NFS Journal最新文献

Scope and approach

The prevailing food integrity culture of four Belgian food companies was assessed through a validated method triangulation. The relation between the perceived food integrity climate, the performed food integrity and the companies' food fraud vulnerability was analyzed in view of employees' demographic characteristics (i.e. age, seniority, job function, contract type) and organizational characteristics (i.e. product type, service type, company size and certifications status).

Results and conclusions

Results from this semi-quantitative study revealed that all the participating companies recorded a positive food integrity culture, as their food integrity climate and performance were medium-high and their fraud vulnerability was medium-low. Minor differences among companies were identified depending on their specific organizational characteristics and employees' demographic characteristics. People integrity was the lowest-perceived food integrity dimension and specific food fraud control measures were lacking in the majority of the participating companies. Managers perceived their company's food integrity climate higher than the operators in contact with food, implying that employees in different job functions may hold differing perceptions of their company's climate. For the other demographic characteristics analyzed (age, seniority and contract type), a statistical correlation with the perceived food integrity climate was not revealed. Results suggest that product type, company size and certifications status may also promote (or hinder) the achievement of a positive food integrity culture. The applied food integrity culture method triangulation has demonstrated to assist food companies in acknowledging potential weaknesses in their food integrity climate, food integrity performance and food fraud control measures, allowing them to improve key human, operational, technical and managerial aspects to achieve an overall consolidated food integrity culture.

Introduction

High sugar consumption is associated with dental caries. The objective of this study was to determine the concentrations of sugar and other nutrients in sweetened, ultraprocessed foods from Bogotá, Lima, and Quito.

Methods

A descriptive study was conducted in which information was collected on the concentration of total sugars and other nutrients from a nutrition table of ultraprocessed foods with a sweet taste from the primary chain supermarkets in Bogotá, Lima, and Quito. The groups of registered foods were non-carbonated and carbonated drinks, nectar and fruit juices, fermented dairy products, other milk-based drinks, compotes, breakfast cereals, bakery products, confectionery, desserts, dried fruits and nut candies, and flavored powder. Descriptive analyses were conducted to determine the measures of central tendency.

Results

In the present study, information was collected on 1830 products. A median total sugar content of 11.0 (7.0–17.0) grams/portion was identified in sweetened foods from Bogotá, while the median was 10.3 (6.0–14.7) in Lima and 9.0 (5.0–15.00) in Quito. Approximately 80% of foods from Bogotá and approximately 70% of foods from Lima and Quito exceed the maximum sugar concentration established in the resolutions passed by each country, which state the parameters and ranges to determine whether food is high in sugar. In addition, most of the registered foods in this study have a nonexistent or extremely low content of fiber, proteins, vitamins, and minerals.

Conclusions

A high percentage of foods with high sugar concentrations were found in Bogotá, Lima, and Quito, contributing to the risk of dental caries. This highlights the importance of odontologists educating patients on the proper selection of foods.

Background

Long-standing mitigation strategies have been used to address the issue of malnutrition in children, especially undernutrition in developing countries including Tanzania, however, the problem still exists. Development of instant complementary formulae based on readily available local foods using robust mathematical models, to fight malnutrition seems to be one of the best options.

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate the nutritional content of instant supplemental food formulations based on qualea bird's meat for infants between the ages of 6 and 23 months using a linear programming model.

Basic procedure

Four complementary meal formulations based on bird meat were developed using a linear programming model: control, only bird meat (CtrQM); green banana mixed with bird meat (BanQ); Irish potato mixed with bird meat (PotQ); and rice mixed with the meat (RicQ). The formulations were cooked separately at 98 °C for 45–55 min and extruded to create instant dry products and analyzed using standard methods for proximate composition, minerals, and vitamin A.

Main finding

The proximate composition parameters, minerals and vitamin A contents (in DM) were substantially enhanced and differed significantly (p < 0.05) between the formulations. PotQ had a higher moisture content (8.9 g/100 g), protein (16.7 g/100 g), crude fat (1.8 g/100 g), ash (5.4 g/100 g) and crude fibre (2.9 g/100 g) than lower values in other formulations. Furthermore, calcium was the most abundant mineral (832.5 mg/kg) whereas zinc was the least abundant mineral (38.5 mg/100 g). The variation in mineral contents among formulations was also significant (p < 0.05). Additionally, RicQ had significantly (p < 0.05) highest retinol (26.5 mg/kg) and beta-carotene (4.9 μg/g) while the lowest values were observed in the control sample with values of 3.3 mg/kg and 1.6 μg/g respectively.

Conclusion

In a view of the findings, a linear programming model optimized and enhanced the proximate composition, mineral, and vitamin A qualities of the qualea birds' meat-based instant complementary formulation that seems to meet the RDAs for infants aged 6 to 23 months. Therefore, the application of the model in product formulation to combat malnutrition in the country is highly recommended.

Commercially available fish oil supplements (FOS) are rich in n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 PUFAs) and have been prescribed as complementary therapy to reduce symptoms in many inflammatory skin diseases. The objective of this study was to assess the PUFAs content, oxidative stability and investigate the inhibitory effects on immortalized human keratinocytes (HaCaT) cell growth of FOS commercialized in Brazil. The fatty acids composition, analyzed by gas chromatography, was similar for all the capsules (comprising up to 30% n-3 PUFAs) and underwent no significant alteration during the storage period (9, 12, 18 and 24 months). Primary (peroxide), secondary (anisidine), and total oxidation products levels of only two FOS exceeded the maximum established by international quality standards, however, it is recommendable that the storage period should not exceed 18 months at the ambient temperature. Some products exhibited dose-dependent inhibitory effects on HaCaT proliferation.

The ultrafiltration technique (UF) was used to achieve skim milk protein concentration and develop probiotic Greek-style yoghurt. Two yoghurts were prepared from ultrafiltered milk (with concentration factors 3 and 1.5, CF1 and CF2 samples, respectively) added with probiotic (Bifidobacterium animalis subsp. lactis) and compared to a control yoghurt. Proximal composition and physicochemical analyses were carried out after one day of processing. The microbiological viability of the starter and probiotic cultures, physicochemical composition, and technological properties of yoghurts during 28 days of storage were also evaluated. CF1 yoghurts showed the highest increase in protein content compared to the yoghurt CF2 and control. Consequently, this feature favoured lower post-acidification, better texture, higher water holding capacity, and absence of syneresis. Ultrafiltration was also satisfactory for enhancing the mineral content, especially calcium, phosphorus, and zinc. The probiotic bacteria remained viable throughout the refrigerated storage period, hence the use of ultrafiltered milk proved to be appropriate for producing high protein content probiotic yoghurts.

In this study, we proposed and evaluated a digital micro-mirror (DMD) based ELICO near-infrared spectrometer (NIRS) for predicting moisture, protein, and fat content in soya meal for poultry feed at a low cost and compared the results to those of the Bruker NIRS. Preprocessing, partial least squares regression (PLSR) methods, and the wet chemical method were used to develop prediction models on both instruments by using soya samples with moisture variations of 9–16%, protein variations of 41–51%, and fat variations of 0.7–3.0%. We found that the wavelength ranges of 1410–1470 nm, 1470–1560 nm, and 1100–1400 nm are sensitive wavelength ranges for the precise detection of moisture, protein, and fat, respectively. The experiment results of ELICO NIRS showed that the correlation coefficient (R²), root mean square error (RMSE), relative performance determinant (RPD), and range error ratio (RER) were 0.89, 0.77%, 3.2, and 8.5; 0.84, 1.03%, 2.7, and 9.7; and 0.86, 0.29%, 2.7, and 7.8 for moisture, protein, and fat, respectively. The maximum standard deviation was 0.006, 0.005, and 0.006 found for moisture, protein, and fat, respectively. Bruker NIRS showed that the R², RMSE, RPD, and RER were 0.83, 1.03%, 2.4, and 6.4; 0.89,0.75%, 3.0, and 13.5; and 0.74, 0.31%, 2.7, and 7.6 for moisture, protein, and fat content of soya meal, respectively. Further, the prototype outcomes were compared with the previous studies done with various techniques. As a result, the ELICO NIRS has a good figure of merit that fits within an acceptable range, and the prediction findings were well correlated with the wet chemistry method, performed similarly to Bruker NIRS. The ELICO prototype can reliably estimate a wide range of feed ingredients and has a lot of potential as a field and laboratory instrument, allowing small-to-large industries, retailers, and educational institutions to use it at a low cost.

The study evaluated macro - micronutrient, amino acids, in-vivo protein quality, growth performance, biochemical indices of rat fed with extruded breakfast cereal from finger millet, soybean cake, and carrot pomace. Raw materials F:100% finger millet; FS: Finger millet:soybean cake (75:25)%; FC: Finger millet:carrot pomace (90:10)%; FSC: Finger millet:soybean cake:carrot pomace (60:25:15)% were blends and extruded in to ready-to-eat breakfast cereal respectively. A significant increase in crude protein was recorded in FSC (19.2 g/100 g) compared to 10.2 g/100 g obtained in F. Potassium was the most predominant mineral (34.7–41.4 mg/100 g). Total and branch chain amino acids (72.8–75.8 and 13.2–14.8) g/100 g of protein was highest in FSC. In-vivo efficiency protein ratio and biological value of rats fed follows the same trend with FSC (2.16 and 93.0%) having the highest value. Biochemical indices show that experimental samples have no negative effect on rats. Extrusion of finger millet, soybean cake, and carrot pomace enhanced nutritional values (macro and micronutrient). However, sample FSC (60% finger millet: 25% soybean cake and 15% carrot pomace) perform better among experimental diets and comparable to casein in terms of high protein, total amino acids, biological value, growth performance, biochemical indices and was ranked highest in overall acceptability.