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Background: Observational studies have linked pesticide exposure to various diseases, whereas organic food consumption has been associated with positive health outcomes. Organic farming standards prohibit the use of most pesticides, and organic food consumption may therefore reduce pesticide exposure., Objectives: To determine the effects of diet (Western compared with Mediterranean) and food type (conventional compared with organic) and sex on urinary pesticide residue excretion (UPRE), as well as associations between specific diet components and UPRE., Methods: In this 2-wk, randomized dietary intervention trial, healthy adults were randomly allocated to an intervention (n = 13) or conventional (n = 14) group. Whereas participants in the intervention group consumed a Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) made entirely from organic foods, the conventional group consumed a MedDiet made entirely from conventional foods. Both groups consumed habitual Western diets made from conventional foods before and after the 2-wk intervention period. The primary outcome was UPRE. In addition, we assessed diet composition and pesticide residue profiles in foods eaten. Participants were aware of group assignment, but the study assessors were not., Results: During the intervention period, total UPRE was 91% lower with organic (mean 17 μg/d; 95% CI: 15, 19) than with conventional (mean 180 μg/d; 95% CI: 153, 208) food consumption (P < 0.0001). In the conventional group, switching from the habitual Western diet to the MedDiet increased insecticide excretion from 7 to 25 μg/d (P < 0.0001), organophosphate excretion from 5 to 19 μg/d (P < 0.0001), and pyrethroid residue excretion from 2.0 to 4.5 μg/d (P < 0.0001). Small but significant effects of sex were detected for chlormequat, herbicide, and total pesticide residue excretion., Conclusions: Changing from a habitual Western diet to a MedDiet was associated with increased insecticide, organophosphate, and pyrethroid exposure, whereas organic food consumption reduced exposure to all groups of synthetic chemical pesticides. This may explain the positive health outcomes linked to organic food consumption in observational studies. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as NCT03254537., (© The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition.)

In December 2019, a novel laboratory-confirmed coronavirus (2019-nCoV) infection, which has caused clusters of severe illnesses, was first reported in Wuhan, the capital of Hubei province, China. This foodborne illness, which reportedly most likely originated in a seafood market where wild animals are sold illegally, has transmitted among humans through close contact, across the world. The aim of this study is to explore health/risk perceptions of and attitudes toward healthy/risky food in the immediate context of food crisis. More specifically, by using the data collected from 1008 respondents in January 2020, the time when China was hit hard by the "Corona Virus Disease 2019" (COVID-19), this study investigates the overall and different generational respondents' health/risk perceptions of and attitudes toward organic food and game meat. The results reveal that, firstly, based on their food health and risk perceptions of healthy and risky food, the respondents' general attitudes are positive toward organic food but relatively negative toward game meat. Secondly, older generations have a more positive attitude and are more committed to organic food. Younger generations' attitude toward game meat is more negative whereas older generations attach more importance to it because of its nutritional and medicinal values. In addition, this research also indicates that the COVID-19 crisis influences the respondents' perceptions of and attitudes toward organic food and game meat consumption. However, the likelihood of its impact on older generations' future change in diets is smaller, which implies that older generations' food beliefs are more stable.

Since the 1970s, in some European countries rabbit meat production has progressively become a highly specialized industry, which has made Europe the second (after China) largest rabbit meat producer in the world. However, the industry is currently facing a critical period due to structural weaknesses, progressive and constant reductions in consumption, and raising criticism related to welfare conditions and other ethical issues. This trend is questioning the future of the rabbit meat industry, which could lead to the loss of knowledge and technical expertise acquired over decades of major investments and research efforts (a valuable cultural and professional heritage for future generations). In the present review, we provide an overview of the rabbit meat industry, market and value chain, we depict consumer's attitude towards rabbit meat, highlighting strengths and weaknesses, and factors driving their current purchase behavior. Finally, we will attempt to outline possible strategies to ensure a sustainable future for the production of rabbits for commercial meat purposes., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The "organic" claim explicitly informs consumers about the food production method. Yet, based on this claim, people often infer unrelated food attributes. The current research examined whether the perceived advantage of organic over conventional food generalizes across different organic food types. Compared to whole organic foods, processed organic foods are less available, familiar and prototypical of the organic food category. In two studies (combined N = 258) we investigated how both organic foods types were perceived in healthfulness, taste and caloric content when compared to their conventional alternatives. Participants evaluated images of both whole (e.g., lettuce) and processed organic food exemplars (e.g., pizza), and reported general evaluations of these food types. The association of these evaluations with individual difference variables - self-reported knowledge and consumption of organic food, and environmental concerns - was also examined. Results showed that organically produced whole foods were perceived as more healthful, tastier and less caloric than those produced conventionally, thus replicating the well-established halo effect of the organic claim in food evaluation. The organic advantage was more pronounced among individuals who reported being more knowledgeable about organic food, consumed it more frequently, and were more environmentally concerned. The advantage of the organic claim for processed foods was less clear. Overall, processed organic (vs. conventional) foods were perceived as tastier, more healthful (Study 1) or equally healthful (Study 2), but also as more caloric. We argue that the features of processed food may modulate the impact of the organic claim, and outline possible research directions to test this assumption. Uncovering the specific conditions in which food claims bias consumer's perceptions and behavior may have important implications for marketing, health and public-policy related fields., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Organic foods have risen in popularity recently. However, the increased risk of bacterial contamination of organic foods has not been fully evaluated. In this study, 100 samples each of organic and conventional fresh vegetables (55 lettuce samples and 45 sprout samples) sold in South Korea were analyzed for aerobic bacteria, coliforms, Escherichia coli, and Bacillus cereus. Although the aerobic bacteria and coliform counts were not significantly different between the two farming types (p > 0.05), the occurrence rate of B. cereus was higher in organically cultivated vegetables compared with those grown conventionally (70% vs. 30%, respectively). The mean contamination level of B. cereus-positive organic samples was also significantly higher (1.86 log colony-forming unit [CFU]/g vs. 0.69 log CFU/g, respectively) (p < 0.05). In addition, six samples of organic vegetables were found to be contaminated with B. cereus at over 4 log CFU/g categorized as unsatisfactory according to Health Protection Agency guideline. The relatively higher occurrence rate of B. cereus in organic vegetables emphasizes the importance of implementing control measures in organic vegetable production and postharvest processing to reduce the risk of food poisoning.

Despite the progressive development of the organic food sector in Taiwan, little is known about how consumers' consumption motives will influence organic food decision through various degrees of involvement and whether or not consumers with various degrees of uncertainty will vary in their intention to buy organic foods. The current study aims to examine the effect of consumption motives on behavioral intention related to organic food consumption under the mediating role of involvement as well as the moderating role of uncertainty. Research data were collected from organic food consumers in Taiwan via a questionnaire survey, eventually obtaining 457 valid questionnaires for analysis. This study tested the overall model fit and hypotheses through structural equation modeling method (SEM). The results show that consumer involvement significantly mediates the effects of health consciousness and ecological motives on organic food purchase intention, but not applied to food safety concern. Moreover, the moderating effect of uncertainty is statistical significance, indicating that the relationship between involvement and purchase intention becomes weaker in the condition of consumers with higher degree of uncertainty. Several implications and suggestions are also discussed for organic food providers and marketers., (Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

This study uses the consumer affinity concept to examine the multiple motives that may shape consumers' relationships with food. The concept was applied in a study on four broad product types in the Netherlands, which cover a wide range of the market and may each appeal to consumers with different affinities towards foods. These product types may be denoted as 'conventional', 'efficient', 'gourmet' and 'pure'. A comparative analysis, based on Higgins' Regulatory Focus Theory, was performed to examine whether food-related value motivations could explain different consumer affinities for these product types. The affinities of consumers were measured by means of a non-verbal, visual presentation of four samples of food products in a nationwide survey (n = 742) among consumers who were all involved in food purchasing and/or cooking. The affinities found could be predicted fairly well from a number of self-descriptions relating to food and eating, which expressed different combinations of type of value motivation and involvement with food. The analysis demonstrated the contrasting role of high and low involvement as well as the potential complementarity of promotion- and prevention-focused value motivation. It is suggested that knowledge of the relationships between product types, consumer affinities and value motivation can help improve the effectiveness of interventions that seek to promote healthy and sustainable diets in developed countries., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The aim of the study was to evaluate the potential of acid whey and set milk as a marinade in the traditional production of fermented eye round., Methods: Studies involved assaying pH value, water activity (aw), oxidation-reduction potential and TBARS value, colour parameters in CIE system (L*, a*, b*), assaying the number of lactic acid bacteria and certain pathogenic bacteria after ripening process and after 60-day storing in cold storage. Sensory analysis and analysis of the fatty acids profile were performed after completion of the ripening process., Results: Analysis of pH value in the products revealed that application of acid whey to marinate beef resulted in increased acidity of ripening eye round (5.14). The highest value of the colour parameter a* after ripening process and during storage was observed in sample AW (12.76 and 10.07 respectively), the lowest on the other hand was observed in sample SM (10.06 and 7.88 respectively). The content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was higher in eye round marinated in acid whey by approx. 4% in comparison to other samples., Conclusions: Application of acid whey to marinade beef resulted in increased share of red colour in general colour tone as well as increased oxidative stability of the product during storage. It also increased the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) in the product. All model products had high content of lactic acid bacteria and there were no pathogenic bacteria such as: L. monocytogenes, Y. enterocolitica, S. aureus, Clostridium sp.

Over the past few years, we have observed increasing consumption of inappropriate plant milks as an alternative to infant milk formula. Some families believe that foods labeled as natural are the most healthy and an appropriate nutritional choice. However, their composition does not respect European recommendations. They are always hypocaloric and protein, vitamin, and mineral concentrations are inadequate. The aim of this study was to report severe nutritional complications after inappropriate plant milk consumption. Between 2008 and 2011, we studied severe nutritional deficiencies caused by consumption of plant milks bought in health food stores or online shops. Infants were identified in our centers and examined through medical history, physical examination, and laboratory testing. Nine cases of infants aged from 4 to 14 months were observed. In all cases, these milks were used as an alternative to milk formulas for supposed cow's milk allergy. At diagnosis, four patients were aged 6 months or less. They had received plant milk exclusively for 1-3 months. The beverages consumed were rice, soya, almond and sweet chestnut milks. In three cases, infants presented severe protein-calorie malnutrition with substantial hypoalbuminemia (<20 g/L) and diffuse edema. In the other cases, the nutritional disorders were revealed by a refractory status epilepticus related to severe hypocalcemia (one case), growth arrest of both height and weight secondary to insufficient caloric intake (five cases), and severe cutaneous involvement (one case). Five children had severe iron deficiency anemia (<70 g/L), three children had a very low 25-hydroxy vitamin D level (nutritional rickets), and two had severe hyponatremia (<130 mmoL/L). Milk alternative beverages expose infants to severe nutritional deficiencies. Serious complications can occur. Early, exclusive, and extended use is riskier. These diseases are preventable, and parental education should be provided. Statutory measures forbidding their use in young infants should be organized to slow down the progress of this social trend., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

A novel phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitor was found in a natural health food product. The previously unknown sildenafil analogue was isolated using preparative HPLC. The structure of the compound was elucidated using HPLC with diode array detection (DAD), time-of-flight mass spectrometry (TOF/MS), and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR). An [M + H](+) ion was detected at m/z 505.2077 by LC-TOF/MS that was consistent with C23H32N6O3S2 (-0.98 ppm). By NMR analysis, the analogue was identified as 1-methyl-5-(5-(4-methylpiperazin-1-ylsulfonyl)-2-propoxyphenyl)-3-propyl-1H-pyrazolo[4,3-d]pyrimidine-7(6H)-thione. In this structure, the ethoxy group of thiosildenafil was substituted by a propoxy group of the unknown compound. Therefore, this novel thiosildenafil analogue was named propoxyphenyl thiosildenafil.

A method for the determination of 12 statins [atorvastatin (ATOR), cerivastatin (CERI), fluvastatin (FLU), lovastatin (LO), lovastatin acid (LOA), mevastatin (ME), mevastatin acid (MEA), pitavastatin (PITA), pravastatin (PRA), rosuvastatin (ROSU), simvastatin (SIM), and simvastatin acid (SIMA)] in dietary supplements by ultra-performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) has been developed. Statins were ultrasonically extracted with 50% (v/v) methanol. Clean-up was performed using an Oasis MAX mini-cartridge column with methanol and methanol containing 0.2% (v/v) phosphoric acid as an eluting solvent. UPLC separation was performed on an ACQUITY UPLC BEH C18 column (2.1 mm i.d. × 150 mm, 1.7 μm) with 0.2% (v/v) phosphoric acid aqueous solution-acetonitrile gradient. The method was validated for dietary supplements spiked with the 12 statins at the quantitation limits and 10 times the quantitation limits, and the recoveries of statins were between 89.2% and 100.9%. Relative standard deviation values of repeatability and intermediate precision were not more than 7%. The analytical method was applied to 24 commercial dietary supplements. LO and LOA were found at maximum concentrations of 4.85 mg/packet and 1.28 mg/capsule, respectively. Other statins were not detected. When a dietary supplement was consumed according to the directions on the package, the daily intake of LO was 6.74 mg. This could be dangerous to consumers because it exceeds one half of the lowest recommended daily dose of LO (10 mg).

Complex of Paecilomyces sinclairii and host larvae, Bombyx mori, is a well known health food; however, concerns about nephrotoxicity have been raised. Kidney toxicity was investigated after 13 weeks of administering the complex orally to rats with parameters including blood urea nitrogen (BUN), creatinine, and kidney damage biomarkers, beta-2-microglobulin (β2m), glutathione S-transferase alpha (GST-α), kidney injury molecule 1 (KIM-1), tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1 (TIMP-1), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), calbindin, clusterin, cystatin C, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL), and osteopontin. Dose-dependent kidney cell karyomegaly and tubular hypertrophy were observed, with higher severity in males. There was a dose-dependent increase in KIM-1 and TIMP-1 levels in kidney and urinary KIM-1, cystatin C, β2m, and osteopontin levels. KIM-1 and TIMP-1 increased in male kidneys had not recovered by 2 weeks after stopping exposure. Cystatin C in kidney was significantly lowered in all treatment groups at 13 weeks of administration. All the changes were more noticeable in males. These data indicate that the complex damage renal tubule cells with histopathological lesions and changes in biomarker levels. Kidney and urinary KIM-1 and cystatin C were the most markedly affected and early increased indicators among biomarkers tested, whereas BUN and creatinine were not affected., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Fusarium head blight caused by different varieties of Fusarium species is one of the major serious worldwide diseases found in wheat production. It is therefore important to be able to quantify the deoxynivalenol concentration in wheat. Unfortunately, in mycotoxin quantification, due to the uneven distribution of mycotoxins within the initial lot, it is difficult, or even impossible, to obtain a truly representative analytical sample. In previous work we showed that the sampling step most responsible for variability was grain sampling. In this paper, it is more particularly the step scaling down from a laboratory sample of some kilograms to an analytical sample of a few grams that is investigated. The naturally contaminated wheat lot was obtained from an organic field located in the southeast of France (Rhône-Alpes) from the year 2008-2009 cropping season. The deoxynivalenol level was found to be 50.6 ± 2.3 ng g⁻¹. Deoxynivalenol was extracted with a acetonitrile-water mix and quantified by gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD). Three different grain sampling techniques were tested to obtain analytical samples: a technique based on manually homogenisation and division, a second technique based on the use of a rotating shaker and a third on the use of compressed air. Both the rotating shaker and the compressed air techniques enabled a homogeneous laboratory sample to be obtained, from which representative analytical samples could be taken. Moreover, the techniques did away with many repetitions and grinding. This study, therefore, contributes to sampling variability reduction in the evaluation of deoxynivalenol contamination of organic wheat grain, and then, at a reasonable cost.

Collecting adverse case reports suspected to be due to health foods and evaluation of the causality are important to secure safety, even if the causal relationship between health foods and reported health problem is uncertain. Case reports are mainly collected at three sites: public health centers, practical living information online network system(PIO-NET), and individual companies. The case reports from the three sources are not dealt with consistently. In this study, we investigated and characterized those case reports from the viewpoint of evaluating causality, using the causality association rating methods, namely, the dendritic and pointed methods, which we reported previously. Information in public health centers comprised 20 reports per year; approximately 40% were from health care providers and contained detailed medical data. PIO-NET information comprised 366 reports per year; 80% were self-reports from users, and few medical details were included. Company information covered 1,323 cases from 13 companies; more than 90% were from users and most of them were complaints. Case reports from public health centers and PIO-NET showed that the largerst number of victims were female aged >60, with allergy and gastrointestinal symptoms. When these case reports from the letter two sources were examined using the causality association rating systems, most were rated as "possible" and only a few were rated as "probable". As specific case reports from different information sources were examined in this study, we were able to identify several points that should be improved in our two rating methods. However, to ensure the safety of health foods, it will be necessary to collect a large number of high-quality case reports for evaluation by a suitable causality rating method, and to integrate those evaluated case reports into a single site.

An 82-year-old man visited our hospital when he developed a fever of over 38 degrees C after having consumed 5 types of health foods. He had previously been treated for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension and hyperuricemia. Blood examination on admission revealed renal dysfunction, marked elevation of C-reactive protein, and an elevated level of serum creatine kinase. According to the laboratory data and his clinical history, rhabdomyolysis complicated by acute renal failure was suspected, but his condition improved and his fever was reduced with fluid infusion. As a drug lymphocyte stimulation test was positive for only saw palmetto in the 5 health foods, we diagnosed the case as rhabdomyolysis induced by saw palmetto. We believe that this is the first case of a health food being the cause of rhabdomyolysis.

Unlabelled: A monoclonal antibody-based electrochemical luminescence method was developed for detecting and quantifying ricin in liquid egg, with a limit of detection of 0.2 ng/mL. Because this highly toxic protein, present in the seeds of Ricinus communis (castor), has been used for intentional poisoning in the past, it is important to have sensitive and reliable analytical methodology to detect ricin in food matrices such as liquid egg. The detection of this quantity of pure or crude ricin spiked into commercial samples of liquid egg provides approximately 50000-fold greater sensitivity than required to detect a toxic dose of ricin (>1 mg) in a 100 g sample., Practical Application: Because ricin has been used for intentional poisoning, there is a need for analytical methodology to detect ricin in food matrices to assure a safe food supply. Using monoclonal antibodies to ricin developed in our laboratory, we explored an assay readout system known as electrochemiluminescence. This technique afforded sensitive and specific analysis of ricin intentionally added to liquid egg and could potentially be used to monitor egg-based vaccine production., (Journal of Food Science © 2012 Institute of Food Technologists © No claim to original US government works.)

Case: We report a 67-year-old man in whom pseudoaldosteronism developed following consumption of the health food Shin-Gojoshin. The patient began consuming Shin-Gojoshin in February 2007. His serum potassium level, which was within the normal range until he began consumption, gradually decreased to 3.0 mEq/L. The administration of potassium supplements and spironolactone was initiated. However, his hypokalemia persisted, and in December 2009, he was referred to our hospital for further examination. Laboratory data revealed hypokalemia, metabolic alkalosis, urinary potassium wasting, low plasma renin activity, and a low plasma aldosterone concentration. Pseudoaldosteronism was suspected and he was admitted. Although he reported no history of consumption of other traditional herbal medicines at the initial medical outpatient examination, he reported the consumption of Shin-Gojoshin in a medical interview taken on admission. Discontinuation of Shin-Gojoshin and potassium supplementation on admission successfully normalized his electrolyte imbalance., Conclusion: The present case describes the occurrence of pseudoaldosteronism induced by consumption of Shin-Gojoshin. A history of consumption of traditional herbal medicines and other health foods should be obtained, particularly in elderly individuals presenting with symptoms of pseudoaldosteronism.

The organic meat industry in the United States has grown substantially in the past decade in response to consumer demand for nonconventionally produced products. Consumers are often not aware that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic standards are based only on the methods used for production and processing of the product and not on the product's safety. Food safety hazards associated with organic meats remain unclear because of the limited research conducted to determine the safety of organic meat from farm-to-fork. The objective of this review is to provide an overview of the published results on the microbiological safety of organic meats. In addition, antimicrobial resistance of microbes in organic food animal production is addressed. Determining the food safety risks associated with organic meat production requires systematic longitudinal studies that quantify the risks of microbial and nonmicrobial hazards from farm-to-fork.

Children's dietary pesticide intakes can be measured directly through duplicate diet samples, but instead are frequently estimated using national residue data. We compared organophosphorus and pyrethroid pesticide intakes from conventional fruit, fruit juices and vegetables measured for two cohorts of children aged 3-11 years in the Children's Pesticide Exposure Study (CPES) with corresponding intakes simulated using CPES consumption and body weight data and residue data from the US Pesticide Data Program (PDP). We calculated daily measured pesticide intakes by multiplying grams eaten with measured concentrations and dividing by body weight. For the simulated intakes we combined the CPES consumption and PDP residue data, randomly sampling the PDP data 500 times in order to create distributions of daily intakes for each cohort, including 95% uncertainty intervals for each percentile. In all cases, the measured medians fell below the lower uncertainty bounds of the simulated medians, reflecting the lower detection limits of CPES versus PDP and the high number of non-detects in each. Upper percentile measured intakes were generally lower as well, except for higher measured intakes of phosalone from watermelon. This work shows that using PDP data could generate probabilistic estimates of dietary pesticide intakes that do not differ appreciably from measured intakes except in some cases.

In 2009 the Irish organic food market was forecasted to grow from €120 m to €239 m by 2013; however, recent figures set its value at just €90 m. An estimated 70% of this market is imported. Surveys of Irish consumers reveal that 66% of consumers prefer to buy local produce and most organic consumers are buying organic at supermarkets. This evidence reveals that Irish producers must trade at supermarkets, and promote 'local produce' to ensure their produce reach the majority of buyers. Seventy-eight % of organic rejecters state price and 21% state unawareness of the benefits as reasons for not buying organic. Many Irish consumers are buying organic food on the perceived belief that it is healthier, safer and tastes better; however, a review of studies on organic versus conventional foods in terms of health benefits, safety and sensory quality has shown that existing data is limited in scope and fails to show a clear trend. The review concludes with the need for a comprehensive study of a range of organic and conventional foods available to the Irish consumer in order to determine if differences in organic cultivation result in statistically significant differences in health linked compounds and sensory quality., (Copyright © 2011 Society of Chemical Industry.)

In recent years, self-medication is promoted to control the health care cost of aged people in Japan. On the other hand, there are many pharmacists who are perplexed in diversification of work with promotion of self-medication because of shortage of information, including the knowledge of an over-the-counter drug, health food, etc. It is therefore needed to design an efficient education program for pharmacists, especially in aging society such as Fukuyama. In this study, we investigated the needs for self-medication of local residents and community pharmacists in order to clarify the high-priority education themes for promotion of self-medication in Fukuyama. The pharmacist's needs were extracted by the KJ method and prioritized by the two-dimensional developed leaf method, and the local resident's needs were extracted by questionnaire survey from 420 general populations who live in Fukuyama. As a result, we found that the community pharmacists were especially in need of acquisition of the knowledge about "health food" and "food", and the local residents were especially in need of consultation with community pharmacists about "medicine", "side effect of medicine", "health food" and "food". Moreover, we also found that sixty percent of local residents did not have knowledge about interaction of "medicine" and "health food" while the half of them was taking in "health food". From the above result, knowledge improvement of "health food", "food" and "interaction of medicine and health food" in addition to "medicine" and "side effect of medicine" is the high-priority education themes for local residents and community pharmacists to promote self-medication in Fukuyama.

Severe iodine deficiency during pregnancy seriously influences fetal brain development and in the worst case induces cretinism. Recent studies have shown that even a mild iodine deficiency during pregnancy and during the first years of life adversely affects brain development. The World Health Organisation (WHO) considers iodine deficiency as the most common preventable cause of early childhood mental deficiency. In this context, the insufficient production of the four iodine atoms containing thyroxine seems to play a causal role, i. e., due to the iodine substrate deficiency the neuronally particularly relevant free-thyroxine level falls. Due to the very limited iodine storage capacity, the infantile thyroid is eminently dependent on an adequate and steady iodine supply. In the first month of life, when milk is the only energy- and nutrient provider, infants fed a commercial formula regularly have a sufficient iodine supply. However, breastfed infants, who depend on maternal iodine status, frequently show an inadequate iodine intake. Furthermore, iodine intake is critical when complementary food (CF) is introduced. Especially homemade CF is poor in iodine, but also commercial CFs are only partly fortified. A simultaneous inadequate iodine supply of the breastfeeding mother and the preferential use of mostly iodine-poor organic milk cannot ensure an adequate iodine supply of the infant. In terms of an improvement of nutrient supply, especially concerning an unhindered brain development, the corresponding German reference value for iodine intake of infants until age 4 month should be raised from currently 40 microg/d to at least 60 microg/d (WHO-reference: 90 microg/d)., (Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart, New York.)

The recent proliferation of standards and labels for organic, fair-trade, locally produced, and healthy food products risks creating confusion among consumers. This study presents a standardized approach to developing a comprehensive sustainability label that incorporates ecological, economic, and social values. The methodology is based on an extension of modular life-cycle assessment to non-environmental sustainability criteria. Interviews with a wide range of experts (n=65) and a consumer survey (n=233) were conducted to analyze the feasibility and potential effectiveness of the approach. Responses indicated that a comprehensive sustainability label could considerably influence consumption patterns and facilitate cross-product comparisons., (Copyright © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC)

The concerted action "The process for the assessment of the scientific support for claims on foods", PASSCLAIM, proposed criteria that could provide an international yardstick for the harmonised transparent assessment of evidence submitted to support a claim for a food or food component. The evidence would be systematically appraised against specific criteria: namely, (1) a characterisation of the food or food component to which the claimed effect is attributed; (2) human data, primarily from intervention studies that represent the target populations for the claim; (3) a dose response relationship; (4) evidence allowing for confounders such as lifestyle, consumption patterns, background diet and food matrix etc.; (5) an appropriate duration for the study; (6) a measure of compliance; (7) adequate statistical power to test the hypothesis. Validated and quality assured markers of intermediate or final outcomes could be used when ideal endpoints are not easily accessible for measurement as long as their relationship to the development of the principal outcome relevant to the claim is well characterised and substantiated. The overall coherence and totality of published and unpublished evidence should be considered in the process. Assessments for substantiation claims need expert judgement, weighting of the strength of the claim, and intelligent use of the criteria applied on an individual basis with respect both to gaps in the knowledge and to any need for new knowledge and data.

The prevalence of Japanese cedar pollinosis is high to 26.5%, and it is properly remarked as "national disease" in Japan. General therapy strategies are composed of self-care by using mask or glasses to avoid antigen, and medical-care by using second-generation antihistamines or nasal corticosteroid spray. Meanwhile, there are other so-called self-medication patients who utilize health foods but do not consult to any physician. Papilla, commercial name of one kind of those health foods, is a capsular packed with cedar pollen. In February 2007, we experienced a 49-year-old female patient who presented anaphylaxis shock after intake of Papilla capsular. In this case, her special-IgE antibody and histamine release test were both positive to cedar pollen. Although Cry j 1, the major allergen in the Papilla capsular is a small amount, the cause of anaphylaxis can not be reasoned as anything except the pollen contents in this product. In conclusion, it is appropriate to consider it exercise induce anaphylaxis shock due to playing tennis after intake of the capsular.

Two patients were diagnosed as having hyperthyroidism, and both had taken the same health food. We compared three kinds of histological methods to detect thyroid gland in this health food. The first method used cytology; the second applied the cell-block method; and the last is a modification of the cell particle (CPCB) method proposed by Ushijima. It is the third method that achieved superior results, and this enabled the morphological detection of thyroid gland. Certain kinds of health foods contain dried thyroid as a "slimming supplement", and intake of these products may damage health. Histological techniques are effective for detecting the existence of dried thyroid gland. A health food is very different from clinical specimen; therefore, we have to devise appropriate skills for examining it. Such examinations will be important in the future, because it is expected that the risks of damaging health by consuming certain kinds of health food will increase.

It was mainly the advances in understanding the relationship between nutrition and health that resulted in the development of the concept of functional foods, which means a practical and new approach to achieve optimal health status by promoting the state of well-being and possibly reducing the risk of disease. Functional foods are found virtually in all food categories, however products are not homogeneously scattered over all segments of the growing market. The development and commerce of these products is rather complex, expensive and risky, as special requirements should be answered. Besides potential technological obstacles, legislative aspects, as well as consumer demands need to be taken into consideration when developing functional food. In particular, consumer acceptance has been recognized as a key factor to successfully negotiate market opportunities. This paper offers a brief overview of the current functional food market situation in USA, Japan and some European countries completed with some comments on functional food future potential. It explores the main challenges of such product development focusing on the different factors determining the acceptance of functional food. Furthermore it discusses some prominent types of these food products currently on the market.

Sensitive and selective methods, based on chemiluminescence reactions, were introduced for determination of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their applications to biological samples and health foods. First, a sensitive method for determination of H(2)O(2) by peroxyoxalate chemiluminescence (PO-CL) was developed. This method could be applied to determine small amounts of H(2)O(2) in cola drinks and bacterial contamination of food items. Secondly, the combination of immobilized enzyme column reactor, or ultraviolet irradiation system, with the PO-CL detection method was able to determine clinical substrates (i.e. choline-containing phospholipids, polyamines and D-amino acids) and organic peroxides. Also, an evaluation method of the quenching effect of luminol chemiluminescence against ROS was developed. The sensitive, rapid and precise measurement of the quenching effect against ROS such as superoxide, singlet oxygen, hydroxyl radical, peroxynitrite and hypochlorous ion was achieved. The proposed method could be applied to rosemary extracts, natural colorants and grape seed extracts.

The importance of supplements is well recognized both in the United States (US) and European Union (EU) as substances to maintain and promote health and to reduce the risk of various diseases. From a legal point of view, systems to regulate the health claims of products classified as supplements have been established in both the US and EU. The health claims are divided into two categories, that is, disease risk reduction claims and structure/function claims, and the claims must be substantiated with concrete scientific evidence. In particular, to substantiate the disease risk reduction claims, reliable human clinical studies, such as randomized controlled interventional trials, are acceptable as strong evidence. Evaluation of the safety of the ingredients for supplements is another important issue. The safety is mainly evaluated by means of risk analysis. However, the concept of risk-benefit analysis is gradually becoming more important than previous risk analysis techniques. The regulations for supplements and health claims currently enforced in both the US and EU are discussed in this article in comparison with the current regulatory systems applied to health foods in Japan.

A method for the rapid determination of 11 medical components found in health foods for weight loss using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) has been developed. HPLC separation is performed on an ODS column with the gradient elution method. The mobile phase consists of two solvents. Solvent A is water and solvent B is methanol/acetonitrile (1:1), and both contain 0.1% formic acid and 5 mmol/l of ammonium acetate. Each medical component is analyzed with multiple-reaction monitoring (MRM) in both negative and positive modes through electrospray ionization (ESI). The recovery rates of the 11 medical components added to commercially available health foods were 46.3-114% and each coefficient of variation was 13.7% or less. It was confirmed that this method is applicable to the urgent analysis of health foods that have caused damage to health.

A simple and rapid method for screening of drugs in health foods using 2-dimensional TLC was established. The development systems were: (1) ethyl acetate/methanol/28% ammonia (85:10:5), (2) cyclohexane/toluene/diethyl amine (65:25:10), (3) methanol and (4) ethyl acetate/methanol/25% ammonia (85:10:5). System (1) and (2) were run as 2-dimensional high-performance TLC, and System (3) and (4) were run as 2-dimensional conventional TLC. Sample extracted with methanol from health foods was applied to standardized two 2-dimensional TLCs and 4 Rf values obtained from 4 development systems were compared with reference Rf values which were measured previously using standard materials. The repeatability of reference Rf values were secured by standardizing development conditions and pattern of 4 Rf values was specific for 80 drugs. Moreover, using 2-dimensional TLC enable to assign 4 Rf values to unknown substance without influence of matrix from health foods, so it was possible to determine drugs comparing 4 Rf values. This method could be applied as first screening test for prevention of health crisis occurred by drugs added to health foods illegally.

Claims are used to support public health advocacy and marketing. Their evidence base is variable. Claims are made on (i) nutrient content, (ii) comparative merits, (iii) health benefits, and (iv) medical benefits. Experience with therapeutic agents has aided the development of recommendations for the substantiation of health claims for foods and food components, with which dietary supplements would be included. An EU Concerted Activity, Functional Food Science in Europe, suggested that such claims should be based on the general outcomes of 'enhanced function' and 'reduced risk of disease'. A further EU Concerted Activity, The Process for the Assessment of Scientific Support for Claims on Foods, proposed that the evidence base should provide: a characterization of the food or food component to which the claimed effect is attributed; human data, primarily from intervention studies that represent the target populations for the claim; a dose-response relationship: evidence of allowing for confounders including lifestyle, consumption patterns, background diet and food matrix; an appropriate duration for the study; a measure of compliance; and have adequate statistical power to test the hypothesis. When ideal endpoints are not easily accessible for measurement, validated and quality assured markers of the intermediate or final outcomes could be used, as long as their relationship is well characterized. Overall, the totality and coherence of published and unpublished evidence should be considered. Assessments for substantiation need expert judgement, weighting of the strength of the claim, and intelligent use of the criteria applied on an individual basis with respect both to gaps in knowledge and to any need for new knowledge and data.

On 1 January 2004, Health Canada officially added a new term to the global list of synonyms for dietary supplements: natural health products (NHP). Developed with the intent of providing Canadian consumers with ready access to NHP that are safe, effective, and of high quality, the Natural Health Products Regulations (the NHP regulations) are applicable to the sale, manufacture, packaging, labelling, importation, distribution, and storage of NHP, and are administered by the recently formed Natural Health Products Directorate (NHPD) within Health Canada. This paper provides an overview of the process for regulating supplement products in Canada.

Background: There is limited knowledge about patients' use of herbs and dietary supplements. In the current project we have studied this in Norwegian patients, also their sources of information, beliefs and attitudes., Material and Methods: A structured questionnaire was filled in anonymously by 149 patients (response rate 64%) with common cancer diagnoses., Results and Interpretation: Of the patients, 56% used herbs and dietary supplements (average: 2.0 products per patient), while 36% used them for the cancer itself (average: 1.1 products each). Patients below 55 significant dominated the last-mentioned group. Among the patients, 53% believed that the products could strengthen their immune system, while 18% believed that they could contribute in their fight against cancer. However, as many as 62% answered "I don't know" to this question. As to what was true about the products, 86% found it difficult to judge, and 76% wanted information primarily from health personnel. One third had discussed the products with the doctor. Only 8% felt this to be very useful; hence communicating with cancer patients about herbs and dietary supplements can be a challenge, though at least it might help to discover side effects or interaction with the medicine given.

An 87-year-old man with heart failure caused by severe anemia was referred to our hospital. Gastroenteroscopy revealed the existence of several parasites in the duodenum. Examination of the stool by a formalin-ethyl acetate concentration technique detected hookworm eggs. After a single dose of pyrantel pamoate, his symptoms including dyspnea on exertion and edema diminished. And also hemoglobin and B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) had improved dramatically. Hookworm infection is an extremely rare cause of heart failure, and furthermore this parasitic infection is not common in advanced countries. We suggest the possible relationship between parasite infection and organic foods.

Consumer concern over the quality and safety of conventional food has intensified in recent years, and primarily drives the increasing demand for organically grown food, which is perceived as healthier and safer. Relevant scientific evidence, however, is scarce, while anecdotal reports abound. Although there is an urgent need for information related to health benefits and/or hazards of food products of both origins, generalized conclusions remain tentative in the absence of adequate comparative data. Organic fruits and vegetables can be expected to contain fewer agrochemical residues than conventionally grown alternatives; yet, the significance of this difference is questionable, inasmuch as actual levels of contamination in both types of food are generally well below acceptable limits. Also, some leafy, root, and tuber organic vegetables appear to have lower nitrate content compared with conventional ones, but whether or not dietary nitrate indeed constitutes a threat to human health is a matter of debate. On the other hand, no differences can be identified for environmental contaminants (e.g. cadmium and other heavy metals), which are likely to be present in food from both origins. With respect to other food hazards, such as endogenous plant toxins, biological pesticides and pathogenic microorganisms, available evidence is extremely limited preventing generalized statements. Also, results for mycotoxin contamination in cereal crops are variable and inconclusive; hence, no clear picture emerges. It is difficult, therefore, to weigh the risks, but what should be made clear is that 'organic' does not automatically equal 'safe.' Additional studies in this area of research are warranted. At our present state of knowledge, other factors rather than safety aspects seem to speak in favor of organic food.