Routes to sustainability in public food procurement: An investigation of different models in primary school catering

Increasingly, policymakers are setting ambitious goals for sustainability in public procurement, integrated across different pillars. Such ambitions are apparent in public catering services, where procurement models have been shifting towards greater localisation of supply chains and purchasing of more organically grown food. To date however, few studies have examined empirically what the impacts of different procurement models are across these multiple pillars of sustainability. This research aimed to fill the gap, by measuring and comparing the environmental, economic and nutritional outcomes of different models of school meals procurement. Case studies were undertaken of ten primary school meals services in five European countries, capturing different procurement model types. Results showed carbon emissions ranged from 0.95 kgs CO2e per meal in the lowest case to 2.41 kgs CO2e in the highest case, with adoption of low carbon food waste disposal methods and reduction of the amount of ruminant meat in the menus being the most important actions for lowering emissions. In terms of economic impact, local economic multiplier ratios ranged from 1.59 to 2.46, and although the level of local food sourcing contributed to these ratios, the effect was eclipsed, in some cases, by investment in local catering staff. Meanwhile, implementation of a robust standards regime and improving canteen environment and supervision were the most important actions for nutritional quality and intake. The paper discusses the implications of the findings for integrated, sustainable models of food procurement

Feeling Healthy? A Survey of Physical and Psychological Wellbeing of Students from Seven Universities in the UK

University students’ physical and psychological health and wellbeing are important and comprise many variables. This study assessed perceived health status in addition to a range of physical and psychological wellbeing indicators of 3,706 undergraduate students from seven universities in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We compared differences in these variables across males and females, and across the participating universities. The data was collected in 2007–2008. A self-administered questionnaire assessed socio-demographic information (e.g., gender, age), self-reported physical and psychological health data, as well as questions on health awareness, health service use, social support, burdens and stressors and university study related questions. While females generally reported more health problems and psychological burdens, male students felt that they received/had fewer persons to depend on for social support. The comparisons of health and wellbeing variables across the different universities suggested some evidence of ‘clustering’ of the variables under study, whereby favourable situations would be exhibited by a cluster of the variables that is encountered at some universities; and conversely, the clustering of less favourable variables as exhibited at other universities. We conclude that the level of health complaints and psychological problems/burdens is relatively high and calls for increased awareness of university administrators, leaders and policy makers to the health and well-being needs of their students. The observed clustering effects also indicated the need for local (university-specific) health and wellbeing profiles as basis and guidance for relevant health promotion programmes at universities

Effect of plasma uric acid on antioxidant capacity, oxidative stress, and insulin sensitivity in obese subjects

Oxidative stress is purported to be involved in the pathogenesis of obesity-associated insulin resistance. We evaluated whether alterations in levels of circulating uric acid (UA), a systemic antioxidant, affects the following: 1) systemic (plasma and saliva) nonenzymatic antioxidant capacity (NEAC); 2) markers of systemic (urinary 8-iso-prostaglandin-F2α) and muscle (carbonylated protein content) oxidative stress; and 3) whole-body insulin sensitivity (percentage increase in glucose uptake during a hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp procedure). Thirty-one obese subjects (BMI 37.1 ± 0.7 kg/m(2)) with either high serum UA (HUA; 7.1 ± 0.4 mg/dL; n = 15) or normal serum UA (NUA; 4.5 ± 0.2 mg/dL; n = 16) levels were studied; 13 subjects with HUA levels were studied again after reduction of serum UA levels to 0 by infusing a recombinant urate oxidase. HUA subjects had 20-90% greater NEAC, but lower insulin sensitivity (40%) and levels of markers of oxidative stress (30%) than subjects in the NUA group (all P < 0.05). Acute UA reduction caused a 45-95% decrease in NEAC and a 25-40% increase in levels of systemic and muscle markers of oxidative stress (all P < 0.05), but did not affect insulin sensitivity (from 168 ± 25% to 156 ± 17%, P = NS). These results demonstrate that circulating UA is a major antioxidant and might help protect against free-radical oxidative damage. However, oxidative stress is not a major determinant of insulin action in vivo

Photoacoustic and optothermal studies of tomato ketchup adulterated by the Red Beet (Beta vulgaris)

Photoacoustic (PA) spectroscopy and optothermal window (OW) technique were used to explore their potential to detect red beet added as a colorant to tomato ketchup. The associated changes of colour resulting in the changes of absorbance (and hence of PA and OT signals) were monitored in the 500 nm region corresponding to the absorption maximum of lycopene. Both methods were shown capable of quantifying about 1% of red beet (by mass) in the mixture of ketchup and red beet

Knowledge about dietary fibre and its health benefits: A cross-sectional survey of 2536 residents from across Croatia

This cross-sectional study is aimed at identifying the level of understanding of the health benefits of dietary fibre in the prevention of disease, as well as the association between that understanding and fibre consumption in the Croatian population. We believe that nutritional knowledge is important for the consumption of healthy food which includes also a positive reflection on food habits and health. Only well-informed consumers can shop effectively for food rich in dietary fibre and thereby derive the health benefits that fibre can offer. We suppose the association between that understanding and fibre consumption in the Croatian population. However, this knowledge is not the only important determinant; food purchases are influenced by socioeconomic and demographic factors. Our hypothesis is that the level of knowledge about fibre and fibre consumption varies with age, gender, education level and urban or rural environment. It is our assumption that life styles, environmental conditions and education can affect the level of knowledge and perception about healthy eating habits. If this assumption is accurate, targeted education campaigns to educate and sensitise the population about fibre-rich foods and the health benefits of fibre is a priority. Public health programmes are urgently needed, particularly in rural areas, to sensitise the population to fulfill the recommended fibre intake, high-fibre food sources and the mechanisms by which fibre can help prevent disease.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Design of a quality index for the objective evaluation of bread quality: Application to wheat breads using selected bake off technology for bread making

6 pages, 2 figures, 4 tables.Bread quality index was established using the instrumental analysis of bread parameters that influencethe consumers’ acceptability. The instrumental methods that describe bread appearance, structure and texture have been chosen in order to enable the identification and quantification of main discrepancies of wheat bread produced by different processes such as fully baked frozen bread (FBF), partially baked frozen (PBF) and bread from unfermented frozen dough (UFD) in comparison to bread baked conventionally (CON). The significant influence of bread making technology on bread texture, crust appearance and specific volume was proven at p = 0.01. The quality index was calculated as a sum of grouped linearly normalized variables multiplied by group factor of significance and relatively to the CON bread. The presented quality index could be very useful in the bakery products development especially when innovative production process is applied.This study has been carried out with financial support from the Commission of the European Communities, FP6, Thematic Area “Food Quality and Safety”, FOOD-2006-36302 EU-FRESH BAKE.Peer reviewe

Role of Calcium and Low-Fat Dairy Foods in Weight-Loss Outcomes Revisited: Results from the Randomized Trial of Effects on Bone and Body Composition in Overweight/Obese Postmenopausal Women

Several studies have investigated the possibility of dairy foods and calcium (Ca) mediating weight and body composition, but a consensus has not been reached. We aimed to investigate weight-loss-related outcomes during intervention with low-fat dairy foods or Ca + vitamin D supplements, both as complements to hypocaloric diets. Overweight/obese Caucasian, early-postmenopausal women (n = 135) were recruited for a 6 month energy-restricted weight loss study complemented with either low-fat dairy foods (D; 4&#8722;5 servings/day), or Ca + vitamin D supplements (S); both to amount a total of ~1500 mg/day and 600 IU/day of Ca and vitamin D, respectively, or placebo pills (C). Bone mineral density (BMD) and lean and fat tissue were measured by Lunar iDXA. Serum and urinary markers of bone turnover were analyzed. Diet and physical activity were assessed with 3-day records. Participants on average lost ~4%, ~3%, and ~2% of body weight, fat, and lean tissue, respectively. The significantly better outcomes were noticed in participants in the D group regarding body composition (fat loss/lean tissue preservation) and in participants in the S group regarding the BMD outcomes, compared to those in the C group. Therefore, increasing low-fat dairy foods to 4&#8722;5 servings/day and/or increasing Ca &amp; vitamin D intake by supplements (in those who are at the borderline dietary intake) may be beneficial for weight loss/maintenance and may lead to more favorable bone and body composition outcomes in postmenopausal women during moderate weight loss