scholarly journals Nutritional Composition of Gluten-Free Labelled Foods in the Slovenian Food Supply

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (21) ◽  
pp. 8239
Author(s):  
Živa Lavriša ◽  
Maša Hribar ◽  
Anita Kušar ◽  
Katja Žmitek ◽  
Igor Pravst
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Salt Content ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Processed Meat ◽  
Gluten Free ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Lower Protein ◽  
Public Health Initiatives

The market of gluten-free (GF) foods has been expanding in recent years. GF foods are consumed not only by those with medical predispositions for avoiding gluten, but also by a specific segment of consumers, searching for “healthier” food choices. For these, such practices can present a serious limitation in the variability of food choices. Considering that GF foods are commonly perceived as healthier alternatives, there is a lack of knowledge on the nutritional profile and content of specific nutrients of GF-labelled foods compared to general food supply. A comparison of nutritional composition of GF/non-GF packed foods in the Slovenian food supply was conducted. The nutrient profiling scoring criterion (NPSC) and content of specific nutrients/energy was compared between GF-labelled and regular foods. The highest proportion of GF-labelled products were found in food categories, which typically do not contain gluten (Cheese imitates, Milk imitates, Yoghurt imitates, Canned fish and seafood and Processed meat). Significant differences in the nutrient profile between GF-labelled and regular products were found in Cakes, muffins and pastry, Crisps and snacks, Desserts and Milk imitates. GF-labelled foods often had lower protein and sugar content. Energy value was comparable in most categories and no significant differences in salt content were found, compared to non-GF products. In conclusion, GF-labelled foods will unlikely bring health benefits to those who are not medically required to follow GF diet. Public health initiatives should aim towards promotion of consuming non-processed foods and provision of reliable information about who is required to consume GF foods.

scholarly journals Nutritional Quality of Pasta Sold on the Italian Market: The Food Labelling of Italian Products (FLIP) Study

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 171
Author(s):  
Marika Dello Russo ◽  
Carmela Spagnuolo ◽  
Stefania Moccia ◽  
Donato Angelino ◽  
Nicoletta Pellegrini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Salt Content ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Food Labels ◽  
Nutrition Claims ◽  
Italian Market ◽  
Lower Protein ◽  
Fresh Pasta

Pasta represents a staple food in many populations and, in recent years, an increasing number of pasta items has been placed on the market to satisfy needs and trends. The aims of this work were: (i) to investigate the nutritional composition of the different types of pasta currently sold in Italy by collecting the nutrition facts on their packaging; (ii) to compare energy, nutrient and salt content per 100 g and serving in fresh and dried pasta; (iii) to compare the nutrition declaration in pairs of products with and without different declarations (i.e., gluten free (GF), organic, and nutrition claims (NC)). A total of 756 items, made available by 13 retailers present on the Italian market, were included in the analysis. Data showed a wide difference between dried and fresh pasta, with high inter-type variability. A negligible amount of salt was observed in all types of pasta, except for stuffed products, which had a median high quantity of salt (>1 g/100 g and ~1.5 g/serving). Organic pasta had higher fibre and lower protein contents compared to conventional pasta. GF products were higher in carbohydrate and fat but lower in fibre and protein than not-GF products, while only a higher fibre content was found in pasta with NC compared to products not boasting claims. Overall, the results show high variability in terms of nutrition composition among the pasta items currently on the market, supporting the importance of reading and understanding food labels for making informed food choices.

Mapping the snack and drink landscape in a large UK hospital site

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Allan ◽  
Maureen Heddle ◽  
Fiona McKenzie ◽  
Susan Webb ◽  
Marie Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Food Choice ◽  
Sugar Content ◽  
Salt Content ◽  
Fat Content ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Food Retail ◽  
Hospital Site ◽  
Baked Goods ◽  
Calorie Content ◽  
Product Sales

Hospitals offer snacks and drinks for sale to patients, staff and visitors. As food choice is heavily influenced by the options on offer, the present study audited the availability and purchase of snacks and drinks available in all NHS hospital sites across a large UK city. Data on the type and nutritional composition of all single-serve snacks (n=407) and drinks (n=238) available for sale in 76 hospital-based food retail units were collected. Purchasing data were obtained for products sold from a subset of food retail units over 4 weeks (6 units; 68,274 product sales). Single-serve snacks and drinks varied markedly in calorie content (snacks 18-641kcals; drinks 0-270kcals), fat content (snacks 0-39g; drinks 0-9g), sugar content (snacks 0.1g-76g; drinks 0-56g) and salt content (snacks 0.2g-2.9g; drinks 0-1.1g). Baked goods were the least healthy snack option (mean content: 383 kcals, 17g fat, 29g sugar and 0.4g salt). Most of the top selling products were crisps, confectionary, baked goods and hot drinks. Only 5/20 top selling snacks were healthy options. While healthy snacks and drinks are readily available in NHS sites, there is scope to reduce the availability of unhealthy options further and to support consumers to make healthier choices.

Complaint-Oriented “Services”: Shelters as Tools for Criminalizing Homelessness

2021 ◽  
Vol 693 (1) ◽  
pp. 264-283
Author(s):  
Chris Herring
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Homeless People ◽  
Public Spaces ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Public Health Initiatives

This article argues that the expansion of shelter and welfare provisions for the homeless can lead to increased criminalization of homeless people in public spaces. First, I document how repression of people experiencing homelessness by the police in San Francisco neighborhoods increased immediately after the opening of new shelters. Second, I reveal how shelter beds are used as a privileged tool of the police to arrest, cite, and confiscate property of the unhoused, albeit in the guise of sanitary and public health initiatives. I conclude by considering how shelters increasingly function as complaint-oriented “services,” aimed at addressing the interests of residents, businesses, and politicians, rather than the needs of those unhoused.

scholarly journals Assessing nutritional value of ready-to-eat breakfast cereals in the province of Quebec (Canada): a study from the Food Quality Observatory

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-8
Author(s):  
Julie Perron ◽  
Sonia Pomerleau ◽  
Pierre Gagnon ◽  
Joséane Gilbert-Moreau ◽  
Simone Lemieux ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Quality ◽  
Food Supply ◽  
Nutritional Quality ◽  
Saturated Fat ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Breakfast Cereal ◽  
Food Category ◽  
Breakfast Cereals ◽  
Sales Data

Abstract Objective: The Food Quality Observatory was created in the province of Quebec (Canada) in 2016. In this study, the Observatory aimed to generate a methodology to (1) test the use of sales data combined with nutrient values to characterise the nutritional composition of ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals offered and purchased in the province of Quebec (Canada) and (2) verify the extent to which a front-of-pack label based on the percentage of daily value (DV) for total sugar, as a strategy to improve the food supply, would be distributed in this food category. Design: Nutritional information were obtained by purchasing each RTE breakfast cereal available in the Greater Montreal area. Cereals were then classified according to their processing type. Setting: The nutritional values of 331 RTE breakfast cereals available in Quebec were merged with sales data covering the period between May 2016 and May 2017. A total of 306 products were successfully cross-referenced. Results: Granola and sweetened cereals were the most available (36·6 % and 19·6 %, respectively) and purchased (19·8 % and 40·9 % of sales, respectively). When compared with other types of cereals, granola cereals had a higher energy, fat, saturated fat, protein content and a lower Na content. A larger proportion of chocolate (65 %) and sweetened cereals (49 %) were above 15 % of the DV for sugar. Conclusions: This study showed that the methodology developed generates important data to monitor nutritional quality of the food supply and ultimately contribute to improve the nutritional quality of processed foods.

scholarly journals Elaboration of Gluten-Free Cookies with Defatted Seed Flours: Effects on Technological, Nutritional, and Consumer Aspects

Foods ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 1213
Author(s):  
Elena Martínez ◽  
Rita García-Martínez ◽  
Manuel Álvarez-Ortí ◽  
Adrián Rabadán ◽  
Arturo Pardo-Giménez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nutritional Value ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Elastic Behavior ◽  
Gluten Free ◽  
Free Products ◽  
Consumer Evaluations ◽  
Health Promoting ◽  
Seed Flours ◽  
Good Vehicle ◽  
Interesting Alternative

Cookies, which form the largest category of bakery snacks, are considered a good vehicle to introduce nutrients into the diet. In this study, to increase the nutritional value of traditional commercial cookies, wheat flour was substituted with defatted flours made from flax, sesame, chia, and poppy, which are byproducts of the oil extraction industry. The differences in the technological properties, nutritional composition, and consumer acceptance of the reformulated cookies were evaluated. The results show that the wheat cookies used as the control showed a more elastic behavior than the cookies elaborated with defatted seed flours, which showed a greater tendency to crumble. The use of defatted seed flours yielded cookies with a higher content of protein and fiber, and a lower content in carbohydrates than the wheat cookies. Consumer evaluations for the sesame and flax cookies were similar to those for the traditional wheat cookies, with positive assessments on all of the parameters evaluated. On the other hand, the cookies elaborated using chia and poppy flours received the least positive evaluations from consumers. Thus, the use of some defatted seed flours, mainly flax and sesame, is proposed as an interesting alternative to produce health-promoting cookies in order to cover the current demand for gluten-free products.

scholarly journals Advancing precision public health using human genomics: examples from the field and future research opportunities

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megan C. Roberts ◽  
Alison E. Fohner ◽  
Latrice Landry ◽  
Dana Lee Olstad ◽  
Amelia K. Smit ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Precision Medicine ◽  
Behavioral Science ◽  
Public Health Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Human Genomics ◽  
Precision Public Health ◽  
Genomics Research ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Public Health Initiatives

AbstractPrecision public health is a relatively new field that integrates components of precision medicine, such as human genomics research, with public health concepts to help improve population health. Despite interest in advancing precision public health initiatives using human genomics research, current and future opportunities in this emerging field remain largely undescribed. To that end, we provide examples of promising opportunities and current applications of genomics research within precision public health and outline future directions within five major domains of public health: biostatistics, environmental health, epidemiology, health policy and health services, and social and behavioral science. To further extend applications of genomics within precision public health research, three key cross-cutting challenges will need to be addressed: developing policies that implement precision public health initiatives at multiple levels, improving data integration and developing more rigorous methodologies, and incorporating initiatives that address health equity. Realizing the potential to better integrate human genomics within precision public health will require transdisciplinary efforts that leverage the strengths of both precision medicine and public health.

scholarly journals The Level of Processing, Nutritional Composition and Prices of Canadian Packaged Foods and Beverages with and without Gluten-Free Claims

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 1183
Author(s):  
Laura Vergeer ◽  
Beatriz Franco-Arellano ◽  
Gabriel B. Tjong ◽  
Jodi T. Bernstein ◽  
Mary R. L’Abbé
Keyword(s):  
Linear Models ◽  
Saturated Fat ◽  
Nutritional Composition ◽  
Gluten Free ◽  
Food Label ◽  
Nutrient Contents ◽  
Logistic Regression Models ◽  
University Of Toronto ◽  
Information Program ◽  
Label Information

Little is known about the healthfulness and cost of gluten-free (GF) foods, relative to non-GF alternatives, in Canada. This study compared the extent of processing, nutritional composition and prices of Canadian products with and without GF claims. Data were sourced from the University of Toronto Food Label Information Program (FLIP) 2013 (n = 15,285) and 2017 (n = 17,337) databases. Logistic regression models examined the association of NOVA processing category with GF claims. Calorie/nutrient contents per 100 g (or mL) were compared between GF and non-GF products. Generalized linear models compared adjusted mean prices per 100 g (or mL) of products with and without GF claims. The prevalence of GF claims increased from 7.1% in 2013 to 15.0% in 2017. GF claims appeared on 17.0% of ultra-processed foods, which were more likely to bear GF claims products than less-processed categories. Median calories and sodium were significantly higher in GF products; no significant differences were observed for saturated fat or sugars. Compared to non-GF products, adjusted mean prices of GF products were higher for 10 food categories, lower for six categories and not significantly different for six categories. Overall, GF claims are becoming increasingly prevalent in Canada; however, they are often less healthful and more expensive than non-GF alternatives, disadvantaging consumers following GF diets.

scholarly journals Evaluating the impact of public health initiatives on trends in fecal occult blood test participation in Ontario

BMC Cancer ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gladys N Honein-AbouHaidar ◽  
Linda Rabeneck ◽  
Lawrence F Paszat ◽  
Rinku Sutradhar ◽  
Jill Tinmouth ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Blood Test ◽  
Fecal Occult Blood Test ◽  
Occult Blood ◽  
Fecal Occult Blood ◽  
Occult Blood Test ◽  
Fecal Occult ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Public Health Initiatives

scholarly journals Treatment-Seeking Rates and Associated Mediating Factors among Individuals with Depression

2002 ◽  
Vol 47 (7) ◽  
pp. 660-665 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristin Bristow ◽  
Scott Patten
Keyword(s):  
Social Supports ◽  
Treatment Seeking ◽  
Service Access ◽  
Inclusion Criteria ◽  
Mediating Factors ◽  
Health Initiatives ◽  
Adolescents And Adults ◽  
Depressive Episodes ◽  
Public Health Initiatives ◽  
Structured Literature Review

Objective: To systematically review the literature with respect to treatment-seeking rates for depression and associated mediating factors. This review focuses on adolescents and adults of all ages. Methods: A structured literature review using Medline and PsychInfo databases revealed 38 relevant papers. Two trained reviewers independently and blindly assessed each study according to 4 inclusion criteria. A total of 17 papers met all 4 criteria. Results: Between 17.0% and 77.8% of individuals with depressive episodes or disorders sought treatment in these studies. We could explain the range in rates by diverse measures of depression, mediating factors that influence treatment-seeking, varied years in which the studies were done, and different time periods over which treatment-seeking was assessed. Conclusions: Treatment-seeking rates for major depression appear to have increased over the years. Age, race, social supports, and clinical and psychiatric factors seem to influence treatment-seeking rates most. Public health initiatives can use this information to facilitate service access and delivery.

scholarly journals Characteristics of consumers using ‘better for you’ front-of-pack food labelling schemes – an example from the Australian Heart Foundation Tick

2012 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 2265-2272 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan L Williams ◽  
Kerry W Mummery
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Tertiary Education ◽  
Food Choices ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Processed Meat ◽  
Food Labelling ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Fast Foods ◽  
Frequent Users ◽  
Heart Foundation

AbstractObjectiveThe Heart Foundation Tick aims to help consumers make healthier food choices and overcome confusion in understanding food labels. Little is known about what factors differentiate frequent from infrequent users and the effectiveness of this scheme in helping Australians make healthier food choices.DesignA cross-sectional survey was used to explore use of the Tick and associations with a range of individual characteristics.SettingA national panel of Australians, living in each state and territory, completed an online survey (n1446).SubjectsAdult men (41 %) and women participated in the study.ResultsMost trusted the Heart Foundation (79 %), and used the Tick at least occasionally (19 % regularly, 21 % often, 35 % occasionally, 24 % never). A majority was classified as overweight/obese (60 %), 3·5 % were diagnosed with CHD, 5·2 % with diabetes and 23 % with hypertension. Many did not meet recommendations for the consumption of red meat (30 %), processed meat (23 %), vegetables (78 %), fruit (43 %) and fast foods (47 %). Female frequent users tended to have hypertension, be married/de facto, older than 45 years, rural dwellers, and limit their intake of fast foods. Male frequent users tended to have hypertension, meet recommendations for fruit, vegetables and processed meats, but not have a tertiary education.ConclusionsThe Heart Foundation Tick is a highly trusted, highly recognizable food labelling scheme and helpful to consumers who are motivated to make healthier food choices. More inter-sector collaboration is required to incorporate these schemes into public health campaigns to help consumers make healthier food choices.

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