Nutritional adequacy and content of food bank parcels in Oxfordshire, UK: a comparative analysis of independent and organisational provision

Background: Food bank use has increased significantly in the UK. With the rise in demand, it is imperative that users are receiving food parcels that meet their requirements. The present study aimed to explore whether typical food parcels, supplied by The Trussell Trust and independent food banks, were meeting the daily nutrient and energy requirements of an adult user. Methods: The Trussell Trust (n = 2) and independent food banks (n = 9) were surveyed in Oxfordshire, UK. Data were collected on food bank use, resources, donations and parcel content. The energy and nutrient contents of a representative parcel were compared with the average dietary reference values (DRVs) for an adult. Additional comparisons were made between The Trussell Trust and independent provision. Results: Parcels provided energy, carbohydrate, sugar, protein and fibre contents that significantly exceeded the DRVs. In total, 62.2% of energy was provided as carbohydrate and 569% of the DRV was provided by sugars. The vitamin D and retinol content of the parcels was significantly lower than the DRVs, meeting 25% and 27% of users’ needs respectively; provision of all other micronutrients exceeded the DRVs. The Trussell Trust’s parcels provided significantly less vitamin D and copper than independent parcels. Conclusions: Food bank parcels distributed in Oxfordshire, UK, exceeded energy requirements and provided disproportionately high sugar and carbohydrate and inadequate vitamin A and vitamin D compared to the UK guidelines. Improved links with distributors and access to cold food storage facilities would help to address these issues, via increased fresh food provisio

Modern Wheat

The yields of wheat in the UK and across much of the world have increased massively over the past century, from a few tonnes per hectare at the start of the twentieth century to current UK average yields of between eight and nine tonnes per hectare. Many factors have contributed to these increases, with genetic improvement by plant breeding being particularly important in the second half of the 20th centur

Analysis of mixed linkage β-glucan content and structure in different wheat flour milling fractions

β-glucan is a dietary fibre component with health benefits that relate to its structure and solubility. The polysaccharide structure consists predominantly of β-(1–4) linked cellotriosyl (G3) and cellotetraosyl (G4) units joined together with β-(1,3) linkages. The ratio of G3:G4 blocks affects the solubility with very high or very low ratios causing lower solubility. Wheat, a major staple crop, is a source of β-glucan in the human diet; however, there is a lack of research on β-glucan in wheat, especially white flour which is used in many food products. Here we quantified β-glucan in different wheat milling fractions, showing a low content in the first and second break (white) flour fractions (0.2%) with increasing amounts in bran flour (0.5%), wholemeal (0.8%) and bran (2.8%). A high proportion (30%) of β-glucan in the white flour fractions was soluble, while in bran a far smaller proportion (10%) was soluble. In agreement with differences in solubility, the G3:G4 ratio also differed, with the white flour fractions having lower ratios (∼2.5) and bran-containing fractions having higher ratios (∼3.8). We conclude that while total β-glucan in white flour is low, it is substantially soluble, and that high extraction and wholemeal flours have the potential to be a significant source of β-glucan

Lunasin in cereal seeds: what is the origin?

Lunasin is a peptide from soybean seeds which has been demonstrated to have anticancer properties. It has also been reported in cereal seeds: wheat, rye, barley and Triticale. However, extensive searches of transcriptome and DNA sequence databases for wheat and other cereals have failed to identify sequences encoding either the lunasin peptide or a precursor protein. This raises the question of the origin of the lunasin reported in cereal grain

Strategies for online personalised nutrition advice employed in the development of the eNutri web app

The internet has considerable potential to improve health-related food choice at low-cost. Online solutions in this field can be deployed quickly and at very low cost, especially if they are not dependent on bespoke devices or offline processes such as the provision and analysis of biological samples. One key challenge is the automated delivery of personalised dietary advice in a replicable, scalable and inexpensive way, using valid nutrition assessment methods and effective recommendations. We have developed a web-based personalised nutrition system (eNutri) which assesses dietary intake using a validated graphical FFQ and provides personalised food-based dietary advice automatically. Its effectiveness was evaluated during an online randomised controlled trial dietary intervention (EatWellUK study) in which personalised dietary advice was compared with general population recommendations (control) delivered online. The present paper presents a review of literature relevant to this work, and describes the strategies used during the development of the eNutri app. Its design and source code have been made publicly available under a permissive open source license, so that other researchers and organisations can benefit from this work. In a context where personalised diet advice has great potential for health promotion and disease prevention at-scale and yet is not currently being offered in the most popular mobile apps, the strategies and approaches described in the present paper can help to inform and advance the design and development of technologies for personalised nutrition

Improving starch and fibre in wheat grain for human health

Reducing the prevalence of diet- related diseases, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, is a major challenge for health professionals, food manufacturers and governments in both developed and developing countries. Cereals are key targets in meeting this challenge as they are staple foods throughout the world and major sources of energy (derived principally from starch) and dietary fibre. Wheat is the staple cereal in the UK and Europe, and the UK Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)- supported Designing Future Wheat programme is focused on manipulating the content and composition of starch and fibre to improve health impacts, including reducing the glycaemic response and improving fermentation in the colon. This work is contributing to the development of improved cultivars by breeders and foods by processors. It is also increasing our understanding of the behaviour of these components in the human gastrointestinal (GI) tract and will contribute to the establishment of targets and recommendations for regulatory authorities

Opinion Exploiting genomics to improve the benefits of wheat: Prospects and limitations

Conventional breeding has been immensely successful in increasing crop production to meet the demands of the growing global population, particularly for wheat where production has increased by over threefold over the last 60 years without a significant increase in the area of land used. However, the pace of improvement by conventional breeding is slow and limited by the range of variation present in wheat and species with which it can be crossed. Genomics can be defined as “an interdisciplinary field of biology focusing on the structure, function, evolution, mapping, and editing of genomes” (Wikipedia). As such it has the potential to revolutionise crop improvement, by accelerating the rate of progress and increasing the range of variation that is available. Despite this potential, progress in the application of biotechnology to improve wheat has been slow, particularly when applied to the quality of the grain for processing and nutrition. We will therefore consider the reasons for this and identify priorities for future research

Dietary fatty acids: is it time to change the recommendations

Limiting the saturated fatty acid (SAFA) consumption forms the basis of dietary fat recommendations for heart health, despite several meta-analyses demonstrating no link be- tween dietary SAFA and the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Three experts on dietary fat and health discussed the evidence of reducing SAFA intake at a symposium of the Federation of European Nutrition Societies in Berlin, Germany, October 23, 2015. Ronald P. Mensink, Maastricht University, the Netherlands, discussed the evidence linking dietary fatty acids and CVD risk. He emphasized the impor- tance of the replacement nutrient(s) when SAFA intake is re- duced. Julie Lovegrove, University of Reading, UK, addressed the question of whether higher intakes of unsaturated fatty acids are beneficial. She discussed the replacement of SAFA by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and monounsaturat- ed fatty acids (MUFA), noting the reduction in CVD risk with PUFA replacement and in CVD risk markers with MUFA re- placement of SAFA. Ursula Schwab, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio, Finland, discussed the importance of di- etary patterns in achieving reduced risk of CVD, observing that several dietary patterns following the principles of a health-promoting diet and adapted to local customs, food preferences and seasonality are effective in reducing the risk of CVD, type 2 diabetes and other chronic diseases. This pa- per summarizes the symposium presentations

Development and characterisation of protein films derived from dried distillers’ grains with solubles and in-process samples

Polymer films were developed utilising proteins extracted from wheat distillers’ dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and in-process samples (wet solids), both by-products of bioethanol production process. Structural characterisation of DDGS and wet solids films indicated a change in the secondary structure of the proteins, reflecting the impact of DDGS production process such as effect of enzyme on protein properties and consequently on the film properties; whereas the developed films exhibited a rough surface with voids. Determination of moisture sensitivity indicated that DDGS films exhibited more hydrophilicity than wet solids films, with the same trend being observed for their water solubility and water uptake. The moisture content and solubility of DDGS films ranged from 10.2-14.2 % and 32.3-41.8 % respectively whereas those for wet solids’ film ranged from 18.9-19.8 % and 23.8-24.2 % respectively. The mechanical properties of DDGS and wet solids (ranging from 0.27-0.32 MPa) were comparatively lower than commercial wheat gluten film (0.6 MPa). The poor mechanical properties and high water vapour permeability of DDGS and the wet solids films limit their application as biodegradable packaging materials. However, based on their hydrophilicity, the developed films have potential applications in agriculture and horticulture as controlled release matrices and soil conditioners

Gradients in compositions in the starchy endosperm of wheat have implications for milling and processing

Background: Wheat is the major food grain consumed in temperate countries. Most wheat is consumed after milling to produce white flour, which corresponds to the endosperm storage tissue of the grain. Because the starchy endosperm accounts for about 80% of the grain dry weight, the miller aims to achieve flour yields approaching this value. Scope and approach: Bioimaging can be combined with biochemical analysis of fractions produced by sequential pearling of whole grains to determine the distributions of components within the endosperm tissue. Key findings and conclusions: This reveals that endosperm is not homogeneous, but exhibits gradients in composition from the outer to the inner part. These include gradients in both amount and composition. For example, the content of gluten proteins decreases but the proportion of glutenin polymers increases from the outside to the centre of the tissue. However, the content of starch increases with changes in the granule size distribution, the proportions of amylose and amylopectin, and their thermal properties. Hence these parts of the endosperm differ in the functional properties for food processing. Gradients also exist in minor components which may affect health and processing, such as dietary fibre and lipids. The gradients in grain composition are reflected in differences in the compositions of the mill streams which are combined to give white flour (which may number over 20). These differences could therefore be exploited by millers and food processors to develop flours with compositions and properties for specific end uses