using a Tobit and Propensity Score Matching technique, potential diffusion effects were eliminated between farmers supported by Farmer Support Programmes and farmers that did not belong to support services. The latter was selected from comparable communities with no agricultural support services. Findings from the Tobit regression and propensity score matching are consistent across the two methods, suggesting that being a member of any agricultural support programme has a significant positive impact on income and welfare of smallholder farmers.Farmer Support Programmes and collective marketing activities such as the collection and sale of members’ products appear to have a significant and positive impact on smallholder welfare of those farmers engaged in them. In the second analysis the study tested the types of arrangements that farmers would adopt to market their produce. From the results it was established that those farmers who were supported by institutional arrangements or FSP had better access to markets than those farmers who operated as individuals. Marginal effects are used to show the degree to which farmers chose a particular marketing channel or institutional arrangement that these farmers take when trying to access better paying markets. Then the final analysis is on factors that determine the extent to which collective action contribute to farmers’ income and market access. A number of variables (age, distance to the market, region the farmers are located) were evaluated using the multinomial regression model. Empirical results suggest that among South African cooperatives, those established in KwaZulu-Natal and partly in the Eastern Cape and upon the voluntary initiative of farmers are more sustainable and have access to better paying markets both locally and internationally than the other areas. The results also show that NGO-supported cooperatives have a longer life span than Government controlled cooperatives.

Text in English / South Africa is one of the biggest producers of genetically modified crops in the world. However, recent studies in South Africa show a low public willingness to consume genetically modified crops and accept modern agricultural biotechnology. The study analysed public perception towards consuming genetically modified crops and the acceptance of modern agricultural biotechnology in South Africa. 220 participants (N = 220) were sampled from the city of Kempton Park and the Chi-square formula was used to determine how well the sample represented the population under study. Data was collected using a 7-point Likert scale questionnaire designed following the guidelines for developing a theory of planned behaviour questionnaire in Ajzen (1991, 2001). Data analyses were carried out using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The Cronbach’s alpha and Exploratory Factor Analysis were both used to determine the internal consistency and validity of the questionnaire. Correlations, independent sample t-tests, ANOVA, linear regression, and path analysis were also conducted. Findings of the study confirmed that there is low public willingness to consume genetically modified crops and to accept modern agricultural biotechnology in South Africa. / Development Studies / M.A. (Development Studies)