Book revielrs

Thirdly, the section on crop prediction is a very good example of what can be done with relatively sparse data. It reinforces the initiatives being taken by FAO in recommending to countries that they establish systems of this kind. While the methodology used in this particular study differs from that being proposed by FAO, the general point is well made that a great deal of planning can be done in advance if crop production can be predicted.

Finally, this particular book draws attention to the fact that planning to

improve, or to stabilize nutrition~ conditions in countries prone to food shortage is no longer a matter of ‘flying by the seat of your pants’. It demands a very broad integrated approach, combining an appreciation of within- country food distribution and agricultural potential with regional food security issues and relating these to the broader position of the country and the region in terms of world food trade. It also draws attention to the fact that consideration of food and agriculture in isolation from the rest of the economy

Society and food science

FOOD SCIENCE AND NUTRITION

Current Issues and Answers

edited by Fergus Clydesdale

Pr~n~jc~-~all, Engf~wood Cliffs, NJ,

1979,22 I pp. f9.70

The food industry is a part of most of our lives. Unfortunately the methods it uses, why it uses them, how they evolved and what controls are imposed on it are not common knowledge. Any book which attempts to explain the principles involved in food science and

understand what the changes are and why former solutions are no longer applicable.

This is nicely demonstrated using the fortification of staple foods as an example. Doubtless this was highly beneficial for the easing of dietary deficiency conditions in the late 19th and early 20th centuries in many Western countries. Nowadays, however, in those countries with a wide variety of foods to choose from, and greater opportunities for deciding when and where to eat, the effectiveness of fortification has become increasingly

provides incomplete information for a strong food planning strategy.

A11 in all this excellent book can be recommended both to people in the so- called ‘developed world’ interested in the problems of food and food security, and more particularly to policy makers, planners and technical personnel in developing countries who confront in their daily work problems of this kind.

Roger Hay,

Food Supply Analysis Group,

Oxford, UK

The second deals with nutritional change in foods when processed. It is useful to know how, why and to what effects techniques are employed and to realize that basic methods are used in conjunction to preserve and prepare food for retail. The area of nutritional change is an extension of the ‘to what effect’ theme and one in which much work still needs to be done. The basic behaviour of individuaf food components under processing conditions is fairly well understood. The grey area is how food processing affects food components in combination. The references given are a useful starting point for those interested in looking further.

technology is welcome. It is, however, questionable. difficult for those directly involved in In the second chapter the social

Food safety issues

scientific or industrial aspects of food to allay the fears of the public. Very real anxiety seems to exist about the food we eat and the way it is provided for us. Nevertheless it is important that we gain a better understanding of food science and technology in order that it can work for the benefit of all.

Problems and issues

The stated purpose of this book is to explain the basics of food science and technology and to raise current problems and issues. The intr~uction gives a balanced appraisal of the relationship between society and food technology. The complexities and changing nature of this relationship are not underestimated. Changes occur rapidly at many levels - economic, social and technological. It is difficult to

evolution of mankind is traced in conjunction with developments in the source, production, processing and preparation of food. The close relation- ship between these two areas is convincingly told in the early parts of the chapter. Towards the end though, the links made are tenuous or non- existent. It is obviously a mammoth subject to undertake in a few pages but the chapter is interesting and thought provoking as it recounts the whole story of development from sticks and stones to the implementation of the Green Revolution

Nutritional change

The next two chapters are concerned with processing. The first covers the basic techniques of food ~chnology, both for preservation and preparation.

Food safety is the issue which dominates the remaining chapters of the book. The first subject dealt with is food microbiology. The reasons for effective food processing, to ensure micro- organism inhibition or destruction, are made very clear and considerable space is devoted to pathogenic organisms, the effect of food processing and the extent of the food poisoning problem. The food industry considers the problem of microbial hazards in foods to be of extreme importance to the question of food safety.

Food add&es, their use and safety, are considered in the remaining chapters. Each author tries to approach the subject in a different way. First, what food additives and ingredients are and why food manufacturers use them is explained. There is little doubt that the call for safe, convenient and

232 FOOD POLICY August 1980

appealing food at reasonable cost has prompted the search for ways of

achieving greater processing efficiency, adaptability and economy. Additives have provided one method of achieving these ends. There are plenty of tables provided on additives and their uses, and the legal aspects of food additives are touched on.

The next chapter deals more exclusively with the assessment of safety in a scientific sense. It is concerned with toxicology, both the basic methods used and the difficulties involved in evaluating what is and what is not safe.

Economic in food and nutrition issues is the subject tackled in the final chapter. It tends to pin its case on the idea that radical change in our approach to food production will involve enormous sums of money not to mention untold social costs. The food industry, it is suggested, for all its faults is working for the benefit of the consumer in that it provides reasonably priced food which, legally speaking, is ‘generally recognized as safe’.

It is also of considerable importance to the economy as a whole, providing

jobs and adapting rapidly to changing situations. It is recognized that others dispute this position but they are criticized for muddleheadedness and lack of knowledge. Certainly, there is considerable ambivalence in people’s attitudes to food. The case presented is not beyond criticism depending as it does on the author’s personal stand- point but it is an interesting view, even if one might not agree with it.

The breadth of subject tackled by each chapter is ambitious and skimping must be expected. Nevertheless, the book provides a useful and stimulating account. On the whole the approach is balanced and should be of value to those interested in food in Western society. Unfortunately the references are not extensive in some chapters and anyone who is not American should remember that process specifications and legal information may only apply in the USA.

Susan Thompson,

Countryside Research Unit,

Brighton Polytechnic,

Comprehensive treatment of CAP

THE COMMON AGRICULTURAL

POLICY OF THE EUROPEAN

ECONOMIC COMMUNITY

by Rosemary Fennell

Granada Publishing, London, 19 79,

243 pp, f 6.95

There has been a need for a comprehensive single text on the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) for a long time. The only two other publications’ in English covering at least part of the same ground in reasonable depth are both rather dated. As a result the book fills an obvious gap; it is both comprehensive and up to date.

As the book’s title makes clear, it is focused on the CAP’s institutional and administrative organization. Thus, the first four chapters are concerned with

FOOD POLICY August 1980

Brighton, UK

the CAP’s aims, the Community’s institutions, legal processes, and national links with the CAP. Next comes two chapters on the Budget and green money, before four chapters on the market support regimes, two on structural and social policy measures and a concluding chapter on enlargement of the Community to take in Greece, Spain and Portugal.

The author’s approach is completely factual so that opinions and analytical judgements do not intrude. Although this is helpful in a reference work it does mean that little flesh is put on the skeleton of the CAP, and hence that the ‘feel’ of its operations does not come through - an important point where so much of the CAP’s operations are bound up with administrative judgements by the Commission. As the questions the book attempts to answer are primarily factual, it may be that the

Book reviews

approach is too detailed for the casual reader, but not detailed enough for those involved with the CAP on a

continuing basis. The balance of the treatment is

primarily geared to a European agricultural audience. Thus the ramifications of the CAP into the food industry are not brought out. For example, the principal support mechanisms for some of the major CAP products relate to the processed item (eg sugar, butter, cheese, and olive oil) rather than the farmer’s original output. The consequence is that the CAP extends into the food sector, setting the price levels at which particular agricultural items may be bought, as well as controlling the availability of some items and subjecting the food processing industry to detailed regulation in areas of its purchasing and exporting operations.

Again, there is little recognition in the book of the CAP’s effects for third countries. Yet these effects are important both conceptually in that they contradict the objectives of the Community’s external trade policies, and practically in that they bedevil relations with particular third countries. Also, although various trade concessions are mentioned under particular commodity support regimes, no assessment is attempted of their impact on the effectiveness of the regimes in supporting domestic producers.

The treatment of the individual commodity support regimes is a little brief. Thus the dairy regime gets four pages out of the book’s 243 pages - a balance which seems somewhat lopsided as dairy surpluses account for some 40% of total Community Budget expenditure. The discussion of the commodity regimes is the area where the author’s treatment is the least sure.

However, the book’s particular strength lies in its treatment of the social support measures, where an exhaustive treatment is given of the Directives involved, and of the Community’s legislative processes. The social support measures are becoming of increasing importance as the Community tries to attack the problem of ‘surpluses’ by altering agricultural structures. Obviously such a policy is long term in its effects, but it is important to realize

233