Journal of Nutrition and Food Security
Volume:5 Issue: 4, Nov 2020

Antimicrobial and antioxidant properties of the essential oils (EOs) are important in food industry. This study investigated the effects of EO from Cuminum cyminum on the preservation of yogurt containing Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus bulgaricus, and Bifidobacterium bifidum.

The yogurt samples’ biological, physicochemical, and sensorial characteristics were evaluated at three levels of 1%, 2% and 3% of EO during the storage (7, 14, and 21 days).

The bacterial activity declined significantly in all samples during the storage (P < 0.05). Adding EO decreased the rate of bacterial growth of both probiotic and starter strains over 21 days. The titratable acidity (TA) and syneresis were increased (P < 0.05), while the pH levels were decreased (P < 0.05) during the storage. The highest viscosity was 8600 mili paskal secent (mPa.s) in control sample in the first day and 5700 mPa.s for 1% cuminum cyminum essential oil (CEO) on the 21st day. The CEO had no effects on flavor, odor, and overall acceptability.

Generally, the high level of phenols influenced the biological, physicochemical, and rheological properties of bioyogurts positively.

The important risk factors in obesity are related to unhealthy nutritional habits. The aim of this study was to estimate and compare the macro- and micro-nutrients‟ intake in breakfast and midmorning snacks.

This crosssectional study was conducted among 569 students (12-16 years) by the multistage cluster sampling method. The demographic data were gathered by interview. Anthropometric data and breakfast habits (breakfast frequency and time as well as nutrients‟ intake at breakfast or snacks) were measured using standardized instruments by asking some questions.

The results showed that the high prevalence of irregular breakfast eating (IRBE) and overweight or obesity. No significant difference was found between breakfast frequency and time according to the students‟ gender or body mass index (BMI). The mean BMI had a significant increase in females; whereas, the percentage of energy from breakfast (EB%), snack (ES%), or both breakfast and snacks (EBS%) were shown no significant difference between genders. A significant increase was found in EB%, EB%, and EBS%; whereas, the daily energy intake (DEI) was lower in normal-weight students. However, other nutrients at breakfast or snacks had no significant difference. The level of higher DEI was reported in IRBE adolescents.

An inappropriate breakfast habit can cause irreparable consequences in adolescents. Although breakfast plays an undeniable role, other factors are also effective in one‟s health. Further studies are required for more comprehensive results.

Children undernutrition is one of the common problems in Bangladesh. The aim of this study was to observe the prevalence of malnutrition and its contributory factors among children under two years.

A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted over 384 children in some selected rural areas in Bangladesh. The participants’ data were collected such as anthropometric, demographic, socioeconomic, and child feeding behavior using pre-tested structured questionnaires.

In age groups of 6-11, 12-17, and 18-23 months, 23.7, 42.1, and 45.1% of children were underweight; 31.6, 36.8, and 58.8% were stunted; and 21.1, 7.9, and 15.7% were wasted, respectively. A significant association was found between malnutrition of children with presence of disease, education of mother, and their monthly family income. Mothers with higher knowledge on fed colostrum (94%) initiated breastfeeding after the first hour of birth significantly (73%). Majority of the mothers (61.4%) started their weaning practice by cow milk and powder milk (17.3 %). The highest number of children suffered from malnutrition due to mother’s illiteracy and less monthly family income.

Awareness, multi stakeholder’s effort, and care practice should be conducted to reduce the malnutrition of under two years children in the study area.

Childhood/adolescence under- and over-nutrition are among the major public concerns worldwide. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of underweight, overweight, and obesity among children living in Yazd, Iran using different criteria.

This community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among children and adolescents aged 6-18 years. Body weight, height, waist, and hip circumference were measured. Furthermore, the body mass index (BMI) and waist to hip ratio were calculated. Afterwards, BMI was classified according to four criteria including the US center for disease control and prevention (CDC), world health organization (WHO), the international obesity task force (IOTF), and Iranian national cut-points.

The mean age of the included children was 11.32 ± 3.89 years. Overall, the highest rate of underweight was estimated by IOTF %16.9 and the lowest rate was estimated by the national criteria %1.2. Furthermore, the highest and the lowest rates for overweight were obtained by CDC2000 %19.0 and WHO criteria %12.2, respectively. The highest and lowest rates for obesity were obtained by the national %22.3 and the CDC2000 criteria %11.3, respectively. The selected criteria were significantly different in estimating underweight, overweight, and obesity (P < 0.05).

All the mentioned criteria showed high rate of overweight and obesity among children and adolescents in Yazd. Furthermore, the highest rate of obesity was detected by national criteria. The national distribution of BMI in Iranian children is skewed to overweight and obesity.

Many common cancers, such as prostate, breast, and colon, are caused by harmful substances and compounds contained in processed foods, including nitrite-treated meats. The aim of this study was to investigate the possibility of replacing sodium nitrite with Monascus purpureus pigment in sausage and to assess its antimicrobial, antioxidant, color, and sensory properties.

The antioxidant properties (Thiobarbiturics), microbiology tests, color (L*, a*, and b*), and their sensory evaluation were measured 30 days after production (storage in a refrigerator condition) and compared with the control sample (without Monascus purpureus pigment and with 100% nitrite). The data were analyzed using Duncan's one-way analysis of variance at 95% confidence level through Minitab 16 software.

Replacement of Monascus purpureus pigment with nitrite had no significant effect on the sensory properties of treatments and caused a slight increase in the thiobarbituric index during the storage period, which was not significantly different with the control sample before its replacement up to 60%. The microbial load was increased during the storage in all treatments. The microbial load of samples in which nitrite was replaced with 0%, 40%, and 60% Monascus purpureus pigment was within the acceptable range of standard after 30 days of storage. L* index was decreased, but a* and b* indices were increased by replacing Monascus purpureus pigment with nitrite.

The sample containing 60% Monascus purpureus pigment was selected as a superior treatment because the antioxidant properties, microbial load, and sensory properties had no significant difference with the control sample.

High prevalence of food insecurity experienced by many households in developing countries predisposes them to adopting coping strategies (CSs), some of which may put them at risk of malnutrition. This study assessed the household food insecurity status and CSs in Abeokuta.

A cross-sectional study design was adopted. A total of 250 households were randomly selected in all communities in Odeda Local Government Area, Abeokuta. Interviewer-administered semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data. Household food insecurity (HFI) status and coping strategy were assessed using HFI experience scale and CS index questionnaires. The CSs were categorised as food, financial as well as both food and financial compromization. Data were reported by frequencies and percentages. Chi-square was run to determine the association among variables at P <0.05.

The majority (84.4%) of respondents were food insecure, of whom 26.5%, 35.5%, and 22.4% were food insecure mildly, moderately, and severely, respectively. Moreover, 99.6% took loan, sold sheep and goat, ate once a day, ate rice without stew, sold hen and turkey, took food loan, and reduced food quality and quantity as CS. A significant association exists between CS categories and food insecurity status (P < 0.001). In addition, access to land (P = 0.00), farm (P = 0.04), paved-road (P = 0.01), information (P = 0.04), and market (P = 0.01) were significantly associated with HFI status.

The prevalence of food insecurity was high and most households adopted CS that reduced both food quality and quantity and could adversely affect their nutritional status and predisposed them to multiple forms of malnutrition.

In Burkina Faso, the agricultural sector accounts for 35% of the gross domestic product (GDP) and employs 82% of the active population. The agri-food industries must apply the requirements of the management systems to improve their economic position and ensure sustainable development. The present study aimed to highlight the similarities and particularities of these repositories grouped according to the conformity procedures.

Interviews were conducted with the state technical services and research and development support agencies of Burkina Faso in order to identify and make a comparative study of the available benchmarks.

We studied eight standards (ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, NBF 01-027: 2009, NBF 01-028: 2009, ISO 22000, BRC and IFS). These standards help improving competitiveness of the companies as well as developing the trade and food security. In addition to these standards, three private repositories were used for large distribution: Global Good Agriculture Practices, British Retail Consortium, and International Food Standard. These standards are responsible for the operations of agriculture and agribusiness in the face of numerous commercial, regulatory, health, economic, and societal requirements. They are mainly oriented towards the treatment of the main risks: cross-contamination, fatal accident, health damage, environmental pollution, unavailability of the production tool, loss of customer, etc.

The conformity assessment of food products on the basis of specific benchmarks makes it possible to highlight the positive aspects of these products.

It was suggested that dietary patterns might play a role in the pathogenesis of nephrolithiasis. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between dietary patterns and the occurrence of calcium oxalate kidney stone disease.

A case-control study was conducted on 634 male and female participants aged 18-65 in Tehran using a convenient sampling method. The participants were investigated in the case (n = 317) and control (n = 317) groups. Demographic and anthropometric information, medical history, physical activity, and dietary intake were collected by interview. A validated 147-item food frequency questionnaire was administered to assess the dietary patterns. Factor analysis was also applied with principal component approach (PCA) to determine the major dietary patterns.

The findings showed two major dietary patterns using 41 food groups. Significant differences were observed in nutritional factors and physical activity between the case and the control groups. After adjusting the covariates, the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stone was significantly higher for those in the highest tertile of unhealthy dietary pattern compared to the lowest ones (OR, 3.83; 95%CI, 2.22-6.61). Additionally, no relationship was found between the healthy dietary pattern and the risk of calcium oxalate kidney stone in any of the four logistic regression models (P for trend > 0.05) (OR,0.95; 95%CI, 0.58-1.55).

We found that the unhealthy dietary pattern was strongly associated with increased risk for calcium oxalate kidney stones.

Appetite is one of the main obesity-controlling factors that can be influenced by hormones, including leptin and ghrelin. This study aimed to determine the effects of zinc supplementation on the serum levels of leptin, ghrelin, C-reactive protein (CRP), and anthropometrical indices in obese individuals with increased appetite and zinc deficiency.

This study was conducted among 50 individuals with body mass index > 30 kg/m2 in Shiraz, Iran in 2018. The participants were randomly allocated to the intervention that consumed one capsule containing 30 mg/day zinc (ZG) and placebo group (PG) for 3 months. Moreover, all participants were prescribed calorie-restricted diet, 500 kcal/d less than their weight maintenance requirement energy. Anthropometric indices, dietary intake, serum zinc leptin, ghrelin, and CRP were measured at the baseline and after the intervention.

The ccomparison of mean changes in weight (-4.56 ± 2.47, P < 0.0001), body mass index (-1.65 ± 0.85, P < 0.0001), waist circumference (-5.54 ± 4.06, P < 0.0001), hip circumference (-3.19 ±1.91, P < 0.0001), and serum zinc (15.91 ± 5.24, P < 0.0001) showed a significant difference between groups with greater reduction in the zinc group. However, waist to hip ratio, ghrelin, and CRP showed no significant differences. A significant difference was revealed between groups in terms of the mean leptin concentration changes, in favor of the increase in leptin concentration in ZG (P = 0.003).

Based on the findings, three months of zinc supplementation improved some anthropometric and biochemical measures. Further studies are needed to confirm these results.

The growing attention in food security has suggested many approaches to develop a society free from hunger and malnutrition. Methodological approaches are mostly used to overcome the challenges of food security, but food insecurity is more than mere availability and access to food. Cultural and social dimensions and their intricacies to achieve food security are mostly missing from the literature. The culture matters, but to what extent and in what ways? The question still stands. So, ‗how different cultural and social factors shape the food plate in different communities‘ has to be integrated with these approaches to understand the local food system as it has direct implications on improving food and nutritional security. This study provided a glimpse into how diversity in culture and social heritage contributes to food and nutritional security.

The aim of this study was to define various traditional dairy products most widely consumed in Africa and Algeria. In this study, we provided examples of these products along with their production and fermentation procedures. Fermented foods are the primary source of nutrition for rural and urban communities. In Algeria, cheese is still made in the traditional way at the family level. The Jben and Klila are the most popular traditional varieties and their manufacturing method is still in use to the present day. In conclusion, we sought to learn more about the traditional dairy products, tried to produce them industrially, and thus preserved this important indigenous wealth.