It has been estimated that roughly one quarter of food produced in the UK is wasted from the time the food commodities leave the farm until they are presented to the consumer on a plate. Dr Osner looks at the crude energy gap, when and where food wastage occurs, and discusses ways of reducing and utilising waste

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SUMMARY The permeability of intact chicken muscle sarcolemmas was studied in relation to: a) the pH of Ringer's solution surrounding the muscle; b) bathing the muscle in distilled water; c) rigor; d) freezing and thawing; and e) processing in a factory. Change in pH of Ringer's solution between 5.5 and 7.5 had no effect, but bathing in distilled water, freezing and thawing, muscle restraint during rigor, and normal processing in a factory all made the sarcolemma permeable to protein. When isolated muscles were immersed in distilled water for 24 hr, 1.7% of total muscle protein was lost. Isolated muscles which were not restrained during rigor were not permeable to protein when immersed in Ringer's solution, but muscles which had passed through rigor on the carcass were. Intracellular protein can therefore be lost from carcasses both as a result of processing and of freezing and thawing.

The National Food Survey records of household food purchases and information concerning the dietary pattern of the population, obtained from estimates of total food consumption in the UK showed that the nutritional value of the household diet exceeded the recommended daily intake for the majority of nutrients, at least until the end of 1973. However, it is known that with decreasing family income and increasing family size, average nutrient intake may fall below the recommended daily level for a few nutrients. The National Food Survey gives no indication of how food is distributed within the home, and it has long been recognised that children are a vulnerable group, particularly within larger families (3–4 or more children) on low incomes. The school meal was developed partially as a means of improving the diets of such vulnerable children.