Food In General Research Articles

Generic Food Safety Assessment: A Framework to Evaluate Food Safety Hazards Emerging from Change(s) in the Primary Production System – A Case Study Involving Intercropping

Food safety is a shared responsibility of all actors along the food supply chain. Changes in the primary production system can affect food safety hazards along the supply chain. This highlights the need for a framework that enables primary producers (i.e., farmers) to assess the potential food safety hazards and, if needed, to apply control measures. This paper presents a generic food safety assessment (GFSA) framework that has been developed based on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP). The proposed framework was applied to a case study, i.e., the transition from sole cropping of oats to intercropping of oats with lupins. The application of the GFSA framework enabled the evaluation of potential changes in food safety hazards from this transition and the establishment of appropriate control measures. In addition, GFSA users can employ the results to support decision-making process. Our case study showed that implementing GFSA can be challenging for smallholder or individual farmers and may need coordinated action. Finally, effective and transparent communication is critical for managing food safety along the food supply chain, including when changes are implemented in primary production.

Etymology, History and Development of the Semantics of Food Names in Ukrainian Chronicles of the End of the 17th and the Beginning of the 18th Century

The article examines the etymology, history and semantic development of food names found in late 17th- and early 18th-century Ukrainian chronicles, including those by Samovydetsia, S. Velichko, and H. Hrabianka. Taking a synchronic-diachronic approach, the author analyzes these food nominations within the lexical-semantic domains of generic food names and dish names, establishing semantic relationships such as polysemy, synonymy and variation. This analysis traces the evolution of the Ukrainian language’s lexical composition and reveals its nationally distinct characteristics. By following these food nominations from their earliest written attestations through the period depicted in the chronicles, the study clearly illustrates the semantic development of the given food terminology. The author notes that words of Proto-Slavic origin comprise a significant portion of the food terminology used in late 17th- and early 18th-century Ukrainian chronicles. Borrowings from various languages are also used, including Polish, Old Slavic, Turkic, Russian, and German (occasionally by way of Polish), as well as Italian via German. The presence of these loanwords is explained by key historical events in Ukraine across different periods that shaped the development of the language. Taken together, the linguistic evidence across these chronicles illustrates the codification of a fledgling Ukrainian literary tradition firmly rooted in popular verbal traditions.

The prevalence of self-reported gluten sensitivity (SRGS) in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)in a Brazilian community. A pilot study

Background – A significant number of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) patients report onset of symptoms after ingestion of a specific food, including those containing gluten. NCGS includes both intestinal and extra-intestinal symptoms which are related to the ingestion of gluten containing food-after exclusion of celiac disease (CD) and wheat allergy. The overlap between irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and NCGS has been described but the knowledge of the etiopathogenesis of this clinical entity is incomplete. In Brazil, data on the prevalence of IBS and its association with food intolerance are scarce. Objective – To study the prevalence of SRGS in a group of volunteers diagnosed with IBS in a Brazilian community. Methods – A total of 400 volunteers over 18 years old were selected from students and staff of the Medical School of the Fluminense Federal University, Brazil. Participants completed a questionnaire divided in basic demographic information (age, sex), evaluation of IBS diagnosis in accordance with the Rome III criteria and self-reported food intolerance, including gluten. Results – Eighty-seven (21.7%) (Group I) [mean age 30.4±12.65 (77.4%) females] fulfilling the Rome III criteria for IBS. Twenty-six (32%) reported gastrointestinal symptoms after ingestion of food in general and 28 (32.1%) after gluten ingestion. Within the 313 volunteers non-IBS (78.2%) (Group II) [mean age 30.6±21.77, 215 (68.2%) females] 66 (21%) and 50 (15.9%) reported gastrointestinal symptoms after ingestion of food in general and gluten respectively. Demographic data (mean age and sex) were not statistically different when we compared the two groups of volunteers (p>0.05). Conclusion – The report of gastrointestinal symptoms after ingestion of food in general and gluten-containing foods were statistically different in the two groups (p<0.05). The interaction between IBS, food intolerance and NCGS needs to be better defined, since the role of diet in IBS and its feeding management is an essential condition for the treatment of most of those patients

Development of Omani-branded food composition database for an electronic dietary assessment tool

Background: The food composition database provides a comprehensive information on the various nutrients present in the foods. At present, Oman lacks a food composition database (FCDB) of locally produced branded foods, which necessitates the development of such a database. Objectives: The aim of this study is to develop an FCDB for Omani-branded foods available for local consumption for an electronic dietary assessment tool. Methods: Back-of-pack (BOP) nutritional information of these branded foods available in our markets was gathered from manufacturer data. Food mapping was used to match the branded foods according to the BOP macronutrient data and food description to the appropriate generic food item from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) or Canadian FCDBs. Results: The developed database is composed of 571 food items with associated 60 nutrients. The majority of food items (91%) were mapped to a single generic food item. The rest (9%) was mapped to multiple generic food items. Overall, 96% of food items were mapped to a single generic food, which was matched based on BOP macronutrients and item descriptions. However, the minority (4%) were mapped based on item description alone as either the BOP nutrients were implausible. Moreover, 91% of food items were individually mapped to within 10% agreement with the generic food item for energy. The fish and fish group has the largest mean of absolute percentage difference in energy between BOP and generic items (16%). Conclusion: This currently developed database would critically help to accurately assess the dietary intake of the Omani population once incorporated into an electronic dietary assessment tool, and it can be updated in the future on a regular basis.

How far can reformulation participate in improving the nutritional quality of diets at population level? A modelling study using real food market data in France

BackgroundFood reformulation is promoted as a tool to improve the nutritional quality of population diets. However, the potential impact of industry-wide reformulation on dietary intake has been investigated minimally.ObjectivesThe aim...

Are health claims in aging-related functional food packages different from those of general functional foods? Content analysis of food packaging from Taiwan.

Given the challenges of aging populations, both in Taiwan and globally, issues related to older consumers need more attention. According to surveys in Taiwan, food is one of the most important consumer products for older adults. In recent years, functional foods have become popular, often using health claims as a promotional tool. Therefore, this study has investigated food product packaging in common retail channels in Taiwan by conducting a content analysis of all items with health claims (160 samples). This study specifically compared products related to aging and those unrelated to aging. The results revealed that more than half the participants with health claims did not provide specific descriptions of their health effects. Furthermore, products related to aging often included health terms and claims to supplement with specific nutrients in their health claims. This study has aimed to offer recommendations for educating older consumers, regulating health claims in food advertising, promoting an age-friendly consumer environment, and consumer protection.

Comparing Canada's 2018 proposed and 2022 final front-of-pack labelling regulations using generic food composition data and a nationally representative dietary intake survey.

The objective of the study was to compare the potential dietary impact of proposed and final front-of-pack labelling (FOPL) regulations (published in Canada Gazette I (CG1) and Canada Gazette II (CG2), respectively) by examining the difference in the prevalence of foods that would require a 'High in' front-of-pack nutrition symbol and nutrient intakes from those foods consumed by Canadian adults. Foods in a generic food composition database (n 3676) were categorised according to the details of FOPL regulations in CGI and CGII, and the differences in the proportion of foods were compared. Using nationally representative dietary survey data, potential intakes of nutrients from foods that would display a 'High in' nutrition symbol according to CGI and CGII were compared. Canada. Canadian adults (≥ 19 years; n 13 495). Compared with CGI, less foods would display a 'High in' nutrition symbol (Δ = -6 %) according to CGII (saturated fat = -4 %, sugars = -1 %, sodium = -3 %). Similarly, potential intakes of nutrients-of-concern from foods that would display a 'High in' nutrition symbol were reduced according to CGII compared with CGI (saturated fat = -21 %, sugars = -2 %, sodium = -6 %). Potential intakes from foods that would display a 'High in' nutrition symbol were also reduced for energy and nutrients-to-encourage, including protein, fibre, calcium and vitamin D. Changes to FOPL regulations may have blunted their potential to limit intakes of nutrients-of-concern; however, they likely averted potential unintended consequences on intakes of nutrients-to-encourage for Canadians (e.g. calcium and vitamin D). To ensure policy objectives are met, FOPL regulations must be monitored regularly and evaluated over time.

Green Technology for Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Edible Plants.

In modern society, the use of bioactive compounds in various foods and cosmetic industry sectors through the development of general foods, functional foods, cosmetics, customized cosmetics and several pharmaceuticals has become one of the key technological sources. The most critical step in isolating and purifying bioactive compounds from natural plant materials is the extraction process. Over the past five years, there has been a reasonable compromise between economic, social, and environmental requirements, resulting in safer and more efficient traditional and non-traditional extraction methods. This literature review aims to comprehensively review green extraction technologies for the extraction of bioactive compounds from plant materials from 2020 to 2024.

Assessing household lifestyle exposures from consumer purchases, the My Purchases cohort

Consumer purchase data (CPD) is a promising instrument to assess the impact of purchases on health, but is limited by the need for manual scanning, a lack of access to data from multiple retailers, and limited information on product data and health outcomes. Here we describe the My Purchases cohort, a web-app enabled, prospective collection of CPD, covering several large retail chains in Denmark, that enables linkage to health outcomes. The cohort included 459 participants as of July 03, 2023. Up to eight years of CPD have been collected, with 2,225,010 products purchased, comprising 223,440 unique products. We matched 88.5% of all products by product name or item number to one generic food database and three product databases. Combined, the databases enable analysis of key exposures such as nutrients, ingredients, or additives. We found that increasing the number of retailers that provide CPD for each consumer improved the stability of individual CPD profiles and when we compared kilojoule information from generic and specific product matches, we found a median modified relative difference of 0.23. Combined with extensive product databases and health outcomes, CPD could provide the basis for extensive investigations of how what we buy affects our health.

Üniversite öğrencilerinin fonksiyonel besinlere yönelik tutum, davranış ve bilgi düzeyinin değerlendirilmesi

Aim: In this study, it was aimed to determine the knowledge level of students studying at a public university in Malatya, about functional foods, and to evaluate the factors affecting their attitudes and behaviors.
 Material and methods: A total of 618 individuals, 363 women and 255 men, studying at universities in Malatya were included in the study. Research data were collected by face-to-face survey method. The questionnaire consists of questions about demographic characteristics, questions about eating habits, questions about general health, anthropometric measurements (body weight, height) and functional foods knowledge level and food preference scale sections. The data were analyzed using the SPSS program.
 Results: The mean age of the individuals participating in the study was 23.15±4.25 years. It was determined that 65.04% of the individuals had heard the term functional food before. It was determined that the YETBİD-Basic Nutritional Knowledge Scores were higher in females (54.66±8.85) than males (51.14±8.22) (p=0.031). Individuals' knowledge attitude scale confidence subheading score for functional foods was found to be higher in women (3.95±1.04) than in men (3.15±1.04) (p=0.044). It was observed that as the basic nutrition score increased in both women and men, the score of the attitude scale towards functional foods also increased. In the multiple regression, it was determined that the total score of the attitude scale towards functional foods was significantly affected by the variables of female gender, duration of education, basic nutrition score, and food preference score (p

Discontinued food codes resource for Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies 2019–2020

The Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) is USDA’s application database used for analysis of dietary intake from What We Eat in America (WWEIA), the dietary interview component of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Food codes are added and discontinued with each two-year release of FNDDS. A discontinued codes resource was first developed in 2012 to archive the food codes no longer used, provide the rationale for discontinuation and, where applicable, a link to a different FNDDS code. This research details the Discontinued Food Codes between FNDDS 2017–2018 and FNDDS 2019–2020, the fifth discontinued codes resource release. More than 1800 discontinued codes are included, which is comparable to the FNDDS 2017–2018 and double the FNDDS 2015–2016 releases. More than 75 % of these codes are consolidated into similar FNDDS food codes. This highlights the continued focus on incorporating generic food codes in FNDDS that reflect the foods Americans consume. A few highly reported food codes representing more than one product were expanded. This resource is beneficial to those who use FNDDS and researchers who conduct trend analysis using WWEIA, NHANES. The discontinued codes resource can be downloaded from the Food Surveys Research Group website at www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrc/fsrg.

Food advertising on YouTube channels aimed at children in Brazil.

To analyze food advertising on YouTube channels aimed at children in Brazil and the interaction of the public with this type of advertising. We analyzed the 10 most popular videos from the 25 YouTube most-watched channels with content aimed at children in the country in 2018. The presence of general advertising, food brands and food services was identified. When there was advertising in the videos, the foods and their respective brands were described, the first being classified according to the NOVA system. In cases of advertising of a specific food brand without its product having been displayed or mentioned, the classification was carried out according to the predominance of that company products. The number of visualizations and interactions ("likes" and "dislikes") was also collected. General advertising was identified in 45.6% of videos, while food and food service advertising was present in 12.9% and 1.6% of videos, respectively. Food advertisements were mostly represented by ultra-processed products (n = 30; 93.8%). In channels led by Kid YouTubers, there was a higher frequency of general advertising, food and food services in the videos. In these channels, the advertisements of food in general and ultra-processed foods were respectively 2.79 and 2.53 times higher than in videos of channels not led by Kid YouTubers. The number of times videos were tagged "liked" was higher in videos with food advertising (1.67 × 105) compared to videos without food advertising (1.02 × 105), p = 0.0272. YouTube is a potential medium for children's exposure and interaction with ultra-processed food advertising. The results of this analysis reinforce the importance of enforcing regulations prohibiting children's advertising on this platform.

Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies 2019–2020: An application database for national dietary surveillance

The USDA Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) is an application database created for analyzing dietary intakes from What We Eat in America (WWEIA), National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). FNDDS 2019–2020, the 10th version released contains 5624 food codes and their descriptions. Values for 65 nutrients are included for each item, as well as weights for common portions. Most nutrient values are derived from USDA’s FoodData Central and newer analytical data from Foundation Foods are incorporated. Changes to the recipe calculation process generate nutrient profiles that represent a variety of items. Several categories were reviewed and updated including beef, pork, seafood, candy and cakes/pies. Both the baby-toddler foods and ready-to-eat cereals categories were updated to have generic food codes and recipe calculations, which represent a variety of commercial products versus prior FNDDS versions which contained food codes for specific products matched to the same Standard Reference codes. The FNDDS is available in both SAS® and Access® formats for download. FNDDS At A Glance provides quick viewing in Microsoft Excel® file format. All are publicly available at www.ars.usda.gov/nea/bhnrc/fsrg.

Comparing the nutritional composition of foods and beverages in the Canadian Nutrient File to a large representative database of Canadian prepackaged foods and beverages.

Nutrient information used to code dietary intakes in the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS) may not be reflective of the current Canadian food supply and could result in inaccurate evaluations of nutrient exposures. To compare the nutritional compositions of foods in the CCHS 2015 Food and Ingredient Details (FID) file (n = 2,785) to a large representative Canadian database of branded food and beverage products (Food Label Information Program, FLIP) collected in 2017 (n = 20,625). Food products in the FLIP database were matched to equivalent generic foods from the FID file to create new aggregate food profiles based on FLIP nutrient data. Mann Whitney U tests were used to compare nutrient compositions between the FID and FLIP food profiles. In most food categories and nutrients there were no statistically significant differences between the FLIP and FID food profiles. Nutrients with the largest differences included: saturated fats (n = 9 of 21 categories), fiber (n = 7), cholesterol (n = 6), and total fats (n = 4). The meats and alternatives category had the most nutrients with significant differences. These results can be used to prioritize future updates and collections of food composition databases, while also providing insights for interpreting CCHS 2015 nutrient intakes.

Development of a consumer‐led emotion lexicon for meat and plant‐based burger patties using digitally recreated eating contexts

AbstractThe decision to consume novel foods such as plant‐based meat alternatives is often determined by emotional response. Generic food emotion lexicons are available for measuring emotional response, however, such lexicons may not capture the nuanced emotions associated with novel products. Here, an emotion lexicon specific to meat and plant‐based burger patties was developed. Discussion groups, where participants were digitally immersed in two typical burger eating environments, were used to generate relevant emotion terms toward different patties. A range of consumers contributed to the lexicon including users and nonusers of meat alternatives, two age groups, and three dietary groups. Subsequently, an on‐line sorting task followed by hierarchical clustering was used to reduce the size of the lexicon. The final lexicon contained 24 emotion categories. The lexicon shared terms with generic lexicons but notably contained other emotions associated with food neophobia, uncertainty, and deception.Practical ApplicationsThe results of this study provide an emotion lexicon specific to burger patties of meat and plant‐based origins. Currently no emotion lexicon has been developed for plant‐based patties, or plant‐based meat alternatives in general. It provides an important tool for further research concerning links between sensory and emotional drivers of plant‐based patty consumption across different types of patty consumers and has potential to be adopted for a wider product set.

Evaluating the potential implications of canadian front-of-pack labelling regulations in generic and branded food composition databases

BackgroundCanada proposed the implementation of mandatory front-of-pack (FOP) labelling regulations, whereby foods meeting or exceeding thresholds for nutrients-of-concern (i.e., total sugars, saturated fat, sodium) must display a ‘high-in’ FOP symbol (FOP). The objective of the study was to evaluate the potential implications of the proposed regulations using Canadian generic and branded food composition databases.MethodsA generic food composition database of products consumed by Canadians, Canadian Nutrient File (CNF) 2015 (n = 3,677), and a branded food composition database of packaged foods and beverages, Food Label Information Program (FLIP) 2017 (n = 17,521), were used to evaluate the number and proportion of foods that would display a FOP symbol based on the details of the proposed FOP labelling regulations published in 2018.ResultsOverall, 35.5% (n = 1,306) of products in CNF 2015 and 63.9% (n = 11,193) of products in FLIP 2017 would display a FOP symbol for at least one nutrient-of-concern exceeding proposed thresholds. Soups, Combination Dishes, and Desserts categories in CNF 2015 and Combination dishes, Soups, and Meats categories in FLIP 2017 would have the highest proportion of products that would display a FOP symbol. Although displaying a FOP symbol for one nutrient was most common in both CNF 2015 (n = 992; 27.0%) and FLIP 2017 (n = 7,296, 41.6%), the number (i.e., 0–3) and type (i.e., saturated fat, sodium, total sugar) of nutrients displayed varied by food category.ConclusionWhile the generic database, containing both packaged and unpackaged foods, revealed a low prevalence of foods that would display a FOP symbol, the branded database showed that the proposed FOP labelling regulations would identify over 60% of packaged foods with excess contents of nutrients-of-concern. Considering the high prevalence of packaged foods in Canada that would meet or exceed the thresholds of nutrients-of-concern, the proposed FOP labelling regulations should be implemented in a timely manner to help consumers easily identify foods high in nutrients-of-concern and encourage manufacturer-driven product reformulations.

Digitalising food manufacturing

Digitalising food manufacturing

Studying with Miss Bishop: Memoirs from a Young Writer’s Life

Studying with Miss Bishop: Memoirs from a Young Writer’s Life

자연식품의 기능성 표시 제도 도입에 관한 소고

The current 「Food Sanitation Act」 defines ‘food’ as any food except for those taken as medicine in Article 2, No. 1, and the Supreme Court of Korea said that ‘natural food’ as well as processed and cooked food are included in food. In addition, the Supreme Court recognized that the pharmacological function of rice, a natural food, existed in the case of selling the white rice product itself produced from the rice variety developed by domestic researchers by posting it on the Internet website. However, according to the current legislation in Korea, the labeling of ‘functionality’, which means to control nutrients for the structure and function of the human body or to obtain useful effects for health purposes such as physiological action, is limited to health functional foods and general foods. In the case of natural foods such as agricultural products and aquatic products, the functional labeling system is not adopted. In the case of Japan, in the case of natural foods such as agricultural products and aquatic products containing functional ingredients, if certain reporting requirements are met, a system that can be recognized as functional labeling food that can simply display functionality in the form of accepting a report from a producer was adopted since 2015. In Korea, in view of the confirmation of social beliefs through the judgment of the courts, the industrialization trend of natural foods according to the times, and the protection of consumers' right to know and health, there is a need of adopting a functional labeling system for natural foods to Korea as well.

Republication : Aliments ultra-transformés : le système NOVA est-il robuste ?

La classification NOVA répartit les aliments en quatre groupes (de 1, peu transformé à 4, le plus transformé). Sa fiabilité et sa reproductibilité ont été très peu explorées alors qu’elle est très utilisée. Nous avons étudié la cohérence entre utilisateurs (environ 170 professionnels) de l’affectation de 120 aliments du commerce et 111 aliments génériques dans les groupes NOVA. La cohérence des affectations (κ de Fleiss) était de 0,32 (aliments du commerce) et 0,34 (aliments génériques). Des clusters d’aliments présentant des distributions d’affectations similaires ont été définis par classification hiérarchique. Parmi les aliments du commerce, un cluster réunissait 90 aliments très largement affectés à NOVA4 (91 % des affectations) et, parmi les aliments génériques, trois clusters contenaient des aliments principalement affectés à NOVA 1 (79 %), NOVA2 (75 %) et NOVA4 (70 %), respectivement. Les affectations étaient particulièrement hétérogènes pour 30 aliments du commerce et 28 aliments génériques (25 % du total dans les deux cas). Les critères actuels de la classification NOVA ne permettent pas d’affecter de manière non ambiguë un aliment à un groupe. Ce système doit être amélioré, en raison de son utilisation en recherche et dans les politiques publiques. In the NOVA classification system, descriptive criteria are used to assign foods to one of four groups based on processing-related criteria. Although NOVA is widely used, its robustness and functionality remain largely unexplored. We determined whether this system leads to consistent food assignments by users. French food and nutrition specialists completed an online survey in which they assigned foods to NOVA groups. The survey comprised two lists: one with 120 marketed food products with ingredient information and one with 111 generic food items without ingredient information. We quantified assignment consistency among evaluators using Fleiss’ κ (range: 0–1, where 1 = 100% agreement). Fleiss’ κ was 0.32 and 0.34 for the marketed foods ( n = 159 evaluators) and generic foods ( n = 177 evaluators), respectively. The consistency of the assignments, as assessed by Fleiss’ κ, was 0.32 (commercial foods) and 0.34 (generic foods). Clusters of foods with similar assignment distributions were defined by hierarchical ascending classification. Among the 120 commercial foods, one cluster contained 90 foods that were predominantly assigned to NOVA4 (91% of the assignments) and, among the 111 generic foods, three clusters contained foods that were predominantly assigned to NOVA 1 (79% of the assignments), NOVA2 (75%) and NOVA4 (70%), respectively. Assignments were particularly heterogeneous for 30 commercial and 28 generic foods (25% of the total in both cases). Although assignments were more consistent for some foods than others, overall consistency among evaluators was low, even when ingredient information was available. These results suggest current NOVA criteria do not allow for robust and functional food assignments.