Developing global guidance on human milk banking

Donor human milk is recommended by the World Health Organization both for its advantageous nutritional and biological properties when mother's own milk is not available and for its recognized support for lactation and breastfeeding when used appropriately. An increasing number of human milk banks are being established around the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries, to facilitate the collection, processing and distribution of donor human milk. In contrast to other medical products of human origin, however, there are no minimum quality, safety and ethical standards for donor human milk and no coordinating global body to inform national policies. We present the key issues impeding progress in human milk banking, including the lack of clear definitions or registries of products; issues around regulation, quality and safety; and ethical concerns about commercialization and potential exploitation of women. Recognizing that progress in human milk banking is limited by a lack of comparable evidence, we recommend further research in this field to fill the knowledge gaps and provide evidence-based guidance. We also highlight the need for optimal support for mothers to provide their own breastmilk and establish breastfeeding as soon as and wherever possible after birth

Wissensstandsanalyse zu Qualität, Verbraucherschutz und Verarbeitung ökologischer Lebensmittel

Zielsetzung des Projektes war es, den aktuellen Stand des Wissens zur Qualität und Verarbeitung ökologischer Lebensmittel sowie zum Verbraucherschutz aufzuzeigen und zu bewerten. Das Projektteam setzte sich aus Wissenschaftlern des Forschungsinstituts für biologischen Landbau (Deutschland und Schweiz), des Büros für Lebensmittelkunde, des Forschungsrings für Biologisch-Dynamische Wirtschaftsweise e.V. sowie des Fachgebiets Ökologische Lebensmittelqualität und Ernährungskultur der Universität Kassel zusammen. In dem zeitlich sehr begrenzten Projekt fokussierte die Arbeitsgruppe die Betrachtung auf folgende Themenkomplexe und Produktgruppen: Bereich Qualität - Ernährung - Sensorik - Ökospezifische Qualitäten - Authentizität und Rückverfolgbarkeit Bereich Verarbeitung - Rohwaren/Lagerung und Technologien für die Produktgruppen: -- Getreide -- Milch -- Fleisch -- Obst und Gemüse und Erzeugnisse aus diesen - Nachhaltigkeit im Unternehmen und entlang der Prozesskette - Verpackung Vorhandenes Wissen, aktuelle Fragestellungen und Entwicklungsrichtungen wurden nach thematisch angepassten Vorgehensweisen identifiziert und anhand internationaler Literatur und Experteninterviews diskutiert. Zu allen Themenkomplexen wurden kurze und allgemeinverständliche Reports erstellt, die einen schnellen und fundierten Überblick zum aktuellen Stand des Wissens und zu eventuellen Wissenslücken geben. Der Abschlussreport wurde in deutscher und englischer Sprache veröffentlicht. Insgesamt wurde festgestellt, dass in den betrachteten Themenkomplexen erheblicher Bedarf an Forschung und Entwicklung sowie an Wissenstransfer besteht. Neben einer Reihe von Detailfragen sind grundlegende Themen, wie beispielsweise das Anforderungsprofil an eine „ökologische Verarbeitung“, nicht hinreichend erforscht und geklärt. Diese Arbeiten sind jedoch Voraussetzung für die Bearbeitung von Detailthemen, da hier Aufgabenstellungen, Schwerpunktsetzungen und Methoden definiert werden

Food Quality Strategies for enhancing organic food quality

This Research Topic Review aims to summarise the available knowledge on strategies for enhancing organic food quality. The Review will provide organic advisers with a better understanding of the differences between organic and conventional food quality so that they can support the development of organic farming systems and supply chains that deliver better quality organic food. The Review takes a broad definition of food quality and on the appropriate methods for determining food quality. However, the focus is on the factors that are more or less within the control of the farmer and the rest of the supply chain, and that directly impact on the appreciation or the intrinsic quality of the food as presented to, and eaten by the consumer. The specific issues addressed by the Review include: • Consumer perceptions of organic food qualities and the market for organic food • Organic supply chains and their impact on quality, in the broadest sense • Environmental quality of systems – although not an intrinsic quality (in the same way as, for example, the vitamin content of food), it is an important quality parameter for organic food • Food safety • Crop products – production systems and quality • Livestock products – production systems and quality Twenty three Defra funded research projects are reviewed and a total of 355 papers selected from the Orgprints archive (www.orgprints.org) using the search term “organic food quality” have been scanned. Thirty one have been selected for review. Several additional sources have also been identified. In total, 75 sources have been reviewed

New Multidisciplinary Approaches for Reducing Food Waste in Agribusiness Supply Chains

This reprint is a collection of research articles that highlight the achievements of the team of the European project called REAMIT. REAMIT was funded by Interreg North-West Europe and ERDF. The term REAMIT stands for “Improving Resource Efficiency of Agribusiness supply chains by Minimising waste using Big Data and Internet of Things sensors.” The main aim of the REAMIT project was to reduce food waste in agrifood supply chains by using the power of modern, digital technologies (e.g., the Internet of Things (IoT), sensors, big data, cloud computing and analytics). The chapters in this reprint provide detailed information of the activities of the project team.The chapters of this reprint were published as articles in the Special Issue titled ”New Multidisciplinary Approaches for Reducing Food Waste in Agribusiness Supply Chains” published in the journal Sustainability. For ease of readability and flow, the book is divided into four distinct parts.In Part 1, the project members provided a comprehensive review of the existing literature. Part 2 is devoted to the in-depth discussions of the development, adaptation, and applications of these technologies for specific food companies. While the project team worked with a number of food companies including human milk, fresh vegetables and fruits, meat production, this part discusses four different applications.Part 3 presents a detailed analysis of our case studies. A general life-cycle analysis tool for implementing technology for reducing food waste (REAMIT-type activities) is presented in Chapter 7. A specific application of this tool for the case study on a human milk bank is presented in Chapter 8. In Chapter 9, we developed a novel mathematical programming model to identify the conditions when food businesses will prefer the use of modern technologies for helping to reduce food waste.The final part, Part 4, is devoted to summarising learnings from the project and developing some policy-oriented guidelines. Chapter 10 reviews the current state of corporate reporting guidelines for reporting on food waste. Chapter 11 presents the important leanings from the REAMIT project on the motivations for food companies in reducing waste and the associated challenges. Business models are discussed, and some policy guidelines were developed.We gratefully acknowledge the generous funding received from the Interreg North-West Europe for carrying out our activities. The content of Chapter 10 was funded additional funding received from the University of Essex. We believe that the reprint and individual chapters will be of interest to a wide and various audience and will kindle interest in food companies, technology companies, business support organisations, policy-makers and members of the academic community in finding ways to reduce food waste with and without the use of technology

Characterization of the collection and distribution processes of bienestarina in Bogotá

International audienceThe production and distribution of Bienestarina to the vulnerable population of Colombia is one of the strategies of the "Colombian Institute of Familiar Wellness" (ICBF its acronym in Spanish) to fight malnutrition, especially among children. This article presents a first characterization of the supply chain for this product in Bogotá emphasizing collection and distribution logistics operations and identifying the actors in the chain, the currently applied regulations and the logistical requirements that leading the distribution of this complement to the different types of beneficiaries

Consumption of Organic Foods from a Life History Perspective: An Exploratory Study of British Consumers

This report provides an account of the analysis of in-depth qualitative interviews which explored the concepts, stories and theories mentioned by respondents in their discourses about organic food. It employs a biographical narrative approach in order to understand behaviour (using observation of shopping trips) and derives some conclusions regarding future development of the organic market in the UK

Recommendations for the Establishment and Operation of Human Milk Banks in Europe: A Consensus Statement From the European Milk Bank Association (EMBA)

Objectives: To develop recommendations from the European Milk Bank Association (EMBA) for the establishment and operation of human milk banks (HMB) in Europe.Method: A working group comprising members of the EMBA was convened in 2015 to develop Europe-wide recommendations for milk banks. Each member had experience of guideline development and/or milk banking operations. An initial survey was agreed using collated published global recommendations. A total of 108 potential recommendations were included in the survey; responders noted which were included in their national guidelines. The responses were collated, compared, and discussed and the group determined where there was consensus and where substantial or minor differences were identified. Where there was consensus or robust published evidence on which to base recommendations these were included. When there was no consensus and no clear evidence base, a statement of explanation based on collective expert opinion was agreed.Results: Published, internationally available guidelines with recommendations for human milk banks from France, Italy, and the UK, together with guidelines from Austria, Denmark, Germany, Norway, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland were included as source materials. These covered: General recommendations; Donor recruitment and screening; Expression, handling, and storage of donor human milk (DHM); Pooling of DHM; Milk screening; Milk treatment (pasteurization); Delivery of DHM to recipients.Conclusions: Evidence based recommendations and consensus statements from the EMBA will now be published on the EMBA website to assist in the safe establishment and operation of HMBs throughout Europe. These have also been used to inform the chapter on human milk to be included in the 2019 edition of the Guide to the quality and safety of tissues and cells for human application, published by the European Directorate for the Quality of Medicines & HealthCare (EDQM)

Transitioning to Good Health and Well-Being

Transitioning to Good Health and Well-Being addresses critical issues of health in the context of sustainability, which need to be tackled in order to achieve Agenda 2030. Acknowledging the dramatic improvements that have been made in the past decades with regards to health, we also face disparities that remain amongst and within countries. While life expectancy has more than doubled, we are, at the same time, confronted with the challenges that come along with population growth alongside environmental change, migration, ageing, and economic disparities. In its 2018 progress report concerning SDG 3, the UN stated that, while the quality of global health is increasing, “people are still suffering needlessly from preventable diseases”, both infectious and non-communicable, "and too many are dying prematurely". Although we are on the verge of eradicating, poliomyelitis, which disables 350’000 children each year, we continue to have few answers for outbreaks of emerging infectious diseases. Making progress against these outbreaks with strong health systems, particularly in neglected or inaccessible regions, is deeply connected to further issues targeted by the UN SDGs such as (restricted) access to clean water, healthy food, or continuing political instabilities as well as gender inequalities. Transitioning to Good Health and Well-Being, therefore, offers a vessel for a productive reflection and conversation on the meaning of and possibilities for global health, giving voice to a range of scholars, strategists and practitioners. Transitioning to Good Health and Well-Being is part of MDPI's new Open Access book series Transitioning to Sustainability. With this series, MDPI pursues environmentally and socially relevant research which contributes to efforts toward a sustainable world. Transitioning to Sustainability aims to add to the conversation about regional and global sustainable development according to the 17 SDGs. The book series is intended to reach beyond disciplinary, even academic boundaries

Transitioning to Good Health and Well-Being

At this purpose characterization, production, effectiveness, safety and use of natural fibers, block copolymeric nanoparticles and food packaging will be briefly described and discussed