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Summary: Germination of Bacillus cereus spores followed by growth and replication of the vegetative cells in food can result in food poisoning and therefore significant economic and health impacts. This study explores a novel approach to detect and differentiate spores and germinated B. cereus cells using hyperspectral imaging (HSI) in combination with machine learning using three different germination triggers. HSI could successfully differentiate between dormant spores, germinated cells and structural controls (non‐spores). The spectral data in the visible‐near‐infrared range are sensitive to unique structural and chemical characteristics specific to spores, setting them apart from their vegetative counterparts and non‐biological controls. This non‐destructive and robust approach shows significant potential for detection and assessment of the physiological state (dormant or germinated). Therefore, HSI is a potential method for the detection of germination in B. cereus spores and merits further research and validation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: The quality (i.e. the degree of excellence and acceptance to the consumer) evaluation and safety of fruit and other agricultural products is by far the main challenging task in the food industries. Hence, the development of efficient non‐invasive, real‐time and rapid‐quality assessment tools and techniques is the need of the hour. This review paper aims to provide the basic or fundamental knowledge regarding the principle, potential and application of near‐infrared imaging‐based computer vision systems. Non‐invasive technologies, based on optical properties, are the most applicable and important for real‐time quality assessment. Absorption, reflection and scattering before the transmission of incident light are phenomenon properties of biological materials. The principle and application of NIR imaging (i.e. medical imaging) in agriculture for quality detection were studied from various published research papers. Thus, collected pieces of information are summarised, concluded and discussed in a unique way in this report. The NIR spectrum of electromagnetic waves has some basic benefits of light penetration into the upper layer and makes visualisation of the targeted area of objects. Several studies have proved that the non‐destructive system based on visible and non‐visible imaging in combination has a significant role in quality defect detection in fruits. In NIR imaging, the artefacts caused by light illumination can be reduced and it will help in the visualisation of biological tissues and hidden defects just below the peel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores how small‐scale farmers' shared moral understandings of land shape both land sales and land rental markets, in the context of the commoditization of agriculture in Nicaragua. The results here presented are based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted in a subsistence farming community in the highlands of Nicaragua. This research shows that even in relatively commoditized market economies, shared yet contested ideas around the ethics of a community moral economy stall and constrain the local marketization of land. Social relationships, ideas of a sacred origin of land, and expectations about the duties of landholders toward their community peers undermine the capitalist dynamics of supply and demand. This ethical challenge to capitalist market expansion into land markets enables the survival of small‐scale subsistence farming. These findings are important, as they show how land markets are shaped by differing perspectives on historical dynamics of land tenure, class differentiation, and the everyday moral economies in which competing ideas of obligation, solidarity, and fair prices are articulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: This study aimed to identify how dietitians and other healthcare providers work to build trust in food systems in the course of providing dietary education. Methods: Qualitative semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 15 purposefully sampled dietitians (n = 5), general practitioners (n = 5), and complementary and alternative medicine practitioners (n = 5) within metropolitan South Australia. Interview data were then interpreted using an inductive thematic analysis approach, involving the construction of themes representing trust‐enhancing roles around which beliefs about professional roles, the 'patient', and food and health were clustered. Results: Healthcare providers communicate beliefs regarding (dis)trust in food systems through: (i) responding to patient queries and concerns following a food incident or scare; (ii) helping patients to identify (un)trustworthy elements of food supply systems; and (iii) encouraging consumption of locally produced and minimally processed food. Importantly, the expression of these roles differed according to participant beliefs about food and health (medico‐scientific versus alternative medicine) and their adoption of professional projects that sought to promote medico‐scientific ways of thinking about health and diet or manage the failures of Western medicine. Conclusion: The development and consolidation of trust‐enhancing roles amongst healthcare providers likely requires disciplinary reflection on professional values and the processes by which practitioners apply these values to understanding food systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children under‐5 years of age are particularly vulnerable to severe acute malnutrition (SAM), and the risk factors associated with relapse to SAM are poorly understood. Possible causes are asymptomatic or symptomatic infection with enteric pathogens, with contaminated food as a critical transmission route. This cross‐sectional study comprised a household survey with samples of child food (n = 382) and structured observations of food preparation (n = 197) among children aged 6–59 months that were discharged from treatment in community management of acute malnutrition (CMAM) programmes in South Sudan. We quantified Escherichia coli and total coliforms (TCs), measured in colony forming units per g of food (CFU/g), as indicators of microbial contamination of child food. A modified hazard analysis critical control point (HACCP) approach was utilised to determine critical control points (CCPs) followed by multivariate logistic regression analysis to understand the risk factors associated with contamination. Over 40% (n = 164) of samples were contaminated with E. coli (43% >0 E. coli CFU/g, 95% CI 38%–48%), and 90% (n = 343) had >10 TCs (CFU/g) (>10 TC CFU/g, 95% CI 87%–93%). Risk factors associated (p < 0.05) with child food contamination included if the child fed themselves (9.05 RR, 95% CI [3.18, 31.16]) and exposure to animals (2.63 RR, 95% CI [1.33, 5.34]). This study highlights the risk factors and potential control strategies that can support interventions that reduce food contamination exposure in young children and help further protect those that are highly vulnerable to recurrent exposure to enteric pathogens. Key messages: Food is a potentially important pathway for enteric disease transmission and a major concern for children recovered from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in humanitarian settings.In low‐income South Sudan, 43% (n = 164) of child food samples from households with a child at risk of relapse to SAM were contaminated with Escherichia coli and 90% (n = 343) with total coliforms (TCs).Child self‐feeding and animal presence in the household were identified as key risk factors for food contamination.Future research should assess the relative importance of the identified critical control points (CCPs), including reducing animal contact in the household, improving knowledge and practices around cooking processes and hygiene practices specific to the child such as handwashing and the use of cutlery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In Australia, the prevalence of food insecurity increased by 1.5% between 2014 and 2016 and 2018 and 2020 due to effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic. OzHarvest offers a 6‐week Nutrition Education and Skills Training (NEST) programme to adults at risk of food insecurity. NEST provides 2.5‐h weekly cooking workshops on simple, healthy and affordable meals. This study aimed to determine the immediate (post) and longer‐term (6 months) impacts of participation in NEST. Methods: A quasi‐experimental study with pre–post surveys (n = 258) and 6‐month follow‐up surveys (n = 20) was conducted from June 2019 to July 2022. Survey results were obtained from NEST programme participants (≥18 years) from six major Australian cities. Results: Participants demonstrated immediate improvement in nutrition knowledge (p < 0.001), food preparation behaviours (p < 0.001) and confidence and self‐efficacy (n = 222; p < 0.001). Intake of discretionary foods decreased (p < 0.001), whereas fruit, vegetable and water intake increased (p < 0.001). Food security improved from 57% to 68% immediately after the completion of the programme (p < 0.001). Participants demonstrated longer‐term improvements in nutrition knowledge (p < 0.001), cooking confidence (n = 8; p = 0.03), food preparation behaviours (p = 0.003) and increased vegetable (p = 0.03) and fruit intake (p = 0.01). Conclusions: Participation in OzHarvest's NEST programme results in short‐term improvements in food security levels and dietary behaviours. Over the longer term, these changes were sustained but to a lesser degree, indicating that systemic changes are required to address underlying socio‐economic disadvantages. Key points: NEST is a 6‐week programme that provides nutrition education and skills training on cooking simple, healthy and affordable meals to adults at risk of food insecurity.Participation in the programme resulted in significant beneficial impacts for food security, food literacy and dietary intake.Over the longer term, these changes were sustained but to a lesser degree, indicating that systemic changes are required to address underlying socio‐economic disadvantages.It is recommended that food literacy programmes such as NEST be accompanied with financial programmes and job placement schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the framework of China's food safety standards and provides a brief overview of the problems and developmental characteristics of food safety in China. The composition and characteristics of China's food safety standards are revealed by an analysis of the changes in China's general food standards, an overview of the characteristics of the hygiene requirements in the production and operation process, and an introduction to food product and test method standards. In conclusion, Chinese food safety standards are still being improved, but they must also be effectively implemented and followed up in real time in order to continuously improve the quality of food and reduce food safety incidents. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: This study advances contemporary theories of motherhood, mothering, and foodwork within the context of poverty by focusing on the ways that low‐income Black mothers engage interdependent culturally distinct mothering strategies in light of a porous social safety net. Background: Contemporary standards for good parenting are increasingly resource‐based. As such, the intricate and tactical ways that low‐income Black mothers manage to make food ends meet with little means and few resources are often obscured in favor of hegemonic forms of mothering. Method: This study draws on 44 in‐depth interviews with low‐income Black mothers and grandmothers to examine their survival strategies, focusing on food provision. Results: Findings reveal that these mothers prioritize basic needs provision, such as food and feeding, and achieve this often difficult goal by engaging a cultural toolkit that we term symbiotic mothering. Symbiotic mothering is constructed and reinforced through the collective processes of maternal exchange, mutual aid and resource pooling, and the intergenerational and horizontal transmission of cultural knowledges, values, and practices. Conclusions: While there is a wealth of scholarship interrogating the ways Black women deviate from dominant mothering expectations, symbiotic mothering highlights the unique cultural skillsets these mothers actively engage to meet the everyday demands of mothering, particularly related to food provision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande) is a typical omnivorous insect that feeds on host plants, pollens and mite eggs, and poses a threat to crops worldwide. The insulin signalling pathway (ISP) is a typical nutrient‐sensitive pathway that participates in the regulation of various functions in insects. Serine/threonine kinases (AKTs) and phosphoinositide‐dependent kinases (PDKs) are key components of the ISP. In this study, the FoAKT and FoPDK genes in F. occidentalis were cloned, and the effects of three foods on their expression were determined. The expression of FoAKT and FoPDK in the thrips fed on kidney bean leaves supplemented with pine pollen or mite eggs was higher than in those primarily fed on leaves alone. Meanwhile, the fecundity of thrips fed on leaves supplemented with pine pollen was highest. In addition, RNA interference‐mediated knockdown of FoAKT and FoPDK decreased vitellogenin (Vg) content and Vg expression in females, shortened ovariole length, delayed egg development and reduced fecundity and offspring hatching rates. Furthermore, the synthesis of juvenile hormone (JH) was reduced, and the contents of glucose, trehalose, glycogen and trehalase were affected. These results suggest that FoAKT and FoPDK regulate the reproduction of F. occidentalis by regulating Vg and JH production as well as carbohydrate metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rewards are a broad category of stimuli inducing approach behavior to aid survival. Extensive evidence from animal research has shown that wanting (the motivation to pursue a reward) and liking (the pleasure associated with its consumption) are mostly regulated by dopaminergic and opioidergic activity in dedicated brain areas. However, less is known about the neuroanatomy of dopaminergic and opioidergic regulation of reward processing in humans, especially when considering different types of rewards (i.e., social and nonsocial). To fill this gap of knowledge, we combined dopaminergic and opioidergic antagonism (via amisulpride and naltrexone administration) with functional neuroimaging to investigate the neurochemical and neuroanatomical bases of wanting and liking of matched nonsocial (food) and social (interpersonal touch) rewards, using a randomized, between‐subject, placebo‐controlled, double‐blind design. While no drug effect was observed at the behavioral level, brain activity was modulated by the administered compounds. In particular, opioid antagonism, compared to placebo, reduced activity in the medial orbitofrontal cortex during consumption of the most valued social and nonsocial rewards. Dopamine antagonism, however, had no clear effects on brain activity in response to reward anticipation. These findings provide insights into the neurobiology of human reward processing and suggest a similar opioidergic regulation of the neural responses to social and nonsocial reward consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: In the United States (U.S.), 77% of school district leaders reported that their students had fallen behind in their social‐emotional development due to COVID‐19 school closures. Although research has measured indicators of social‐emotional well‐being from the perspective of other informants, little is known about student perceptions of perceived changes in their socioemotional competencies and, to a lesser degree, their nonacademic needs. AIMS: The current study examined middle school students' nonacademic needs, perceptions of socioemotional competencies, and predictors of "socioemotional loss." MATERIALS & METHODS: The authors utilized secondary data from 395 middle school students gathered in August 2020 and November 2020 in one large middle school in the southern region of the U.S. Multivariate and linear regression analyses explored students' nonacademic needs, assessed changes in perceptions of their socioemotional competencies over time, and identified predictors of "socioemotional loss" during the "return to learn" period. RESULTS: Our findings indicated that 3% to 14% of students reported nonacademic needs, with the greatest needs related to food, housing, and healthcare. Further, 48% of students reported perceived losses in their socioemotional competencies, and students formerly receiving school‐based support services were those most affected (71% vs. 46%, p =.01). Among the subgroup reporting losses, living in a single‐parent household significantly predicted socioemotional loss (β = −.16, p =.02). DISCUSSION: School‐based practitioners, including educators, policymakers, social workers, and mental health providers, can utilize these findings to deliver interventions to students that experienced hardships during the pandemic. CONCLUSION: Responding to these risks will be critical as schools adapt and intervene in response to the COVID‐19 pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Anorexia nervosa (AN) is associated with altered processing of disorder‐relevant stimuli. Event‐related potentials (ERP) – such as the Late Positive Potential (LPP) – give information about the underlying mechanisms of central nervous stimulus processing. Methods: Patients with AN (22 adolescents, 23 adults) and healthy controls (HCs; 17 adolescents, 24 adults) were included. Neutral, low, and high calorie food‐images were rated for valence and arousal; EEG activity was recorded and LPPs (early: 350–700 ms; late: 800–1200 ms) were extracted. Effects of patient status, age group, and stimulus category were analyzed via mixed 2 × 2 × 3‐AN(C)OVAs. Results: Patients with AN rated high calorie stimuli lower in valence and higher in arousal than HCs. Controlling for hunger, food stimuli elicited higher early LPPs than neutral ones in patients and HCs. For the late LPP, patients with AN showed larger amplitudes. Conclusion: Results suggest a highly automatic attentional bias towards low‐calorie foods. Patients with AN seem to have more intense cognitive processing independent of stimulus material. More research is needed to validate and clarify differences between early and late LPP measures as well as the operationalization and relevance of hunger status. Highlights: Processing of food stimuli in anorexia nervosa was examined with the help of Event Related Potentials.Food stimuli elicited a higher Late Positive Potential (early component) than neutral stimuli in patients with anorexia nervosa and healthy participants, reflecting automatic attention towards (especially low‐calorie) food.AN patients show larger LPP amplitudes (late component) for all – neutral and food – stimuli, pointing towards increased cognitive processing in adolescent and adult patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benchtop NMR provides improved accessibility in terms of cost, space, and technical expertise. In turn, this encourages new users into the field of NMR spectroscopy. Unfortunately, many interesting samples in education and research, from beer to whole blood, contain significant amounts of water that require suppression in 1H NMR in order to recover sample information. However, due to the significant reduction in chemical shift dispersion in benchtop NMR systems, the sample signals are much closer to the water resonance compared to those in a corresponding high‐field NMR spectrum. Therefore, simply translating solvent suppression experiments intended for high‐field NMR instruments to benchtop NMR systems without careful consideration can be problematic. In this study, the effectiveness of several popular water suppression schemes was evaluated for benchtop NMR applications. Emphasis is placed on pulse sequences with no, or few, adjustable parameters making them easy to implement. These fall into two main categories: (1) those based on Pre‐SAT including Pre‐SAT, PURGE, NOESY‐PR, and g‐NOESY‐PR and (2) those based on binomial inversion including JRS and W5‐WATERGATE. Among these schemes, solvent suppression sequences based on Pre‐SAT offer a general approach for easy solvent suppression for samples with higher analyte concentrations (sucrose standard and Redbull™). However, for human urine, binomial‐like sequences were required. In summary, it is demonstrated that highly efficient water suppression approaches can be implemented on benchtop NMR systems in a simple manner, despite the limited spectral dispersion, further illustrating the potential for widespread implementation of these approaches in education and research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Fruit loss frequently occurs due to physical and microbial deterioration. This study aimed to develop an emulsified coating formulation based on pectin (BP)/cellulose nanofibre (CNF)/(peppermint essential oil) PEO using the Pickering technique with an appropriate level of CNF as a stabiliser and to study its effect on grape quality during storage. The incorporation of 0.4% PEO‐stabilised with various 0.1%–0.325% CNF into 0.5% BP edible coatings was developed. A 0.175% concentration of CNF was found to be appropriate for stabilising the emulsion system. This technique improved the functional performance of BP coatings, including their antifungal activity against Penicillium digitatum by 64.94% on the 7th day of incubation. Moreover, light transmission at UV and visible wavelengths and elongation improved by 23.17% and 71.26% respectively compared to the pure BP‐based coating. Scanning electron microscopy and Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy were used to characterise the biocompatibility of each coating formulation. The PEO‐CNF emulsion coating may be an alternative for the active coating of fresh fruit commodities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have calculated an entropy or information measure of previously reported experimentally determined temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) data of texture attributes for two sets of emulsion filled gels throughout the mastication cycle. The samples were emulsion filled gels and two‐layered emulsion filled gels. We find that the entropy measure follows an average curve, which is different for each set. The specifics of the entropy curve may serve as a fingerprint for the perception of a specific food sample. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we use Lévi‐Strauss's (1962, The savage mind, University of Chicago Press) concept of 'bricolage' to explore informal food preparation among men in Scottish prisons. The art of 'making do with whatever is at hand', in innovative and creative ways, to give new functions to everyday items has recently been reimagined and applied to the field of food. It has been used to explore the practice of informal food networks in resource poor environments; investigate how small food businesses come up with new and innovative recipes ideas; and study the way Michelin‐starred chefs responded to the COVID‐19 pandemic through philanthropic activities. Our aim is to use bricolage as a lens through which to answer questions about whether more autonomy over food might contribute to overall health and wellbeing in prisons. Drawing on in‐depth empirical data from qualitative interviews with 20 men in Scottish prisons, we explore how bricolage is used to escape the monotony of prison‐issued meals and the tedium of the prison regime; counter threats to self and identity; create and maintain social relationships through joint enterprise and commensality; and create culinary experiences that afford a sense of control and normality in an environment synonymous with 'spoiled identity' (Goffman, 1961, Asylums: Essays on the social situation of mental patients and other inmates, Penguin.). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: The aims of this systematic review were to (1) identify assessment approaches of Indigenous food sovereignty using the core domains of community ownership, inclusion of traditional food knowledge, inclusion/promotion of cultural foods and environmental/intervention sustainability, (2) describe Indigenous research methodologies when assessing Indigenous food sovereignty. Methods: Guided by Indigenous members of the research team, a systematic review across four databases (Medline, Embase, CINAHL and PsycINFO) was performed. Studies in any language from 1996 to 2021, that used one or more of the core domains (identified from a recent scoping review) of community ownership, inclusion of traditional food knowledge, inclusion/promotion of cultural foods and environmental/intervention sustainability were included. Results: From 20 062 records, after exclusion criteria were applied, 34 studies were included. Indigenous food sovereignty assessment approaches were mostly qualitative (n = 17) or mixed methods (n = 16), with interviews the most utilised (n = 29), followed by focus groups and meetings (n = 23) and validated frameworks (n = 7) as assessment tools. Indigenous food sovereignty assessment approaches were mostly around inclusion of traditional food knowledge (n = 21), or environmental/intervention sustainability (n = 15). Community‐Based Participatory Research approaches were utilised across many studies (n = 26), with one‐third utilising Indigenous methods of inquiry. Acknowledgement of data sovereignty (n = 6) or collaboration with Indigenous researchers (n = 4) was limited. Conclusion: This review highlights Indigenous food sovereignty assessment approaches in the literature worldwide. It emphasises the importance of using Indigenous research methodologies in research conducted by or with Indigenous Peoples and acknowledges Indigenous communities should lead future research in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of food on the pharmacokinetics (PKs) and safety of 10‐mg rivaroxaban tablets in healthy Chinese subjects were investigated from 1 bioequivalence trial. The bioequivalence trial was designed as randomized, open‐label, 2‐sequence, 4‐period crossover under both fasted and fed conditions. A total of 56 healthy subjects were enrolled, 62.5% were male. These subjects received a single oral 10‐mg dose of rivaroxaban with a 7‐day washout between 4 periods. Serial PK samples were collected and plasma concentrations were analyzed using validated high‐performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry. Pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by noncompartmental methods. The BE module of WinNonLin was used for statistical analysis of the maximum concentration (Cmax), the area under the concentration–time curve from zero to the final measurable concentration (AUC0‐t), and the area under the concentration–time curve from time zero to infinity (AUC0‐∞) of rivaroxaban in plasma. Compared with the fasted state, the Cmax, AUC0‐t, and AUC0‐∞ of rivaroxaban significantly increased by 47%, 28%, and 26%, respectively, with oral administration of rivaroxaban 10 mg in the fed state. The incidence of adverse events (AEs) was similar between the fasted and fed states, and no serious AEs were observed. Food significantly increased the exposure to rivaroxaban 10 mg in Chinese subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows that adult meat eaters strategically distort or disregard information about animals (e.g., their intelligence) that is problematic for meat consumption. However, the development of such behaviours is not well understood. Two studies tested whether primary‐school‐age children exhibit motivated use of information about food animals as adults do (N = 148 children, 410 adults). Using experimental methods that manipulated participants' perceptions of the intelligence (high vs. low) of food animals versus non‐food animals (Study 1) and the perspective taken (self vs. other; Study 2), it was found that, compared to adult omnivores, children tend to hold stronger moral views about the wrongness of harming animals to use as food. Only adults exhibited motivated non‐use of intelligence information and self‐other distinctions in their moral‐concern judgments. Children's judgments of eating animals did not exhibit the strategic, self‐serving processes characteristic of adult meat eaters. Psychological explanations for these developmental differences are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Norway, public health nurses (PHNs) are responsible for giving parents nutritional knowledge, but limited research describes how they perceive this task. This study explores PHNs' perceptions and experiences on nutritional guidance for parents of infants and toddlers. Semistructured interviews with six PHNs were conducted and transcribed verbatim. Data were subjected to thematic analysis. Five main themes were identified: (1) Dietary guidance for parents is central to the work; (2) PHNs perceive they have parents' trust, and parents are in general open to nutrition counselling; (3) food and meals must be seen in light of the family context; (4) The dialogue must be adapted to the individual family; and (5) PHNs have expertise on nutrition; however, updating knowledge is difficult. Nutritional guidance was perceived by PHNs as a core activity. They felt that they had parents' trust, and that parents were particularly open to nutritional guidance during the first 2 years. Counselling was generally well received, but conversations on overweight were perceived as difficult. PHNs strove to tailor their guidance to individual needs. However, providing guidance on a wide range of issues in different families and cultures could be challenging. They acknowledged a need for updating knowledge but the offer of courses was sparse. Our findings suggest a discrepancy between how nutrition is prioritized in the education of PHNs and what they encounter in clinical practice. In the future, this should be given more attention given the PHNs' unique position to promote healthy eating and long-term health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Essential life skills related to food and meals have a potential triple dividend for children and adolescents, that is, short-term, medium-term and possible generational effects with regard to public health, sustainability and well-being of future citizens in local communities. While parents and childhood environments are a basis for learning about food and meals, systematic food education in the setting of primary and lower secondary schools may have a significant role that should be utilized more strongly, reaching and benefitting all pupils from a life course perspective. Through this article, we explore the current state of the art of the mandatory school subject Food and Health (FH) from the Nordic perspective. Our leading questions are: (1) What potential is currently utilized and which future potential does FH education have in primary and secondary schools in terms of food education for essential life skills and competencies, and (2) How can this untapped potential be better harnessed with a goal of facilitating better learning in FH? Drawing on data from Norway as a case study, supported by Swedish and Finnish data, we discuss the status, challenges and potential reformation of food education, focusing on FH. This includes perspectives on the prioritization of the FH subject and the organization of more systematic food education in schools, which might improve FH's status and significance. Combining theory-practice, creating room for discussion and focusing less on cooking-related activities may better facilitate learning in FH. Without proper FH, food education might be nonsystematic, thereby generating unequal outcomes for children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on emotions and second language learning has recently expanded to heritage language education contexts. Influenced by a long tradition in psycholinguistics and second language acquisition, research on heritage language emotions has mainly focused on the statistical effects of emotions on language development rather than examining emotions that relate to social and interpersonal relations. This article responds to these research needs through a critical ethnographic exploration of how emotions of belonging are negotiated through the production and consumption of food at an Arabic heritage language school in the United States. Drawing on data from observations, interviews, and field notes collected during a 2‐year period, I argue that the production and consumption of Arabic food during cooking events and classes at the school afford students opportunities to negotiate emotions of belonging toward Arab culture as an embodied and nonessentialist practice, toward diverse religions and nationalities in the heritage school community, and toward the local majority community in the United States. This analysis foregrounds the affordances of occasions in which language learning and emotions are situated within the sociomaterial practices of heritage culture and highlights the need to establish interinstitutional connections with community schools to support the socioemotional well‐being and educational equity of immigrant and racialized youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leisure activities, including place‐based food experiences, have become central to defining urban identities and branding places. Mobile and affluent urbanites' search for authentic and cosmopolitan experiences is increasingly guided by corporate digital media such as apps and websites that direct them to previously ignored working‐class, ethnic and immigrant neighborhoods, which are being discursively and materially reconfigured to meet their needs, in turn causing the displacement of long‐time residents. We examine the relationship between food and gentrification through the lens of digital media, suggesting that they play an important role in shaping urban experiences and cities. Specifically, we investigate narratives produced by popular digital food media, not least websites and apps providing restaurant ratings and reviews, and their relationship to ongoing patterns of gentrification in Buenos Aires, Los Angeles and Paris. Using mixed methods that combine census data with 'hybrid fieldwork' in online and offline foodscapes, we identify some spatial patterns and key characteristics of food‐driven gentrification, highlighting the aestheticization of everyday life and its significance in encouraging and legitimizing planetary gentrification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined sociodemographic factors associated with mothers seeking child feeding advice from health professionals (HPs). Cross‐sectional analysis of survey data from linked randomized controlled trials was conducted. Surveys asked which sources of feeding information mothers used when their child was 6 months and 5 years old. Logistic regression was used to examine associations between sociodemographic characteristics and use of information from HPs. Here, 947 and 405 mothers completed 6‐month and 5‐year surveys, respectively. At 6 months, multiparous mothers were less likely to seek advice from child and family health nurses (CFHNs) (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: 0.558, 95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.416–0.749) and other HPs (AOR: 0.706, 95% CI: 0.542–0.919), unmarried mothers were less likely to seek advice from other HPs (AOR: 0.582, 95% CI: 0.342–0.990). At 5 years, mothers with household income ≥$80,000 p.a. were less likely to seek advice from CFHNs (AOR: 0.514, 95% CI: 0.302–0.875) and working mothers less likely to seek advice from general practitioners (GPs) (AOR: 0.581, 95% CI: 0.374–0.905). Mothers born in Australia were less likely to seek information from CFHNs (AOR: 0.462, 95% CI: 0.257–0.833) and GPs (AOR: 0.431, 95% CI: 0.274–0.677). There was a greater likelihood that multiparous mothers (AOR: 2.114, 95% CI: 1.272–3.516) and mothers of children whose fathers had not attended university (AOR: 2.081, 95% CI: 1.256–3.449) had never sought advice from CFHNs, and that mothers who had not attended university (AOR: 1.769, 95% CI: 1.025–3.051), multiparous (AOR: 1.831, 95% CI: 1.105–3.035) and employed (AOR: 2.058, 95% CI: 1.135–3.733) mothers had never sought advice from other HPs. Understanding sociodemographic factors associated with seeking child feeding advice from HPs may inform priorities for engaging families in health promotion. Key messages: Many mothers seek infant and child feeding advice from primary health professionals, particularly in the first year of life, with engagement declining at age 5 years.Health promotion efforts in primary care settings should prioritize increased engagement of multiparous mothers, those without university education and those in employment.The internet and peers are important sources of infant and child feeding information for mothers, it is important that evidence‐based information is available to mothers online and through peer‐learning models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Restrained eaters (RE) show behaviourally unregulated food intake, which is often explained by a deficit in inhibitory control. Despite evidence for general inhibitory deficits in RE, it remains unclear how the variety of (food) cues in our environment can influence cognitive control. Method: In this re‐analysis, we explored the inhibitory capacity of RE and unrestrained eaters (URE) on a stop‐signal task with modal (pictures) and amodal (word) food and non‐food stimuli. Results: Although we did not find the expected inhibitory deficits in RE compared to URE, we found a significant Group × Modality × Stimulus Type interaction. This indicated that RE have relatively good inhibitory control for food, compared to non‐food modal cues, and that this relationship is reversed for amodal cues. Conclusions: Hence, we showed differential processing of information based on food‐specificity and presentation format in RE. The format of food cues is thus an important new avenue to understand how the food environment impedes those struggling with regulating their eating behaviour. Highlights: Restrained eaters, but not unrestrained eaters, differentially inhibit abstract and sensory cues.The nature of this relationship is contingent on the cues representing food or non‐food objects.Inhibition is relatively good for sensory food cues (pictures) compared to abstract food cues (words). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Rapid urbanisation affects lifestyle and eating habits, predominantly causing a dietary shift that adds challenges to meet dietary recommendations within a complex food system. This research investigated dietary diversity and food choice drivers among low‐income consumers in three urban settlements (Nairobi, Kenya; Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and Lilongwe, Malawi, representing rapid, moderate and slow urban growth patterns, respectively) as a first step towards improving diets across cultures and geographies. Methods: Mixed methods data collection was employed for this study. Qualitative methods such as rapid foodscape appraisal workshops and food stories in selected low‐income settlements in Nairobi, Bulawayo and Lilongwe were utilised to collect information on the food environments (food balances, infrastructure, safety, policies and institutions). Quantitative data such as socio‐demographic characteristics and dietary diversity were collected via structured questionnaires using Cognitive Edge's SenseMaker® (n = 890, 450 and 440 for Nairobi, Bulawayo and Lilongwe, respectively). The dietary intake of respondents was assessed using a 24‐h recall, which was then converted to the food group diversity score (FGDS). Results: Different levels of compounded stress affected dietary diversity and quality, including high food prices, concerns about sanitation and hygiene and the role of food standards regulation bodies. The mean FGDS across all locations was lower than the recommended cut‐off of 5 (4.5, 2.8 and 2.6 across Nairobi, Zimbabwe and Lilongwe, respectively). Additionally, in Nairobi, there were gender differences in diet diversity, with men having a higher dietary diversity score than women (4.6% vs. 4.3%; p = 0.004). The majority of respondents in Lilongwe (65%) reported price as the most important driver of food choice, compared to 38% in Nairobi and 42% in Bulawayo. Discussion/Conclusions: Our observation of poor‐quality diets provides further evidence of the need for food policies that are cognisant of the nutrition and health of the growing population of the urban poor. Such policies would focus on lowering the costs of nutritious foods as well as ensuring food safety within the complex food system observed in the urban low‐income environment. Key points: An investigation conducted in contrasting food environments in three urban low‐income settlements in Lilongwe, Bulawayo and Nairobi suggests low consumption of nutrient‐dense foods, such as fruits and animal‐source foods.Several drivers of dietary diversity and food choice, as well as perceptions, were identified. Price and convenience were identified as key drivers of food choice, with gender differences reported in dietary diversity.Policies and programmes need to consider steering diets towards higher consumption of nutrient‐dense foods while taking into account price, convenience and environmental sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China, the most populous country across the globe, has emerged as one of the biggest economies; however, regarding food production, water, uplifting the income level, and attaining environmental sustainability, the policymakers are still concerned. China's government has worked immensely on eradicating poverty through increasing food production, ensuring access to clean water, and using land resources. Similar steps are taken about environmental protection. In this regard, China needs more empirical evidence to tackle such an environmentally destructive issue and sustainable natural resource use. The present study investigates the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) while considering the importance of natural resources, food production and export, and water productivity in environmental quality. This research also explores the impact of tourism, energy use, and renewable energy output on carbon emissions in China during 1990–2021. This research authenticates the variables' stationarity and the long‐term equilibrium relationship between the study factors using the pre‐estimation diagnostic approaches. This study employed several parametric approaches and revealed that the EKC paradox is invalid in the case of China and vice versa in the presence of natural resources and food and water variables. Natural resources are the key hazard in attaining a sustainable regional environment and development. By contrast, increased economic growth and energy consumption also enhance the country's pollution level. In distinction, renewable electricity output, tourism industry, food production, and food export are the substantial drivers of attaining COP27 targets. Based on the study findings, this research recommends enhancement in sustainable food production and water management, improved production and consumption of renewables, reduced consumption of outdated energy, sustainable use of non‐renewable resources, and facilitated tourism across the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antiseizure medications (ASMs) constitute the principal of treatment for patients with epilepsy, where long‐term treatment is usually necessary. The purpose of this systematic review is to provide practical and useful information regarding various aspects of the interactions between ASMs and foods and drinks. MEDLINE and ScienceDirect, from the inception to July 15, 2023, were searched for related publications. In both electronic databases, the following search strategy was applied, and the following keywords were used (in title/abstract): "food OR drink" AND "antiepileptic OR antiseizure." The primary search yielded 738 studies. After implementing our inclusion and exclusion criteria, we could identify 19 studies on the issue of interest for our endeavor. Four studies were identified in the recheck process and not by the primary search. All studies provided low level of evidence. Interactions between foods and ASMs are a common phenomenon. Many factors may play a role for such an interaction to come to play; these include drug properties, administration route, and administration schedule, among others. Drugs‐foods (‐drinks) interactions may change the drug exposure or plasma levels of drugs (e.g., grapefruit juice increases carbamazepine concentrations and the bioavailability of cannabidiol is increased 4–5 folds with concomitant intake of fat‐rich food); this may require dosage adjustments. Interactions between ASMs and foods and drinks may be important. This should be taken seriously into consideration when consulting patients and their caregivers about ASMs. Future well‐designed investigations should explore the specific interactions between foods (and drinks) and ASMs to clarify whether they are clinically important. Plain Language Summary: Interactions between antiseizure medications and foods and drinks may be important. This should be taken into consideration in patients with epilepsy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A significant part of the world's population still has problems in accessing food. The growing world population will exacerbate this issue in the future. Innovative studies conducted in this field play a crucial role in addressing the issue of drying and storage of foods. Atmospheric drying methods, such as rotary, tunnel, conveyor, cabinet, tower, and kiln dryers, offer advantages in relation to high production capacities, cost‐effective initial setup, and economical operating conditions. However, concurrently, the weaknesses of these methods arise from factors such as drying duration, uneven moisture content, and space requirements. The solar dryer method is especially effective in dehydrating agricultural products, offering an energy‐saving advantage compared to other methods. However, it is important to note that this approach, which involves exposing crops to direct sunlight, comes with several drawbacks affecting both food quality and health. In cases where the quality of highly valued foodstuffs is crucial, subatmospheric drying methods like vacuum, freeze, and microwave freeze are typically preferred. However, the primary drawback of this approach lies in its high operating costs, particularly in terms of energy consumption. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) can be used for predictive modeling, helping to forecast drying behavior and optimize process parameters in food drying applications especially nonlinear connections among variables. ANNs are adept at managing nonlinearities, offering a more precise depiction of the intricate interactions within food drying systems. This review examines articles from the last 5 years in the literature, synthesizing research conducted in food drying. The findings indicate a predominant interest among researchers in methodologies with lower environmental impact, prompting increased attention to studies addressing this aspect. There is a notable emphasis on the frequent exploration of energy‐efficient systems. The ongoing research focuses on the development of methods utilizing ultrasonic, infrared radiation, and electrohydrodynamic techniques to achieve more effective, shorter‐duration, energy‐efficient drying processes with enhanced control over the final product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The widespread occurrence of microplastics (MPs) in the food chain has gained substantial recognition as a pressing concern, highlighting the inevitability of human exposure through ingestion of foodborne MPs, coupled with the release of MPs from plastic packaging. However, there are notable disparities in the reported numbers of MPs in foods and beverages, warranting a thorough investigation into the factors contributing to these discrepancies. Table salt is one of the major sources of MPs, and there was an approximately hundred‐fold difference between the reviewed studies that reported the highest and lowest number of MPs. In addition, more noticeable discrepancies were discovered between studies on MPs released from teabags. One study reported that approximately 15 billion MPs were released into a cup of tea from a single teabag, whereas another research paper found only approximately 106.3 ± 14.6 MP/teabag after brewing. This comprehensive review focuses on the inconsistencies observed across studies examining MPs, shedding light on the plausible factors underlying these variations. Furthermore, the review outlines areas in analytical procedures that require enhancement and offers recommendations to promote accuracy and standardization in future research efforts, such as employing analytical methods capable of confirming the presence of MPs, using appropriate filter sizes, considering representative sample sizes when extrapolation is involved, and so on. By pinpointing the detection processes leading to the inconsistent results observed in MP studies, this comparative analysis will contribute to the development of reliable analytic methods for understanding the extent of microplastic contamination in the human food chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) research focuses on individuals who receive SNAP without examining the effects on the broader economy. We develop a general equilibrium model of the US economy to quantify SNAP's broader fiscal consequences. We find that SNAP expands the agricultural and food sectors by about 1% while slightly shrinking service sectors favored by higher income households. Effects on goods and factor prices are modest, with virtually no deadweight losses associated with the taxation needed to fund SNAP. SNAP improves the welfare of low‐income recipient households by 4.9%, while having a negligible adverse effect on high‐income households. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Herein, an ultra‐high performance liquid chromatography coupled to a diode array detector (UHPLC‐DAD) based quantification method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 21 bioactive phenolic compounds present abundantly in food products. The developed method was validated in terms of parameters such as linearity, detection and quantification limits, intra‐day and inter‐day precision and recovery showing ideal results. Further, the developed method was applied for the quantitative analysis of phenolics in commercially procured dietary samples such as spices, green tea, black tea and dark chocolate. The major phenolics quantified in dry weight of different samples were epigallocatechin gallate (425.5 mg/10 g), epicatechin gallate (111.9 mg/10 g) in green tea; gallocatechin (286.8 mg/10 g) in dark chocolate; and naringin (93.9 mg/10 g) in star anise etc. Overall, the UHPLC‐DAD‐based method was found to be reliable, simple and specific for the estimation of phenolics in different targeted food samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Societal Impact Statement Summary Political interests and power structures shape state‐led crop conservation and food policy. As a crop that relates to culture and belonging, the chile crop is ideal for exploring how food security policy and crop conservation schemes integrate aspects beyond staple crops, calories and/or electoral incentives. What do these schemes mean for the food and ingredients we love? Reflecting from this perspective can be useful to grasp, re‐frame and create more effective and inclusive food policies—ones that embody and valorise flavour, identities and territories beyond statements on paper. In line with the Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) international action plan for crop genetic resources, the Mexican state inaugurated the National System of Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (SINAREFI) in 2002. In this paper, I explore SINAREFI's interest in landraces and in situ conservation through the case of chile pepper, set under the Ministry of Agriculture's interests of promoting industrial agriculture and paternalistic food security welfare programmes. Through the analyses of existing literature on food security in Mexico state programmes, archival work and interviews, this article analyses how discourses on food security shape research trajectories, some of which are inevitably constrained by current market‐based agricultural systems. By exploring the state's chile research and conservation programme, this work demonstrates the complexity of international food security discourse and its application domestically. Particularly, this analysis highlights the limitations of state crop research and conservation efforts imposed by contradictory agricultural policies. In the case of chile, its link to Mexican culture and diet uncovers an important, but often overlooked, aspect of food security: flavour. In the case of chile, a non‐staple but culturally symbolic crop, welfare programmes remained paternalistic and focused on caloric intake despite the transformation of national discourse on food security towards the integration of landraces and local cultures through the inauguration of SINAREFI. This case study reflects on the limits of current framings and strategies regarding food security and the need to direct policies towards local food sovereignty to achieve the necessary stability for food security to endure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Food‐cue‐reactivity entails neural and experiential responses to the sight and smell of attractive foods. Negative emotions can modulate such cue‐reactivity and this might be central to the balance between restrictive versus bulimic symptomatology in Anorexia Nervosa (AN) and Bulimia Nervosa (BN). Method: Pleasantness ratings and electrocortical responses to food images were measured in patients with AN (n = 35), BN (n = 32) and matched healthy controls (HC, n = 35) in a neutral state and after idiosyncratic negative emotion induction while electroencephalography (EEG) was recorded. The EEG data were analyzed using a mass testing approach. Results: Individuals with AN showed reduced pleasantness for foods compared to objects alongside elevated widespread occipito‐central food‐object discrimination between 170 and 535 ms, indicative of strong neural cue‐reactivity. Food‐object discrimination was further increased in the negative emotional condition between 690 and 1200 ms over centroparietal regions. Neither of these effects was seen in individuals with BN. Discussion: Emotion modulated food‐cue‐reactivity in AN might reflect a decreased appetitive response in negative mood. Such specific (emotion‐)regulatory strategies require more theoretical work and clinical attention. The absence of any marked effects in BN suggests that emotional cue‐reactivity might be less prominent in this group or quite specific to certain emotional contexts or food types. Public Significance: Negative affectivity is a risk factor for the development of eating disorders and individuals with eating disorders experience problems with emotion regulation. To better understand the effects of negative emotions, the present study investigated how they affected neural correlates of food perception in anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Urinary pH manipulation by therapeutic foods or supplements is part of the treatment for urolithiasis. The effectiveness of these diets and supplements should be studied to determine which of these strategies is most effective. Hypothesis/Objectives: To assess the effect of the oral supplementation of potassium citrate, an ammonium chloride solution (Urical) and two dry therapeutic foods—Hill's® Prescription Diet® u/d® Canine (u/d diet) and Royal Canin® Urinary S/O dog (S/O diet)—on a dog's urinary pH at different time points over 8 h. Animals: Seven healthy adult male research beagle dogs. Methods: A prospective interventional study lasting 31 days. The dogs either received a supplement (potassium citrate or rical) with a dry adult maintenance diet (control diet) or the therapeutic diet (u/d diet or S/O diet). Each treatment had a duration of 2–5 days, with 2‐ to 4‐day washout periods in between. Urinary pH measurements were performed every 2 h between 07h00 and 15h00, with the food being given at 07h00 and 15h00, right after urine collection. The pH measurements obtained in each of the four treatments were compared to control (same dogs fed the control diet exclusively). Results: When compared to the control diet at the same time points, biologically relevant changes in urinary pH (defined as ≥0.5) were: increase with potassium citrate at 7h00 and 13h00; increase with u/d diet at 9h00, 13h00, and 15h00; decrease with S/O diet at 9h00 and 11h00; Urical did not have a detectable effect on urinary pH. Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The present study confirms that therapeutic foods S/O and u/d, and potassium citrate supplement affected acid‐base balance in healthy adult male beagle dogs, with the tested diets being more effective than the administered doses of the tested supplements at influencing urinary pH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: This study aimed to identify and evaluate tools and resources used to support the implementation of workplace healthy food and drink policies, primarily in Australia and New Zealand. Methods: A scoping grey literature review included searches of government agencies and non‐governmental organisations' websites in six English‐speaking countries, public health nutrition intervention databases and Google search engine queries. Paper‐based and digital tools were included if they were written in English, referred to within a policy or on a policy's website, and primarily targeting supply‐side stakeholders. Tools were evaluated on two domains: 'Features' (summarised descriptively) and 'Usability and Quality' (with inter‐rater reliability scores calculated using an intraclass correlation coefficient). Results: Twenty paper‐based tools were identified relating to Australian (n = 14) and New Zealand (n = 6) policies, and a further six digital tools were identified from Australia (n = 3) and Canada (n = 3). Target audiences included workplace managers, food providers and suppliers. The paper‐based tools focused on general implementation guidance. In contrast, digital tools tended to support specific elements of policy implementation. 'Usability and Quality' scores ranged from 2.9 to 4.5 (out of 5.0) for paper‐based tools, and 3.9 to 4.2 for digital tools, with a moderate agreement between reviewer scores (intraclass correlation coefficient 0.523, p = 0.010). Conclusions: A range of tools have been developed to support the implementation of workplace healthy food and drink policies. Understanding the strengths and limitations of current tools will assist in developing improved aids to support policy implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Medical nutrition therapy is recommended for people living with HIV/AIDS to improve health and wellness; however, there is a lack of food and nutrition programs for people living with HIV/AIDS in Nova Scotia, Canada. The aim of this study was to explore the beliefs, values, and experiences of people living with HIV/AIDS in relation to food and nutrition programs. Methods: A critical social theory lens with two disciplinary contexts: critical health geography and critical dietetics guided this research. Semi‐structured interviews were conducted with 12 people living with HIV/AIDS and analysed for themes. Results: The three main themes were identified: (1) intersections of social determinants of health, wellness, and food security; (2) discursive shaping of food and nutrition in relation to HIV; and (3) the dynamic nature of HIV care. Conclusions: Participants offered recommendations on how food and nutrition programs might be reimagined to be more accessible, inclusive, and effective for people living with HIV/AIDS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food drives ecology and evolution, but few studies have directly investigated the impacts of the total amount of food on life history evolution within‐species. Among the limited number of available case studies that do directly test total food effects on life history evolution we still lack consensus, partially owing to incompletely described life histories. We explored life history tradeoffs across the whole life cycle, and the consequences for trait and population dynamics, in a marine copepod evolved under high and low total food using an integral projection model (IPM). Populations were subjected to high‐ and low‐food regimes and a common garden experiment after 30 generations of evolution. We then sampled and measured individual vital rates (growth, reproduction, and survival) from hatching until death, which were used to parameterise IPMs. Food regime had a significant but slight effect on life histories, which appeared 'slow' and 'fast' in low‐food and high‐food lineages, respectively. Low‐food lineages grew bigger and produced larger offspring to genetically compensate for their environment, but this compensation came with costs; notably shorter lifespans and less chance of producing clutches of eggs. Despite these differences, population ecology and fitness were similar in high‐ and low‐food lineages as anticipated by per‐capita rather than total food effects. Consequently, though natural planktonic populations may genetically mitigate the effects of climate‐induced food scarcity, there are limits to this compensation and likely unforeseen impacts effects for wider food webs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: A biased attentional processing of food stimuli may represent a disorder maintenance factor in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). The present study aimed at investigating the temporal course of attentional deployment towards both high‐calorie and low‐calorie foods in patients with AN using eye‐tracking. Method: Fifty‐two patients with restrictive AN and 54 healthy controls (HC) performed a dot‐probe task while their gaze was recorded with an eye‐tracking system. The direction bias (percentage of trials in which the gaze was directed towards the food at first fixation, 500, and 1500 ms), and the duration bias (percentage of time spent looking at the food) were extracted. Results: Regarding the direction bias, a group by time interaction emerged (F = 3.29, p = 0.038): while in the control group the bias continued to increase over the course of the trial, patients with AN showed a reduction of the bias between the 500 and 1500 ms. No group differences were observed on the duration bias. Conclusions: In advanced stages of attentional deployment patients with AN start to differ from HC by diverting their attention away from food stimuli, a strategic process that may contribute to food avoidance and calorie restriction. Highlights: Both patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and healthy controls (HC) displayed an initial avoidance of low‐calorie foods.No differences between patients and controls emerged in the initial phases of attentional deployment.At advanced stages of attentional processing patients with AN start to differ from HC by diverting their attention away from food stimuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Clinically significant interactions with food occur for more than half of antiretroviral drugs. Different physiochemical properties deriving from the chemical structures of antiretroviral drugs may contribute to the variable food effect. Chemometric methods allow analysing a large number of interrelated variables concomitantly and visualizing correlations between them. We used a chemometric approach to determine the types of correlations among different features of antiretroviral drugs and food that may influence interactions. Methods: Thirty‐three antiretroviral drugs were analysed: ten nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, six non‐nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors, five integrase strand transfer inhibitors, ten protease inhibitors, one fusion inhibitor and one HIV maturation inhibitor. Input data for the analysis were collected from already published clinical studies, chemical records and calculations. We constructed a hierarchical partial least squares (PLS) model with three response parameters: postprandial change of time to reach maximum drug concentration (ΔTmax), albumin binding (%) and logarithm of partition coefficient (logP). Predictor parameters were the first two principal components of principal component analysis (PCA) models for six groups of molecular descriptors. Results: PCA models explained 64.4% to 83.4% of the variance of the original parameters (average: 76.9%), whereas the PLS model had four significant components and explained 86.2% and 71.4% of the variance in the sets of predictor and response parameters, respectively. We observed 58 significant correlations between ΔTmax, albumin binding (%), logP and constitutional, topological, hydrogen bonding and charge‐based molecular descriptors. Conclusions: Chemometrics is a useful and valuable tool for analysing interactions between antiretroviral drugs and food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Growing awareness of the environmental devastation caused by plastic packaging, particularly in the food industry, has led to the emergence of the concept of a renewable and environmentally safe consumable film as an alternative to plastic. Red pitaya (dragon fruit) peel (RPP), which has a high pectin content, can be used as an additional ingredient or co‐biopolymer to enhance the functional properties of fish gelatin (FG) edible film. Edible films were produced using casting techniques and varying concentrations of FG (3.2%–8.8% w/v) and RPP (0.2%–1.0%) with the aid of Central Composite Design (CCD) of Response Surface Methodology (RSM) by Design Expert 13's software. The optimal formulation consisted of 5.97% (w/v) FG and 0.45% (w/v) RPP. Increasing the concentrations of RPP and FG affected the thickness (0.18–0.36 mm), water solubility (46.72%–66.78%), brightness (60.04–79.02), redness (7.08–28.36), yellowness (2.48–8.44), and opacity (0.85–2.58) of the physical properties. Mechanical testing revealed a tensile strength between 2.76 and 9.34 MPa and a break elongation between 82.78% and 153.89%. The results suggested the physical and mechanical properties of RPP‐based films were greatly affected by concentration of gelatin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The common market of the EU imposes standards on food products and minimum requirements for their quality. Products that do not meet these requirements have to be renamed. This article analyses the media coverage of a prominent political controversy surrounding four food products, produced in the Czech Republic: Inland Rum, Fruit Marmalade, Spread Butter and Almond Brandy. The renaming of these products has triggered a wave of nationalist sentiments and anti‐EU backlash. To explain these developments, the article follows the strong programme in cultural sociology, and it introduces the concept 'banal gastronationalism'. It argues that the anti‐EU backlash is culturally rooted in two deeply rooted binary distinctions: the split between the centre (of the EU) and the periphery and the tension between the inner and the external. Together, these distinctions co‐create an imagined community of consumers and readers, which gets mobilised through a perceived threat to its food products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital edible literacies (DEL) are a new media phenomenon that has recently surfaced in social media but has not been examined in scholarly literature before. I exemplify the entanglements of food, media, and children's stories in three DEL exemplars shared on a private blog, Instagram, and connected Meta channels. Drawing on a genre analysis, I position DEL within affective theories and connect them to the concept of ephemeral and material affect. I argue that the ephemeral materiality of DEL expands children's literacies with new temporal relationships that exemplify the sensory dimensions of affect in literacy. This theoretical expansion is important to facilitate understandings of the complex affective qualities of new literacy ecologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food security is based on a variety of factors, including how well agricultural production is doing, how much food we import, how many people are employed in the food industry, what public policies are put in place to improve food production strategy and food security of the household. Food is important for human beings so that everyone can have enough of it. A lack of food in the long term can lead to people becoming hungry and starving, which can be dangerous. There are many ways to boost food production and improve self‐sufficiency and food security. One way is to develop small‐scale irrigation schemes. In this study, multistage sampling was used to collect data from 400 sample rural households, and results showed that age, family size, market information, and price of the product are significant at 1% significance level, along with the non‐farm income, and irrigation participation at 5% significance level. It was also found that education is significant at 10% significance level. Governments and relevant parties need to work together to address the issues of food security by disseminating current data on the irrigation industry to boost the agricultural product, enhance irrigation facilities, and provide extension agents with training to increase the level of food security in the country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study aimed to explore older adults' and healthcare professionals' (HCPs) perceptions of dietary influences and food preferences in older age. Methods: The research design was phenomenological qualitative description. Semistructured one‐to‐one interviews and focus groups were held separately with community‐dwelling older adults and HCPs involved in care of the older person in Ireland. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: A total of 47 adults aged 55+ years were recruited (50% male; 49% aged 60–69 years; 28% aged above 70 years), and 26 HCPs were involved, comprising dietitians (n = 8); geriatricians (n = 6); clinical therapists (n = 4); and nurses, pharmacists, catering managers and meal delivery service coordinators (n = 2 each). There are strong desires for 'good, honest food' within the diet for an older person; however, gaps in current nutrition priorities, dietary guidance and health promotion were perceived. There were differences in the perspectives held by HCPs and adults aged 55+ years, as some HCPs centred their discussion around nutrition for preventing sarcopenia, frailty or cognitive decline, whereas many adults aged 55+ years desired foods which promote cardiometabolic health and reflect wider personal health and environmental values. Other themes included the impact of health and lifestyle changes accompanying ageing on dietary priorities, the importance of personal and psychosocial values in determining food choice and the impact of the external food environment on accessibility and shopping experiences. Conclusions: Influences on dietary choice for the older person are multifactorial, driven by a range of health, psychological, sociocultural and environmental perspectives. Future nutrition priorities for older adults should encourage health‐promoting approaches and not just disease‐mitigating efforts. Research Highlights: Important perspectives of dietary choice in later life were identified by involving older adults and healthcare professionals (HCPs) in a qualitative explorative process.HCPs play a key role in promoting food choice for healthy ageing and may serve to motivate important nutrition‐related behaviour change.Participants highlighted the practicalities of food accessibility and acceptability, as well as the increasing influence of cost and desire for sustainability in food choice for older people.Many factors must be considered when promoting optimal nutrition in later life as participants desired a focus on health‐promoting approaches and not just disease‐mitigating efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Ambivalence towards food and diet, which favours behavioural inertia, might be a barrier to adopting healthier eating behaviours. Measuring it can help researchers to better understand its relationship with behaviour change and design interventions aimed at resolving it. In this scoping review, we map and describe methods and tools employed in studies to assess, measure or classify the ambivalence of participants towards food‐ and diet‐related attitude objects. Methods: In accordance with Joanna Briggs Institute guidance for conducting scoping reviews, we retrieved peer‐reviewed studies from MEDLINE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Web of Science, FSTA and Food Science Source and preprints from PsyArXiv and MedRxiv. Two independent reviewers screened the articles. We considered for inclusion peer‐reviewed studies and preprints that assessed the ambivalence of participants of any age, sex or sociodemographic group towards food and diet. Results: We included 45 studies published between 1992 and 2022, which included participants from 17 countries. Eighteen methods were employed across the included studies to assess different types of ambivalence (felt, potential or cognitive–affective), the most frequent of which were the Griffin Index, the Subjective Ambivalence Questionnaire, the MouseTracker Paradigm and the Orientation to Chocolate Questionnaire. Conclusion: This scoping review identified several methods and tools to assess different types of ambivalence towards food‐ and diet‐related objects, providing an array of options for future studies. Key points: We identified 45 studies from 17 countries that assessed ambivalence towards food‐ and diet‐related attitude objects across eight databases. Most authors seem consistent in their definitions of ambivalence, referring to the simultaneous presence of positive and negative evaluations towards an attitude object, with some authors emphasising the similarity in the intensity of these evaluations. A total of 18 different methods to assess ambivalence towards food and diet were identified. The most frequently employed methods across the literature identified in this review were the Griffin Index, the Subjective Ambivalence Questionnaire, the MouseTracker Paradigm and the Orientation to Chocolate Questionnaire. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolutionary theory of life histories predicts that there is a trade‐off between survival and reproduction: since adult survival in long‐lived organisms is high, then breeding investment is more variable and more dependent on conditions (e.g. food availability and individual experience). Clutch features influence fitness prospects, but how a bet hedger builds its clutch in temporally varying environments is quite unknown. Using 27‐year data on 2847 clutches of known‐age breeders, we analyse how Audouin's gulls (Larus audouinii), a species showing a combination of conservative and adaptive bet‐hedging breeding strategies, can allocate energy by laying clutches and eggs of different sizes. Results show that both food availability and age influenced clutch size and total egg volume in a clutch. Interestingly, we found an interaction between food and age on egg parameters: total volume in two‐egg clutches, laid mostly by younger breeders, did not significantly change with food availability and the quadratic pattern in clutch size over the range of ages was less marked as long as food conditions became harsher. With increased food, females invested more by building larger first eggs, whereas they were more conservative on second and third eggs. Furthermore, asymmetries in egg volume within three‐egg clutches increased with food availability for old females. Egg size profiles of two‐egg clutches suggest that gulls should exhibit progressive reduction of the size of the third egg before shifting to a two‐egg clutch size. Food availability influenced all parameters studied, whereas age affected the amount of energy allocated for producing eggs (their size and number) but not the way of allocating those energies (i.e. asymmetries within the clutch). Despite the range of factors affecting the clutch, results suggest that females can allocate the amount of resources in a clutch optimally to increase their fitness under variable environments via bet‐hedging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Stark, widening health and income inequalities in the United Kingdom underpin the need for increased support for low‐income families to access affordable and nutritious foods. Using anonymised supermarket loyalty card transaction records, this study aimed to assess how an additional Healthy Start voucher (HSV) top‐up of £2, redeemable only against fruit and vegetables (FVs), was associated with FV purchases among at‐risk households. Transaction and redemption records from 150 loyalty card‐holding households, living in northern England, who had engaged with the top‐up scheme, were analysed to assess the potential overall population impact. Using a pre‐post study design, 133 of these households' records from 2021 were compared with equivalent time periods in 2019 and 2020. Records were linked to product, customer and store data, permitting comparisons using Wilcoxon matched‐pairs sign‐ranked tests and relationships assessed with Spearman's Rho. These analyses demonstrated that 0.9 more portions of FV per day per household were purchased during the scheme compared to the 2019 baseline (p = 0.0017). The percentage of FV weight within total baskets also increased by 1.6 percentage points (p = 0.0242), although the proportional spend on FV did not change. During the scheme period, FV purchased was higher by 0.4 percentage points (p = 0.0012) and 1.6 percentage points (p = 0.0062) according to spend and weight, respectively, in top‐up redeeming baskets compared to non‐top‐up redeeming baskets with at least one FV item and was associated with 5.5 more HSV 'Suggested' FV portions (p < 0.0001). The median weight of FV purchased increased from 41.83 kg in 2019 to 54.14 kg in 2021 (p = 0.0017). However, top‐up vouchers were only redeemed on 9.1% of occasions where FV were purchased. In summary, this study provides novel data showing that safeguarding funds exclusively for FV can help to increase access to FV in low‐income households. These results yield important insights to inform public policy aimed at levelling up health inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is ample evidence that doctors frequently miss meals at work, which negatively impacts concentration, decision‐making and overall patient care. Junior doctors are particularly vulnerable given their heavy workload. We report on the impact of a pilot programme supporting home‐based meal preparation on the dietary habits and energy levels of interns at a tertiary hospital and demonstrate this is one strategy healthcare organisations can adopt to promote a healthier workforce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, policy initiatives have been developed to promote sustainability. Although sustainable food production is an integral part of many national agricultural policies, this is not the case for sustainable food consumption. This article systematically reviews key elements of sustainable food consumption and evaluates how they align with existing policy indicators, specifically SDG 12, within the context of the agricultural policy of the European Union. Through a cross‐referencing approach, this article identifies gaps and possible improvements in policy indicator frameworks to better capture elements of sustainable food consumption. We find that SDG 12 targets are not suitable to assess progress to sustainable food consumption. While targets are closely linked to environmental and economic issues, they are insufficient to monitor sustainable food consumption. Our findings suggest the necessity for enhanced or modified policy indicators that encompass the key elements of sustainable food consumption as well as a comprehensive definition of the latter to effectively design and evaluate polices on this matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]