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The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of a 15-week dietary intake of cactus flour on metabolic parameters, body weight and dietary intake of rats.

Male Wistar rats were divided into four experimental groups (n = 8-10): control or westernized diets added or not of cactus flour. The following parameters were evaluated during the period of dietary manipulation: body weight, food intake, glycemic and lipid profile (oral glucose tolerance test, metabolic parameters, hepatic and muscular glycogen dosage), visceral and body fat (relative weight to body weight). Data were analyzed using Graphpad Prism®5, p = 0.05.

Animals fed on a Western-style diet together with flour cactus presented lower weight gain (335.7 ± 20.0, p = 0.05) over the evaluated period, even when the volume of food intake was not different among the groups. The addition of cactus flour to a Western-style diet appears to lower glucose levels at 30 and 60 min (p = 0.05), as shown in the glucose tolerance curve. There was a downward trend does fat stores, cholesterol levels and triglycerides. Therefore, it was concluded that this addition cactus flour is effective even when the diet is hyperlipidic, demonstrating its ability to attenuate risk parameters for the occurrence of metabolic syndromes such as sub fraction high cholesterol levels and glucose tolerance.

The addition of functional foods to diets may work to improve the harmful effects of this type of diet. Opuntia ficus indica has high nutritional value and has hypoglycemic and hypolipemic properties besides being antioxidant.

This study aims to identify the dietary patterns of two groups of subjects (with and without COVID-19), and to assess the relationship of findings with the prognosis of COVID-19 and metabolic risk parameters.

This study included 100 individuals in the age range of 19–65 years. The medical history, and data on biochemical, hematological and inflammatory indicators were retrieved from the files. A questionnaire for the 24-h food record and the food intake frequency was administered in face-to-face interviews, and dietary patterns of subjects were assessed.

In individuals with COVID-19, the hip circumference, the waist-hip ratio and the body fat percentage were significantly higher (p < 0.05), and the muscle mass percentage was significantly lower (p < 0.05). Mediterranean diet adherence screener (MEDAS), dietary approaches to stop hypertension (DASH) and healthy eating ındex-2015 (HEI-2015) scores were low in the two groups. A linear correlation of DASH scores was found with the muscle mass percentage (p = 0.046) and a significant inverse correlation of with the body fat percentage (p = 0.006). HEI-2015 scores were significantly and negatively correlated with body weight, body mass index, waist circumference, hip circumference and neck circumference (p < 0.05). Every one-unit increase in MEDAS, DASH and HEI-2015 scores caused reductions in C-reactive protein levels at different magnitudes. Troponin-I was significantly and negatively correlated with fruit intake (p = 0.044), a component of a Mediterranean diet and with HEI-2015 total scores (p = 0.032).

The limitation of this study includes the small sample size and the lack of dietary interventions. Another limitation is the use of the food recall method for the assessment of dietary patterns. This way assessments were performed based on participants’ memory and statements.

Following a healthy diet pattern can help reduce the metabolic risks of COVİD-19 disease.

Despite these limitations, this study is valuable because, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, it is the first study demonstrating the association of dietary patterns with disease prognosis and metabolic risks concerning COVID-19. This study suggests that dietary patterns during the COVID-19 process may be associated with several metabolic risks and inflammatory biomarkers.

Statements by Lord Denning, M.R., vividly describing the impact of European Community Legislation are increasingly being used by lawyers and others to express their concern for its effect not only on our legal system but on other sectors of our society, changes which all must accept and to which they must adapt. A popular saying of the noble Lord is “The Treaty is like an incoming tide. It flows into the estuaries and up the rivers. It cannot be held back”. The impact has more recently become impressive in food law but probably less so than in commerce or industry, with scarcely any sector left unmolested. Most of the EEC Directives have been implemented by regulations made under the appropriate sections of the Food and Drugs Act, 1955 and the 1956 Act for Scotland, but regulations proposed for Materials and Articles in Contact with Food (reviewed elsewhere in this issue) will be implemented by use of Section 2 (2) of the European Communities Act, 1972, which because it applies to the whole of the United Kingdom, will not require separate regulations for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This is the first time that a food regulation has been made under this statute. S.2 (2) authorises any designated Minister or Department to make regulations as well as Her Majesty Orders in Council for implementing any Community obligation, enabling any right by virtue of the Treaties (of Rome) to be excercised. The authority extends to all forms of subordinate legislation—orders, rules, regulations or other instruments and cannot fail to be of considerable importance in all fields including food law.

Dietary fiber and energy intakes seem to be related to disability and anthropometric indices in multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory disorder of the central nervous system. So, this study was designed to investigate the association between dietary fiber and energy intakes with systemic inflammation, disease severity and anthropometric measurements in MS subjects.

Four subtypes of 261 MS volunteers were recruited (female = 210, male = 51; mean age 38.9 ± 8.3). A 168-item food frequency questionnaire and nutritionist IV software were used to estimate the amounts of dietary, insoluble, soluble, crude fiber and energy intakes. Serum hs-CRP, extended disability status scale (EDSS), height, weight and Deurenberg equation were also used to evaluate systemic inflammation, disease severity, body mass index (BMI) and percentage body fat, respectively.

Mean differences among the three hs-CRP and EDSS subgroups for dietary fibers and energy intake were significant (p < 0.001). Dietary fiber intake (M = 19.9 ± 4.3 g/day) was a good predictor for EDSS (B = −0.196, p = 0.012), and insoluble fiber intake was introduced as the best predictor of hs-CRP (B = −3.293, p < 0.001). Energy intake predicted both BMI (B = 0.007, p < 0.001) and percentage body fat (B = 0.015, p < 0.001).

Hypocaloric and high prebiotic fiber diet may suppress systemic inflammation and thereby modulate disease severity, as well as control anthropometric indices.

Amidst compounding crises and increasing global population’s nutritional needs, food supply chains are called to address the “diet–environment–health” trilemma in a sustainable and resilient manner. However, food system stakeholders are reluctant to act upon established protein sources such as meat to avoid potential public and industry-driven repercussions. To this effect, this study aims to understand the meat supply chain (SC) through systems thinking and propose innovative interventions to break this “cycle of inertia”.

This research uses an interdisciplinary approach to investigate the meat supply network system. Data was gathered through a critical literature synthesis, domain-expert interviews and a focus group engagement to understand the system’s underlying structure and inspire innovative interventions for sustainability.

The analysis revealed that six main sub-systems dictate the “cycle of inertia” in the meat food SC system, namely: (i) cultural, (ii) social, (iii) institutional, (iv) economic, (v) value chain and (vi) environmental. The Internet of Things and innovative strategies help promote sustainability and resilience across all the sub-systems.

The study findings demystify the structure of the meat food SC system and unveil the root causes of the “cycle of inertia” to suggest pertinent, innovative intervention strategies.

This research contributes to the SC management field by capitalising on interdisciplinary scientific evidence to address a food system challenge with significant socioeconomic and environmental implications.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the pathological, biochemical and redox state parameters of liver tissue in Wistar rats treated from birth to adulthood (119 days) with cafeteria diet.

During the lactation, 6 liters of Wistar rats (dam + 8 pups each) were fed one of two diets: control (CTRL; n = 3) or cafeteria (CAF; n = 3) diets and water ad libitum. After weaning, the males were placed in individual cages, receiving the same diet offered to their respective dams (CTRL or CAF; n = 18) until adulthood. The following parameters were evaluated: absolute and relative liver weight; blood, liver and feces biochemistry; liver histology; and redox state of the liver.

When assessing the relative and absolute organ weight, no significant differences were found between the groups. The Cafeteria group exhibited higher values of serum LDL-c (p = 0.008), VLDL-c (p = 0.03) and triglycerides (p = 0.01), as well as several micro and macrovacuoles of fat accumulation, higher hepatic lipid (p = 0.03) and cholesterol (p = 0.0001) levels regarding Control group. Cafeteria group showed greater expression of glutathione-s-transferase (p = 0.03) and superoxide dismutase (p = 0.005) enzymes compared to the control group. In the case of the markers of oxidative stress, there was no difference between the groups.

A simple and standardized cafeteria diet caused an accumulation of fatty acids in liver tissue, inducing a state of hepatic steatosis besides an increased expression of antioxidant enzymes.

This study identifies new factors influencing the adoption of two recently promoted messages in Canada's updated food guide (FG): enhancing pleasure of eating healthy foods (PEHFs) and shifting food choices towards plant protein foods. Currently, limited and contradictory evidence is available regarding associations between environmental values, nutrition literacy, PEHFs, and plant/animal protein food consumption.

An online survey measuring environmental values; nutrition literacy, distinctively based on previous (2007) and most recent (2019) FG messages; PEHFs; and annual changes in the consumption of protein foods was sent to Quebec residents (N = 128).

Greater nutrition literacy of both 2007 and 2019 FGs and greater environmental values were associated with greater PEHFs (ß = 0.248, p < 0.01; ß = 0.209, p < 0.05; ß = 0.423, p < 0.001, respectively). Greater PEHFs was associated with greater consumption of plant protein foods (ß = 0.405, p < 0.001). Greater nutrition literacy of the 2007 FG was associated with greater consumption of animal protein foods (ß = 0.409, p < 0.001), whereas greater nutrition literacy of the 2019 FG was linked to lower consumption of animal protein foods (ß = −0.225, p < 0.05).

Enhancing PEHFs may require increasing general FG nutrition literacy and strengthening environmental values. To encourage plant protein food consumption and decrease animal protein food consumption, the authors recommend promoting PEHFs and increasing nutrition literacy based on newest FG recommendations.

This new evidence may help develop strategies promoting PEHFs and plant protein food consumption, thus increasing uptake of new FG recommendations.

This paper aims to provide empirical insight into the trends and structural changes in meat consumption in Vietnam.

This study applies the Quadratic Almost Ideal Demand System model on multiple cross-sectional data sets derived from the Vietnam Household Living Standards Survey (VHLSS) of 2004–2016 and follows a consistent two-step procedure to deal with the zero consumption issue. The estimated demand elasticities are then compared and analyzed over time.

The empirical results show that in the last decade, meat consumption patterns in Vietnam have undergone a remarkable structural change, with poultry and beef increasingly taking important roles in the meat consumption structure of households. In addition, demographic characteristics, including settlement type, household size and the age of the household head, have significantly influenced meat expenditure patterns in Vietnam.

The paper considers the demand for meat consumed at home but not meat consumed away from home.

In many developing countries, increased disposable income, together with rapid urbanization and international integration, has significantly changed consumers' food consumption behaviors. This is one of the first studies using household survey data, which permits the exploration of heterogeneous preferences between consumers, to explore structural changes in food consumption patterns in Vietnam.

The concept of sustainability in general and food sustainability, in particular, entails many aspects and many interpretations. During a conference on food sustainability a broad, multidisciplinary picture was painted and many key issues were dealt with, from ecology, economy and society. In sessions on food security – the focus in developing countries – and food safety – primarily a preoccupation in developed countries – many potential trade‐offs and opportunities for regional approaches were identified. The session on governance, therefore, focused on the interaction between multi‐level actors, including national governments, international organisations such as WTO, the food industry and consumers. Finally, transparency was identified as one of the main issues underlying good governance. In order to improve the sustainability of food production, therefore, it was considered of the utmost importance that food multinationals transfer some form of democratic control over their global environmental policies, as part of an overall multi‐level (public‐private) governance ideal.

Seaweeds are gaining broader interest in Western societies through their use in product development and the health-food industry. High nutritional value, low carbon footprint and sustainability are key drivers for seaweed uptake in Europe; yet high iodine intake from seaweed remains a concern. This study seeks to identify seaweed food products available on the UK retail market between 2018 and 2021 and assess their safety in the context of iodine exposure.

Here, a market survey (n = 37–40 retailers) was conducted in three annual waves to evaluate seaweed food product availability in the UK. The iodine dose of products was estimated based on a comprehensive literature review of seaweed iodine content.

This study shows a young, dynamic market with 2.3-fold increase in seaweed food product availability since the last available published data (2015). Specific iodine content labelling remains uncommon, and median iodine doses in a single serving of food exceeded 400 µg in all years. Some products, especially seaweed supplements, provide iodine doses above the tolerable upper limit and upper level of tolerance.

This study presents the most contemporary and comprehensive overview of the market for seaweed food products in the UK. With increasing popularisation of seaweed as a food, this study highlights the need for improved dialogue amongst producers, retailers, legislators and public health specialists to address the risk of iodine excess, and the concurrent scope for processing methods to reduce the iodine content in seaweeds.