featured in this issue - NZIFST - The New Zealand Institute of Food ...

y Springer. This is exactly what Mouritsen achieves with his
book. The reader gains insight into the deeper implications and
the fascinating questions involved.
The field of lipid research is central to essential aspects of
life; its origin, its metabolic regulation, the brain, and decays in
various forms. Traditional approaches to lipid research through
physics, chemistry, biology, and medicine are complemented
by nanotechnology, high throughput technologies, etc., and are
now rapidly evolving into a multidisciplinary science, the lipidomics
enterprise.
For lipids, it is the third in a row of “omics”, after genomics
and proteomics, that strives to put the “heap of stones into
the shape of a house” (Pointcare). As Mouritsen puts it: a new
lipidomics science has to go beyond the mapping of all lipid
species in all cell types and must approach cellular functioning
from a more holistic perspective. The present state of affairs is
still largely such that the answers are there, but what are the
questions This book is a plea for hypothesis-driven science
that has to follow the undoubtedly necessary efforts of stamp
collection.
In that sense, the book is wonderfully exciting to read. It is
structured into three parts: the first part (The Overlooked Molecules)
describes in seven chapters the molecules, their chemistry
and physics, and introduces the concept of larger shape
creation through self-assembly. It ends with a six-page essay
on ‘Models and Fashion’. As with all complex systems, models
are important as nuclei for structured debate. With biological
membranes - where the enormous breadth of scales in sizes
(from Angstroms to millimetres) and in times (from picoseconds
to days) exceeds normal imagination - this structuring power
of models is of particular importance. Mouritsen gives a lucid
critique on the existing membrane models.
Remarkably, this chapter does not contain the fashionable
“rafts”, which are found in almost every self-important publication
on membrane biophysics of today, but have not yet been
seen in reality. No fear, however, rafts do appear in the following
part.
The second part (Lipids Make Sense) is devoted to the structural
and dynamic organisation of lipids at the supramolecular
level. It covers the ‘phase’ aspect with all its associated phenomena,
such as transitions, separations, fluctuations, also ‘rafts’,
and interactions, arriving finally at the interaction with proteins.
This part indeed covers a selection of relevant concepts and essential
phenomena without getting into the maze of too many
experimental results.
The third part focuses on function (Lipids in Action). Cholesterol
makes the start, as it does in the history of lipid science.
This is followed by a brief chapter on how lipids match up with
proteins - the mattress model and hydrophobic mismatch concept,
among others. Then the text shifts to nutritional aspects
of essential fatty acids, and how a physicist can rationalise such
diverse phenomena of life, as e.g. anaesthesia, obesity, and apoptosis.
‘Smart nanotechnology’ stands at the end of this selection
of examples.
A whole legion of scientific texts on membranes and lipids
have appeared over the past five decades, starting with the
classics of Dennis Chapman in the late Sixties, some more and
some less memorable. This book of Mouritsen’s is different in
being very readable, stimulating and concise. Perhaps not unintentionally,
its rather decent, unassuming layout - no glossy
charts and pictures, no flashy highlights or boxes - supports its
impression on the reader who wants to be seriously informed
of current ideas and concepts, rather than be carried away with
facts and figures. It will be an excellent companion for lipidologists,
membranologists and lipidomiacs at all levels of expertise
for time to come. It can be particularly recommended as a text
for interdisciplinary university courses in life sciences.
Andrew McKenzie
Chief
Executive
NZ Food Safety
Authority
Good Operating Practice - guidance ready to pilot
Under the proposed food regulatory system most food
business operators will need to have a risk management
tool such as a Food Control Plan (FCP) in place. This will
document how they manage their business to ensure they
produce safe and suitable food.
In previous columns I’ve talked about the voluntary implementation
of ‘off-the peg’ FCPs that has been rolled out
in most parts of the country since July 2008. This is being
done in anticipation of a new Food Act, so that we can
make the most of the impetus created by the considerable
amount of work that’s already gone into developing the
new food regulatory system.
An off-the-peg FCP is a ready-to-use plan, developed by
NZFSA for food sectors where processes are similar across
that sector. Custom-made FCPs will need to be created by
operators of businesses that are more complex, or have
unique or commercially confidential practices, to suit their
particular process. They may be developed from scratch,
or adapted from one or more of the off-the-peg FCPs as
appropriate.
Good Operating Practice (GOP) procedures covering
both food safety and suitability are the basic building
blocks in preparing a custom-made FCP. The procedures
incorporate good hygienic practice and good agricultural
practice/good manufacturing practice that are currently in
use by industry. We expect hazard analysis and critical control
point (HACCP) principles for food safety to be applied
after the good operating practice components of the FCP
are in place.
NZFSA has released for comment draft guidance for
businesses to develop their own good operating practice
procedures, such as allergen management, cleaning and
sanitation, product information, and pest control - as relevant
to the business.
Each guidance document prompts the food business
operator on what they need to consider for effective hazard
management.
The draft guidance information is available to download
from NZFSA’s website this month and operators have four
months to review the information, trial it if they wish, and
comment to NZFSA on its usefulness.
NZFSA would be keen for food business operators to
apply the draft guidance material to their business as appropriate
over the next few months and let us know what
worked well and what didn’t. NZFSA invites comments
from anyone, whether you represent a business or are acting
as an individual.
You can download the draft guidance information and
find out more about the proposed FCP manual from our
website (www.nzfsa.govt.nz). Follow the green Food Control
Plan link on the front page.
Please email your response by 30 June 2009 to
tss@nzfsa.govt.nz or send it to:
Suzie McQuoid
Adviser (Technical Standards & Systems)
New Zealand Food Safety Authority
PO Box 2835
Wellington 6140
www.nzfsa.govt.nz
OILS & FATS
February/March 2009
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