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Apples have always been considered a healthy product able to provide curative properties to consumers. In Italy, there is a long tradition of apple consumption and production both as a fresh product and as processed food. However, as with many other products, the consumption of fruits and vegetables and, more specifically apples, has been drastically affected by the first lockdown in 2020. In this project, the authors investigate whether the change in consumption habits had long-lasting consequences beyond 2020 and what are the main eating motivations, food-related behavior and socio-demographic affecting the consumption of fruits and vegetables after the pandemic.

The authors ran two online surveys with 1,000 Italian consumers across a year (from October 2021 to December 2022). In the study, participants answered questions about their consumption habits and their eating motives. Out of 1,000 consumers, the authors included in the final analysis only the participants who answered both surveys, leaving a final sample of 651 consumers.

The results show that participants have allocated more budget to fruit and vegetables after the lockdown than before it. Moreover, consumers reported an average increase in the consumption of apples. However, the increase was more pronounced for people aged between 30 and 50 years old and identified as female. After showing the difference across time, a cluster analysis identified three main segments that differ in their eating motives, place of purchase and area of residence.

Overall, the results contribute to a better understanding of how the global pandemic is still affecting people's daily life. Moreover, the findings can be used to guide the marketing and communication strategies of companies in the food sector.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that investigates changes in the consumption of fruits and vegetables, and, more specifically, apples, in Italy more than one year after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, the study proposes a classification of consumers based on their habits in a time frame during which the COVID-19 wave was at its bottom which is not currently present in the literature.

The aim of this study was to investigate consumer preferences and profile their food-related lifestyles, as well as to identify consumer groups with similar attitudes/behaviours in the Euro-Mediterranean fruit and vegetable market.

A structured questionnaire was designed drawing from the food related lifestyles instrument and including other factors relevant to fruit and vegetable consumer preferences. The data were collected in an online survey with 925 participants in France, Greece, and Italy. A principal component analysis was conducted to interpret and examine consumers' fruit and vegetable related lifestyles. In addition, a cluster analysis was performed to identify different consumer segments, based on the core dimensions of the food-related lifestyle approach.

In each country, three primary consumer segments were distinguished. Health-conscious individuals were predominant in France and Greece, while quality-conscious consumers were prevalent in Italy. These classifications were determined considering various factors such as purchase motivation, perception of product quality, health concerns, environmental certifications, and price sensitivity.

The food-related lifestyle approach has been adapted instrument to create a customised survey instrument specifically designed to capture the intricacies of fruit and vegetable consumer preferences and priorities in three Euro-Mediterranean Countries.

This study aims to explore the structural changes in food consumption expenditure in Indonesia before and during the COVID-19 pandemic using data from the 2020 and 2021 National Socioeconomic Survey by Statistics Indonesia.

The quadratic almost-ideal demand system analysis model is used to estimate changes in the share of food consumption and the demand and price elasticity of food commodities in Indonesia. A total of 15 food items are analyzed to determine changes in food consumption expenditure during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The results of this study show that during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in the proportion of household expenditure related to the consumption of home-cooked food. Simultaneously, the proportion of expenditure on prepared food significantly decreased.

The pandemic has changed household food consumption in Indonesia. This study recommends that the government ensure the availability of supplies and stability of food prices and provide financial subsidies to maintain food consumption, especially for lower-income communities.

There has yet to be a study on the changes in household food consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Therefore, this research provides empirical evidence that there were changes in household food expenditure during the pandemic.

This study aims to increase knowledge of the ability of nutrition labels to guide consumer choices in real-life environments.

Food consumption and plate waste data were collected from two self-service restaurants (SSR) with different customer groups over six observation days: three control and three intervention (with nutrition labelling) periods. Study Group 1 consisted of vocational school students, mostly late adolescents (N = 1,710), and Group 2 consisted of spa hotel customers, mostly elderly (N = 1,807). In the experimental restaurants, the same food was served to the buffets during the control and intervention periods.

The nutrition label in the lunch buffet guides customers to eat fewer main foods and salads and to select healthier choices. Increased consumption of taste enhancers (salt and ketchup) was observed in the study restaurants after nutritional labelling. Nutrition labelling was associated with a reduction in plate waste among the elderly, whereas the opposite was observed among adolescents.

The results provide public policymakers and marketers with a better understanding of the effects of nutrition labelling on consumer behaviour. Future studies should further evaluate the effects of nutrition labelling on the overall quality of customer diets and the complex environmental, social, and psychological factors affecting food choices and plate waste accumulation in various study groups.

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of anxiety levels of adults on their nutritional status during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kayseri province, Turkey.

A total of 898 adults consisting of 479 individuals with and 419 individuals without a positive diagnosis of COVID-19 were included in the study. The individuals’ socio-demographic characteristics, health status, nutritional habits, anthropometric measurement and Fear of COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) information were obtained online.

The mean FCV-19S score of the participants was 17.49 ± 6.02. FCV-19S score was higher in those who reduced their consumption of protein sources compared to those who did not change and those who increased (p < 0.001). It was determined that FCV-19S scores of participants who increased their consumption of fruit/vegetables, sweets and sugar were higher than those who did not change their consumption of such items (p = 0.007). The FCV-19S scores of individuals who did not change their onion/garlic and snack consumption were lower than those who decreased or increased the consumption of these nutrients (p = 0.001, p = 0.002).

Education programs can be organized especially targeting vulnerable populations, such as women, individuals with chronic diseases and those experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. These programs can be conducted by dietitians and psychologists in collaboration, focusing on promoting healthy eating habits and coping strategies during stressful times.

It was determined that those who changed their nutrition habits during the COVID-19 pandemic had higher fear levels than those who did not. Individuals with high fear paid more attention to healthy nutrition than individuals without fear.

Emotions affect food intake and food choice. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the relationship between sociodemographic factors, eating habits and anthropometric measurements and negative and positive emotional eating.

This cross-sectional study was conducted with 343 female college students 18–24 years of age. Data were collected using the Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ). Anthropometric measurements were obtained (height, weight, triceps skinfold thickness, neck, mid-upper arm, waist and hip circumference). Sociodemographic factors and lifestyle and eating habits were questioned. Generalized linear models were used to identify each EMAQ score.

While high body mass index (BMI) was associated with high negative emotional eating scores, low BMI was related to high positive emotional/situation eating scores (p < 0.01). There was no relationship between waist circumferences (p = 0.09), triceps skinfold thickness (p = 0.09) and negative emotional eating. Participants consuming vegetables and fruit = 5 portions/day had higher negative emotional eating scores, regardless of BMI (p = 0.04). Smokers (p < 0.01) and participants doing regular physical activity (p = 0.02) had lower positive emotional eating scores.

Negative emotional eating was related to higher BMI but not adiposity. Active female participants were less likely to eat in response to positive emotions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first studies examining positive emotion scores from many aspects. The authors also investigated the association between emotional eating and anthropometric measurements by using different methods, including neck and mid-upper arm circumference and triceps skinfold thickness.

Due to the increase in the prevalence of other risk factors of heart diseases, the age of heart disease has decreased and it has led to premature heart disease. One of the main risk factors of this disease is metabolic syndrome (MetS). One of the key ways to control MetS is dietary modification. The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between dietary patterns and MetS in patients with premature heart disease.

This study was conducted on 409 people with premature heart disease. The diagnosis of MetS was made based on the ATP III criteria. Dietary intake for the past year was collected using the validated semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. Dietary patterns were determined by factor analysis with principal components approach.

Three dietary patterns were identified, including the healthy, western and traditional patterns. The findings showed that people who followed the traditional pattern more than those who followed less had a lower risk of MetS. (OR:0.23; 95% CI: 0.11–0.52). But, no relation was observed between healthy (OR:1.45; 95% CI:0.64–3.25) and western (OR:1.04; 95% CI:0.51–2.13) patterns with MetS.

The findings of this study showed that following a traditional dietary pattern based on high consumption of whole grains, red meat, viscera, fish, eggs, high-fat dairy products, soft drinks, mayonnaise and solid oil was associated with a lower risk of MetS.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused significant mortality and morbidity worldwide. However, the role of dietary patterns as a potential risk factor for COVID-19 has not been well established, especially in studies with large samples. Therefore, this study aims to identify and evaluate the association between major dietary patterns and COVID-19 among adults from Iran.

In this cross-sectional study, the authors included 9,189 participants aged 20–70 who participated in the Yazd Health Study (YaHS) and Taghzieh Mardom-e-Yazd study (TAMIZ). They used factor analysis to extract dietary patterns based on a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Then, they assessed the relationship between these dietary patterns and the odds of COVID-19.

This study identified two major dietary patterns: “high protein and high fiber” and “transitional”. Participants in the highest tertile of the “high protein and high fiber” dietary pattern, which included vegetables, fruits, dairy and various kinds of meats such as red meat, fish and poultry, had a lower odds of COVID-19 compared with those in the lowest tertile. However, the “transitional” dietary pattern did not affect the risk of COVID-19.

In conclusion, a “high protein, high fiber” diet may lower the odds of COVID-19. This study suggests that dietary patterns may influence the severity and spread of future similar pandemics.

Natural food colors used in food are generally perceived as additives. Therefore, many studies have been conducted to prove the health benefits and risks of using natural food colors, which play an important role in the food industry, and to identify realistic stabilization methods. This paper aims to examine the health effects of natural food colors from a pharmacological approach.

The paper searches for relevant literature using keywords such as “natural food coloring”, “stabilization” and “antioxidant effects”. For the case study area, this paper added “food science and technology” to identify methods for stabilizing natural food coloring. From this review, the authors ultimately selected 79 articles that appeared to meet the research objectives.

When using natural food coloring in food, there are concerns about stabilization. However, with the development of food science and technology, the authors have found that there are multi-layer emulsification methods that can be applied before, during and after food manufacturing, and storage standards are also important. Natural food coloring is playing a diverse role in food science.

Natural food coloring has been reported in various types of literature to have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antitumor effects. The most common pigments are carotenoids. Considering the positive effects of natural food coloring on human health, the authors suggest future directions for the development of food science and technology and provide a perspective for changing consumer perceptions.

Cold supply chain technology is critical for extending the shelf life of perishable leafy green vegetables. This study aims to investigate the concept of managing leafy green products using cold supply chain technology and visualise the findings.

Using expert interviews and data visualisation approaches, this study examines how organisations deal with the complexity of cold supply chain processes and networks. Thematic data analysis was conducted. Two types of software were used to accomplish the research objectives. The first software used AntConc version 3.5.8 with word frequency (N-gram) analysis, whereas the second software, VOSViewer offered co-occurrence network visualisation and cluster analysis.

The findings show that the appropriate design of cold chain technology is critical in ensuring the freshness and quality of leafy green vegetables. The primary goal of managing the complexity of the cold supply chain is to achieve product freshness and energy efficiency. Regardless of the importance of energy efficiency, cold supply chains require warehouse management solutions for transportation and storage.

This study found that proper design and selection of appropriate technology in the cold supply chain have driven the companies to improve the firms’ competitive advantage while delivering the best quality of perishable leafy green food products. In addition, the freshness, quality, safety, and health of leafy green vegetables will be determined by the company’s capacity to handle long-distance transportation and select the appropriate distribution channels and storage. Warehouse management system technology was found to be secondary compared to cold chain technology, although distribution and warehousing practices are critical for supply chain performance.

This study has established the conceptual indicators based on best practices and outcomes for the cold supply chain. This study argued that cold supply chain management and performance should be monitored independently. Furthermore, the theory of technological adoption can be expanded to include product nature as a driver. Finally, this study has established cold chain best practices based on a perishable supply chain perspective. The findings of this study can promote healthy foods to solve zero hunger and achieve sustainable development goals. Although this study demonstrates that technology improves supply chain practises, cold storage and logistics benefit the most from technological advancements. In contrast, non-cold supply chains benefit from technology-driven improvements in performance.