This review summarizes the safety and security of food products from the perspective of the essential qualities of foods. Food products can be defined as containing health-promoting components and are suitable for safe human consumption through cooking and processing. The purpose of people eating foods is to live a healthy life and to function as an organism. Food products, however, are not always safe for human consumption initially. Plants and animals which are used as ingredients in food products live, similar to human beings and function as organisms. They do all kinds of things to survive as organisms, and one of the tools for their survival is natural toxins that are naturally produced by living organisms. Plants and animals protect themselves from their enemies and predators by producing various natural toxins. We should understand that foods are fundamentally built on this characteristic that organisms inherently have. The safety and security of foods are based on a risk balance between nutrition and toxicity. Overconsumption of nutrients may cause many lifestyle-related diseases. Over a long period of human history, human beings have cleverly used their brains to improve the volume and safety of foods.
Currently, Japanese food is once again increasingly appreciated around the world. Japanese ancestors combined a broad range of ingredients and created a diet balanced between nutrition and toxicity. This is clearly wisdom from the past, and I can’t help but be impressed with the wisdom of our ancestors. I hope that many people view the safety and security of food products from the standpoint of the essential qualities of foods.

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Nutrition affects the amounts of important skin molecules, such as type Ⅰ and Ⅲ collagen, hyaluronan and ceramide, and decreases in these can lead to loss of moisture and inhibition of immune functions in the skin.
Protein malnutrition affects the status of dermal type Ⅰ and type Ⅲ tropocollagens, the major structural proteins in the skin, with a concomitant decrease in their mRNA levels, type Ⅲ collagen being most severely affected. Furthermore, there may be an influence on the skin hyaluronan content and mRNA levels of hyaluronan synthases (has) 2 and 3. In contrast, the synthesis of ceramide is not affected.
A high-fat diet also reduced the mRNA levels of COL1A1 and has2, with a consequent decrease of type Ⅰ tropocollagen and hyaluronan in the skin. In this case the level of ceramide in the epidermis is impacted, the mRNA levels for serine palmitoyltransferase, the key enzyme of ceramide synthesis, being reduced. These decreases might be all be attributable to suppressing the action of TGF-beta1, IGF-I and adiponectin. In conclusion, protein malnutrition and a high fat diet are deleterious for skin function.

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Collagen is a major constituent of connective tissues of animals and fish. Collagen hydrolysate can be manufactured by enzymatic hydrolysis of gelatin, a denatured form of collagen prepared on an industrial scale and its use as a health-food ingredient has been attracting worldwide attention. Many skin disorders are affected by dietary factors and supplements of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids have been reported to improve some conditions. However, little is known about the influence of collagen hydrolysate. Recently, we demonstrated that daily ingestion of increases the moisture content of the stratum corneum. The supply of water is dependent on movement from the dermis to the epidermis, and from the epidermis to the stratum corneum, this being controlled by the Donnan effect or condensation theory. Extracellular matrix (ECM) materials play important roles in the water-retention functions of the stratum corneum. They also contribute to the viscoelastic properties of the dermis, the ECM being a dense network of collagen and elastin embedded in a ground substance composed of proteoglycans and glycoproteins, such as hyaluronic acid. Collagen hydrolysate has the potential to benefit the ECM and in this review, we provide evidence that daily ingestion improves functions though change in ECM elements.

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Women generally want their skin to look beautiful and healthy. Like the saying that “the skin is a mirror of the inside,” beauty is not only an aspect of appearance but also a reflection of inner balance. Many people consider it important to have both physical and mental health with a comfortable and fulfilling lifestyle for both inner and outer beauty. Compared with ten years ago, awareness of skin care has increased among people of all ages and even women in their 20s now want to look younger than their actual age.
The domestic market for health and beauty food products in Japan exceeds 1.7 trillion yen, 10 percent of which is for agents that are said to have beautifying effects on skin. Beverages formulated with collagen peptide are leading the expansion in this area because people can actually sense the moisture of their skin the morning after drinking. It has been revealed that the moisture content of the stratum corneum (a reflection of the skin's ability to retain water) increases when collagen peptides are taken orally. Collagen peptides and hydroxyproline have the effect of increasing the expression of β glucocerebrosidase, an enzyme involved in ceramide synthesis in the stratum corneum. Collagen peptide taken orally is absorbed as hydroxyproline and dipeptide, and improves the skin's ability to retain moisture by increasing the amount of ceramide in the stratum corneum.
In order to maintain a beautiful and healthy skin, it is essential to consume foods that have a beautifying effect on skin. Ingredients that can make skin more beautiful spread to every inch of the skin after ingestion, producing such effects as skin whitening and aging care in an efficient way. Therefore, it is to be expected that they will attract increasing attention from both consumers and researchers who are interested in skin care.

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Predictive microbiology is a well-established and well-recognized scientific discipline with a burgeoning body of literature. The quantitative evaluation of microbial responses in food environments allows us to define appropriate processing conditions and formulations for processed foods. ComBase is a large database of microbial responses to food environments which has attracted the attention of many researchers and others working in the food processing industry. Although ComBase contains a vast amount of data, it is not always easy to obtain desired information from the retrieved files. In the present study, we therefore developed a new ComBase-derived database (Microbial Responses Viewer, MRV) consisting of microbial growth/no growth data. The MRV provides information concerning growth/no growth boundary conditions and the specific growth rates of queried microorganisms. The revised MRV allows retrieval of bacterial growth inhibition effects of food additives such as lactic acid, nitrite, acetic acid and sorbic acid. The MRV enables users to determine the influence of food additives on bacterial growth intuitively. Using the MRV, appropriate food design and processing conditions can be readily identified.

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The following two topics are discussed in this report. One is an outline of panettone and the other is the recent progress of work in our laboratory about an antibacterial factor existing in panettone. Panettone is a sweet bread eaten in the Christmas season, mainly in northern Italy. By the traditional manufacturing method, yeast and lactobacilli which are attached on the surface of fruit or other natural material are grown in the dough, and the panettone is baked using this as the leavening organisms. The average shelf life is three months and mold does not grow for as much as half a year. This is very long when we compare it to the shelf life of common bread which is barely one week. In Japan, the search for an anti-mold factor has been performed on the supposition that the microbes which are found in panettone dough might secrete an anti-mold material. In actual fact, a peptide-based anti-mold factor was found in the cultured fluid of the lactobacilli. In our study, an anti-mold factor was found in each culture supernatant of both yeast and lactobacilli grown in panettone dough. The chemical properties of each anti-mold factor was different. It was confirmed that the point of action of the anti-mold factor which the lactobacilli secreted had a DNA replication inhibitory activity. As a result of having tried differential analysis of LCMS on the high active fraction of this factor and an inert fraction, we succeeded in obtaining the molecular weight and the chemical composition of the anti-mold factor. This factor has an antibacterial activity both for gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria and for mold, and it is expected that this factor is a novel type of anti-mold agent.

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Chlorine-based disinfectants are used as a sanitizer in the processing of fruits, vegetables, and other fresh foods. It is used to reduce the microbial risk involved with the consumption of fresh foods. Chlorine is also widely used as a disinfectant for drinking water, and it is well known that chlorine reacts with natural organic compounds in water, resulting in the formation of trihalomethanes (THM). THM are a group of chemicals that commonly include chloroform , bromodichloromethane, dibromochloromethane and bromoform. The presence of THM in drinking water is a human health concern. It is regulated by government agencies throughout the world. Some foods and beverages may induce the formation of reaction by-products during disinfection. It is necessary to investigate the THM and other disinfection by-product intake from foods and beverages. In this paper, we present an overview of disinfectants which are approved for use as food additives in Japan. We also review disinfection by-product formation in food products during chlorine-based disinfectant treatment. The research on THM residual levels in foods and beverages is summarized. Furthermore, the Joint FAO/WHO Expert meeting on the assessment of the benefits and risks of the use of chlorine-containing disinfectants in food production and food processing is briefly introduced.

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Flavor and off-flavor compounds of aquatic products and livestock meat are summarized. Many papers on fish and shellfish off-flavor from environmental pollution had been published since the 1970s. Fish and shellfish with off-flavors have been found on several occasions even today when pollution has noticeably improved in Japan. Fish and shellfish off-flavors may occur easily due to the ingestion of pollutants or natural off-odors in the environment, such as petroleum, halogenated anisoles, halogenated phenols, 2-methylisoborneol, geosmin, sulfur compounds, etc. Lipid oxidative derivatives, such as aldehydes, ketones and alcohols, other than trimethylamine, contribute to fresh fish meat flavor, especially “blue back colored” fish. An increase of these compounds causes fishy off-flavor in raw fish meat in accordance with the degradation. Fish product off-flavor may also occur by bacterial fermentation when the products are treated by inappropriate thermal management or sanitary conditions. Consumers occasionally find off-flavored fish products even these days; it may be important to identify the hidden off-flavored products effectively at the shipping and distributing stages.

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The safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) is a multipurpose crop which has been used for production of oil, dye and medicine for about 4,500 years. Nowadays it is mainly grown as a source of oil which contains a high proportion of linoleic acid, but recent research has revealed that its petals possess marked antioxidant potential. The genus Carthamus comprises at least 25 species and subspecies of which only one, C. tinctorius, is cultivated. According to cytogenetic studies, the strongest candidate for the ancestor of the cultivated safflower are considered to be C. oxyacantha or C. palaestinus, and the genus is divided into four sections based on chromosome numbers, namely, Section Ⅰ 2n=24 diploid species with a BB genome including the cultivated species, SectionⅡ 2n = 20 diploid with an AA genome, Section Ⅲ 2n =44 tetraploid with an AABB genome and Section Ⅳ 2n = 64 hexaploid with an AABBAA genome. Our recent molecular phylogenetic analyses based on the sequence variation in the nuclear-encoded SACPD gene have revealed that the ancestor of the cultivated safflower is actually C. plaestinus, indicating that the origin of safflower is the Near East. Furthermore, based on our results we proposed a new hypothesis of evolution of Carthamus, that is, tetraploidy resulted from hybridization between XX and YY genome unknown or extinct diploid species and hexaploid forms by hybridization of XXYY tetraploid species with an AA genome diploid species. With respect to world safflower germplasm, it has been reported that cultivars have diverged geographically. Our study based on AFLP (Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism) analysis indicated that the Asian safflower cultivars can be divided into two groups, namely the East Asian group and the other Asian group, which is consistent with previous reports. In Japan, the safflower has been used for extraction of dye historically and even today. The Yamagata area has been the producing center of safflower in Japan from the Edo period. In the late Edo period (18–19 century) the Yamagata brand safflower “Mogami-benibana” was traded in Kyoto and Edo with a high price. After the Edo period, safflower production was discontinued in Yamagata, but in the latter half of 20th century it were restored and Yamagata Prefecture bred a variety of “Mogami-benibana” from a handful of safflower seeds discovered in a farmer's house. Our molecular phylogenetic analysis revealed the recent Mogami-benibana to belong to the East Asian group, with close similarity to Korean safflower cultivars. These results indicated that recent Mogami-benibana is direct progeny of previous Mogami-benibana in Edo period and was derived from Korea and originally came from the Near East throughout the Silk Road. Our studies also revealed Mogami-benibana has intra-varietal variation at both morphological and DNA levels. Investigation of morphological traits suggested that world safflower germplasm features a high level of variation in agricultural traits such as flowering day, plant height, and numbers of capitula and seeds, but some of these traits may be seriously affected by environmental conditions such as the weather. Through our studies, the potential for breeding of new safflower varieties, including examples with high petal yield, was reconfirmed.

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Sake, a traditional Japanese alcoholic beverage, has been consumed by Japanese people since ancient times. Ethyl α-D-glucoside (α-EG) is unusual and the 4th major component (0.1–0.7%) in sake, which is considered to give a sweet and bitter taste to sake. Alpha-EG is produced by the transglucosidation reaction of the glucose moiety in α-1,4-glucan to ethanol by fungal transglucosidase in sake mash. After ingestion of α-EG, it is hydrolyzed by the small intestine and absorbed into the blood stream through the intestinal glucose transporter. Research has demonstrated some physiological effects of α-EG, for example, reduction of skin barrier disruption, protection of hepatocytes and a diuretic effect. Ethyl β-D-glucoside (β-EG) is contained in sake at low levels, which was detected in the blood and urine after ingestion. It showed a keratinocyte proliferation effect and blood-pressure-lowering effect. Approximately 0.5% of glucosylglycerol (GG) is contained in sake, which is hydrolyzed by intestinal enzymes. GG increased dermal levels of IGF-I after topical application. Moderate alcohol ingestion may improve health. Therefore, further studies are needed in order to clarify the physiological effects and metabolism of these components.

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