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In Western countries people adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet for a variety of reasons, and though their numbers appear to be increasing, vegetarians and vegans are a minority of the population. However, the world scene is very different, for a large proportion of the world's population has a near vegan diet. This kind of diet is almost always associated with malnutrition often involving deficiencies of energy, protein or specific vitamins. It might be thought that eradication of malnutrition would best be achieved by promoting a western‐type omnivorous diet. This would involve increasing production and consumption of food from animal sources, but it is doubtful if this would be either economically feasible, or nutritionally acceptable. It seems important therefore to establish whether a good vegetarian or vegan diet is consistent with health, and what effects the diet has on commonly used indices of nutritional status.

Reviews the latest thinking regarding fat and health in the light of the 1993 FAO/WHO Expert Consultation on “The Role of Oils and Fats in Human Nutrition”. Outlines the role of fat in meeting energy requirements; in the absorption and provision of fat‐soluble vitamins; in enhancing food palatability; and in the provision of essential fatty acids. Looks at the association of types of fat with coronary heart disease and cancer, and outlines the recommendations of the FAO/WHO Consultation report. Concludes that fat is a desirable and essential nutrient and that the need for fat changes according to life cycle and lifestyle.

Essential fatty acid deficiency in animals is characterised by a poor rate of growth, an increased voluntary food intake and a scaly dermatitis. Linoleic acid (18:2n‐6) cures all the symptoms but ∝‐linolenic acid (18:3n&hyphen3) only restores growth. Babies fed skimmed milk develop similar symptoms which are relieved by linoleic acid. The minimum daily requirement is approximately 1% of the energy intake: for an adult that is about 2 grams of linoleic acid.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the development of a comprehensive categorisation of food scares.

Following an initial desktop study, the categorisation was developed collaboratively with industry experts through a workshop and series of semi-structured interviews.

The new categorisation developed is in Venn diagram format allowing overlapping categories. It is organised around the two major types of contamination (biological, and chemical/physical contaminants) and the two major causes of contamination (wilful deception, and transparency and awareness issues).

The long and complex supply chains characteristic of current food production systems have resulted in a rising number of food scares. There is thus an increased emphasis on developing strategies to reduce both the number of incidents of food scares, and their associated economic, social and environmental impacts. The new categorisation developed in this study enables experts to address categories of food scares. Inclusion of the cause of contamination is particularly important as the method through which contamination occurs is key in devising food scare prevention strategies.

The new categorisation, unlike previous categorisations, enables food scares to fall into multiple categories, as appropriate. Also, again in contrast to previous categorisations, it takes into account not only the physical problem of a food scare but also the mechanism through which it arises.

Differences in faecal bile acid excretion have been reported between vegetarians and meat‐eaters. The purpose of this study is to compare fasting plasma bile acid concentrations in Asian vegetarians, white vegetarians and white meat‐eaters.

A human experimental study comparing fasting plasma bile acid concentrations in Asian vegetarians, white vegetarians and white meateaters. Three groups of premenopausal women have been recruited: Caucasian omnivores (n  =  19), Caucasian Vegetarians (n  =  16) and Asian vegetarians (n  =  17). Fasting plasma bile acid concentrations were determined by gas‐liquid chromatography.

Although faecal bile acid concentrations were lower in the Caucasian vegetarians than in the omnivores, fasting plasma bile acid concentrations did not differ.

The present results indicate that fasting levels of plasma bile acids in premenopausal women do not necessarily reflect faecal bile acid concentrations.

Growing concerns about risks to public health have heightened consumer awareness of safety in food consumption. Understanding consumer perception of risk and impact on purchase behaviour is a key issue for the mutual benefit of both consumers and food industry. An exploratory study in the form of personal interviews was carried out to investigate the perceived main food risks in chicken meat product, together with the components of perceived loss and risk reducing strategies. The results suggested the importance of lifestyle loss as a separate factor along with health, financial, time, and product performance loss. Risk reducing strategies adopted by consumers were matched with the marketing strategies used by the food industry, such as product quality assurance, product information and pricing. Consumers felt able to reduce exposure to food safety risk by personal control in the post‐purchase handling and preparation of chicken meat.

In 1944 a group of strict vegetarians formed the Vegan Society and called their diet a vegan diet to distinguish it from an ordinary vegetarian diet. Vegans are people who do not eat any food of animal origin. Their diet therefore consists of cereals, pulses — beans, peas, lentils — nuts, fruit and vegetables. A vegetarian diet is similar except that it also includes eggs and/or milk. In recent years vegetarian and, to a lesser extent, vegan diets have increased in popularity. The usual reason is ethical: a distaste for eating animal flesh and the abhorrence of animal suffering. It should be emphasised that veganism is a way of life, and is not a form of food faddism.

There are various Kreis tests reported in the literature with wide variations in the procedure. The purpose of this paper is to select the most suitable and reliable method for the rancidity evaluation in ghee.

Ghee samples were prepared from butter by the direct cream method. They were assessed for early-stage oxidative deterioration by four Kreis tests in an accelerated storage trial at intervals of 48 h. The amount of ghee samples, amount of reagents (chloroform, 30 percent trichloroacetic acid, 1 percent phloroglucinol, and ethanol), incubation temperature and duration were different in the four tests. For each method, the ghee samples were also monitored for changes in flavor at intervals of 48 h by sensory evaluation. Relationships among the Kreis values determined by the four different Kreis tests and flavor scores were established using a correlation analysis.

The correlation coefficient of the Kreis values determined by different Kreis tests was in decreasing order of: Kreis test-2 (−0.904) > Kreis test-4 (−0.792) > Kreis test-3 (−0.648) > Kreis test-1 (−0.469). Thus, among the four different Kreis tests, Kreis Test-2 reported by Pool and Prater (1945) was found to be more sensitive and more consistent, and have the highest coefficient of correlation (−0.904) with flavor score of ghee during storage at 80±2°C.

The finding of this study will be useful for the selection of an appropriate and reliable Kreis test that can be used for detecting rancidity in ghee at an incipient stage. The development of rancidity in the ghee leads to formation of off-flavor and such an oxidized product is not accepted by the consumer; this leads to economic loss to the manufacturer. Detection of traces of rancidity at an early stage provides an opportunity for industry personnel to take suitable control measures and/or make decisions regarding utilization of the product.

The use of a reliable Kreis test that detects traces of rancidity in a ghee can be very useful for enabling suitable measures to be taken to prevent further oxidative deterioration or to dispose of the ghee as early as possible.

Zinc and essential fatty acid deficiencies manifest similar syndromes provoking investigations into the mechanisms underlying their metabolic interactions. This article presents a lucid and concise review of literature on the possible connection between these important dietary nutrients as exemplified by the role of zinc in modulating intestinal lipid transport and prostaglandins metabolisms as well as maintenance of membrane structural and functional integrity. Reports of investigations on zinc and essential fatty acid deficiencies, regarding their pleitropic effects on clinically important enzymes, from the laboratory of the authors were also considered.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the current status of the poultry meat supply chain.

The research included a literature review and evaluation of financial performance data to determine the market conditions that have impacted on both individual organisations and supply chains.

The financial data has demonstrated, for the transnational corporations (TNC) studied, a significant reduction in financial performance over the last 12 months. This is due in part to the influence of avian influenza, but also to the over supply of poultry meat and increased production costs. The ongoing management of risk within this context needs to not only address traditional risk factors, but also in publicly traded organisations address the effective management of investment risk to ensure continued shareholder confidence and organisational viability.

This research is of academic value and of value to those working in the food supply chain.