PART 1: PRODUCT INFORMATION (12 points)
Product Name: (1 point)
Oreo Cookies
Product Ingredients: (1 point)
Sugar, Cocoa, leavening agent, enriched flour, corn syrup with high-fructose, palm oil, chocolate, salt, vanillin, soy lecithin, and corn starch (Britannica, 2019).
Company Background: (5 points)
Oreo cookies are produced by Nabisco Biscuit Company (Britannica, 2019). Nabisco is a food manufacturer whose headquarters are in New Jersey, and it is a brand of Mondelez International, an American beverage, food, holding, and confectionery company. The brand was established in 1898 by Pearson and his sons, through the name, “Pearson &Sons Bakery,” and operates in over one hundred countries. The company records over $3 Billion in profits every year (Britannica, 2019).
Product Background: (5 points)
The manufacturing of Oreo began in 1912 and has since increased in both production and sales (Britannica, 2019). Oreo biscuits contain two slides of cookies or chocolate, sandwiched with crème. The geographical origin of Oreo thus traces back to Chelsea, Manhattan, where the product was first made. The product targeted youths and children, who delighted in sweet products and been known to present romantic gesture in youths (Britannica, 2019).
PART 2: INGREDIENT 1 – LIVING ORGANISM (12 points)
Ingredient Name: (2 points)
Corn starch
Evolutionary history: (5 points)
Corn starch was first developed in 1851, with its primary use being in industrial set-ups and in starching laundry. Corn traces its origin to Mexico, in 8700 years ago, when corn was first cultivated. Corn starch is produced through the fermentation of corn. After fermentation, the germ of the corn is separated from its parent endosperm, grounding the two components separately (Polishan, 2013). The two elements are then washed to produce starch. Corn is used widely in the thickening of soups and sauces and has been used to make corn syrups (Orzolek, Kime, & Harper, 2005). With a variety of uses in industries, corn starch has been widely produced in recent years.
Current status: (5 points)
Corn starch is mostly produced in South America, where corn is grown. The manufacturing of corn starch involves various steps whereby cleaning involves inspection of corn, which results in the removal of dust and cob. Steeping requires soaking of the corn into hot water for two days, which results in the breaking of protein and starch bonds. Corn was then used in industries to thicken food products, and since this discovery, it has been used in the production of foods like Oreo.
PART 3: INGREDIENT 2 – FOOD ADDITIVE (12 points)
Ingredient Name: (2 points)
Vanillin.
Background: (5 points)
Vanillin is a common organic compound in the food processing industries (Tarantino, 2017). It is extracted from vanilla beans and can be naturally derived or artificially produced by a mixture of various components, usually vitamins (Melt Organic, 2020). Vanillin uses pharmaceutical, food, and beverage industries as a flavoring agent, which gives Oreo biscuits a unique taste.
Healthy and Safety: (5 points)
Oreo is made primarily from synthetic vanillin because natural vanillin is expensive to acquire. Vanillin acts as a flavoring agent and presents no health benefits to the users, and has been known to trigger allergic reactions, migraine headaches, and digestive disorders (Melt Organic, 2020). Currently, there are no federal regulations on the use of vanilla (Polishan, 2013).
PART 4: REFLECTION (20 points)
Source Evaluation: (10 points)
In this assignment, I used both peer-reviewed and non-scholarly articles. Primarily, I used two sources derived from educational sites and other articles from credible websites. The information presented in all the sources was obtained from Nabisco’s website and other relevant sites relating to the Oreo biscuits. For this reason, I find the references highly accurate in the presentation of the information relayed. In evaluating the accuracy of non-educational sites, I viewed the author’s information to determine how relevant the authors were to the study topic. The scholarly sources used showed high accuracy, by using other peer-reviewed sources, and incredible formation from the Nabisco website. The second educational source applied research conducted on scientists to determine the safety of the ingredients used in Oreo; thus, the source also presents credible information with support from the research. I learned how Oreo is made from the video source, and through this video, I discovered the various ingredients used to make Oreo. After establishing the elements, I was now able to research on the origin of the ingredients.
Personal Reflection: (10 points)
After this assignment, I now understand that most processed foods comprise of several ingredients. Before this assignment, I was a huge fan of processed foods, and on average, I eat processed foods in five days per week. However, this assignment has been an insight to me, giving me new information on how these foods are made. For instance, the ingredients used could be detrimental to health.