Genetically modified maize: exploring consumer acceptance

Recent EU regulations have imposed mandatory labelling of all food products that consist of or contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Labelling should state that "this product contains genetically modified organisms". This study examines how different label messages may affect the attitude of consumers in tasting a specific food product (corn chip) derived from maize presented with five different labels ("organic corn", "conventional corn", "product that contains genetically modified corn", "product that contains genetically modified corn approved by EU", "non- classified corn"). Results of 100 Greek young students show that the label claiming that the product contains genetically modified corn, evokes a deeply rooted negative attitude as more than half of participants (59%) refused to taste even a single piece of the product. The label claiming that the product is genetically modified but approved by EU is viewed as more credible but still 29% refuse to sample. The conclusion is that although the feeling of trust increases considerably when the label message is supported by a certifying agency, still a large proportion (almost one third) of participants of technological level education refuse to taste a product that has been approved by the EU for almost a decade. This result demonstrates with an emphatic way the phobia surrounding genetically modified food. On the contrary, products labelled as "organic" were tasted by the majority of participants, even without any kind of certification. Key words : Genetically modified maize, labelling, acceptanceConsumer/Household Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Cultured meat: A survey of awareness among Greek consumers

As the technology of cultured meat continues to evolve and reach the market, it is important to understand the dynamics of consumer attitudes and preferences in order to provide insights into the potential adoption of cultured meat in Europe. Our aim was to explore the attitudes of Greek consumers, via an online survey addressed to 1230 consumers. The results revealed that only 39.35% of participants in this survey were aware of the term "cultured meat", but 55.69% would be willing to try it with the group of young (18–25 years old) being more willing to try compared to > 25 years old and also male and graduates. Among the perceived benefits, the first rated benefit was the contribution to animal welfare, followed by the lower environmental impact of cultured meat. The highest concerns about the potential negative consequences of cultured meat were about the unknown long-term adverse health effects and about a negative impact on the local livestock producers. Most of the respondents (80.73%) agreed that cultured meat is an artificial product. In conclusion, our results revealed a level of skepticism and reservations regarding cultured meat among Greek consumers and addressing public concerns might be especially important to increase public acceptance of cultured meat

The Importance of Complementary PCR Analysis in Addition to Serological Testing for the Detection of Transmission Sources of Brucella spp. in Greek Ruminants

The early and accurate diagnosis of brucellosis, a ubiquitous zoonotic infection, is significant in preventing disease transmission. This study aimed to assess the infection rate of Brucella spp. in ruminants and to evaluate the agreement between a serological test and a molecular method for the detection of infected cases. Blood and milk samples of 136 ruminants were analyzed using two laboratory methods: the Rose Bengal plate (RBP) test to detect B. abortus and B. melitensis antibodies and the molecular polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method for the presence of bacterial DNA. The agreement between the methods was assessed using the kappa statistic. Based on the RBP test, there were 12 (8.8%) seropositive animals (10 sheep and 2 cows), while 2 (1.4%) samples were positive on PCR analysis. The positive PCR samples were from seronegative cow samples on RBP testing. There was slight agreement (k = −0.02) between the two methods, which was not statistically significant. Our results indicate that complementary molecular methods are useful to detect the bacteria in infected animals that are seronegative due to an early stage of infection. Therefore, a combination of molecular methods and serological tests can be applied to detect brucellosis in ruminants efficiently

Genetically modified maize: exploring consumer acceptance

Recent EU regulations have imposed mandatory labelling of all food products that consist of or contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Labelling should state that "this product contains genetically modified organisms". This study examines how different label messages may affect the attitude of consumers in tasting a specific food product (corn chip) derived from maize presented with five different labels ("organic corn", "conventional corn", "product that contains genetically modified corn", "product that contains genetically modified corn approved by EU", "non- classified corn"). Results of 100 Greek young students show that the label claiming that the product contains genetically modified corn, evokes a deeply rooted negative attitude as more than half of participants (59%) refused to taste even a single piece of the product. The label claiming that the product is genetically modified but approved by EU is viewed as more credible but still 29% refuse to sample. The conclusion is that although the feeling of trust increases considerably when the label message is supported by a certifying agency, still a large proportion (almost one third) of participants of technological level education refuse to taste a product that has been approved by the EU for almost a decade. This result demonstrates with an emphatic way the phobia surrounding genetically modified food. On the contrary, products labelled as "organic" were tasted by the majority of participants, even without any kind of certification. Key words : Genetically modified maize, labelling, acceptanc

Electric Field Induced Drift of Bacterial Protein Toxins of Foodborne Pathogens <i>Staphylococcus aureus</i> and <i>Escherichia coli</i> from Water

Bacterial protein toxins secreted by foodborne pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains, may cause severe toxicosis in humans if present in foods or water and constitute an important public health problem. These toxins are large biomolecules with negative and positive ions due to the ionizable groups in the residual amino acids. An innovative theoretical model of purifying aqueous flowing solutions from ionic toxins is proposed in this study. The principle of the model is based on the drift of the ionic toxins, under the application of the external electric field, towards the walls of the duct, leaving the largest part of the duct with reduced levels of toxin. Parameters, such as toxin concentration, potential and electric field intensity distributions, and surface charge densities, are studied analytically for various duct widths and various external electric fields. The proposed model succeeded to reduce toxin levels by more than 99%, for duct widths less than 1cm, making it suitable for small-scale water purification

Association of <i>TNF</i>-α 308G/A and <i>LEPR</i> Gln223Arg Polymorphisms with the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

The objective of the present study was to identify the association of the TNF-α- 308G/A and leptin receptor (LEPR) Gln223Arg polymorphisms with the risk of development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: A total of 160 volunteers were studied: 108 with T2DM and 52 participants as control, who served as the control group. Polymerase chain reaction–restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for the genomic region of TNF-α- 308G/A and LEPR Gln223Arg were carried out. Results: The frequency of LEPR Gln223Arg genotypes in T2DM and control groups showed significant differences in the distribution of genotypes (p TNF-α- 308G/A genotypes in T2DM and control subjects showed significant differences in the distribution of genotypes (p p < 0.05)

Electric Field Induced Drift of Bacterial Protein Toxins of Foodborne Pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli from Water

Bacterial protein toxins secreted by foodborne pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus and Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains, may cause severe toxicosis in humans if present in foods or water and constitute an important public health problem. These toxins are large biomolecules with negative and positive ions due to the ionizable groups in the residual amino acids. An innovative theoretical model of purifying aqueous flowing solutions from ionic toxins is proposed in this study. The principle of the model is based on the drift of the ionic toxins, under the application of the external electric field, towards the walls of the duct, leaving the largest part of the duct with reduced levels of toxin. Parameters, such as toxin concentration, potential and electric field intensity distributions, and surface charge densities, are studied analytically for various duct widths and various external electric fields. The proposed model succeeded to reduce toxin levels by more than 99%, for duct widths less than 1cm, making it suitable for small-scale water purification

&lt;p&gt;Association of TNF-a 308G/A and LEPR Gln223Arg Polymorphisms with the Risk of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus&lt;/p&gt;

The objective of the present study was to identify the association of the TNF-alpha- 308G/A and leptin receptor (LEPR) Gln223Arg polymorphisms with the risk of development of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: A total of 160 volunteers were studied: 108 with T2DM and 52 participants as control, who served as the control group. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for the genomic region of TNF-alpha- 308G/A and LEPR Gln223Arg were carried out. Results: The frequency of LEPR Gln223Arg genotypes in T2DM and control groups showed significant differences in the distribution of genotypes (p &lt; 0.05). The frequency also of TNF-alpha- 308G/A genotypes in T2DM and control subjects showed significant differences in the distribution of genotypes (p &lt; 0.05). Conclusion: Our results indicate that there are significant differences in the distribution of genotypes and alleles between the individuals with T2DM and control subjects (p &lt; 0.05)