Research Proposal (Tomato Juice) Essay

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION As an individual, we play an important role in setting a good example for encouraging people into good dietary habits. To stay fit and healthy, teach them to choose healthy food and be active from an early age. Adopting a healthy lifestyle helps us all to feel fitter, look better and concentrate better in everything we do. The topic that I have chosen is regarding the â€Å"Tomato Juice†, I feel the need to impart to everyone that one of the foods we need to eat and drink is just within our reach. BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY A healthy life requires proper nutrition as well as regular exercise. Both are key in the prevention of disease and also help improve overall mental and physical health. Diets full of bad fats, such as trans and saturated fats, put you at risk for stroke, certain cancers and heart disease, whereas a diet rich in vegetables lowers the risk of prostate and breast cancer, among other benefits. Sugar, bad fats and processed foods also increase your risk for joint problems, such as arthritis, which is compounded by a lack of exercise, as regular workouts keep the body limber and loose. A healthy diet should be high in vegetables, fruits, cold water fish and whole grains, while exercise should include cardiovascular and strength-training workouts. The list of effects from poor nutrition and lack of exercise is seemingly endless. Both generally result in considerable weight gain, which puts you at risk for a myriad of health problems, whether physical, mental or emotional. These unhealthy eating habits can affect our nutrient intake, including energy, protein, carbohydrates, essential fatty acids, vitamins and minerals as well as fibre and fluid. Taking charge of your health will not only protect you from health problems as you age, but will also give you more energy and peace of mind. Health is a resource of everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. One of the factors that determine the health of a person is the food that he eats. Good nutrition, based on healthy eating is one essential factor that helps us to stay healthy and be active. Poor eating habits include under- or over-eating, not  having enough of the healthy foods we need each day, or consuming too many types of food and drink, which are low in fibre or high in fat, salt and/or sugar. Our health defines us, and on this research I will tackle the benefits of tomato and how it can be useful to us either raw or processed. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM How to attain a palatable tomato juice based on taste, color, odor, and texture? How to convince people that drinking tomato juice can help lead a healthy lifestyle? What is the impact of this research to consumer, restaurant and HRM department? OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY To maintain health by preventing vitamin deficiency state in an individual. The general objective is to transform the proposed product as to improve the taste, odour, colour and texture to make it highly acceptable to the preferences of the consumer. To support the integration of health awareness for prevention and control diseases such as skin problem or discoloration, hair loss, constipation and many more with the help of other health interventions as appropriate. The goal is also to ensure the acceptability of the proposal within HRM department and possible business in the market and certain business minded individuals. We aim to pursue business in existing markets by offering an innovated product which is healthy and desirable to the taste of the majority of the consumers. To give credit to the HRM department for giving the opportunity to the students to explore beyond what they can see and read on text books, magazines and other sort of media advertisements. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY This study will create a major change in the perception of many individuals of how can we live and enjoy while staying healthy by having sufficient knowledge on the product being proposed. In addition, it will be beneficial to supplier-customer relationship by offering a new variety of a refreshing product which both can save cost. The researcher will also be able to gain more knowledge far beyond the basics of reading by doing the actual process and gathering data from different resources such as books and internet and from doing the procedure of the proposal itself. The HRM department will have other criteria of research oriented strategies that constitute part of  comprehensive content analyses which can be used as a guide for succeeding students or individual to whom this research may be imparted. SCOPE AND DELIMITATION The study is for the HRM department of NONESCOST. This will include some student who will be asked to try and evaluate the product. The research is merely to create awareness to the people within or outside the campus the benefits of this study. This research is only limited to catching people’s desires to acknowledge the product and not to the extent of providing the nutritional value of the proposed. DEFINITION OF TERMS Conceptually – is based from gathering one’s point of view of a certain product (tomato juice) through inquiry. Acceptability – is based on an individual’s highest and lowest satisfaction on the product being offered. Palatable – is when a person literally likes the tomato juice based on the moment he tasted it, without considering other factors. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Tomatoes are a very popular vegetable. They are tasty, versatile, affordable, and provide a variety of health benefits. The tomato is consumed in diverse ways, including raw, as an ingredient in many dishes, sauces, salads and dinks. While it is botanically a fruit, it is considered a vegetable for culinary purposes. Tomatoes are featured in a variety of recipes and can be used in a number of different ways. One of the most popular options for consuming tomatoes is in tomato juice. The juice is rich, tasty, and filled with health benefits. OTHER SIGNIFICANT NAME The tomato has a scientific name of Solanum lycopersicum, while commonly known as tomato plant. For a long time tomatoes were known by the name Lycopersicon esculentum, but recent work by scientists has shown that they are really part of the genus Solanum – as Linnaeus recognised when he first described the species. Today scientists and plant breeders all use the name Solanum lycopersicum for the cultivated tomato. BIOLOGY The origin of the cultivated tomato is somewhat unclear. Ethnobotanists and geneticists however have attempted to track down the centre of domestication. â€Å"The genus Lycopersicon- the botanical group to which the tomato belongs- is native to western South America, and only Lycopersicon lycopersicum var. cerasiforme, the wild cherry form of the cultivated species, has spread throughout Latin America and the New World Tropics. Second, the tomato was not known in Europe until after the discovery and conquest of America, descriptions and drawings first appearing in the European herbals of the middle and late 16th century. Third, these writings clearly reveal that man had been trying to improve the size of the tomato and the diversity of its shape and color. These achievements over the wild ancestors were almost certainly achieved by early man in America. Mexico appears to have been the site of domestication and the source of the earliest introductions, and the wild cherry tomato was probably the immediate ancestor.† As a matter of fact, â€Å"the bulk of the historical, linguistic, archaeological and ethnobotanical evidence favours Mexico, particularly the Vera Cruz-Puebla area, as the source of the cultivated tomatoes that were first transported to the Old World. † Although the origin of the tomato is somewhat clouded, there is no doubt that the cultigen of today has had a long journey. When the tomato finally made its way to Europe, the public responded with fear for several probable reasons. First, tomatoes belong to the family Solanaceae, which includes Datura and Belladonna – the deadly nightshade, among other poisonous species. The assumption was that tomatoes must be poisonous as well. Second, in Germany, because of its terrible smell, the tomato plant was rejected. The tomato acquired names like the â€Å"Devil’s wolf apple.† This great fear of toxicity of the tomato plant probably prevented its utilization for many centuries. Today, the toxicity of the Solanaceae family has been studied extensively, and it has been found that most of the species are posionous. Obviously Belladonna and Datura are among the more poisonous members of the family, but the potato plant is also quite toxic. Lycopersicon spp., which are less toxic than the other members of the family contain tomatine, a toxic glycoalkaloid. Many wild relatives of the tomato such as Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme, L. chilense, L. peruvianum, L. hirsutum, and L.  pimpinellifolium are among the richest genetic pools available for cross breeding. Almost all of the effective resistances to virulent tomato diseases have been found from wild species of Lycopersicon and Solanum. Geneticists from UC Davis have been making trips to the Andes and Central America in search of new species since 1948. Since then, researchers have amassed a germplasm stock effective against over 42 diseases. â€Å"Few other crops are blessed with such extensive collections of wild forms and their derivatives.† Not only are these wild relatives valuable sources of genetic material for disease control and prevention, but also for arthropod resistance, improving fruit quality, abiotic stress tolerance, and drought/cold resistance among many others. NUTRITION FACTS Nutritional Value per 100g of Fresh Tomatoes Source: USDA National Nutrient Data Base Principle Nutrient Value Percentage of RDA Energy 18 Kcal 1% Carbohydrates 3.9 g 3% Protein 0.9 g 1.60% Total Fat 0.2 g 0.70% Cholesterol 0 mg 0% Dietary Fiber 1.2 g 3% Vitamins Folates 15  µg 4% Niacin 0.594 mg 4% Pyridoxine 0.080 mg 6% Thiamin 0.037 mg 3% Vitamin A 833 IU 28% Vitamin C 13 mg 21.50% Vitamin E 0.54 mg 4% Vitamin K 7.9  µg 6.50% Electrolytes Sodium 5 mg less than 1% Potassium 237 mg 5% Minerals Calcium 10 mg 1% Iron 0.3 mg 4% Magnesium 11 mg 3% Manganese 0.15 mg 6.50% Phosphorus 24 mg 3% Zinc 0.17 mg 1.50% Phyto-nutrients Carotene-ß 449  µg — Carotene-ÃŽ ± 101  µg — Lutein-zeaxanthin 123  µg — Lycopene 2573  µg — COMPARATIVE CONTROL Organic and conventional tomatoes grown in Florida in December 2003 and January 2005 were harvested at the breaker stage and ripened at 20 ºC. When tomatoes were determined to be fully ripe by visual inspection, samples were collected for quality analyses (color, firmness, total soluble solids, pH and total acidity). In each year, no significant differences in color or total soluble solids were detected between treatments. In 2003, total acidity was the only quality parameter that differed significantly (0.40% vs. 0.44% total acidity) between conventional and organic fruit, respectivey. In 2005, conventional tomatoes had significantly higher soluble solids (4.4 vs. 4.0  °Brix) and were firmer (2.5 mm vs. 3.4 mm deformation) than organic fruit. Sensory evaluation (duo-trio test with balanced reference) was conducted in 2005 to determine whether consumers could perceive a difference between tomatoes grown conventionally or organically. Panelists could perceive a difference between conventional and organic tomatoes by smell or taste with high reliability (P