Food Marketplace Research Articles

Curating the quest for ‘good food’: The practices, spatial dynamics and influence of food-related curation in Sweden

What is ‘good food’? Is it fair trade, local, organic or ethically produced? With an ever-expanding array of products and ‘qualities’ to consider, consumers in the global North may find it increasingly difficult and time-consuming to make the ‘right’ choices. As a result, a range of intermediaries, including food apps and collective buying groups, are emerging to support and influence people with their food choices. While intermediation refers to all activities linking producers and consumers, this paper narrows the focus and considers one important, yet poorly understood, intermediary function within the food marketplace: ‘curation’. Although the concept of curation has long been associated with museums and art worlds, curatorial practices are evolving in the contemporary marketplace and are performed by a growing range of actors operating in physical, temporary and virtual spaces. Rather than acting as brokers or gatekeepers, curators interpret, translate and shape the marketplace by sorting, organising, evaluating and ascribing value(s) to specific products. They also offer general and personalised recommendations to consumers. Although the literature on local food privileges the direct relations between producers and consumers, this paper considers the important role of intermediaries. Drawing on interviews and participant observation in Sweden it contributes to the existing literature on curation by examining the spatial dynamics and nature of curatorial practices, the motivations behind them and the values they create for consumers. The findings demonstrate that a range of activities can be understood as curation and that in order to nuance and extend existing conceptualisations of curation a wider and more dynamic range of actors (food apps), spaces (blogs) and values such as inspiration, convenience and sense of community need to be considered.

Removal of Heavy Metal Contamination from Peanut Skin Extracts by Waste Biomass Adsorption

AbstractPeanut skins are a processing waste product with potential as a low‐cost source of polyphenols for nutraceutical or functional food ingredient use. Aqueous extractions of peanut skins and subsequent concentration of these extracts can result in normally innocuous levels of heavy metals present to be increased to concentrations of human health concern. Adsorption utilizing waste biomasses is a promising method of removing these contaminants from extracts. Peanut hulls and chitosan cross‐linked beads were evaluated as possible adsorbents. The Langmuir adsorption model determined that peanut hulls were the more effective material. Peanut hulls removed 88.6 ± 1.9% of the cadmium present. Apparent removal of arsenic (21.7 ± 9.5%) showed no correlation to adsorbent dosage. Successful removal of cadmium without reduction of the phenolic content of the extracts showed that this strategy is effective for heavy metal remediation of peanut skin extracts, making them a viable source of antioxidants in food applications.Practical ApplicationsPolyphenols are a rapidly increasing portion of the nutraceutical and functional food marketplace. Peanut skins are a waste product from the peanut blanching and roasting industry which have potential as a low‐cost source of polyphenols. Extraction and concentration of peanut skin extracts can cause normally innocuous levels of the heavy metal content to be increased to concentrations of concern. Adsorption utilizing waste biomasses is a promising method of removing contaminants from extracts. The present study developed peanut hulls as a possible adsorbent material for the remediation of peanut skin extracts. The results of this study will be useful to peanut growers and shellers to develop new ingredient applications for peanut skin polyphenol extracts.

Consumer consumption intentions of smaller packaged snack variants

AbstractSmaller snack package variants are ubiquitous in the food marketplace. Although it is assumed that consumers intend to consume less because snacks are placed into smaller packages, consumer intentions are never measured. This research examines dietary‐restrained consumers' consumption intentions of smaller snack package variants found in the marketplace described by snack type (i.e. less healthy, more healthy – as per Guiding Stars® food labelling system) and front‐of‐package calorie labelling (99 calories, 100 calories). We conducted an online experiment wherein 203 participants were exposed to the aforementioned snack package variants and their consumption intentions were subsequently measured. A regression analysis revealed that consumers who are highly dietary restrained intend to consume more when (a) the snack is relatively healthier and (b) it includes 99‐calorie front‐of‐package labelling. We discuss the idea that dietary‐restrained consumers are not likely to view smaller packaged snacks as portion control devices, but rather, as a means to eat more of a healthier food.

Korean Food Exchange Lists for Diabetes: Revised 2010

A food exchange system for diabetes is a useful tool for meal planning and nutritional education. The first edition of the Korean food exchange lists was developed in 1988 and the second edition was revised in 1995. With recent changes in the food marketplace and eating patterns of Koreans, the third edition of food exchange lists was revised in 2010 by the Korean Diabetes Association, the Korean Nutrition Society, the Korean Society of Community Nutrition, the Korean Dietetic Association and the Korean Association of Diabetes Dietetic Educators through a joint research effort. The third edition is based on nutritional recommendations for people with diabetes and focuses on adding foods to implement personalized nutrition therapy considering individual preferences in diverse dietary environment. Foods were selected based on scientific evidence including the 2007 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data analysis and survey responses from 53 diabetes dietetic educators. While a few foods were deleted, a number of foods were added, with 313 food items in food group lists and 339 food items in the appendix. Consistent with previous editions, the third edition of the food exchange lists included six food categories (grains, meat, vegetables, fats and oils, milk, and fruits). The milk group was subdivided into whole milk group and low fat milk. The standard nutrient content in one exchange from each food group was almost the same as the previous edition. Korea Food & Drug Administration’s FANTASY (Food And Nutrient daTA SYstem) database was used to obtain nutrient values for each individual food and to determine the serving size most appropriate for matching reference nutrients values by each food group. The revised food exchange lists were subjected to a public hearing by experts. The third edition of the food exchange lists will be a helpful tool for educating people with diabetes to select the kinds and amounts of foods for glycemic control, which will eventually lead to preventing complications while maintaining the pleasure of eating. (Korean J Nutr 2011; 44(6): 577 ~ 591)

Korean Food Exchange Lists for Diabetes: Revised 2010

A food exchange system for diabetes is a useful tool for meal planning and nutritional education. The first edition of the Korean food exchange lists was developed in 1988 and the second edition was revised in 1995. With recent changes in the food marketplace and eating patterns of Koreans, the third edition of food exchange lists was revised in 2010 by the Korean Diabetes Association, the Korean Nutrition Society, the Korean Society of Community Nutrition, the Korean Dietetic Association and the Korean Association of Diabetes Dietetic Educators through a joint research effort. The third edition is based on nutritional recommendations for people with diabetes and focuses on adding foods to implement personalized nutrition therapy considering individual preferences in diverse dietary environment. Foods were selected based on scientific evidence including the 2007 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data analysis and survey responses from 53 diabetes dietetic educators. While a few foods were deleted, a number of foods were added, with 313 food items in food group lists and 339 food items in the appendix. Consistent with previous editions, the third edition of the food exchange lists included six food categories (grains, meat, vegetables, fats and oils, milk, and fruits). The milk group was subdivided into whole milk group and low fat milk. The standard nutrient content in one exchange from each food group was almost the same as the previous edition. Korea Food & Drug Administration’s FANTASY (Food And Nutrient daTA SYstem) database was used to obtain nutrient values for each individual food and to determine the serving size most appropriate for matching reference nutrients values by each food group. The revised food exchange lists were subjected to a public hearing by experts. The third edition of the food exchange lists will be a helpful tool for educating people with diabetes to select the kinds and amounts of foods for glycemic control, which will eventually lead to preventing complications while maintaining the pleasure of eating. (Korean J Nutr 2011; 44(6): 577 ~ 591)

EXTENDING SHELF LIFE OF FRESH-CUT PERSIMMON BY HONEY SOLUTION DIPS

ABSTRACT Ripe persimmon fruit (Diospyros kaki L) cv. “Hachiya” were diced, then treated with 10–20% w/v diluted honey solution or water as the control, followed by cold storage at 4C until loss of acceptable quality. The persimmon cubes were subject to assessments during the storage of organoleptic and visual quality, softness and exuding juice, soluble solids content (SSC), and absorbance at 436, 440, 675 and 760 nm, respectively. Honey treatments prevented off-aroma development and delayed jelling. Softness and exuding juice of the fresh-cut persimmon cubes increased with time, with the increase in both parameters being significantly suppressed by honey solution dips. Changes in SSC, pH and the absorbance at 436, 440, 675 and 760 nm, respectively, during storage were minor and there was little effect of the honey treatments on these parameters. Overall, the shelf life of fresh-cut persimmon cubes was extended by honey solution dips, which delayed off-aroma development, firmness loss and jelling. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS New products and changing trends make today's food marketplace alive, and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables seem to be on top of list of these products. Although fresh-cut produce has been on the market for a long time, preserving their quality attributes has not been completely successful especially in the case of fruit. This study focuses on a new alternative fresh-cut produce, fresh-cut persimmon, with adapting a potentially safe organic method, use of honey dips. The present study demonstrated that honey solution dip treatments could preserve the fresh-like quality of typical flavor or aroma of persimmon fruit by causing no changes in aroma and taste attributes and extending shelf life. Therefore, honey dip treatment may be used, depending on commodity, to preserve and extend shelf life of fresh-cut produce in fresh-cut processing industry.

Environmental impacts of organic agriculture: A Canadian perspective

Canada, in 2009, will enact a regulatory regime to oversee certified organic agricultural productions systems, based on a management standard. The overreaching goal of that standard is to develop farm enterprises that are “sustainable and harmonious with the environment”. However, empirical evidence to shed light on claims of environmental benefits from organic agriculture is particularly scarce in Canada and North America generally, and has not been comprehensively summarized. This review examines the literature of Canadian and US studies which relate to environmental impacts of organic agriculture within the selected indicators of: (i) soil organic matter storage and soil quality/soil health; (ii) plant and wildlife biodiversity; (iii) energy use; (iv) nutrient loading and off-farm nutrient losses; and (v) climate change and greenhouse gas emissions. The empirical evidence presented suggests organic farming system attributes regarding cropping, floral, and habitat diversity, nutrient intensity, soil management, energy and pesticide use, etc., are sufficiently distinct as to impart potentially important environmental benefits across the indicator categories examined. However, on average, crop yields under organic management regimes continue to lag behind those obtained by conventional management systems. More research is needed to validate these results, for the benefit of producers, consumers and policy makers as they decide the relative importance and contribution of organic farming systems to the Canadian food marketplace and agrifood sector. Key words: Organic agriculture, farming system, soil, biodiversity, energy, greenhouse gases

Reading the Real: An Illustrated Tour of Montreal’s Marché Jean-Talon

The slogan of Montreal's Marché Jean-Talon is "When country comes to town." An afternoon stroll through the city's largest public food market suggests that the word applies in both senses: country, as in the rural landscape, and country, as in the nations of the world. In surveying the cornucopia of place-based messages that greet potential shoppers, this paper positions the farmers’ market as a site for the consumption of authentic and authenticated foods, and thus a suitable microcosm for the exploration of larger issues related to consumer trends towards provenance purchasing, origin labelling, and the promotion of place as the primary marker of alimentary authenticity in the wider food marketplace.

Choose Your Foods: Exchange Lists for Diabetes: The 2008 Revision of Exchange Lists for Meal Planning

Medical nutrition therapy (MNT) for diabetes has undergone many changes since 1550 BC when the Papyrus Ebers noted that “wheat grains, grits, grapes, and sweet beer” were the foods of choice for those who needed to “eliminate urine which is too plentiful,” the earliest known reference to diabetes mellitus.1 Exchange Lists for Meal Planning , a well-known nutrition resource for individuals with diabetes since 1950,2 has been designed as a diabetes nutrition education tool that places foods into groups that can be “exchanged” or traded within a group because of their similar nutrient content. Exchange Lists for Meal Planning has undergone revisions as advances in nutrition recommendations have occurred through the years.3–5 In its most recent version, the 2008 Exchange Lists for Meal Planning has been given a new title, Choose Your Foods: Exchange Lists for Diabetes ,6 and an updated look grounded in evidence-based nutrition recommendations for individuals with diabetes, as well as changes in the food marketplace and the eating patterns of Americans (Figure 1). Figure 1. Cover of Choose Your Foods: Exchange Lists for Diabetes MNT is an integral part of diabetes prevention and management and is best provided by a registered dietitian. Clinical trials and outcome studies of MNT have reported decreases in A1C of ∼1% in type 1 diabetes and 1–2% in type 2 diabetes, depending on the duration of diabetes.7,8 The American Diabetes Association (ADA) has updated its nutrition recommendations,9 and the American Dietetic Association recently updated and expanded the Evidence Analysis Library (www.adaevidencelibrary.com) recommendations for type 1 and type 2 diabetes.10 The goals of MNT for individuals at risk for diabetes or who have pre-diabetes are to decrease the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD) by promoting healthy food choices and physical activity …

Looking into the future of foods and health

The health of the population is compromised by poor dietary choices. Resolving this situation will require a substantial investment at many levels of science, agriculture and food industrialisation. If such investments are undertaken they will provide the opportunity to change the food marketplace from a product centric, to a consumer centric, strategy competing to deliver health benefits to individuals.

Evidence for Health Claims on Foods: How Much is Enough? Introduction and General Remarks

Through advances in clinical trial design, analytical methodologies for assessing the nature and level of the bioactive constituents, and establishment of processes for systematic assessment of available literature, health claims on foods are becoming increasingly recognized as important and consequently are being legally regulated in more and more countries around the world. Legislation pioneered largely in Japan began to emerge in the 1980s to bring some systematization to the issue of how much data are required to substantiate a claim for a given dietary agent in order to improve a function and/or modify physiological processes in a manner consistent with the attenuation of disease risk. Various jurisdictions around the globe have now developed series of systematic approaches for reviewing scientific data and ascribing linkages between dietary ingredients and disease risk reduction, as well as performance and well-being, with the common objectives of identifying the threshold of scientific evidence needed to substantiate an authoritative statement to the general public in the form of a label claim for a given marketed food product. This process of systematic assessment of scientific evidence linking functional ingredients to health through the use of health claims on foods possesses potential benefits for several stakeholders. First, the individual consumer profits from guidance on which foods and food ingredients possess the potential to reduce risk of degenerative disease, improve longevity, and reduce dependence on pharmaceuticals. Second, health care service providers enjoy reduced operating costs resulting from a healthier population with reduced requirements for drugs. Third, corporations profit from improved market share, subsequent to increased appeal and penetration of products bearing health claims within the food marketplace. Fourth, food producers profit from higher commodity prices obtained from food constituents with added health value. Last, research activity in the agriculture-food-health continuum ensures continued livelihood and activity of scientists and technologists, thus improving food-related bioproducts. As a result, this supplement, which captures the proceedings of a symposium held at the Canadian Nutrition Congress meeting in Winnipeg, Canada, June 21, 2007, endeavors to achieve 2 objectives. In the first part, Global Assessment of Health Claims Frameworks, a cross-jurisdictional review is undertaken, profiling the history and current state of the art regarding legislative and scientific processes for establishment of health claims on foods. The second part, Evidence-Based Review of Health Claims on Bioactives in Foods, gives examples of how specific functional ingredients have dealt with complex science issues that need to be addressed for the establishment of health claims.

Choose Your Foods: Exchange Lists for Diabetes, Sixth Edition, 2008: Description and Guidelines for Use

Choose Your Foods: Exchange Lists for Diabetes (formerly Exchange Lists for Meal Planning), a booklet used to help people with diabetes plan meals, has been in existence for more than 50 years. Planning for the fifth revision was guided by survey responses from >3,000 registered dietitians and other health professionals, current diabetes management and nutrition recommendations, and the food marketplace. In addition to a name change, major changes were made in design and overall readability. Changes within food groupings and the addition of a number of foods (mainly ethnic/regional) were accomplished while maintaining the well-recognized and accepted mean macronutrient and energy values of the basic lists. As with previous editions, this publication is intended as a resource for use by individuals with diabetes, with the guidance of a registered dietitian. This booklet is also intended to be used as a basis for nutrition educational materials developed by the American Dietetic Association and American Diabetes Association (eg, carbohydrate counting, weight management) and as a method for students and others to learn about diabetes meal planning. Practical guidelines for use of this updated resource for meal planning (eg, sugar alcohols, dietary fiber, and alcohol) are also presented.

Utilization of Soybeans and Their Components through the Development of Textured Soy Protein Foods

Textured soy protein (TSP), an extruded and fibrous-structured product, is mainly used as meat analog or extender. Meat alternatives are third in sales in the U.S. soy food marketplace. A primary problem that limits the incorporation of more TSP into products is the undesirable "beany" flavor. The objective of this study was to develop the best formulation of TSP and vegetable-based flavors to produce consumer acceptable "chicken" or "shrimp" flavored TSP using heat application processes. Four different types of commercial TSP (containing an average of 51% protein) strip-shaped extruded with a narrow die (STRIP-N) or with a wider die (STRIP-W), shred-shaped (SHRED) strips, and 1-cm crouton-shaped bits (BITs) were used. The TSPs were baked or deep-fat fried after soaking in 5 different commercial vegetable-based powered, liquid, or oil-based flavors ranged from 0% to 22.3% concentrations. Four descriptive analyses with a minimum of 14 trained panelists were utilized to evaluate the attributes of the finished TSP. Proximate, color, and texture analyses were performed on each TSP product. All treatments were statistically analyzed. Both instrumental and sensory tests demonstrated that BIT had a significantly higher crispness than other TSP. The powder type of chicken flavor used for a consumer panel had a more intense flavor than others with the optimum hydration time, 15 min. A consumer test with 125 people was performed with the highest chicken flavored (22.3%) fried and baked BIT. Overall, 66% of the total consumers preferred the fried BIT to the baked BIT, and 31% preferred the baked BIT.

Composition, Structure and Absorption of Milk Lipids: A Source of Energy, Fat-Soluble Nutrients and Bioactive Molecules

Milkfat is a remarkable source of energy, fat-soluble nutrients and bioactive lipids for mammals. The composition and content of lipids in milkfat vary widely among mammalian species. Milkfat is not only a source of bioactive lipid components, it also serves as an important delivery medium for nutrients, including the fat-soluble vitamins. Bioactive lipids in milk include triacylglycerides, diacylglycerides, saturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids, and phospholipids. Beneficial activities of milk lipids include anticancer, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immunosuppression properties. The major mammalian milk that is consumed by humans as a food commodity is that from bovine whose milkfat composition is distinct due to their diet and the presence of a rumen. As a result of these factors bovine milkfat is lower in polyunsaturated fatty acids and higher in saturated fatty acids than human milk, and the consequences of these differences are still being researched. The physical properties of bovine milkfat that result from its composition including its plasticity, make it a highly desirable commodity (butter) and food ingredient. Among the 12 major milk fatty acids, only three (lauric, myristic, and palmitic) have been associated with raising total cholesterol levels in plasma, but their individual effects are variable—both towards raising low-density lipoproteins and raising the level of beneficial high-density lipoproteins. The cholesterol-modifying response of individuals to consuming saturated fats is also variable, and therefore the composition, functions and biological properties of milkfat will need to be re-evaluated as the food marketplace moves increasingly towards more personalized diets.

FUNCTIONAL FOODS–NEW PERSPECTIVES

ABSTRACT The Functional Foods Division Symposium of the Canadian Institute of Food Science and Technology held a sector-wide conference in June 2001 to examine marketplace dynamics in two important export markets, the USA and the EU, and, recent developments in the Canadian functional food regulatory regime. without adequate support of marketing elements such as merchandising, distribution and consumer ease of use. Moreover, a dynamic and rapidly growing functional food marketplace exists in the EU, despite suppressive regulatory regimes in many member countries and a number of controlling forces such as inadequate communication strategies and inappropriate pricing. The symposium's conclusion is that excellent marketing, coupled with well planned business development research such as consumer behaviour and attitude studies and well-executed clinical trials, will fare better for a new functional food than a favourable regulatory regime alone.

Preharvest Marketing Issues

Consumers of animal-derived foods continue to pressure suppliers of these foods on issues of food safety, environmental stewardship, and animal welfare. It is a marketing reality that consumers will not buy products that have a reasonable chance of making them ill. Food safety is paramount to marketing. Consumers do not tolerate any industry polluting the water or air. Thus, positive environmental stewardship behavior by producers is imperative to successful marketing of finished product. Compliance with all regulatory requirements requires industry wide education and motivation.Maltreatment of animals of any kind is a very sensitive subject among consumers. Producers must be attentive to the living conditions of their livestock. Simply measuring production as an indicator of animal comfort will no longer satisfy consumer concern. Professional guidelines must be developed that are reasonable for all.The California dairy industry has created a grass-roots organization to address these three consumer issues. This program could be modified to suit any food animal industry. Remaining competitive in the food marketplace demands that the industry be responsive to consumer interests. One of the first objectives was to conduct a survey among the industry representatives to learn the state of the milk production and dairy beef operations and to focus any developing program on the real needs the industry is capable of addressing.

Food ethics: a decision making tool for the food industry?

The modern food industry is able to exercise great power and influence over society. It acts as an agent of social change and, consequently, functions as a form of moral agent. Although the industry as a whole may be thought of as `the' moral agent, the moral and ethical standing of the industry is a reflection of the moral and ethical values of the executives who lead the businesses that constitute the industry. With increasing competitiveness in the food marketplace, the use of developments in science and technology to create new food products, and the distancing of consumers from practical involvement with food, other than eating, many issues arise which must be managed sensitively if the food industry's conduct and place in society is to be seen as morally acceptable and ethically supportable. These issues are issues of food ethics. Some issues in food ethics are considered and food ethics is proposed as a tool for decision making within the food industry, for the benefit of people and society, and the food industry itself.

Bioinformatics and data knowledge: the new frontiers for nutrition and foods

The recent publication of the Human Genome poses the question: how will genome technologies influence food development? Food products will be very different within the decade with considerable new values added as a result of the biological and chemical data that bioinformatics is rapidly converting to usable knowledge. Bioinformatics will provide details of the molecular basis of human health. The immediate benefits of this information will be to extend our understanding of the role of food in the health and well-being of consumers. In the future, bioinformatics will impact foods at a more profound level, defining the physical, structural and biological properties of food commodities leading to new crops, processes and foods with greater quality in all aspects. Bioinformatics will improve the toxicological assessment of foods making them even safer. Eventually, bioinformatics will extend the already existing trend of personalized choice in the food marketplace to enable consumers to match their food product choices with their own personal health. To build this new knowledge and to take full advantage of these tools there is a need for a paradigm shift in assessing, collecting and sharing databases, in developing new integrative models of biological structure and function, in standardized experimental methods, in data integration and storage, and in analytical and visualization tools.

Factors affecting food decisions made by individual consumers

Food decisions made by individuals affect the healthfulness of their food intakes and influence the success or failure of food products in the consumer-oriented food marketplace of today. Because consumers develop their own systems of deciding what to eat and how to follow the Food Guide Pyramid, it is difficult to know which factors or combinations of factors that influence those decisions are most important. Some of these factors that influence consumer food choices are discussed in this paper. These include cultural factors, psychological factors, lifestyle factors, and food trends. Barriers to food decisions that follow Food Guide Pyramid recommendations for healthy diets are identified. These are barriers related to food, consumer food behavior and dietary guidance. Approaches are summarized for modifying consumer food decision-making behavior in the direction of healthful diets that follow the Food Guide Pyramid.

Ethnic cookbooks and food marketplace: a complete bibliographic guide & directory to Armenian, Iranian, Afghan, Middle Eastern, North African, and Greek foods in the U.S.A. & Canada

Ethnic cookbooks and food marketplace: a complete bibliographic guide & directory to Armenian, Iranian, Afghan, Middle Eastern, North African, and Greek foods in the U.S.A. & Canada