The COVID-19 pandemic, one of the worst global health crises in the last century, impacted nearly every aspect of people's lives, including their dietary choices and food consumption patterns. It ...arrived during a long shift in American diets featuring increasingly large portions of processed foods as well as fruit and vegetable consumption that is well below recommended levels. Improving the latter has been a key part of policymakers' efforts to improve consumers' diets. This study surveyed individuals in the US South to determine the factors influencing their consumption of fruit and vegetables during the pandemic peak and how these have changed post-peak. During the peak, food venue, demographics, and concerns about diet and the seriousness of the virus heavily affected consumption. Greater amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables were consumed post-peak pandemic. Changes post-peak were predicted by food venue. Cooking meals at home was the main positive predictor for consumption. US policymakers should try and leverage the changes since the peak to promote greater consumption of fruit and vegetables.
•Ethylene promotes the ripening and meanwhile over-ripening/spoilage of F&V.•Scavengers containing oxidizing catalysts are effective in eliminating ethylene.•Incorporating ethylene scavengers into ...F&V packaging or films is promising.•Mechanisms of ethylene elimination and oxidation related to F&V are elucidated.
The phytohormone ethylene is the main cause of postharvest spoilage of fruit and vegetables (F&V). To address the global challenge of reducing postharvest losses of F&V, effective management of ethylene is of great importance. This review summarizes the various ethylene scavengers/inhibitors and emerging technologies recently developed for the effective removal of ethylene released, paying particular attention to the ethylene scavenger/inhibitors containing catalysts to promote the in-situ oxidation of ethylene without inducing further pollution. Packing ethylene scavengers, such as zeolite, titanium dioxide and transition metals, in a small sachet has been practically used and widely reported. However, incorporating ethylene scavenger into food packaging materials or films along with the in-situ oxidation of ethylene has been rarely reviewed. The current review fills up this gap, covering the latest research progress on ethylene scavengers/inhibitors and discussion on the mechanisms of ethylene elimination and oxidation associated with F&V packaging.
Questions remain about the strength and shape of the dose-response relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and mortality, and the effects of ...specific types of fruit and vegetables. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to clarify these associations.
PubMed and Embase were searched up to 29 September 2016. Prospective studies of fruit and vegetable intake and cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality were included. Summary relative risks (RRs) were calculated using a random effects model, and the mortality burden globally was estimated; 95 studies (142 publications) were included.
For fruits and vegetables combined, the summary RR per 200 g/day was 0.92 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.90-0.94, I 2 = 0%, n = 15 for coronary heart disease, 0.84 (95% CI: 0.76-0.92, I 2 = 73%, n = 10) for stroke, 0.92 (95% CI: 0.90-0.95, I 2 = 31%, n = 13) for cardiovascular disease, 0.97 (95% CI: 0.95-0.99, I 2 = 49%, n = 12) for total cancer and 0.90 (95% CI: 0.87-0.93, I 2 = 83%, n = 15) for all-cause mortality. Similar associations were observed for fruits and vegetables separately. Reductions in risk were observed up to 800 g/day for all outcomes except cancer (600 g/day). Inverse associations were observed between the intake of apples and pears, citrus fruits, green leafy vegetables, cruciferous vegetables, and salads and cardiovascular disease and all-cause mortality, and between the intake of green-yellow vegetables and cruciferous vegetables and total cancer risk. An estimated 5.6 and 7.8 million premature deaths worldwide in 2013 may be attributable to a fruit and vegetable intake below 500 and 800 g/day, respectively, if the observed associations are causal.
Fruit and vegetable intakes were associated with reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and all-cause mortality. These results support public health recommendations to increase fruit and vegetable intake for the prevention of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and premature mortality.
The aim was to estimate the greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) associated with self-selected diets and to evaluate the impact of modifying dietary structures on diet-associated GHGE. Food consumption ...data from 1918 adults participating in the French national dietary survey and GHGE of 73 highly consumed foods (in g CO2e/100g of edible food) were used to estimate the GHGE of each individual diet. The mean diet-associated GHGE was 4170g CO2e/day and a high inter-individual variability was observed. When the total caloric intakes were reduced to meet the individual energy needs, the diet-associated GHGE decreased by either 10.7% or 2.4%, depending on the assumption made on the average physical activity level of the population. The meat and deli meat food group represented the strongest diet-associated GHGE contributor, but the impact of different meat reduction scenarios was modest. In particular, when fruit and vegetables were iso-calorically substituted for meat, either null or even positive diet-associated GHGE variations were observed because the needed amounts of fruit and vegetables to maintain the caloric content of the diet were high. Therefore, substituting fruit and vegetables for meat (especially deli meat) may be desirable for health but is not necessarily the best approach to decreasing diet-associated GHGE.
► Diet-associated greenhouse gas emissions (GHGE) were estimated using the French individual food consumption survey data. ► The mean diet-associated GHGE was estimated at 4170g CO2e/d and was higher for men than for women. ► Individual diet-associated GHGE showed a high variability due to the variability of both diet quantity and diet structure. ► Meat was the strongest contributor to diet-associated GHGE. ► When meat was iso-calorically replaced with fruit and vegetables, only small diet-associated GHGE variations were observed.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, access to fresh food has been restricted, and people are spending more time inside and have limited their physical activity. However, more time at home ...may have resulted in some positive habits including an increase in cooking. The aim of this review was to assess dietary changes during the first lockdown. Themes and patterns were considered and associations with other lifestyle factors were assessed.
Between June and July 2020, the PubMed, Google Scholar, and Science Direct databases were searched, and results were screened for eligibility based on title, abstract, and full text. The inclusion criteria of this search included: papers published (or in pre-print) in the year 2020; studies that investigated the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on diet; papers published in English. Exclusion criteria were as follows: papers examining dietary changes in those following a structured diet based on diagnosed conditions or dietetic advice; literature, systematic, or narrative studies reviewing previous research. Researchers agreed on the study characteristics for extraction from final papers.
Four thousand three hundred and twenty-two studies were originally considered with 23 final full-text papers included. Four themes were identified: dietary patterns, dietary habits (favorable), dietary habits (unfavorable), and other (includes physical activity levels, weight gain). A total of 10 studies reported an increase in the number of snacks consumed, while six studies found that participants increased their meal number and frequency during quarantine. Eleven studies reported favorable changes in dietary habits with an increase in fresh produce and home cooking and reductions in comfort food and alcohol consumption. However, nine studies found a reduction in fresh produce, with a further six reporting an increase in comfort foods including sweets, fried food, snack foods, and processed foods. Two studies reported an increase in alcohol consumption. In eight studies participants reported weight gain with seven studies reporting a reduction in physical exercise.
The effect of COVID-19 lockdown both negatively and positively impacted dietary practices throughout Europe and globally, and negative diet habits were associated with other poor lifestyle outcomes including weight gain, mental health issues, and limited physical activity. Both in the short term and if sustained in the long term, these changes may have significant impacts on the health of the population.
Incentivizing fruit and vegetable (F&V) purchases may help address barriers to healthy eating among populations with low income. In a repeated measures natural experiment study, we examined whether ...participation in the Double Up Food Bucks (DUFB) program increased F&V consumption among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. Two hundred and twelve participants recruited at baseline through telephone calls were informed about the availability of DUFB at their local farmers’ market (FM). F&V consumption frequency and DUFB use were obtained at baseline, mid FM, and end of FM season approximately 5 months later. Participants (N = 212) were primarily white (76.4%) women (77.3%) with an average age of 43.5 years. Only 34 participants opted to use the DUFB program. A linear mixed model showed a significant main effect of DUFB use (p = 0.001) and of time (p = 0.002), with a decrease in F&V intake over time. Compared to non-users, DUFB users had a significantly higher F&V consumption at baseline and midpoint (p = 0.02 and p = 0.02, respectively). F&V consumption was associated with participation in the DUFB program and higher F&V consumption frequency was observed prior to program use among program participants. Future interventions that specifically target SNAP recipients with low F&V intake to use the DUFB program are needed.
•This review of literature shows that refractometer is the most used tool for sweetness analysis.•HPLC is the common technique for laboratory identification and quantification of individual ...sugars.•BrimA has a close relationship with taste properties of fruit compared to SSC or SSC:TA ratio.•Vis/NIRS is commonly used as a non-destructive tool to determine sugars of horticultural produce.•Hyperspectral imaging has a potential to evaluate sugar composition of fresh produce.
The determination and quantification of sugars is important for quality control and assurance of horticultural produce. This review discusses analytical methods for determination of sugars and sweetness of fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, including the use of destructive and non-destructive instrumental techniques to evaluate sugar composition and characterize taste profile or sweetness. From the standard hand-held refractometer to the hydrometer, electronic tongue and high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) equipped with different detectors, a wide range of devices have been used to determine sugar composition and sweetness of many fruit and vegetable products. Although chromatographic techniques are very accurate and useful, they require extensive sample preparation based on solvent extraction and hence are generally time-consuming and expensive. Visible to near infrared spectroscopy (vis/NIRS) has been proposed as an interesting alternative to traditional methods due to its rapidity, simplicity, cost effectiveness and potential for routine analysis if proper calibration and validation steps were developed. Current trends favour analytical methods that are simple to use, quick and non-destructive. The prospects for using emerging technologies such as hyperspectral imaging and nuclear magnetic resonance for non-destructive assessment of sugar content and sweetness of fresh and processed horticultural food products are also discussed.
A printed smoothie of selected fruit and vegetables was obtained. The morphological and microstructural properties were analyzed as affected by print speed and flow. Also, the changes in ...microbiological, antioxidant and sensorial attributes were monitored for 8 days at 5 °C. The best reproduction of the virtual model was observed at flow of 101.4%. Actual and estimated printing times did not match because the common firmware and slicing software are still unable to predict the food behaviour during printing. The appearance of 3D printed samples was more appreciated than the no-printed smoothie. Antioxidant capacity was constant during storage at 10.9 mg trolox/100 g while total phenolic content reduced from 18.8 to 10.5 mg GAE/100 g. A concentration in bacteria of 4.28 Log CFU/g was observed after printing suggesting that 3D food printing will have to consider the sanitization of each part in contact with food before its application in restaurants and at industrial scale.
•A smoothie of fruit and vegetables was printed by a 3D printer.•Printing variables affected the reproducibility of the virtual model.•The 3D samples were more appreciated than no-printed ones.•Antioxidants did not change during storage at 5 °C.•The sanitization of 3D printers should be considered for shelf life reasons.
Organophosphates (OPs) and carbamates (CMs) are two classes of pesticides that are widely used in agriculture, public health, and home pest control. Both OPs and CMs work by inhibiting the activity ...of acetylcholinesterase, an enzyme that breaks down the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Analytical methods used for the detection of OPs and CMs can be costly, as they often require specialized equipment and experienced analysts. Therefore, it is necessary to develop low-cost, quick, and simple analytical techniques for OPs and CMs detection. This study developed a method for detecting OPs and CMs using esterase enzymes from honey bee heads and a colorimetric technique. The limits of detection (LODs) for OPs include dicrovos, mevinphos, azinophos-methyl, and chlorpyrifos with values of 0.005, 0.001, 0.02, and 0.02 mg/kg, respectively, and the LODs for CMs are carbaryl, ethiofencarb, oxamyl, and fenobucarb with values of 0.0008, 0.03, 0.01, and 0.09 mg/kg, respectively. Comparisons between the developed method and the GC-FPD showed no difference in detecting OPs and CMs residues in fruits and vegetables. This developed method can detect OPs and CMs residues in fruits and vegetables, which will help reduce costs and facilitate easy verification.
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