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This article focuses on the selenium (Se) content of 29 legumes and grains available in Mauritius. Selenium was determined using an ultraviolet/visible spectrophotometric method. Results showed that there was considerable variation in the Se content of the legumes and grains that varied from 0.009 ± 0.003μg/g in Dhall Mung (Phaseolus areus) to 1.380 ± 0.003μg/g in Gram Noir (Cicer arietinum). The overall mean Se content of the legumes and grains analysed was 0.231 ± 0.00μg/g. In conclusion, the present study tends to show that legumes and grains are important vehicles of Se intake in the Mauritian diet.

This article focuses on the assessment of quality of meat and meat products that are available on the local market as well as consumers’ awareness regarding meat quality and handling practices.

This article focuses on the assessment of dietary intake and possible factors limiting the pattern of consumption of fresh fruits in Mauritius. Mauritius is a rapidly developing country with an increasing rise in mortality due to coronary heart diseases and cancer. Fruits like apples, pears, oranges, bananas, grapes, kiwi and papaya were found to be mostly consumed by the respondents. This article also discusses factors such as age and sex as well as education and income that were found to be important determinants for the consumption of fruits.

This article focuses on the assessment of adolescents’ perceptions of the importance of food using the World Wide Web. Adolescents were found to be much aware of health‐related issues but in practice their eating habits were more likely to be influenced by the way they feel generally. Adolescent girls perceived their diets in the light of appearance and body shape, while boys were more concerned by fitness and general wellbeing. With age and maturity, adolescents give less importance to fitness and become more conscious about health issues.

The present work focuses on the assessment of the level of hygiene practices among people involved in the preparation, cooking and serving of foods as well as the quality of foods offered for sale in secondary school canteens in four different urban areas in Mauritius.

With the increasing rise in obesity and diabetes in Mauritius, the school food environment in Mauritius is becoming a major concern. No study in Mauritius has so far examined the perspective of school head teachers pertaining to food items sold in schools. The purpose of this paper is to determine the primary school food environment in Mauritius.

A national postal survey of all the 212 public primary schools in Mauritius was undertaken. A pilot study was initially carried out, followed by administration of a mail questionnaire to all head teachers. The methodology included a validity testing phase. Frequency and associated Pearson's and Fisher's χ² tests were used for data analysis.

An 82.1 per cent response rate was obtained. The findings showed that a variety of food items were proposed to schoolchildren. Confectioneries were sold in 97.7 per cent schools while deep‐fried foods were on sale in 76.6 per cent schools although canteen guidelines are provided to schools. No school sold a complete meal. No statistical difference has been noted between food items sold in urban primary schools and those sold in rural primary schools (p > 0.05).

This national study highlights that many less healthy food choices are offered to Mauritian school children, thus undermining their health and nutrition status of Mauritian school children. There is need for urgent action to change the school food environment in order to prevent obesity among school children for a healthier Mauritius.

This article focuses on the assessment of thyroid hormones in 64 pregnant women in Mauritius. Our study revealed that serum thyroid‐stimulating hormone was significantly raised in four pregnant women with normal serum‐free tri‐iodothyronine and serum‐free thyroxine. It was also noted that mean serum‐free tri‐iodothyronine was non‐significantly much lower in the pregnant women. It is concluded that the four pregnant women with an abnormally elevated serum thyroid‐stimulating hormone together with normal free thyroid hormones probably have subclinical hypothyroidism.

This article focuses on the assessment of the practical knowledge of cardiac patients and health care professionals of a heart‐healthy diet. Based on our findings, we proposed that cardiac patients in Mauritius should be referred to dieticians on a more routine basis if effective dietary change is to be successfully implemented. Our findings lend further support for the need of continuing education for health care professionals in the field of nutrition.

It is known that individuals who are prone to food hypersensitivity also show allergy‐associated problems or hypersensitivities to allergens. At present there is scarcity of data pertaining to food allergy in Mauritius. Thus, this article aims to focus on the investigation of the prevalence of food allergy in Mauritius.

A questionnaire‐based survey on self‐reported symptoms of allergy addressing allergy‐associated parameters including offending food items, adverse reactions to food, additional hypersensitivity, allergic diseases along with age, gender and geographical location were assessed in relation to a random sample population around different regions of the island.

The present study shows that reported symptoms of allergy to food among the participants are high. Symptoms included runny nose, sneezing, shortness of breath, eczema, hives and skin rashes. It was also noted that participants reported being more allergic to seafood than any other food items like fruits, peanut, soybean and chocolate. Those who had severe symptoms were few in numbers and others showed symptoms only rarely or occasionally.

The paper shows that there is need for a health education campaign to inform children and parents about the potential risks of exposure to dietary products, especially as most of the participants do not visit a doctor when they believe they are allergic to food.

Using a questionnaire, assesses the hygienic practices of a group of 50 street food vendors in Mauritius. The findings showed that generally, food vendors were quite aware of hygienic conditions, which have to be respected while handling and preparing foods. However, it was found that the majority of them were not implementing their knowledge into practice and still perceived that their products were of relatively low risk to the consumers. It was also found that for more than half of the vending households, street food vending was the main income provider. Despite the role of health inspectors in promoting awareness of the risks which poor hygiene practices may lead to, findings from the present study highlight the need for further health education of food vendors.