The Importance and Source of Food

The Importance and Source of Food

The raw products of present day foods generally originate from two major sources: the plant
and animal kingdoms. We still rely on the agricultural lands, lakes, rivers, and the seas for
their origin in forests and wildlife, and in many parts of the world they still constitute
important sources of food. The plant and animal products that compose our foods and food
products may be classified in the following way:

Plant Products

A. Grains (cereals) wheat, corn (maize), sorghum (kaoliang, jowar), barley, oats, rye, millets
(including ragi), rice, adlay, buckwheat

B. Pulses beans (red kidney), lima beans, navy beans, peas, lentils, broad beans, cowpea
(chickpea), vetch (fitches)

C. Fruits
1. Tropical fruits banana, plantain, pineapple, papaya, guava, mango, passion fruit,
breadfruit, avocado, zapote, cherimoya, naranjilla, surina (Brazil) cherry.
2. Subtropical fruits
(a) Citrus fruits orange, lemon, tangerine, grapefruit, pomelo, citron, lime, kumquat.
(b) Other figs, pomegranate, olives, persimmon tunas (cactus figs), peijabe.
3. Deciduous fruits Pome (seed) fruits, Apple, Grapes, Pear, Quince.
4. Stone fruits peach, cherry, plum, apricot.
5. Berries strawberries, raspberries, black raspberries, blackberries, loganberries,
boysenberries, cloudberries, blueberries, cranberries, lingo berries (whortleberries),
elderberries, black currants, red currants, gooseberries, rose hips.

D. Melons and squashes
cantaloupe, honeydew, watermelon, squashes.
E. Vegetables
1. Leaf(y) vegetables cabbage, Brussels sprouts, spinach, celery, artichoke, leeks,
lettuce, endive, bamboo shoots, heart of palms, herbs.
2. Root vegetables carrot, radish, parsnip, turnip, rutabaga, salsify.
3. Seeds green peas, green beans, lima beans, okr.
4. Others cauliflower and broccoli, cucumbers, onions ,garlic,tomatoes.

F. Tuber products
(Irish or white) potatoes, sweet potatoes (yams),taro, cassava (maniok), Jerusalem artichoke
(topinambur), true yams (Dioscorea spp.), earth almonds.

G. Nuts
Almond, beech, Brazil nut, breadnut, butternut, cashewchestnut, filbert, peanut (groundnut),
pecan, pinole, pistachio, walnut.

H. Fungi
(1) Fat type bakers’ yeast, brewers’ yeast, food yeast
(2) Protein type champignon , truffles, morels,antharels
miscellaneous, I. Honey (nectar)

I. Manna
Ash tree, oak, tamarisk, alhagi

J. Sugars sugar cane, sugar beet, maple syrup
palm sugar (date).

K. Oilseeds soybean
olive, cottonseed, peanut (groundnut), sunflower, palm kernels, coconut (copra), rapeseed,
sesame.

L. Seaweeds
Laver, nori (Porphyra spp.), kombu (Laminaria spp.), wakame (Undaroainnatifida)

M. Beverage ingredients Coffee, tea, cocoa,yerba mate, miscellaneous (mint, fenugreek,
tilia, etc.)
The above given items are major items of plant and animal origin that compose the multitude
of food articles available at present-day markets. They also constitute the raw material for a
number of major industries & manufactured products. The major manufactured

food products are listed below:

1. Sugars: cane, beet, maple, corn.
2. Starches: corn, potato, cassava (manioc), arrowroot, sago, wheat.
3. Flour, bread, and cereals.
4. Sweet baked goods.
5. Confectionery products.
6. Canned foods.
7. Frozen foods.
8. Dried (dehydrated) foods.
9. Pickled and marinated foods.
10. Salted and cured foods. Grains (cereals) wheat, corn (maize), sorghum (kaoliang, jowar), barley, oats, rye, millets
(including ragi), rice, adlay, buckwheat
11. Dairy products: market milk (homogenized0, cheese, butter, cultured milks, ice cream,
dry nonfat solids, milk concentrates.
12. Meat products: sausages, hams, luncheon meats, meat extract, pastes.
13. Seafood products: fillets, fish sticks, breaded shrimp, sausages, pastes.
14. Oleomargarine and other food fats and oils: soybean, corn, sunflower, cotton seed, olive.
15. Jams and jellies
16. Fermented foods: pickles, sauerkraut, fish sauces.
17. Fermented beverages: wine, beer.
18. Soft drinks: carbonated and still drinks.
19. Mixes: baking, soup.
20. Soybean products.
21. Corn products.
22. Yeast: food yeast, bakers’ yeast, brewers’ yeast.
23. Fish flour.24. Protein hydrolyzates.
25. Imitation foods (spun proteins, fruit drinks, synthetic cream, etc.)