Responsible Food Research Articles

A review on food allergy: pathogenesis, diagnosis methods and treatment approaches

An exaggerated immune reaction to a food that takes place in a vulnerable host is referred to as a food allergy. The two main types of food-induced allergy diseases are those caused by Immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies and those caused by non-IgE-mediated mechanisms. These reactions are frequently brought on by food allergens such as egg, seafood, fruits, milk, soy, peanut, etc. In India, roughly 26.5% of the population has been impacted by food-induced allergy diseases. Age, sex, heredity, and geographic location of the patient, as well as vitamin D deficiency and other allergic reactions, are risk factors that might result in life-threatening food allergies. Skin prick test, oral food challenge, component resolved diagnostic testing are the most widely used diagnostic tests for food allergy. Pharmacotherapy of food induced allergic reactions include epinephrine therapy and use of antihistamine drugs. However, the main stay of treatment is avoidance of responsible food and food desensitization. Some home remedies can also be used in order to control allergic reactions caused by food allergens. All these remedies directly or indirectly improve the health of immune system to prevent food induced allergic reactions. The objective of this study was to throw a light on the pathogenesis, diagnostic methods and possible treatment options for food allergy.

Evaluation of adherence to the Mediterranean diet with sustainable nutrition knowledge and environmentally responsible food choices.

Dietary patterns and their possible effects on health and the environment are becoming increasingly important. It is thought that nutritionally balanced diets can also be compatible with environmental targets and, therefore, the Mediterranean diet (MD), which is regarded as a sustainable diet model, comes to the fore. This study was carried out to evaluate adherence to the MD with sustainable nutrition knowledge and environmentally responsible food choices and to determine the factors affecting adherence. A questionnaire prepared by the researchers was sent to individuals online and 1732 adults living in Turkey participated in this cross-sectional study. Adherence to the MD was evaluated with the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS). In addition, questions were asked about nutritional knowledge and environmentally responsible food choices to evaluate the sustainable nutritional behaviors of individuals. Half of the participants (51.1% of men / 53% of women) adhere to the MD at a moderate level. Even the individuals with the highest adherence to the MD had low compliance with the recommendations for fruit (43.4%) and fish (37.3%) consumption. A one-unit increase in age, sustainable nutrition knowledge score, and environmentally responsible food choices score increases the MD adherence score by 0.08, 0.125, and 0.148 points, respectively (p < 0.005). Individuals with high adherence to the MD avoid consuming genetically modified organism food more (p < 0.001), prefer to consume environmentally labeled foods (p < 0.001), and buy food more from local businesses (p < 0.001), while they prefer to buy imported food less (p = 0.034). The results of this study showed that some strategies should be developed to increase the adaptation of individuals to the MD and sustainable nutritional behaviors. Nutritionally adequate, sustainable, and eco-friendly nutritional behaviors should be encouraged to increase the possible health benefits of nutrition and minimize environmental effects. To promote sustainable nutrition, firstly it is important to determine the knowledge level of individuals concerning sustainable nutrition and, for this purpose, it is thought that an international valid sustainable nutrition knowledge assessment tool is needed.

Factors influencing dietary patterns among the youth from higher educational institutions in India.

To determine the factors influencing the dietary habits of the varied groups among adults in India. Data on food habits such as choice of diet, preference toward meat, spicy food, sugar/calorie etc., were collected from the participants (from several higher education institutions) of different training programmes and events organised at ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad and its students of Post Graduate Diploma in Agribusiness Management. Results of the study indicated that the food choice of the respondents is highly influenced by their region, age and gender. Most of the respondents preferred vegetarian food with increasing age. We also noticed that as age of the respondents increased, their preference toward simple & plain food (with less oil/spice) also increased. From the present investigation, it is recommended that the customized food menu should be prepared in every food serving institution based on the region, age and gender of the consumer. Analysis of dietary patterns can be helpful for doctors, dieticians, food policy-making, restaurateurs, youth hostels, food organisations, mega kitchens etc. that would also contribute to responsible food consumption.

Design of a Nutritional Survey to Detect High Dietary Salt Intakes and Its Usefulness in Primary Care Compared to 24-Hour Urine Sodium Determination.

Many population studies report salt intakes that exceed the WHO recommendation (2 g/day of Na+ or 5 g/day of salt). We do not have tools for detecting high salt intakes that are easy to apply in primary health care (PHC). We propose the development of a survey to screen for high salt intake in PHC patients. A cross-sectional study of 176 patients determines the responsible foods, and a study of 61 patients studies the optimal cut-off point and discriminant ability (ROC curve). We assessed the salt intake using a food frequency questionnaire and a 24 h dietary recall and used a factor analysis to identify the foods with the highest contribution to be included in a high intake screening questionnaire. We used 24 h urinary sodium as a gold standard. We identified 38 foods and 14 factors representing a high intake, explaining a significant proportion of the total variance (50.3%). Significant correlations (r > 0.4) were obtained between nutritional survey scores and urinary sodium excretion, allowing us to detect patients who exceed salt intake recommendations. For sodium excretion ≥ 2.4 g/day, the survey has a sensitivity of 91.4%, a specificity of 96.2% and an area under the curve of 0.94. For a prevalence of high consumption of 57.4%, the positive predictive value (PPV) was 96.9% and the negative predictive value (NPV) was 89.2%. We developed a screening survey for subjects with a high probability of high salt intake in primary health care, which could contribute to the reduction in diseases associated with this consumption.

Sociology of Sustainable Agriculture to Save Farmer Empowerment in Indonesia: Green-Economy Approach

This study investigates the sociology of sustainable food production and the use of smart green-agricultural. The literature study research method uses content analysis to find answers to the research problem formulation. Various public documents and relevant literature studies were collected. The findings reveal that the government's policy on sustainable food production focuses on a sustainable food system by utilizing the concept of sustainable production, optimizing the use of land and food waters, ensuring fair food prices, and implementing a food waste management hierarchy. Agricultural technology focuses on food knowledge management systems, creation of knowledge management and databases based on local wisdom, implementation of sustainable production and food industry 4.0, development of a national system of barns, development of logistics and distribution systems, development of virtual content, and a national knowledge network. It can be concluded that the novelty of this research on the sociology of sustainable food systems is aware of the importance of a sustainable food system orientation with the concept of 'Fill My Plate'. Sociologically, the community understands that technology is intended as a definite step to support a green economy by encouraging responsible food consumption behavior. The implications of this research are expected to be able to provide recommendations for the development of a sustainable food system using a green economy approach to support the Indonesian sustainable food system (SPBI).

COVID-19, social identity, and socially responsible food consumption between generations.

The objective of the research was to analyze the effect of COVID-19 with the predictors of the health belief model (perceived severity, perceived benefits, and cue to action) on the social identity of the consumer and the social identity of the socially responsible food consumption among four generation groups of adults based on the stimulus-organism-response model. The study had a quantitative approach explanatory design and a cross-sectional temporal dimension. A total of 834 questionnaires were collected from adults in the metropolitan area of Mexico City, and the data were analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results indicated that perceived severity, perceived benefits, and cue to action positively and significantly influenced social identity, and this positively and significantly influenced socially responsible consumption. In addition, identity was found to be a variable that had a total mediation effect between perceived severity and socially responsible consumption, perceived benefits and socially responsible consumption, and cue to action and socially responsible consumption. While the perceived barriers only had a direct effect on socially responsible consumption. Likewise, a difference was found between generation X and Y, generation Z and X, and generation Y and X in the relationship between cue to action, belonging to a social network group, and social identity. In this sense, these results allow us to consider that when environmental stimuli (predictors of the health belief model) affect the organism (social identity), it will respond with socially responsible food consumption. This type of consumption is explained through social identity and is modified according to the age of the consumers due to the effects of social networks.

Edible landscape: Key factors determining consumers’ commitment and willingness to accept opportunity cost and risk of foraged food

IntroductionThis study is dedicated to urban foraging and explores key factors that determine consumer willingness to try foraged food, willingness to spend time and effort, accept risk as well as make a commitment towards food foraging.MethodsA conceptual model is presented where general perceptions of nature, food foraging, and Covid-19 influence 3 specific attitudes about food foraging which drive 4 behavioural intentions towards food foraging. The model was tested using partial least square structural equation modelling.ResultsResults emphasize that the strongest driver of willingness to try are the approval of responsible food foraging activities and the individual benefits of food foraging. For the willingness to spend extra time and effort, all the predictors have some impact. In terms of willingness to accept risk, approval of responsible food foraging activities and the societal benefits of food foraging are influential. For commitment to food foraging, the individual and societal benefits are the most important key drivers.DiscussionThese findings are of relevance to marketing managers in the food industry and gastronomy, as well as municipalities, landscape designers, and horticultural businesses.

Responsible Food Safety Incident Management: Timeliness, Transparency, and Taking Action

Responsible Food Safety Incident Management: Timeliness, Transparency, and Taking Action

Composite materials for innovative urban farming of alternative food sources (macroalgae and crickets)

Facing an inexorable growth of the human population along with substantial environmental changes, the assurance of food security is a major challenge of the present century. To ensure responsible food consumption and production (SDG 12), new approaches in the food system are required. Thus, environmentally controlled, sustainable production of alternative food sources are of key interest for both urban agriculture and food research. To face the current challenge of integrating food production systems within existing structures, multidisciplinary discourses are required. Here, we bring together novel technologies and indoor farming techniques with the aim of supporting the development of sustainable food production systems. For this purpose, we investigated the feasibility of 10 composite materials for their innovative use as structural support in macroalgal cultivation (settlement substrates) and cricket rearing (housing). Considering material resistance, rigidity, and direct material-organism interactions, the bio-based composite polylactic acid (PLA) was identified as a suitable material for joint farming. For macroalgae cultivation, PLA sustained the corrosive cultivation conditions and provided a suitable substrate without affecting the macroalgal physiology or nutritional composition (carotenoids and chlorophylls). For cricket rearing, PLA provided a suitable and recyclable shelter, which was quickly accepted by the animals without any observed harm. In contrast, other common composite components like phenolic resin or aramid were found to be unsuitable due to being harmful for the cultivated organisms or instable toward the applied sterilization procedure. This multidisciplinary study not only provides profound insights in the developing field of urban indoor food production from a new perspective, but also bridges material science and farming approaches to develop new sustainable and resilient food production systems.

Dairy vs beef production – expert views on welfare of cattle in common food production systems

Consumers’ views and concerns about the welfare of farm animals may play an important role in their decision to consume dairy, meat and/or plants as their primary protein source. As animals are killed prematurely in both dairy and beef industries, it is important to quantify and compare welfare compromises in these two sectors before the point of death. Seventy world-leading bovine welfare experts based in 23 countries were asked to evaluate the likelihood of a bovine to experience 12 states of potential welfare concern, inspired by the Welfare Quality® protocol. The evaluation focused on the most common beef and dairy production systems in the experts’ country and was carried out separately for dairy/beef calves raised for red meat, dairy/beef calves raised for veal, dairy/beef calves raised as a replacement, and for dairy/beef cows. The results show experts rated the overall likelihood of a negative welfare state (i.e. welfare risk) to be higher in animals from dairy herds than from beef herds, for all animal categories, regardless of whether they were used to produce milk, red meat or veal. These findings suggest that consuming food products derived from common dairy production systems (dairy or meat) may be more harmful to the welfare of animals than consuming products derived from common beef production systems (i.e. from animals solely raised for their meat). Raising awareness about the linkage between dairy and meat production, and the toll of milk production on the welfare state of animals in the dairy industry, may encourage a more sustainable and responsible food consumption.

Endangered Food Systems: Agriculture, Nutrition and Cultural Heritage in Bali, Indonesia

The long-established, traditional food systems maintained by indigenous and local communities in developing countries have witnessed rapid changes in production, trade, and consumption patterns in recent decades. These changes tend to be detrimental to ecological and human health. The central highlands and northeastern coast of the island of Bali, Indonesia, are illustrative examples of such a regional food system, with centuries of documented history and subject to a longitudinal ethnographic study by the author. This paper describes the recent decline in local biodiversity, ecological sustainability, social resilience, nutrition, and food security in this food system in the wake of agricultural ‘modernization.’ Greater attention to the culturally modulated dimensions of food systems, it is argued, will contribute to creating a rural development model for (re-)creating moral economies that support ecologically and socially responsible food systems.

The Expanding Moral Circle as a Framework towards Food Sustainability

A shift towards more environmentally friendly and socially responsible food systems is a key step in the achievement of global sustainable development goals. To obtain significant results, however, it is essential to find participative ways to frame food sustainability objectives, so they can speak to a wide array of actors of change. This article addresses the promising potential of empowering actors across the food system to make a shift in their food choices, by facilitating the association of food sustainability values with contemporary moral issues. In this context, a conceptual framework for a transition towards food sustainability is proposed, based upon the concept of the moral circle. This approach transcends the human-centred methods enacted in traditional sustainable development agendas, offering an alternative with a more holistic perspective. It is expected that emphasising moral reflection around sustainability might encourage societal participation in the creation of sustainable, fair and healthier food systems.

How Does Context Contribute to and Constrain the Emergence of Responsible Innovation in Food Systems? Results from a Multiple Case Study

Organizations and practices that contribute to the resolution of major societal challenges are key to achieving a transition towards sustainable and resilient food systems. Previous research identified contextual elements that affect the emergence of organizations and practices with responsibility characteristics, but how this process unfolds remains poorly articulated. Our study thus focuses on how contextual dimensions may contribute to or constrain the emergence of responsibility in food systems. We applied a multiple case study design and conducted 34 semi-structured interviews with 30 organizations in the province of Québec (Canada) and in the state of São Paulo (Brazil). Our across-case analyses clarify how multiple contextual dimensions both contribute to and constrain the emergence of responsibility. More specifically, our findings show that while contextual dimensions shaped by the dominant food system constrain the emergence of responsibility, the same dimensions also contribute to it when they embed responsibility principles. One key contribution of our study is to show that interpersonal relations are an important mediation mechanism that helps to modify contextual elements, so they can contribute to the emergence of responsibility. This study’s findings can inform research and policy aiming to design institutional environments that promote a transition towards more responsible food systems.

Factors affecting willingness to pay premium prices for socially responsible food products: Evidence from Indian consumers

AbstractThe motive of this study is to identify the factors influencing the willingness to pay (WTP) a premium price for socially responsible food products (SRFPs) in India. This study is based on primary survey of 398 respondents. Descriptive statistics and factor analysis have been used for data analysis. Further, logistic regression was used to examine the factors affecting the WTP a premium price for SRFPs. Results demonstrate that respondents of higher age are more likely to pay premium prices for SRFPs. Male consumers are two times more likely to have higher WTP for SRFPs. WTP a premium price is significantly influenced by the consumers' reference group, pro‐environmental intention, and concern for the animals. Gender, age, consumers' reference group, pro‐environmental intention, and concern for the animals determine WTP premium prices for SRFPs. There are relatively very limited researches on this topic in emerging economies including India, where the adoption of socially responsible products is in early stage. The practical implications of this study are to help in increasing the sales of the SRFPs and producers to develop appropriate policy design.

Effects of elimination diets and clinical findings on mothers' anxiety in infants with food allergy with non-life-threatening reactions.

Background. In food allergies (FA), the current treatment is eliminating the responsible food from the diet until tolerance develops. We aimed to determine the effects of the mother's elimination diets and clinical findings on the mothers' anxiety in infants with food allergy (FA) with non-life-threatening reactions. Methods. Our study included 100 infants with FA and 35 healthy infants as control. A data form was prepared to collect information about the infants' and their mothers' socio-demographic characteristics, clinical findings, features of the mother's elimination diet, and FA-related internet search. State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) was applied to all mothers. Results. The STAI (state anxiety and trait anxiety) scores of the mothers of the infants with FA were higher than the control group (p less than 0.001, p = 0.001, respectively). Of the infants with FA, 51% had food protein-induced allergic proctocolitis (FPIAP), 29% had atopic dermatitis (AD), 20% had urticaria-angioedema (U/AE). It was found that state anxiety scores were higher in mothers whose child had FPIAP, who had multiple food eliminations, who followed the allergy groups on social media, and who made the elimination diet herself (p = 0.008, p = 0.048, p less than 0.001, p = 0.001, respectively). Conclusions. The state anxiety and trait anxiety of the mothers of the infants with FA were higher than the control group, and the state anxiety scores were higher especially in the mothers of infants with FPIAP and multiple food elimination.

Public policy measures to manage nutrition-related health risks

Introduction. Modern diets characterized by high consumption of ultra-processed foods and reduced physical activity are leading to poor health outcomes and increased premature mortality, as well as higher health care costs. This requires that governments implement more effective models of public management in the field of nutrition which require evaluation of the impact of each management tool, as well as their cumulative effects. Objective. To summarize and characterize the key public policies that exist worldwide to reduce the risks of diet-related non-communicable diseases. Materials and methods. A content analysis of scientific and internet publications on nutrition and dietary management was used. Discussion. A common set of policy tools for many countries includes fiscal policy measures, quality standardization and food labeling, public education, financial incentives for responsible food behavior, development of national recommendations for healthy eating and its promotion, etc. Recently, these approaches have begun to rely on epidemiological monitoring data and studies evaluating the effectiveness of a particular type of intervention. Not all of the existing interventions are equally effective. Therefore, when choosing policy instruments, it is necessary to consider their potential, as well as their level of impact: individual, socio-cultural, industrial, governmental, etc. Conclusion. Rationalization of nutrition is the most important element of social policy of the state and one of the factors in the formation of a healthy lifestyle. This indicates the need for a comprehensive science-based systematic approach to solving problems in the field of healthy eating. The implementation of policy in this area should be based on scientific evidence, with the involvement of business and a wide range of the public, on the principle of interagency cooperation and taking into account multi-level factors that affect the formation of individual and population model of food behavior.

Genetically modified and socially responsible foods: A significant relationship for consumer's preferences

The aim of the present study is to underline and syntetize a possible consumer be-haviour and willingness to pay towards a particular type of genitally modified food linked to specific indications on the label about the implementation of corpo-rate social responsibility initiatives by manufacturing companies. Through a quan-titative model on a sample of hundreds Italian families, it was possible to consider possible consumers' preferences regarding that consumption through a choice ex-periment and to verify the drivers of that purchase and preference heterogeneity across consumers' choice, and the willingness to pay, for the products with those features. Indications obtained from the relationships between the variables ana-lyzed also form a topic for future studies and useful for companies' strategies.

Inventory management of vertically differentiated perishable products with stock-out based substitution

The need for optimal inventory control strategies for perishable items is of the utmost importance to reduce the large share of food products that expire before consumption and to achieve responsible food stocking policies. Our study allows for a multi-item setting with substitution between similar goods, deterministic deterioration, delivery lead times and seasonality. Namely, we model demand by a linear discrete choice model to represent a vertical differentiation between products. The verticality assumption is further applied in a novel way within product categories. Specifically, the same product typology is vertically decomposed according to the age of the single stock-keeping unit in a quality-based manner. We compare two different policies to select the daily size of the orders for each product. On the one hand, we apply one of the most classical approaches in inventory management, relying on the Order-Up-To policy, modified to deal with the seasonality. On the other hand, we operate a state-of-the-art actor-critic technique: Soft Actor-Critic (SAC). Although similar in terms of performance, the two policies show diverse replenishment patterns, handling products differently.

The Impact of Responsible Food Packaging Perceptions on Naturalness and Healthiness Inferences, and Consumer Buying Intentions.

The research presented in this article examines the relationship between consumer perceptions that a food package is responsible (sustainable) and consumers’ intention to purchase the product that it contains. On the basis of the relevant literature, a conceptual model is proposed where this relationship is hypothesized to be mediated by two variables: the product’s perceived naturalness and healthiness. A first study was conducted with the objective of developing a scale with good psychometric properties to measure the perceived naturalness of a food product. The objective of the second study was to test the validity of the two-mediator conceptual model. The results show that the extent to which a food product package is seen as responsible (i.e., recyclable, reusable, compostable) has a positive and statistically significant impact on consumers’ intention to buy it, and that it is through the sequential mediation of the product’s perceived naturalness and healthiness that this relationship unfolds.

Discourses of sustainability and imperial modes of food provision: agri-food-businesses and consumers in Germany

It is widely accepted that overcoming the social-ecological crises we face requires major changes to the food system. However, opinions diverge on the question whether those ‘great efforts’ towards sustainability require systemic changes or merely systematic ones. Drawing upon Brand and Wissen’s concept of “imperial modes of living” (Rev Int Polit Econ 20:687–711, 2013; The imperial mode of living: everyday life and the ecological crisis of capitalism, Verso, London/New York, 2021), we ask whether the lively debates about sustainability and ‘ethical’ consumption among producers and consumers in Germany are far reaching enough to sufficiently reduce the imperial weight on the environment and other human and nonhuman animals. By combining discourse analysis of agri-food businesses’ sustainability reports with narrative consumer interviews, we examine understandings of sustainability in discourses concerning responsible food provision and shed light on how those discourses are inscribed in consumers’ everyday food practices. We adopt Ehgartner’s discursive frames of ‘consumer sovereignty’, ‘economic rationality’, and ‘stewardship’ to illustrate our findings, and add a fourth one of ‘legitimacy’. Constituting the conditions under which food-related themes become sustainability issues, these frames help businesses to (1) individualise the responsibility to enact changes, (2) tie efforts towards sustainability to financial profits, (3) subject people and nature to the combination of care and control, and (4) convey legitimacy through scientific authority. We discuss how these frames, mirrored in some consumer narratives, work to sideline deeper engagement with ecological sustainability and social justice, and how they brush aside the desires of some ostensibly ‘sovereign’ consumers to overcome imperial modes of food provision through much more far reaching, systemic changes. Finally, we reflect on possible paths towards a de-imperialised food system.