Quality improvement of manuka honey through the application of high pressure processing

The quality of honey is known to be compromised when it goes through thermal processing due to its negative impact on the unstable and thermolabile honey components which originated from the nectar and bees themselves. This present work is undertaken to access the use of an emerging food preservation technique known as “High Pressure Processing” for treating honey, as an alternative to the conventional thermal processing. In this thesis, honey quality has been addressed by measuring the effects of high pressure processing parameters (pressure, time and temperature) on nutritional properties of honey, namely total phenolic content and antioxidant activity. Honey samples, contained in small pouches, were subjected to different pressures (200-600 MPa) at close to ambient temperatures (25-33°C) for different holding times (10 to 30 min). Thermal processing (49- 70°C) was also carried out for comparison purpose. Results demonstrated that high pressure processing operated at 600 MPa for 10 min has capability to increase significantly the total phenolic content and antioxidant activity by 47% and 30%, respectively. Besides, the result showed that high pressure processing can maintain the natural colour of honey which relates directly to consumer perception, while retaining its shear-thinning behaviour and viscosity with no significant changes (p > 0.05). High pressure processing can also control hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) concentration in honey during process within the standard limit, 16.93 to 18.76 mg/kg (which is below than the maximum allowed limit of 40 mg/kg). This work also reveals that high pressure processing can enhance antibacterial activity of Manuka honey significantly. It shows an increase in the percentage inhibition of Staphylococcus epidermidis from 64.15 ± 5.86% to 84.34 ± 7.62% when honey was subjected to 600 MPa. Storage studies for one year at room temperature (25°C) demonstrated that high pressure-treated samples have a good retention to the physicochemical, nutritional and rheological properties of honey throughout storage, which confirms that the positive effect of high pressure on honey is not a temporary effect. Whereas, an insight study on the safety part showed that the Saccharomyces cerevisiae cell varied linearly with ° Brix, indicating that food compressibility has a significant role in the microbial inactivation

Banking performance and technological change in non-core EU countries: A study of Spain and Portugal

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the cost efficiency of banks operating in two "non-core" EU countries, Portugal and Spain, over a number of years. Specifically, the paper aims to examine the extent to which banks' efficiency is influenced by their portfolio orientation and scale of operation. Data envelopment analysis is used to identify banks' levels of performance over time in both countries. In order to decompose banks' total factor productivity change into technological, scale efficiency and pure efficiency changes, the Malmquist index method is applied. Banks operating in both countries have improved their performance over time and savings banks and large banks, in particular, have tended to outperform other types of banks. Banks operating in Spain tend to perform better than in Portugal and Spanish-owned banks perform better than their Portuguese-owned counterparts. The improvements in performance revealed have mainly been due to technological change. Bankscope is a well- respected data source and has been the basis of many studies of performance in international banking. Unfortunately, owing to data deficiencies, around 20 per cent of the banks operating in Portugal and Spain were not included. Practical implications - If Portuguese banks are to be competitive internationally, there is considerable need for efficiency improvements. The paper provides insights into the dynamics of the Portuguese and Spanish banking systems. The results should be of interest to management in banking and bank regulators in Europe, and economists and others studying bank performance trends. The research reported may shed light on some of the challenges facing the banking sectors of the "new" EU states (such as Poland and Hungary)

Credit Card Fraud: A New Perspective On Tackling An Intransigent Problem

This article offers a new perspective on battling credit card fraud. It departs from a focus on post factum liability, which characterizes most legal scholarship and federal legislation on credit card fraud and applies corrective mechanisms only after the damage is done. Instead, this article focuses on preempting credit card fraud by tackling the root causes of the problem: the built-in incentives that keep the credit card industry from fighting fraud on a system-wide basis. This article examines how credit card companies and banks have created a self-interested infrastructure that insulates them from the liabilities and costs of credit card fraud. Contrary to widespread belief, retailers, not card companies or banks, absorb much of the loss caused by thieves who shop with stolen credit cards. Also, credit card companies and banks earn fees from every credit card transaction, including those that are fraudulent. In addressing these problems, this article advocates broad reforms, including legislation that would mandate data security standards for the industry, empower multiple stakeholders to create the new standards, and offer companies incentives to comply by capping bank fees for those that are compliant, while deregulating fees for those that are not compliant

Markets and Growth

This paper studies key markets (financial, labor, natural resource, and product) to assess how they are facilitating or constraining growth. First, we draw on the body of existing theoretical and empirical literature to discuss the links between markets and growth. Second, we present four stylized scenarios of the process of growth, which summarize market infrastructure and efficient factor reallocation in response to shocks appear to be among the most important growth determinants. We highlight the relative lack of research on the relationship between labor markets and growth, as opposed to the relationship between human capital production and growth. Finally, we combine suggestions of Topel (1999) and Pritchett (2000) to argue that country-specific markets should be a principal focus of future research on growth. This paper provides a framework for such studies.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39766/3/wp382.pd