Food additives and consumer preferences: A cross-cultural choice based conjoint analysis

Important differences have been reported in several countries about the level of concern in connection with food additives. In order to better understand the consumer preferences related to foodstuffs containing food additives, five hypotheses were tested with the help of a choice-based conjoint analysis. The study was performed in three European countries (Hungary, Romania, and Spain) having different risk perceptions concerning food additives. Two “model foodstuffs” were involved in the analysis: pre-packed sliced cheese (natural image) and chips (artificial image). For the creation of the conjoint cards, three attributes were selected: “preservatives” (natural/artificial), “packaging gases” (contains/does not contain) and “price” (average based on market data/+10%/+20%). Results were collected via Internet simultaneously and a total of 500 valid questionnaires were received in case of pre-packed cheese and 468 regarding chips. In the analysed countries “preservatives” had an outstanding importance — mainly in Hungary and Romania —, while “packaging gases” got lower importance during the shopping intention. “Natural preservatives” very positively contributed to the choosing of both pre-packed sliced cheese and chips. High level of willingness to pay was not observed, as well as the “price” was less important factor than the additives. Comparison of the data from three countries showed notable differences, which can determine the direction of the product planning and development

Fiber, a component for health gastrointestinal endocrine system

Dietary fiber was classified according to its solubility in an attempt to relate physiological effects to chemical types of fiber. Soluble fibers (B-glucans, gums, wheat dextrin, psyllium, pectin, inulin) were considered to have benefits on serum lipids, while insoluble fibers (cellulose, lignin, pectins, hemicelluloses) were linked with laxation benefits. More important characteristics of fiber in terms of physiological benefits are viscosity and fermentability. Viscous fibers (pectins, B-glucans, gums, psyllium) are those that have gel-forming properties in the intestinal tract, and fermentable fibers (wheat dextrin, pectins, B-glucans, gum, inulin) are those that can be metabolized by colonic bacteria. Objective: To summarize the beneficial effects of dietary fiber, as nutraceuticals, in order to maintain a healthy gastrointestinal system. Methods: Our study is a systematic review. Electronic databases, including PubMed, Medline, with supplement of relevant websites, were searched. We included randomized and non-randomized clinical trials, epidemiological studies (cohort and case-control). We excluded case series, case reports, in vitro and animal studies. Results: The WHO, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Heart Foundation and the Romanian Dietary Guidelines recommends that adults should aim to consume approximately 25–30 g fiber daily. Dietary fiber is found in the indigestible parts of cereals, fruits and vegetables. There are countries where people don’t eat enough food fibers, these people need to take some kind of fiber supplement. Evidence has been found that dietary fiber from whole foods or supplements may (1) reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by improving serum lipids and reducing serum total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations, (2) decreases the glycaemic index of foods, which leads to an improvement in glycemic response, positive impact on diabetes, (3) protect against development of obesity by increasing satiety hormone leptin concentrations, (4) reduced risk of developing colorectal cancer by normalizes bowel movements, improve the integrity of the epithelial layer of the intestines, increase the resistance against pathogenic colonization, have favorable effects on the gut microbiome, wich is the second genomes of the microorganisms, (5) have a positive impact on the endocrine system by gastrointestinal polypeptide hormonal regulation of digestion, (6) have prebiotic effect by short-chain fatty acids (SCFA) production; butyrate acid is the preferred energy source for colonic epithelial cells, promotes normal cell differentiation and proliferation, and also help regulate sodium and water absorption, and can enhance absorption of calcium and other minerals. Although all prebiotics are fiber, not all fiber is prebiotic. This generally refers to the ability of a fiber to increase the growth of bifidobacteria and lactobacilli, which are beneficial to human health, and (7) play a role in improving immune function via production of SCFAs by increases T helper cells, macrophages, neutrophils, and increased cytotoxic activity of natural killer cells. Conclusion: Fiber consumption is associated with high nutritional value and antioxidant status of the diet, enhancing the effects on human health. Fibers with prebiotic properties can also be recommended as part of fiber intake. Due to the variability of fiber’s effects in the body, it is important to consume fiber from a variety of sources. Increasing fiber consumption for health promotion and disease prevention is a critical public health goal

An insight of Romanians’ knowledge about dietary fibers in relationship with cancer

Objectives: To estimate the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics of Romanian population, and their knowledge towards dietary fiber intake, the information sources preferred and perception of cancer related health risks. Methods: We used a convenient cross-sectional survey, and the data were collected using a validated questionnaire, disseminated online. Six different Romanian counties with 57 cities were selected in 2015, with 670 participants, and we used the SPSS program 22.0 for statistical purpose. Results: The knowledge about dietary fibers intake was low in our sample, also was the ingestion of foods rich in fiber (fruits, vegetables and cereals). Compared to men, women agree significantly more frequent that fibers in appropriate amounts can prevent or treat diseases (U=44607, z=-4.66, p<0.001, r=0.18) and separately related to specific diseases, that fibers can prevent and/or treat cardio-vascular diseases, cholesterol, bowel cancer, breast cancer, constipation, and diabetes, but with no differences regarding the deficiency of vitamins and minerals (p=0.774) or obesity (p=0.399). The in-depth analysis of factors that are able to influence Romanian’s knowledge and attitudes towards food fibers, defined the social profile of the respondents with interest on dietary fiber intake, which is: young females, with at least high school education, that considers internet and television like main sources of information regarding fibers. Comparing to other EU countries, Romanian consumers have good information about dietary fibers importance for health but the daily intake is lower. Conclusions: Based on our results, we can elaborate efficient community and school intervention programs, more focused on modern information technology and communication skills, fit to the consumer’s profile in order to promote a healthy nutrition behavior and proper knowledge.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Knowledge and attitudes towards dietary fibers - romania vs other european countries

Aim: The aim of our study was to evaluate the Romanian’s knowledge and attitudes regarding dietary fibers compared with other European countries. Materials and methods: We made a cross-sectional survey (part of multinational project from CI&DETS Research Centre, Instituto Politecnico Viseu, Portugal, with reference PROJ/CI&DETS/2014/0001) based on a questionnaire applied in 2015, over 670 Romanian consumers, focused on the attitudes and knowledge towards ingestion of foods rich in fibers. We used the software SPSS for statistics. Results: Our results showed that the knowledge about dietary fibers and also the ingestion of food products rich in fibers were low. The female participants ate more whole grains and fruits than males and pay more attention to food labelling, the Romanian people prefer to stay and eat home than at restaurants especially in rural areas, and the knowledge about fiber’s benefits was significantly related to high education and urban location. Comparing to other European countries, Romania had the highest level of knowledge about dietary fibers definition followed by Portugal, Turkey and Hungary, but the lowest regarding the fibers importance for health after Macedonia, Turkey and Latvia. Conclusion: We sustain the needs for more efficient community interventions and proper information about the importance of dietary fibers for our health and also for the dissemination of the nutritional standards among Romanian population

Raman spectroscopy - A powerful tool for in situ planetary science

This paper introduces Raman spectroscopy and discusses various scenarios where it might be applied to in situ planetary missions. We demonstrate the extensive capabilities of Raman spectroscopy for planetary investigations and argue that this technique is essential for future planetary missions

The impact of food choices on human and animal rights protection and environmental sustainability

Introduction: People’s food choices are of the utmost importance to regulate markets and the food chain towards the global goal of sustainability. Objectives: The objective of this work was to evaluate to what extent some aspects linked to sustainability in the food chain influence people’s food choices, specifically in the domains of packaging, food surplus, transportation and human or animal welfare. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving 3183 people from Portugal, Italy, Lithuania and Romania, who participated in this questionnaire survey between January and June 2018. Results: People tend to condition their food choices in view of contributing for a more sustainable food chain with respect for environment, humans and animals. The areas in which this behaviour is stronger include avoiding food waste at home (80% of participants), preference for local foods (60%), sustainable food growing, preparation or packaging (66%). The respect for animal rights is very important for 62% of the participants, but the respect for Human rights is a concern for just 32%. The results of statistical tests indicated that age, education, country, professional area and type of diet all significantly influenced people’s choices regarding the sustainability of the food chain. Conclusions: Although the results are indicative that people start to condition their eating behaviours also according to sustainability issues, it is a fact that there is still work to be done, since the adoption of these sustainable choices is still in a limited extent.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Marketing motivations influencing food choice in 16 countries: segmentation and cluster analysis.

Food behaviour is governed by different kinds of motivations, some of individual nature and others related with the external food environment. This study investigated the eating motivations in sixteen countries with respect to commercial and marketing influences on food choices. The questionnaire survey was developed between September 2017 and June 2018, via online tools, targeting a convenience sample of residents in sixteen countries (Argentina, Brazil, Croatia, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and the United States of America). The number of valid responses received was 11,919 participants. The data were treated using SPSS software, and the main statistical techniques used included exploratory factor analysis, evaluation of internal reliability through Cronbach’s alpha, cluster analysis (hierarchical and k-means) and logistic regression. The results obtained showed two groups of people: low motivated and notably motivated consumers. The results showed high asymmetries between countries, with highest percentage of highly motivated consumers in Egypt and the lowest percentage of highly motivated in Portugal. It was further observed that consumers more influenced by commercial and marketing aspects (the notably motivated) tend to be women, young, single, less educated, less likely to be professionally active, and those who live mostly in rural or suburban areas. Less exercise and overweight are also factors associated with greater propensity for commercial and marketing motivations. Furthermore, health problems such as shellfish or gluten intolerance, hypertension and high cholesterol confer less propensity to be in the segment of the notably motivated consumers. In conclusion, this work highlighted the role of geographic, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors as food choice determinants.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The ERA2 facility: towards application of a fiber-based astronomical spectrograph for imaging spectroscopy in life sciences

Astronomical instrumentation is most of the time faced with challenging requirements in terms of sensitivity, stability, complexity, etc., and therefore leads to high performance developments that at first sight appear to be suitable only for the specific design application at the telescope. However, their usefulness in other disciplines and for other applications is not excluded. The ERA2 facility is a lab demonstrator, based on a high-performance astronomical spectrograph, which is intended to explore the innovation potential of fiber-coupled multi-channel spectroscopy for spatially resolved spectroscopy in life science, material sciences, and other areas of research.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figures, SPIE Conference "Astronomical Telescopes and Instrumentation" 2012, Amsterda