Low-field H-1 NMR spectroscopy for distinguishing between arabica and robusta ground roast coffees

This work reports a new screening protocol for addressing issues of coffee authenticity using low-field (60 MHz) bench-top H-1 NMR spectroscopy. Using a simple chloroform-based extraction, useful spectra were obtained from the lipophilic fraction of ground roast coffees. It was found that 16-O-methylcafestol (16-OMC, a recognized marker compound for robusta beans) gives rise to an isolated peak in the 60 MHz spectrum, which can be used as an indicator of the presence of robusta beans in the sample. A total of 81 extracts from authenticated coffees and mixtures were analysed, from which the detection limit of robusta in arabica was estimated to be between 10% and 20% w/w. Using the established protocol, a surveillance exercise was conducted of 27 retail samples of ground roast coffees which were labelled as "100% arabica". None were found to contain undeclared robusta content above the estimated detection limit. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd

16-O-methylcafestol is present in ground roast Arabica coffees: Implications for authenticity testing

High-field and low-field proton NMR spectroscopy were used to analyse lipophilic extracts from ground roast coffees. Using a sample preparation method that produced concentrated extracts, a small marker peak at 3.16 ppm was observed in 30 Arabica coffees of assured origin. This signal has previously been believed absent from Arabicas, and has been used as a marker for detecting adulteration with robusta. Via 2D 600 MHz NMR and LC-MS, 16-O-methylcafestol and 16-O-methylkahweol were detected for the first time in Arabica roast coffee and shown to be responsible for the marker peak. Using low-field NMR, robusta in Arabica could be detected at levels of the order of 1-2% w/w. A surveillance study of retail purchased "100% Arabica" coffees found that 6 out of 60 samples displayed the 3.16 ppm marker signal to a degree commensurate with adulteration at levels of 3-30% w/w

What Is Justice? Perspectives of Victims-Survivors of Gender-Based Violence

This article explores “how do victims-survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) experience and perceive justice?” based on interviews with 251 victims-survivors with experience of different types of GBV and criminal, civil, and family justice systems. Victims-survivors were found to have multiple perceptions of justice, related to different points in their journey following abuse and regarding individual, community, and societal responses. Perceptions relate to accountability; fairness in outcome and process; protection from future harm; recognition; agency; empowerment; affective justice; reparation; and social transformation. Current understandings of justice in legislative and policy approaches reproduce the “justice gap” by failing to take account of how survivors themselves understand and demand justice

Validation of a digital photographic method for assessment of dietary quality of school lunch sandwiches brought from home.

Background: It is a challenge to assess children's dietary intake. The digital photographic method (DPM) may be an objective method that can overcome some of these challenges. Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of a DPM to assess the quality of dietary intake from school lunch sandwiches brought from home among children aged 7–13 years. Design: School lunch sandwiches (n=191) were prepared to represent randomly selected school lunch sandwiches from a large database. All components were weighed to provide an objective measure of the composition. The lunches were photographed using a standardised DPM. From the digital images, the dietary components were estimated by a trained image analyst using weights or household measures and the dietary quality was assessed using a validated Meal Index of Dietary Quality (Meal IQ). The dietary components and the Meal IQ obtained from the digital images were validated against the objective weighed foods of the school lunch sandwiches. To determine interrater reliability, the digital images were evaluated by a second image analyst. Results: Correlation coefficients between the DPM and the weighed foods ranged from 0.89 to 0.97. The proportion of meals classified in the same or an adjacent quartile ranged from 98% (starch) to 100% (fruits, vegetables, fish, whole grain, and Meal IQ). There was no statistical difference between fish, fat, starch, whole grains, and Meal IQ using the two methods. Differences were found for fruits and vegetables; Bland–Altman analyses showed a tendency to underestimate high amounts of these variables using the DPM. For interrater reliability, kappa statistics ranged from 0.59 to 0.82 across the dietary components and Meal IQ. Conclusions: The standardised DPM is a valid and reliable method for assessing the dietary quality of school lunch sandwiches brought from home

Prevalence and Epidemiology of Non-O157 Escherichia coli Serogroups O26, O103, O111, and O145 and Shiga Toxin Gene Carriage in Scottish Cattle, 2014-2015

International audienceCattle are reservoirs for Shiga toxin Escherichia coli (STEC), bacteria shed in animal feces. Humans are infected through consumption of contaminated food or water and by direct contact, causing serious disease and kidney failure in the most vulnerable