Animal source food avoidance

Chemoreception (chemical senses) is critical for animal survival. In order to find food, avoid predators and synchronize reproduction, animals must coordinate their life functions with environmental cues. For many aquatic animals, vision is sometimes of limited utility since freshwater is frequently turbid. Olfaction, on the other hand, is an advantageous sensory modality since olfactory epithelia are continuously exposed to a mixture of chemicals dissolved in water originating from different sources such as plants, soil and other animals. The ability to detect... 

Certain lubricants and slip agents are vegetable-based, because avoidance of the usual animal sources is essential in certain food packaging markets. Chemax offers vegetable-based stearate additives called Maxomer Lube , and Kemamide ELO from Crompton is a vegetable-based GMO-free erucamide, used in bottle closures where odour and taste are particularly important. It is a mould release agent for polyolefins and is said to be fairly resistant to oxidation. 

In the elevated plus maze (EPM) a test naive animal is given the opportunity to explore for a few minutes an environment made up of four identical arms (Fig. 4.9), two surrounded by walls (enclosed arms) and two without walls (open arms). Most rats or mice will preferentially explore the enclosed and only rarely enter the open arms. It is believed that in this set-up the animal is in conflict between its drive to explore the environment (there might be a potential partner or a preferred food source) and the avoidance of a potential threat (there might be a cat there). 

Numerous substances are produced by plants, animals, and microorganisms to protect themselves from predators, locate sources of food, suppress or avoid... 

Indirect effects would be those that have an adverse influence even though the individual may not have been directly affected by exposure to a chemical. Elimination of insects, a major food source of many mammalian and avian species, or loss of habitat (cover) due to weed control, may influence the health and welfare of wild species. As insect populations are reduced due to insecticide spraying, wildlife are unable to obtain their nutrient requirements and become malnourished. The outcome may be similar to that observed from direct effects. As the animals general health diminishes because of lack of food, it loses its ability to avoid predation, or to capture prey, or it becomes more susceptible to disease and infection. Similarly, the loss of habitat can reduce an animal s ability to escape predation, or it may reduce breeding and rearing areas, which also may result in population declines in affected species. 

It should be clear that all animals are susceptible to some toxicants and that some toxicants are toxic to all animals (including humans). It is therefore important to be cautious when handling and using chemicals around animals also, a clean environment must be provided for all animals. Domestic animals particularly are subject to the whims of their owners for hazard-free environments. Animals should be fed well-balanced quality food from reputable sources, and suspect feed should be either avoided or carefully examined for potential toxicants before being given to animals. 

Contaminated feed poses a serious source of infection for livestock. Animals rarely show symptoms of salmonellosis and there is always the risk of undetected carriers entering the food production chain. Safe feed is the first step in a farm-to-fork food safety concept to guarantee safe food. All raw feed components should be considered as a potential source of Salmonella, and, therefore, decontamination steps are of utmost importance to avoid contaminated feed spreading to herds (Sauli, Danuser, and Geeraerd, 2005). 

The EPA defines hazardous wastes in the RCRA. This waste also includes pharmaceutical wastes that contain toxic chemicals or exhibit properties that make them hazardous to the environment and/or humans. RCRA wastes include broken or spilled vials, partial vials, expired products, and patient personal medications. EPA limits hazardous waste maximum storage time to 90 days or 180 days based on generator status. All wastes must be stored in a separate and locked area clearly marked to avoid becoming a food source or breeding place for insects or animals. Like infectious wastes, there is no time limit to fill the container. Not all states mandate the same storage requirements. Contact local and state authorities for additional information. The EPA s P-listed chemicals (40 CFR 261.33) include such pharmaceuticals as epinephrine, nicotine, chloroform, and warfarin... 

Data for calculation of nutritional analyses are much the same for all methods of statistical analysis described above. Basic precautionary steps recommended for selection of individuals, pretest conditions, and standardization of both test animals and test diets have been discussed elsewhere (Berenbaum 1986). Nutritional indices are extremely sensitive to small errors in computation (Schmidt Reese 1986 Stamp 1991), thus, efforts to reduce such sources of variation are of utmost importance in such studies. All consumption experiments must provide food ad libitum unless effects of starvation are being tested, and careful planning and some preliminary experiments may be required to determine how much food must be prepared or obtained in advance to complete the entire experiment. This is especially important when insects are to be tested on plant food to avoid introducing variation in food quality due to difference in plant or leaf age into the experimental design. 

The approach to developing improved bird repellents can proceed along these same lines. There are numerous seeds, berries, and plants that birds normally avoid. Part of this avoidance could be due to conditioned aversion (89) or to aversive taste (93). Regardless of the physiological and behavioral mechanisms involved in the repellent effects, I believe the trend toward exploitation of natural food items as a source for developing more attractive or repellent animal food flavors will continue. 

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