Food-related Research Research Articles

Exploring consumer perceptions and adoption intention of home meal kit services

PurposeThis study aimed to determine the factors affecting consumers’ perceptions and intention to purchase home meal kit services (HMK), a convenient home-cooked meal option, considering the moderating effects of monetary restriction, through the lens of the theory of planned behaviour (TPB).Design/methodology/approachThis cross-sectional study used an online, self-administered survey to collect data from 374 US adults. Results were tested for variable associations via multiple linear regression and moderation analyses.FindingsHMK adoption intention was positively associated with attitude and subjective norms but negatively associated with perceived behavioural control. Consumers’ HMK attitude demonstrated a significant positive relationship with food safety concerns and perceived time constraints. Income and financial constraints were significant moderators of the associations between TPB determinants and HMK intention. The findings emphasised the possibility of using HMK as a foodservice option for time-challenged consumers with food safety concerns.Originality/valueThis study addressed the limited research on HMK, a competitive meal option that foodservice businesses could implement to boost revenue. The study establishes the contribution in understanding the motivators and barriers that potentially affect consumers’ HMK behaviour through the lens of TPB. The results expand the scope of the TPB application in food-related research, providing a deeper understanding of antecedents and other factors on consumers’ HMK behavioural attitudes. Understanding this information will enable practitioners to develop strategies that meet consumers’ concerns when embracing this service to promote HMK.

Conflicts of Interest in Nutrition: Categorical Thinking and the Stigma of Commercial Collaboration

There is a high level of concern about the possible influence of commercial organizations on food-related research and professional bodies, including regulatory and advisory panels. This has contributed to an increased emphasis on the declaration and management of conflicts of interest (CoI) in the reporting, evaluation, and application of research in nutrition science. However, common perceptions of CoI in nutrition, and procedures for declaring and managing these, often lack intellectual rigor and consistency. This commentary highlights 3 main issues related to CoI in nutrition, particularly the emphasis on industry-related CoI relative to other sources of conflict and bias. 1) Considerations of CoI in nutrition are largely limited to financial or collaborative links to the food industry, disregarding other important sources of influence such as intellectual allegiances or nonindustry financial and professional incentives. 2) Associations with industry incur ad hominem, often punitive stigmatization of individuals and their research, and inappropriate downgrading or exclusion of evidence. This disproportionately affects expertise in the food and agricultural sciences, in which commercial collaborations are widely encouraged. 3) These practices and related approaches to managing CoI are applied without due consideration of the nature of the conflicts and activities involved, the qualifications of individuals, or the availability of other, objective methods and guidance for assessing research quality and risks of bias. Overall, recognition of the nature and range of CoI in nutrition and approaches to their identification and management lack consistency and balance. A singular and strict focus specifically on industry-related CoI may paradoxically exacerbate rather than mitigate imbalance and bias in the field. This commentary outlines the underlying issues and the need for more comprehensive and nuanced approaches to the assessment, reporting, and management of CoI in nutrition.

A combined classification modeling strategy for detection and identification of extra virgin olive oil adulteration using Raman spectroscopy

Identifying and discriminating of pure edible oils as well as detecting and identifying the type of adulteration, are essential issues in the field of food-related research. Extra virgin olive, hazelnut, canola, soya, and sunflower oils were investigated by Raman spectroscopy to answer two main questions: How can it be recognized that an unknown sample of edible oil belongs to one of these five types of pure oil? Also, if the unknown sample is adulterated extra virgin olive oil, how can the type and composition of that sample be recognized? The problem-based research was planned by proposing a combined classification strategy for achieving the proper solutions. In this approach, class modeling was combined with discriminant analysis to benefit from the advantages of both methods. In the first step, the Raman spectra of five pure edible oil classes were used to model the target objects by DD-SIMCA to exclude adulterated samples. Then PLS-DA was used for the discrimination of five edible oils classes. This strategy was successfully applied for several binary classes, including different types of extra virgin olive oil adulterations with different compositions. Raman spectroscopy, accompanied by the proposed combined classification strategy, showed good power in solving the pattern recognition problems in food adulteration subjects. The proposed combined classification strategy allowed the discrimination between pure edible oil samples with up to 100% of correct classifications. The developed method showed also high performances based on the figures of merit (up to 100% sensitivity and specificity) for the detection and identification the type of adulteration in extra virgin olive oil.

Identification of Radix bupleuri from different geographic origins using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry and support vector machine algorithm.

The geographic origin of Radix bupleuri is an important factor affecting its efficacy, which needs to be effectively identified. The goal is to enrich and develop the intelligent recognition technology applicable to the identification of the origin of traditional Chinese medicine. This paper establishes an identification method of Radix bupleuri geographic origin based on matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithm. The Euclidean distance method is used to measure the similarity between Radix bupleuri samples, and the quality control chart method is applied to quantitatively describe their quality fluctuation. It is found that the samples from the same origin are relatively similar and mainly fluctuate within the control limit, but the fluctuation range is large, and it is impossible to distinguish the samples from different origins. The SVM algorithm can effectively eliminate the impact of intensity fluctuations and huge data dimensions by combining the normalization of MALDI-TOF MS data and the dimensionality reduction of principal components, and finally achieve efficient identification of the origin of Radix bupleuri, with an average recognition rate of 98.5%. This newly established approach for identification of the geographic origin of Radix bupleuri has been realized, and has the advantages of objectivity and intelligence, which can be used as a reference for other medical and food-related research. A new intelligent recognition method of medicinal material origin based on MALDI-TOF MS and SVM has been established.

Assessing the Highest Level of Evidence from Randomized Controlled Trials in Omega-3 Research.

Over the years, there has been heightened interest in the health benefits of n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in reducing chronic diseases such as, cardiovascular disease (CVD), cancer, type 2 diabetes, and acute macular degeneration (AMD). Due to inconsistent findings in the evidence, a review to critically examine the plethora of evidence from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) in n-3 PUFA research was undertaken. The aim of this review is to study the highest level of evidence and to identify gaps in n-3 PUFA research. RCTs were originally designed for pharmaceutical research and later adopted for nutrition and food-related research. RCTs with active diseases assume that n-3 PUFA will have "drug" like effects, and this high expectation may have led to the inconsistent evidence in the literature. The inconsistency in the literature may be related to varying doses of n-3 PUFA, sources of n-3 PUFA (food vs. supplement; plant vs. marine), type of n-3 PUFA (mixture vs. purified), trial duration, population characteristics, sample size, and genetic variation. For future research, there is a need to distinguish between primary and secondary prevention, and to focus RCTs on primary prevention of chronic diseases by n-3 PUFA which is lacking in the literature.

Food Recommendations for Reducing Water Footprint

Most existing food-related research efforts focus on recipe retrieval, user preference-based food recommendation, kitchen assistance, or nutritional and caloric estimation of dishes, ignoring personalized and conscious food recommendations resources of the planet. Therefore, in this work, we present a personalized food recommendation scheme, mapping the ingredients to the most resource-friendly dishes on the planet and in particular, selecting recipes that contain ingredients that consume as little water as possible for their production. The system proposed here is able to understand the user’s behavior and to suggest tailor-made recipes with lower water quantity used in production. By continuously using the system, the user can gradually reduce their water footprint and benefit from a healthier diet. The proposed recommendation system was compared with the results of two papers available in the literature that represent the state of the art, obtaining similar results. Therefore, the results of the presented recommendation system can be considered reliable.

Commentary: Food and Food Waste: Spinning a Two-Sided Coin

Research on food and food waste has been receiving growing attention, and public policy plays an important role in the food marketing system. Although marketing and public policy appears to focus largely on food rather than food waste, concern about the latter is growing due to its environmental and economic impact. Drawing on the accompanying articles, this commentary illuminates three important facets of food-related research.

Indigenous women's worldview in food-related research: Rematriating food, bodies and lands.

Western discourses around food (in)security and nutrition often focus on food access primarily through male-driven efforts. In turn, the gendered dimension is missing. Yet Indigenous food systems cannot be fully understood without Indigenous women's worldview, challenges, and labour. Our critique points to the importance of centring Indigenous women's embodied knowledge systems in our food related research. Novelty: Rematriating food research regenerates the complexities of kinship wellbeing, sustainable economies, and body sovereignty.

Cannabidiol and terpenes from hemp – ingredients for future foods and processing technologies

Hemp (Cannabis Sativa L.) is a broadly grown plant worldwide. In recent years, the cannabidiol (CBD) and terpene species in hemp have drawn increasing research interests due to their human health benefits and pharmaceutical values such as anti-anxiety, pain-relief, relaxation promotion, anti-inflammation and antimicrobial activities. However, the research and application of hemp CBD and terpenes in food systems are scarcely reported, because of various legal regulations, consumer basis and technological challenges. In addition, processing technologies of hemp such as drying, extraction and purification for stable productions of high quality and food-safe CBD and terpene for food purposes have not been extensively studied, lacking thorough reviews. Therefore, in this comprehensive review, the basic characteristics of hemp CBD and terpenes, and their related legal regulations around the world are summarized; the status and technological challenges in the incorporation of hemp CBD and terpenes in food products, and in processing technologies of hemp biomass are identified and discussed; potential solutions, future trends, and research needs are highlighted. The findings from this review may excite more food-related research on hemp processing and CBD/terpenes applications in foods. It can also help the hemp industry to improve the processing efficiency of hemp as a valuable bioresource, and for food manufacturers to shape their paths to use hemp CBD and terpenes as future functional food ingredients.

Market2Dish: Health-aware Food Recommendation

With the rising incidence of some diseases, such as obesity and diabetes, the healthy diet is arousing increasing attention. However, most existing food-related research efforts focus on recipe retrieval, user-preference-based food recommendation, cooking assistance, or the nutrition and calorie estimation of dishes, ignoring the personalized health-aware food recommendation. Therefore, in this work, we present a personalized health-aware food recommendation scheme, namely, Market2Dish, mapping the ingredients displayed in the market to the healthy dishes eaten at home. The proposed scheme comprises three components, namely, recipe retrieval, user health profiling, and health-aware food recommendation. In particular, recipe retrieval aims to acquire the ingredients available to the users and then retrieve recipe candidates from a large-scale recipe dataset. User health profiling is to characterize the health conditions of users by capturing the textual health-related information crawled from social networks. Specifically, to solve the issue that the health-related information is extremely sparse, we incorporate a word-class interaction mechanism into the proposed deep model to learn the fine-grained correlations between the textual tweets and pre-defined health concepts. For the health-aware food recommendation, we present a novel category-aware hierarchical memory network–based recommender to learn the health-aware user-recipe interactions for better food recommendation. Moreover, extensive experiments demonstrate the effectiveness of the health-aware food recommendation scheme.

Ethics committees for clinical experimentation at international level with a focus on Italy.

Guiding legislation and associated bureaucracy for the ethical review of clinical trials observational studies and food related research play an important role in the competitiveness of a nation in the face of tough global competition to attract sponsors and investigators. This is of particular relevance in the case of multicentre trials and multidisciplinary research. Accordingly, in this report we tried to gather in-depth knowledge of the current role and practices of ethics committees nationwide in both clinical and research settings. This mini-review aims to describe the formulation and organization of ethical committees in Italy in order to provide a focus for deliberations on ethical issues in medical and scientific research in line with human rights, as set out in the European Union charter. Furthermore, we evaluated the impact of an institution’s ethical committee intervention on reducing the time required to obtain an opinion from Research Ethics Committees by guiding investigators in addressing ethical issues in their proposed studies. (www.actabiomedica.it)

Casein-Derived Peptides with Antihypertensive Potential: Production, Identification and Assessment of Complex Formation with Angiotensin I-Converting Enzyme (ACE) through Molecular Docking Studies

Hypertension is nowadays one of the major world concerns in public health. Several food proteins, among which caseins, can be substrates for generating peptides with antihypertensive potential. With the increasingly evolution of computational tools, in silico molecular modeling have gained prominence in studies of protein-ligand complexes in different research fields, such as pharmaceutics and biochemical engineering. However, the application of such methodologies in food-related research can be considered still embryonic. Thus, the central aim of the present work was to apply molecular modelling in order to elucidate the molecular bases of the anti-hypertensive potential of milk caseins-derived peptides. Firstly, hydrolysates obtained from a controlled trypsinolysis of caseins were fractioned according to their molecular weight, by ultrafiltration and RP-HPLC. The obtained fractions were evaluated with regard to their in vitro inhibitory angiotensin-converting enzyme activity (%IACE). Six chromatographic fractions were identified, and three of them displayed high ACE-inhibition (F1: 80.68%; F2: 79.00%; and F4: 62.44%). Finally, intermolecular interactions networks in complexes formed between ACE and the identified peptides were assessed through in silico molecular docking. At the molecular level, a correlation between in vitro and in silico results was found: the peptides FFVAPFPEVFGK (F6), FALPQYLK (F2, F4) and ALNEINQFYQK (F1) presented the lowest biding energies and interacted by specific H-bonds, electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions formed within ACE active site S1 residues (Ala354, Glu384, and Tyr 523) and the Zn2+ coordinated residues (His383, His387, and Glu411). The fraction F3, despite its low total peptide concentration, presented a moderate inhibitory activity for ACE (49.2%), likely due to H-bonds between HQGLPQEVLNENLLR and the active site S1 residues.

Effect of adding hop aroma in beer analysed by temporal dominance of sensations and emotions coupled with temporal liking

Individual sensory properties of food and beverages are not perceived independently during consumption and their interaction will determine what consumers perceive and prefer. Many dynamic processes are involved in flavour release during the consumption experience and therefore its perception should be measured dynamically. To investigate how dynamic sensory and emotion profiles interact and how this relates to temporal liking, this study used a multi-sip approach with temporal dominance of sensations (TDS), temporal dominance of emotions (TDE) and temporal liking (TL), to compare three beers with small sensory differences in hop aroma: control beer (0% hop aroma), low_c beer (0.08% hop aroma) and high_c beer (0.16% hop aroma). Seventy-one beer consumers consumed a glass of each beer while performing TDE + TL and TDS + TL, on consecutive days in a sensory lab. Adding different concentrations of hop aroma in beer resulted in different dynamic sensory profiles without a difference in liking. The attribute floral was dominant in the high_c beer and in the last stage of consumption. TDE revealed an improvement of the emotional profile of the high_c beer at the beginning of consumption: three positive emotions, relaxed, pleased and happy were dominant, whereas for the other beers, one positive and one negative emotion were dominant, relaxed or pleased and disappointed. Overall differences between beers based on total duration of dominance were clear when looking at sensations rather than emotions while the combination of dynamic profiles of sensations and emotions showed a slight discrimination between the beers. It can be concluded that the subtle changes in the aroma resulted in differences in temporal dominance of sensations, did not affect liking and only slightly changed the emotion profile. The method used in this study remains to be proven further for use in food-related research and new product development, especially in the case of subtle changes.

Co-evolution as Tool for Diversifying Flavor and Aroma Profiles of Wines.

The products of microbial metabolism form an integral part of human industry and have been shaped by evolutionary processes, accidentally and deliberately, for thousands of years. In the production of wine, a great many flavor and aroma compounds are produced by yeast species and are the targets of research for commercial breeding programs. Here we demonstrate how co-evolution with multiple species can generate novel interactions through serial co-culture in grape juice. We find that after ~65 generations, co-evolved strains and strains evolved independently show significantly different growth aspects and exhibit significantly different metabolite profiles. We show significant impact of co-evolution of Candida glabrata and Pichia kudriavzevii on the production of metabolites that affect the flavor and aroma of experimental wines. While co-evolved strains do exhibit novel interactions that affect the reproductive success of interacting species, we found no evidence of cross-feeding behavior. Our findings yield promising avenues for developing commercial yeast strains by using co-evolution to diversify the metabolic output of target species without relying on genetic modification or breeding technologies. Such approaches open up exciting new possibilities for harnessing microbial co-evolution in areas of agriculture and food related research generally.

Interdisciplinary food-related academic programs: A 2015 snapshot of the United States landscape.

Interdisciplinary food-related research and study is a growing field in academia. Each year, more universities add departments, courses, majors, and minors focused on studying food and society and the complexities of growing, processing, distributing, accessing, and consuming food. In this commentary, we present our exploratory findings about interdisciplinary food-related academic programs, including food studies and food systems programs in the United States. This cross-sectional research developed a snapshot of the 2015 land-scape of interdisciplinary food-related academic programs, provided a preliminary examination of their educational offerings, and will inform future research opportunities. In this formative study, we found 82 interdisciplinary food-related under-graduate programs focused on food. Nineteen program majors, minors, or concentrations had a core disciplinary focus on sustainable agriculture. "Food studies" and "food systems" were the primary focus of 15 undergraduate programs. We found 58 interdisciplinary food-related graduate programs and extracted information on their course offerings. Organizing courses into nine course categories, 78 percent of the programs offered courses in two to five categories, and 22 percent offered courses in six to eight categories. Few courses integrated material from multiple disciplines into a single course, suggesting that these interdisciplinary programs stemmed from traditional academic silos. Based on this preliminary work, we propose to further investigate the interdisciplinary nature of food-related academic programs, map their growth trajectory, and solicit feedback from faculty and administrators about their challenges in establishing and maintaining these programs. In future research, we are also interested in exploring job options for graduates of food-related academic programs to inform recruitment strategies and courses of study.

Transformations revealed through food studies

This issue brings us food-related research and perspectives from across Canada, from Nunavut and the Northwest Territories to central Alberta, Kenora (Ontario), and Nova Scotia. A common thread weaves throughout this work: one of transformative change—either already in progress or still needed—among individuals, communities, and food systems.

Salad = Success and Fries = Failure? Conceptualizing and Assessing Self-Control Outcome Measures in Food Decision Making Research

Researchers studying decisions about food utilize a wide variety of measures to assess self-control outcomes in experimental studies. However, it is often unclear whether or not the chosen dependent variables truly implicate self-regulatory mechanisms in decision making. In the present research, we provide a conceptual framework for evaluating self-control outcome measures, concentrating specifically on the domain of food and eating self-control decisions. We propose and empirically examine the essential characteristics [i.e., 1) recognized as self-control relevant by study population, 2) related to individual differences in self-control, and 3) recognized as self-control relevant by individual] of good self-control outcome measures and provide specific methodological recommendations (including the “rank-then-choose” method) for capturing exhibited self-control in the domain of food decision making. Our conceptual developments and recommendations seek to enhance the consistency, efficiency, and effectiveness of food-related decision research.

FOODWAYS THROUGH CERAMICS IN SOUTHEAST ASIAN ARCHAEOLOGY: A VIEW FROM SOUTHERN VIETNAM

Food related research in Southeast Asian archaeology is heavily biased towards the assessment of subsistence strategies as well as typological and petrographic analyses of ceramics. Little is known about the range of diverse food items, how they were prepared and consumed, and the importance these foods played in the social lives of people in the past. My research seeks to extend the treatment of food in Southeast Asia archaeology from subsistence “strategies” to foodways by incorporating technofunctional and organic residue analyses of earthenware pottery vessels to address outstanding questions about their function with regard to the preparation and consumption of food. This paper presents preliminary findings on a range of prehistoric earthenware pottery excavated from Rạch Núi, An Sơn (Neolithic), and Gò Ô Chùa (Metal Age) sites in Long An Province, Southern Vietnam. Results are compared with similar data from experimental and ethnographic pottery as well as integrated with complementary data associated with the archaeological pottery samples. It is predicted that integrative analysis of technofunctional aspects of earthenware pottery with organic residue analysis will provide new perspectives on the foodways in Southern Vietnam during the Neolithic and Metal Age.

Measurement and validation of measures for impulsive food choice across obese and healthy-weight individuals

The present study established a brief measure of delay discounting for food, the Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ), and compared it to another more established measure of food discounting that uses the adjusting amount (AA) procedure. One hundred forty-four undergraduate participants completed either two measures of hypothetical food discounting (a computerized food AA procedure or the FCQ) or two measures of hypothetical money discounting [a computerized monetary AA procedure or the Monetary Choice questionnaire (MCQ)]. The money condition was used as a replication of previous work. Results indicated that the FCQ yielded consistent data that strongly correlated with the AA food discounting task. Moreover, a magnitude effect was found with the FCQ, such that smaller amounts of food were discounted more steeply than larger amounts. In addition, individuals with higher percent body fat (PBF) discounted food more steeply than individuals with lower PBF. The MCQ, which also produced a magnitude effect, and the monetary adjusting amount procedure yielded data that were orderly, consistent, and correlated strongly with one another, replicating previous literature. This study is the first to show that a novel measure of food discounting (the FCQ) yields consistent data strongly correlated with an established measure of food discounting and is sensitive to PBF. Moreover, the FCQ is easier and quicker to administer than the AA procedure, which may interest researchers who use discounting tasks in food-related research.

Food Sovereignty in Everyday Life: Toward a People-centered Approach to Food Systems

This paper proposes a theoretical approach that de-centers ‘food’ in food-related research, placing social life as the point of departure for a critical analysis of food systems and the search for alternatives. Using a relational conception of food as a nexus of multiple, intersecting social-historical processes, a ‘people-centered’ approach illuminates the social elements that can inform resonant and locally inflected strategies for food sovereignty, particularly for urban communities in the USA. Building on theoretical concepts of primitive accumulation, articulation, and everyday life, as well as empirical work with the Chicago-based Healthy Food Hub, this paper explores the relationship between everyday food practices and historical processes of proletarianization as they are produced, reproduced, and contested at multiple conjunctures. In these spaces of contestation, the capacity for diverse communities to re-articulate social relations through everyday food practices could provide a potentially powerful pathway not just to food sovereignty, but an alternative to life under capitalism.