Food In China Research Articles

Designing effective front-of-package warning labels for prepackaged food in China:based on Delphi method

To design front-of-package warning labels for prepackaged food adapted to the Chinese context. Delphi method was used to evaluate the first graft of indicatorsof the front-of-package warning labels. The front-of-package warning labels suitable for China's national conditions was selected according to the direct scoring method. 4 sets of front-of-package warning labels for prepackaged food were selected after two rounds of Delphi expert method. The final draft of the front-of-package warning labels for prepackaged food is in line with expectations.

Evaluation of the front-of-package warning labels of prepackaged food in China based on focus group discussion

To understand the public's perceptions and preferences on the designed front-of-package warning labels of prepackaged food, and to evaluate and identify the effective warning label. A total of 116 participants were recruited from six provinces(autonomous regions/municipalities) in China. Focus group discussions were conducted with four types of warning labels on prepackaged food. And the score of attitude on different warning labels were compared. There was no difference in the total score of the four warning labels. Total score of black shield label was higher in citizen participants and college education level participants than in their respective counterparts(P<0.05). Parents or primary caregiver of children under 16 years old gave higher scores to each labels than their respective counterparts(P<0.05). The black shield label was most likely to attract the attention of the respondents, most likely to influence the decision on eating and drinking, and most likely to have an unhealthy warning effect. The yellow hexagonal label was least likely to attract the attention of the respondents, least likely to affect the decision to eat and drink food, and least likely to have an unhealthy warning effect. Black shield warning label is the most effective.

TCMQMS System: A digital twin and blockchain-based platform for tracing the whole process of Chinese medicine quality information

Traditional Chinese medicine is an important medicine and health food in China. In the process of making Chinese medicines, the main active ingredients of the medicines are highly dependent on the production environment due to the special physical characteristics of the medicines themselves. Any slight change in the environment can lead to changes in the active ingredients as well as the final efficacy, even affecting the patient treatment cycle, and this characteristic is not conducive to quality control by national drug quality regulators. In order to enhance the quality management of TCM, a blockchain and digital twin based whole process monitoring system for TCM quality is proposed: Traditional Chinese Medicine Quality Monitoring System (TCMQMS), in order to achieve a whole process, full scope and highly transparent TCM quality monitoring model for TCM production from the source of cultivation to the final patient. And. A blockchain platform based on Fabric blockchain data development platform as well as Sia distributed data storage was designed.
 With the help of Sia distributed storage technology, the amount of data storage is significantly compressed, which achieves the purpose of unifying the huge information data flow into the TCMQMS system and quickly building the system platform using the Fabric platform. In addition, in order to ensure that data is read and written in real time during the manufacturing and transportation of Chinese medicine, environmental sensors, such as temperature and humidity sensors, are placed in the Chinese medicine processing plant and in the transport sector. The environmental sensors, such as temperature and humidity sensors, are placed inside the Chinese medicine processing plants and transport vehicles. The environmental data is combined with the production data recorded by the TCMQMS system and sent to the digital twin TCM manufacturing simulation environment in real time, and through the simulation of the TCM manufacturing environment, the TCM quality environment parameters are continuously iteratively updated to be more suitable for production. This is coupled with real-time linkage with environmental sensors to achieve real-time adjustment of environmental parameters. In addition, the TCMQMS system records the entire process data, giving each data block a unique and tamper-proof hash value and CA certificate, so that when there is a possible quality problem, the hash value and CA certificate will be used to quickly trace the person responsible and the details of the environment in which the TCM was produced in real time. Finally, we present a real-life example of the use of the TCMQMS system to validate our proposed approach.

A Blockchain-Based Traceability Model for Grain and Oil Food Supply Chain.

The structure of the grain-and-oil-food-supply chain has the characteristics of complexity, cross-regionality, a long cycle, and numerous participants, making it difficult to maintain the safety of supply. In recent years, some phenomena have emerged in the field of grain procurement and sale, such as topping the new with the old, rotating grains, the pressure of grades and prices, and counterfeit oil food, which have seriously threatened grain-and-oil-food security. Blockchain technology has the advantage of decentralization and non-tampering Therefore, this study analyzes the characteristics of traceability data in the grain-and-oil-food-supply chain, and presents a blockchain-based traceability model for the grain-and-oil-food-supply chain. Firstly, a new method combining blockchain and machine learning is proposed to enhance the authenticity and reliability of blockchain source data by constructing anomalous data-processing models. In addition, a lightweight blockchain-storage method and a data-recovery mechanism are proposed to reduce the pressure on supply-chain-data storage and improve fault tolerance. The results indicate that the average query delay of public data is 0.42 s, the average query delay of private data is 0.88 s, and the average data-recovery delay is 1.2 s. Finally, a blockchain-based grain-and-oil-food-supply-chain traceability system is designed and built using Hyperledger Fabric. Compared with the existing grain-and-oil-food-supply chain, the model constructed achieves multi-source heterogeneous data uploading, lightweight storage, data recovery, and traceability in the supply chain, which are of great significance for ensuring the safety of grain-and-oil food in China.

Analysis and Prospect of Key Technology Applications in Unmanned Smart Farms

Due to the large agricultural population and limited arable land area, China's agriculture has always been based on small farms. However, with the gradual intensification of population aging and the advancement of urbanization, the agricultural labor force is now decreasing. In the future, China's food security will face the challenges of "who will cultivate land" and "how to cultivate land". One of the implementation paths to solve this problem is unmanned farm technology. This article systematically elaborates on the concept and technical architecture of unmanned farms, as well as key technologies such as infrastructure, operating equipment, data monitoring systems, and control service platforms, through the technical practice of unmanned farms in Jiading District, Shanghai. It deeply explores the development of unmanned farms and has certain guiding significance for the development of unmanned farms.

Large-scale production: A possible way to the balance between feed grain security and meat security in China

Food security as a national strategy, closely links to China's economic progress, people's livelihoods and social harmony. The balance between feed grain security and meat security remains a key unresolved issue that significantly impacts China's integral food security goal. In this study, we first apply food security index to demonstrate the efficacy of the self-sufficiency rate as an indicator for evaluating the food security situation, and then evaluate meat security and feed grain security with self-sufficiency rate, as well as explore their production challenges and successful long-term development experiences based on related agricultural data. We find that the burgeoning meat consumption has made feed grains a “rigid demand”, among which pork and soybean are critical parts. Pork consumption accounts for over 65% of total meat consumption in 2020, but its self-sufficient rate is waning. Moreover, the self-sufficiency rate of soybean is as low as 0.15, and a great unit yield gap between China and the United States. However, the current production patterns have already reached their attainable potential in production efficiency due to the declining growth rate of unit yield, which also pose challenges for improving production efficiency and domestic supply of soybean. According to the projection by FAO-OECD, the growth rate of unit yield of soybean will remain stagnant from 2020 to 2030. Furthermore, the percentage of medium-scale and large-scale pig farms is remarkably low, accounting for only 0.578% and 0.013%, respectively. Further analysis indicates that large-scale production in soybean and pig industry offers notable advantages in improving production efficiency and reducing feed consumption. Finally, based on factors such as soybean sowing area, regions with high pig slaughter and scale farms, farm size and the pig regional development planning, we propose the integration of soybean-pig in large-scale production in selected possible provinces, which has the potential to improve the production efficiency of soybean and pig, to strike a balance between feed grain security and meat security. This study has practical significance in optimizing the production space of feed grains and livestock products, to improve production capability and ensure China's food security.

Cronobacter spp. Isolated from Quick-Frozen Foods in China: Incidence, Genetic Characteristics, and Antibiotic Resistance.

Cronobacter spp. are emerging foodborne pathogens that cause severe diseases. However, information on Cronobacter contamination in quick-frozen foods in China is limited. Therefore, we studied the prevalence, molecular characterization, and antimicrobial susceptibility of Cronobacter in 576 quick-frozen food samples collected from 39 cities in China. Cronobacter spp. were found in 18.75% (108/576) of the samples, and the contamination degree of the total positive samples was 5.82 MPN/g. The contamination level of frozen flour product samples was high (44.34%). Among 154 isolates, 109 were C. sakazakii, and the main serotype was C. sakazakii O1 (44/154). Additionally, 11 serotypes existed among four species. Eighty-five sequence types (STs), including 22 novel ones, were assigned, indicating a relatively high genetic diversity of the Cronobacter in this food type. Pathogenic ST148, ST7, and ST1 were the main STs in this study. ST4, epidemiologically related to neonatal meningitis, was also identified. All strains were sensitive to cefepime, tobramycin, ciprofloxacin, and imipenem, in which the resistance to cephalothin was the highest (64.94%).Two isolates exhibited multidrug resistance to five and seven antimicrobial agents, respectively. In conclusion, these findings suggest that the comparatively high contamination level of Cronobacter spp. in quick-frozen foods is a potential risk warranting public attention.

Analysis of Land Degradation and Its Impact on China's Food Security

Land degradation is an important problem facing the world. China's attention and scientific research on land degradation started relatively late, and it is still in the process of understanding and deepening in many aspects. Important scientific issues such as the concept of land degradation, the causes and classification of degradation, the monitoring indicators and means of degradation, the evaluation system and the early warning mechanism are still in the early stage of discussion, and the academic circles at home and abroad are still in the stage of controversial exploration in many aspects, and no general consensus has been formed so far. Therefore, through the research and analysis of domestic and foreign literature, this paper summarized the meaning of land degradation, analyzed the current situation of land degradation research and the impact of land degradation on China's food security, in order to provide scientific basis for land degradation prevention and management, and provide decision-making basis for improving the quantity and quality of arable land in China and ensuring food security.

Relational proximity: The search for local food in China

ABSTRACT In the West, the local food movement began with the hope of constructing sustainable food systems, but the philosophy’s actual impact must be examined in specific sociocultural contexts. Focusing on the daily food practices of consumers in Guangzhou, China, this study explores how Chinese consumers define, understand, and experience local food, the characteristics of local food initiatives in China, and their multifaced impacts on social sustainability. The results show that Guangzhou consumers actively seek out local food and even become involved in the production, a highly effective strategy for addressing food quality challenges. Consumer perspectives on local food can be grouped into three categories: placed-based native food, culture-based hometown food, and value-based ecological food, with localness conferred by the pathways of visceral experience, cultural heritage, and value identity. The study argues that, theoretically, the definition of local food should transcend geographical boundaries and incorporate relational proximities among consumer bodies, places, cultures, and producers as robust parameters. Practically, consumer-led local food initiatives promote social sustainability at different levels by alleviating people’s diverse food anxieties and connecting various communities. They also demonstrate the possibility of solidifying the urban-rural nexus, but efforts to motivate broad public participation and institutional support are needed.

Interactions between endophytic fungus Pestalotiopsis sp. DO14 and Dendrobium catenatum: Deciphering plant polysaccharide and flavonoid accumulation and underlying mechanisms by comparative transcriptome and metabolome analyses

Dendrobium catenatum, which belongs to the Orchidaceae family, has been used as a traditional medicine and healthy food in China for over 2000 years, and is of enormous economic value. Polysaccharides and flavonoids are two major functional ingredients in D. catenatum stems that contribute to its health benefits. D. catenatum lives in close association with endophytic fungi, but the literature regarding the further relations between them, especially the fungal-induced accumulation of metabolites in the host plant, is sparse. Our previous study showed that Pestalotiopsis sp. DO14 isolated from D. catenatum improved the host plant growth and metabolite accumulation. This study was performed to investigate dynamic variations of the growth traits, key metabolites (polysaccharides and flavonoids), and expression of key genes of D. catenatum under conditions of the DO14 colonization. Colonization with DO14 promoted D. catenatum growth as indicated by increased leaf area, mid-stem thickness, and plant height. The content of polysaccharides, mannose, and sucrose increased even without DO14 entering the host cells or forming a mature symbiotic relationship concurrent with improved photosynthesis rate. Furthermore, DO14 induced upregulation of genes involved in sugar and flavonoid metabolism, especially phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PCKA), chalcone synthase (CHS) and UDP-glycose flavonoid glycosyltransferase (UFGT). These observations suggested that endophytic fungi induce the accumulation of polysaccharides and flavonoids by plants, increasing the efficiency of carbon assimilation and carbon turnover. The findings of this study provide insight into the mechanisms underlying Orchidaceae–endophyte interactions, and suggest potential novel applications of endophytic fungi in D. catenatum breeding to improved plant quality.

Effects of coarse cereals on dough and Chinese steamed bread - a review.

Chinese steamed breads (CSBs) are long-established staple foods in China. To enhance the nutritional value, coarse cereals such as oats, buckwheat, and quinoa have been added to the formulation for making CSBs. This review presents the nutritional value of various coarse cereals and analyses the interactions between the functional components of coarse cereals in the dough. The addition of coarse cereals leads to changes in the rheological, fermentation, and pasting aging properties of the dough, which further deteriorates the appearance and texture of CSBs. This review can provide some suggestions and guidelines for the production of staple and nutritious staple foods.

Study of Different Types of Fermentation in Wine-Making Process and Considering Aromatic Substances and Organic Acid.

Fermentation is being utilized since ages as a safe process for food preservation. Fermentation in winemaking is the process which converts grapes juice into wine. Alcoholic fermentation is the principle for the manufacturing of alcoholic beverages like wine and beer. Several by-products are produced by the alcoholic fermentation of organic carbon sources by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The secondary bacterial fermentation is malolactic fermentation which is carried out in most red and some kinds of white wines. Malolactic fermentation causes acid reduction, flavor modification, and also is accountable for microbial stability. The present searching was carried out by the keywords in major indexing systems including PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Institute for Scientific Web of Science and the search engine of Google Scholar. The keywords were alcoholic fermentation, malolactic fermentation, bottle fermentation, carbonic maceration, Saccharomyces, Lactobacillus, Oenococcus oeni, aromatic substances, flavour quality, terpenes, esters, lactones, aldehydes, organic acid, pyrazines, mercaptans, and traditional fermented food. This review was done to highlight the significance, and introduce different kinds of fermentations carried out in wine-making process, specially alcoholic and malolactic fermentation, survey on aromatic substances, flavour quality, and organic acids, and introduce the most notable traditional fermented food in China.

Research on immature wheat harvesting behavior of farmers from the perspective of food security: An evolutionary game based analysis

Food security constitutes a foundational cornerstone for social stability, with the achievement of sustainable agricultural production serving as a vital step towards this objective. Currently, the untimely harvesting of unripe wheat by farmers has led to a decline in food production, thereby posing a significant threat to the sustainability of China's food system and exacerbating food insecurity. Although the Chinese government has implemented various measures in response, their effectiveness has been limited. Limited scholarly literature exists on this particular issue. To advance food security in China, this study develops a tripartite evolutionary game model involving farmers, the government, and breeding enterprises. Adopting a systemic perspective, this study examines the interactions and impact mechanisms among these key actors during the wheat harvesting process. The findings indicate that the government should prioritize policies that enforce penalties. By implementing penalties within a reasonable range, the government can mitigate farmers' production costs and enhance the market price of grain. This approach discourages farmers from harvesting immature wheat and contributes to enhancing food security. Based on the research findings, this paper provides practical recommendations to guide the government in addressing food security governance issues.

Cost-effectiveness analysis of anlotinib as a third-line or further treatment for advanced non-small cell lung cancer in China.

The health expenditure on treatment of advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is enormous, especially in third-line or further therapy. Cost-effectiveness analysis for the treatment of advanced NSCLC is particularly important. Anlotinib has been approved by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) for the third-line or further treatment of advanced NSCLC. The price of anlotinib in China fell in 2022. Thus, this study evaluated the cost-effectiveness of anlotinib in the third-line or further treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC based on the newest price from the Chinese health-care system perspective. A Markov model was developed to compare the lifetime costs and effectiveness of anlotinib and a placebo in the third-line or further treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC based on outcome data from the ALTER 0303 phase-3 randomized clinical trial, which included 437 patients with advanced NSCLC and investigated the efficacy of anlotinib. The lifetime costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) were estimated. One-way and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were performed to evaluate the model uncertainty. Anlotinib provided an additional 0.1161 QALYs compared to the placebo. The corresponding incremental cost was ¥22,729. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of anlotinib compared to the placebo was ¥195,768 per QALY. From the perspective of the Chinese health-care system, anlotinib was found to be cost-effective compared to the placebo in the third-line or further treatment of patients with advanced NSCLC at a willingness-to-pay (WTP) threshold of ¥242,928 per QALY. Moreover, 1-way sensitivity analysis found that the results were sensitive to the utility of progressive disease (PD). The lower this parameter was, the higher the probability of ICER for anlotinib not being cost-effective. The cost-effectiveness acceptability curves showed that the base-case analysis results were relatively stable. Considering the clinical efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness of anlotinib, it may be a valuable third-line or further treatment for advanced NSCLC in China.

Agricultural Food System Transformation on China's Food Security.

Different countries and regions in the world are experiencing structural transformation of the agri-food system, which is represented by the increase of meat and feed consumption. Based on a detailed review of the global and China's agri-food system transformation, this paper constructs an analytical framework of the impact of agri-food system transformation on food security and discusses the food security issues in China after 2000. The results show that the proportion of the dimension of agri-food system transformation in the food security index has a significant downward trend, and its positive effect on food security is decreasing. At the same time, due to the growth in demand for meat during the transformation of the agri-food system, China imports a large number of feed grains such as soybean and corn, leading to a decline in domestic food self-sufficiency. Furthermore, the coupling coordination degree between China's agri-food system transformation and food quantity security decreases, and their development tends to deviate. In the future, increasing the consumption of grain-saving poultry and curbing table waste are feasible strategies for China to cope with the transformation of agri-food system and ensure food security. China's problems and solutions in facing the transformation of its agri-food system can provide some references for other developing countries.

Over-Expression of ZmIAA29, an AUX/IAA Transcription Factor, Improved Maize Flowering Time

Maize is one of the most important food and feed crops in China due to the high demand for its use by both humans and animals. The Huang-Huai-Hai region is a major maize cultivation area in China, and the special cropping rotation system of wheat and maize requires a suitable reproductive period for maize. The AUX/IAA and ARF transcription factors are two key genes that regulate auxin signals in plants, which play an important role during the process of auxin regulation in plant growth and development. In this study, we obtained two overexpressed lines of ZmIAA29 belonging to the AUX/IAA transcription factor family. Compared with the Wide type, the overexpressed strains of ZmIAA29 were significantly regulated in maize during the flowering time and had increased ear weight. Moreover, ZmIAA29 was assayed via the yeast two-hybrid and BiLUC systems for interaction, and the results showed that ZmIAA29 interacted with several ZmARF transcription factors. Furthermore, RNA-seq and DAP-seq analysis revealed that ZmIAA29 regulates maize growth and development by influencing pathways such as those for plant signal transduction and the key genes related to maize flowering. Taken together, our results suggest that ZmIAA29 plays a key role in the development of maize flowering. This study provides new insight for better understanding the combined regulation of the AUX/IAA and ARF transcription factors during flowering time in maize.

Suanyu fermentation strains screening, process optimization and the effect of thermal processing methods on its flavor

Suanyu is a famous traditional fermented aquatic food in south China. However, the quality of Suanyu is unstable due to natural fermentation based on the environment. This work screened suitable microbial fermenters (Enterococcus rivorum and Enterococcus lactis) from traditional fermented fish and optimized a suitable fermentation process. Effects of different fermentation (natural and mixed starters fermentation) and thermal treatments (microwave, frying and roasting) on the flavor of Suanyu were investigated. Compared to the natural fermentation group, the TVB-N content (31.5 mg/100 g) was lower, the total acidity (5.12 g/kg) and flavor compounds content were richer in the mixed starters fermentation group (P < 0.05). But there was no significant difference in histamine content (P > 0.05). The roasting treatment group contained higher contents of free amino acids, organic acids, nucleotides and richer key aroma components. The electronic nose was able to distinguish between the differently treated samples. The sensory evaluation result showed that roasted and fried samples had a more acceptable flavor and color. This work will provide a theoretical reference for the standardized production of Suanyu and the development of pre-cooked products.

Effect of preserved eggs on the health of SD rats, and anti-tumor action of HT-29 cells.

Preserved eggs are traditional alkali-pickled food in China and have been enjoyed by consumers and extensively studied by researchers for their nutritional tastes and their anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, lipid-lowering, and blood pressure-lowering properties. To study the anti-tumor effects of preserved eggs, this project observed the health on rats, and anti-tumor effects and separated anti-tumor active components on HT-29 cells. SD rats fed for 80 days showed that preserved eggs had no significant effect on weight, food intake, blood pH, liver tissues, or organ indices. Preserved eggs significantly increased blood levels of oxidative stress markers SOD and CAT, decreased MDA levels by 0.46, 0.23, and 0.25 times. Moreover, they also increased the level of IL-2 from 1233 to 1340 pg/mL. Two water-soluble bioactive peptide fractions, B1 and B2, with molecular weights ≥10 kDa were further obtained from preserved eggs by ultrafiltration and Superdex Peptide 10/300 GL. The potential mechanism of B1 and B2 is to activate the internal mitochondrial apoptotic pathway and induce apoptosis by up-regulating the expression of the pro-apoptotic factors cytochrome C, caspase-3, and caspase-9 mRNA in HT-29 cells.

Evolutionary game analysis for multi-level collaborative governance under public crisis in China: From a value perception perspective.

In a risk society, the survival and development of humans are facing threats of complex and severe public crisis events. Public participation in collaborative governance (CG) of public crisis events is increasingly recognized as an important direction for the reform of the current and future emergency management system. Previous studies of CG have mainly focused on the macro level and ignored to address micro-level discussions of the behavioral strategy evolution of stakeholders. From a fresh value perception perspective, this study constructs an evolutionary game model to clarify the evolution mechanism of multi-level emergency CG. First, the value perception model is built based on Prospect Theory and Mental Accounting to optimize the traditional game matrix. Second, the evolutionary stability is analyzed to solve the system evolution law. Finally, numerical simulation is conducted in the case of Heilongjiang province, a main region of food and energy supply in China. Results showed that (1) the CG game system has a complex evolutionary path; (2) the behavior of game players is affected by perceived incomes and perceived costs; (3) compared with the reference value and the risk aversion coefficient of income accounts, game players are more sensitive to that of cost accounts; (4) enhancing the perceived value of public psychological satisfaction and government reputation is helpful for the long-term construction of CG. Overall, this study aims to highlight the potential utility of value perception in promoting effective implementations of CG and to provide new insights for the development of CG in China and other countries.

The Impact of Entrepreneurship, Leadership, Business Characteristics, and Marketing Strategies on the SMEs Food Business's Performance in China

Background and Aim: The researcher examines SMEs entrepreneurship, leadership, firm characteristics, and marketing strategy in China's food business, aiming to improve performance and growth. The study aims to guide agencies in policy planning and development, enhancing competitiveness in the short and long term. Materials and Methods: This quantitative research examines SMEs food business entrepreneurs in China who received 615 certification standards from the Central Islamic Committee and Provincial Islamic Committees. Cronbach's reliability analysis is used to test the hypothesis. Results: The research hypothesis test confirms that SMEs entrepreneurship influences performance, marketing strategy, firm characteristics, leadership, and performance in China's SMEs food business. The analysis of structural equation models reveals that entrepreneurship, marketing strategy, firm characteristics, leadership, and performance are all influenced by these factors. The results are consistent with empirical data, highlighting the importance of entrepreneurship, leadership, firm characteristics, and marketing strategy in SMEs food businesses. Conclusion: The research hypothesis test confirms that SMEs entrepreneurship impacts performance, marketing strategy, firm characteristics, leadership, and performance in China's SMEs food business, emphasizing the importance of these factors. This research examines the impact of entrepreneurship, leadership, firm characteristics, and marketing strategy on SMEs food business performance in China. It aims to improve operational plans, enhance competitiveness, and create a production base for quality products in ASEAN and global markets.