Shandong Zheng Tai Food & Drink Co. Ltd.

The Shandong Zheng Tai Food & Drink Co. Ltd. is a Chinese-foreign joint venture, which integrates groundnut production, purchasing, processing and export into one and offers a series of services before, during and after production. It occupies a land area of 72,036 sq.m., and has 1,200 employees. Its fixed assets are RMB28.26 million.

The impact of demographic dynamics on food consumption and its environmental outcomes:Evidence from China

With increasing population and changing demographics,food consumption has experienced a significant transition in quantity and quality.However,a dearth of knowledge remains regarding its environmental impacts and how it responds to demographic dynamics,particularly in emerging economies like China.Using the two-stage Quadratic Almost Demand System(QUAIDS)model,this study empirically examines the impact of demographic dynamics on food consumption and its environmental outcomes based on the provincial data from 2000 to 2020 in China.Under various scenarios,according to changes in demographics,we extend our analysis to project the long-term trend of food consumption and its environmental impacts,including greenhouse gas(GHG)emissions,water footprint(WF),and land appropriation(LA).The results reveal that an increase in the proportion of senior people significantly decreases the consumption of grain and livestock meat and increases the consumption of poultry,egg,and aquatic products,particularly for urban residents.Moreover,an increase in the proportion of males in the population leads to higher consumption of poultry and aquatic products.Correspondingly,in the current scenario of an increased aging population and sex ratio,it is anticipated that GHG emissions,WF,and LA are likely to decrease by 1.37,2.52,and 3.56%,respectively.More importantly,in the scenario adhering to the standards of nutritional intake according to the Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents in 2022,GHG emissions,WF,and LA in urban areas would increase by 12.78,20.94,and 18.32%,respectively.Our findings suggest that changing demographics should be considered when designing policies to mitigate the diet-environment-health trilemma and achieve sustainable food consumption.

Women’s empowerment and food consumption:Evidence from female-headed households in Tanzania

Despite the growing recognition of women’s increasing role in the household and corresponding empowerment programs in sub-Saharan Africa,intensive research on the relationship between women’s influence and household food consumption is minimal.Using the most recent(2017-2018)national household survey data from Tanzania,this study examined the influence of women’s empowerment on household food consumption.First,we compared the monthly consumption of eight food categories between female-headed households(FHHs)and male-headed households(MHHs)using both descriptive statistics and the propensity score matching(PSM)method.Furthermore,we adopted the two-stage Linear Expenditure System and Almost Ideal Demand System model(LES-AIDS)to estimate income and price elasticities for the two household types.The results show that FHHs consume bread and cereals,fish,oils and fats,vegetables,and confectionery(sugar,jam,honey,chocolate,etc.)more than MHHs.Moreover,FHHs have a significantly higher income elasticity of demand for all food groups than MHHs.They are also more price elastic than MHHs in meat,fish,oils,fats,sugar,jam,honey,chocolate,etc.

Food nutrition and toxicology targeting on specific organs in the era of single-cell sequencing

Due to the complex natures of dietary food components,it is difficult to elucidate how the compounds affect host health.Dietary food often selectively presents its mechanism of action on different cell types,and participates in the modulation of targeted cells and their microenvironments within organs.However,the limitations of traditional in vitro assays or in vivo animal experiments cannot comprehensively examine cellular heterogeneity and the tissue-biased influences.Single-cell RNA sequencing(sc RNA-seq)has emerged as an indispensable methodology to decompose tissues into different cell types for the demonstration of transcriptional profiles of individual cells.Sc RNA-seq applications has been summarized on three typical organs(brain,liver,kidney),and two representative immune-and tumor related health problems.The everincreasing role of sc RNA-seq in dietary food research with further improvement can provide sub-cellular information and the coupling between other cellular modalities.In this review,we propose utilizing sc RNAseq to more effectively capture the subtle and complex effects of food chemicals,and how they may lead to health problems at single-cell resolution.This novel technique will be valuable to elucidate the underlying mechanism of both the health benefits of food nutrients and the detrimental consequences food toxicants at the cellular level.

Food security amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Central Asia:Evidence from rural Tajikistan

Food security has been long understudied in the context of Central Asia.We present an analysis examining household-level food demand for Tajikistan and assessing the magnitude of its food security changes during the COVID-19 pandemic.Based on an extensive household survey data set from Tajikistan,we estimate the expenditure,income,and price elasticities for nine food categories using the QUAIDS model.Then,we develop a microsimulation model using the estimated elasticities to assess the dual impact of declining remittance income and rising food prices stemming from the pandemic shock.There are significant differences in demand elasticities across food groups,with high elasticities observed for nutritious foods,such as meat,fruit,eggs,and milk,in rural households.Moreover,our findings show that changes in remittance income and food prices significantly negatively affected food security for rural households during the COVID-19 pandemic.These findings have important implications for policymakers concerned about rural livelihoods and food security in remittance-receiving economies during the post-pandemic period.

Characterization of physicochemical and immunogenic properties of allergenic proteins altered by food processing:a review

Food allergens are mainly naturally-occurring proteins with immunoglobulin E(IgE)-binding epitopes.Understanding the structural and immunogenic characteristics of allergenic proteins is essential in assessing whether and how food processing techniques reduce allergenicity.We here discuss the impacts of food processing technologies on the modification of physicochemical,structural,and immunogenic properties of allergenic proteins.Detection techniques for characterizing changes in these properties of food allergens are summarized.Food processing helps to reduce allergenicity by aggregating or denaturing proteins,which masks,modifies,or destroys antigenic epitopes,whereas,it cannot eliminate allergenicity completely,and sometimes even improves allergenicity by exposing new epitopes.Moreover,most food processing techniques have been tested on purified food allergens rather than food products due to potential interference of other food components.We provide guidance for further development of processing operations that can decrease the allergenicity of allergenic food proteins without negatively impacting the nutritional profile.

Immunoglobulin G-mediated food intolerance and metabolic syndrome influence the occurrence of reflux esophagitis in Helicobacter pylori-infected patients

BACKGROUND Reflux esophagitis has an increasing prevalence and complex and diverse symptoms.Identifying its risk factors is crucial to understanding the etiology,prevention,and management of the disease.The occurrence of reflux esophagitis may be associated with food reactions,Helicobacter pylori(H.pylori)infection,and metabolic syndromes.AIM To investigate the risk factors for reflux esophagitis and analyze the effects of immunoglobulin(Ig)G-mediated food intolerance,H.pylori infection,and metabolic syndrome on reflux esophagitis.METHODS Outpatients attending the Second Medical Center of the PLA General Hospital between 2017 and 2021 were retrospectively enrolled.The patients’basic information,test results,gastroscopy results,H.pylori test results,and IgG-mediated food intolerance results were collected.Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to analyze risk factors for reflux esophagitis.Statistical mediation analysis was used to evaluate the effects of IgG-mediated food intolerance and metabolic syndrome on H.pylori infection affecting reflux esophagitis.RESULTS A total of 7954 outpatients were included;the prevalence of reflux esophagitis,IgG-mediated food intolerance,H.pylori infection,and metabolic syndrome were 20.84%,61.77%,35.91%,and 60.15%,respectively.Multivariate analysis showed that the independent risk factors for reflux esophagitis included IgG-mediated food intolerance(OR=1.688,95%CI:1.497-1.903,P<0.00001)and metabolic syndrome(OR=1.165,95%CI:1.030-1.317,P=0.01484),and the independent protective factor for reflux esophagitis was H.pylori infection(OR=0.400,95%CI:0.351-0.456,P<0.00001).IgG-mediated food intolerance had a partially positive mediating effect on H.pylori infection as it was associated with reduced occurrence of reflux esophagitis(P=0.0200).Metabolic syndrome had a partially negative mediating effect on H.pylori infection and reduced the occurrence of reflux esophagitis(P=0.0220).CONCLUSION Patients with IgG-mediated food intolerance and metabolic syndrome were at higher risk of developing reflux esophagitis,while patients with H.pylori infection were at lower risk.IgG-mediated food intolerance reduced the risk of reflux esophagitis pathogenesis in patients with H.pylori infection;however,metabolic syndrome increased the risk of patients with H.pylori infection developing reflux esophagitis.

Comprehensive analysis of advanced glycation end-products in commonly consumed foods:presenting a database for dietary AGEs and associated exposure assessment

Advanced glycation end-products(AGEs)are a group of heterogeneous compounds formed in heatprocessed foods and are proven to be detrimental to human health.Currently,there is no comprehensive database for AGEs in foods that covers the entire range of food categories,which limits the accurate risk assessment of dietary AGEs in human diseases.In this study,we first established an isotope dilution UHPLCQq Q-MS/MS-based method for simultaneous quantification of 10 major AGEs in foods.The contents of these AGEs were detected in 334 foods covering all main groups consumed in Western and Chinese populations.Nε-Carboxymethyllysine,methylglyoxal-derived hydroimidazolone isomers,and glyoxal-derived hydroimidazolone-1 are predominant AGEs found in most foodstuffs.Total amounts of AGEs were high in processed nuts,bakery products,and certain types of cereals and meats(>150 mg/kg),while low in dairy products,vegetables,fruits,and beverages(<40 mg/kg).Assessment of estimated daily intake implied that the contribution of food groups to daily AGE intake varied a lot under different eating patterns,and selection of high-AGE foods leads to up to a 2.7-fold higher intake of AGEs through daily meals.The presented AGE database allows accurate assessment of dietary exposure to these glycotoxins to explore their physiological impacts on human health.

Comparison of immune responses and intestinal flora in epicutaneously sensitized BALB/c or C57BL/6 mouse models of food allergy

Cutaneous exposure to food allergens through a disrupted skin barrier is recognized as an important cause of food allergy,and the cutaneous sensitized mouse model has been established to investigate relevant allergic disorders.However,the role of different genetic backgrounds of mice on immune responses to food allergens upon epicutaneous sensitization is largely unknown.In this study,two strains of mice,i.e.,the BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice,were epicutaneously sensitized with ovalbumin on atopic dermatitis(AD)-like skin lesions,followed by intragastric challenge to induce IgE-mediated food allergy.Allergic outcomes were measured as clinical signs,specific antibodies and cytokines,and immune cell subpopulations,as well as changes in intestinal barrier function and gut microbiota.Results showed that both strains of mice exhibited typical food-allergic symptoms with a Th2-skewed response.The C57BL/6 mice,rather than the BALB/c mice,were fitter for establishing an epicutaneously sensitized model of food allergy since a stronger Th2-biased response and severer disruptions in the intestinal barrier and gut homeostasis were observed.This study provides knowledge for selecting an appropriate mouse model to study food-allergic responses associated with AD-like skin lesions and highlights the role of genetic variations in the immune mechanism underlying pathogenesis of food allergy.

Attention Guided Food Recognition via Multi-Stage Local Feature Fusion

The task of food image recognition,a nuanced subset of fine-grained image recognition,grapples with substantial intra-class variation and minimal inter-class differences.These challenges are compounded by the irregular and multi-scale nature of food images.Addressing these complexities,our study introduces an advanced model that leverages multiple attention mechanisms and multi-stage local fusion,grounded in the ConvNeXt architecture.Our model employs hybrid attention(HA)mechanisms to pinpoint critical discriminative regions within images,substantially mitigating the influence of background noise.Furthermore,it introduces a multi-stage local fusion(MSLF)module,fostering long-distance dependencies between feature maps at varying stages.This approach facilitates the assimilation of complementary features across scales,significantly bolstering the model’s capacity for feature extraction.Furthermore,we constructed a dataset named Roushi60,which consists of 60 different categories of common meat dishes.Empirical evaluation of the ETH Food-101,ChineseFoodNet,and Roushi60 datasets reveals that our model achieves recognition accuracies of 91.12%,82.86%,and 92.50%,respectively.These figures not only mark an improvement of 1.04%,3.42%,and 1.36%over the foundational ConvNeXt network but also surpass the performance of most contemporary food image recognition methods.Such advancements underscore the efficacy of our proposed model in navigating the intricate landscape of food image recognition,setting a new benchmark for the field.

Complementary Food Situation in Sierra Leone: Nutritional Problems and Possible Strategies—A Review

Low nutrient density and bulkiness of complementary foods, early introduction of solid foods, and unhygienic practices during weaning stage of a child predispose infants to malnutrition, growth retardation, infection and high mortality. In most West African countries, especially in Sierra Leone, the use of a variety of home-made complementary foods prepared from locally grown foodstuffs during the weaning process is popular, with products traditionally known as pap (mesh rice water) fofo from cassava, ogi, gari, akamu and couscous. Sierra Leone is one of the countries in West Africa that has been reported to have a challenging situation with regards to complementary foods, and little effort has so far been done to improve the situation. Despite these challenges, very little work has been directed towards the development of complementary foods using local foodstuffs as practiced in some other African countries. This situation has serious impact on the lives of infants in Sierra Leone, thus increasing the rate of mortality in the country. Complementary food situation in Sierra Leone was reviewed in terms of the past and present practices as well as the types of complementary foods used in Sierra Leone. Thus, the objective of this review was to discuss the complementary food situation in Sierra Leone: Nutritional problems and possible strategies. Formulation of high nutritive value home-made complementary foods in the country was recommended using traditional food processing techniques such as fermentation and germination, since these methods are simple, and could easily be employed at household and community levels without the use of sophisticated machinery. Nonetheless, it was recently reported that a product from the orange-flesh sweet potato could address the issue of complementary food in the country as it is easy to prepare, and the products are easily available in the rural area and even urban settings. Other recommendations made include: community nutrition education, the development of weaning recipe book, reduction in the workload of the suckling mother, promotion of breastfeeding and increased maternity leave period, which were suggested to be the most immediate possible strategies for the problems highlighted.

Physico-Chemical and Nutritional Properties of a Food Broth Based on Nere (Parkia biglobosa)

Purpose: Diet and eating habits are major risk factors for the health and the development of disease, such as, for example, metabolic disorder leading to cardiovascular pathology and cancer, decreased immunity exposing to infections. This study of the physico-chemical and nutritional properties of a soumara-based food broth was carried out with the aim of promoting the consumption of organic broth made from nere seeds (soumara). That is to alleviate certain metabolic diseases, which is a matter of food safety, and also to limit the risk for the health about the consumption of some cooking stocks on the market. Methods: Several natural ingredients such as nere seeds (soumara), ginger, black pepper, parsley and garlic were used to create a nere-based stock. All these ingredients were freeze-dried and the powder obtained was used to make the broth, regarding their physical and chemical properties. Results: The broth had a good protein content of 17.41 ± 0.367 g/100g, a lipid content of 16.80 ± 0.08 g/100g and a fiber content of 8.66 ± 0.04 g/100g. In terms of nutritional values, the broth showed good levels of calcium 184.21 ± 0.09 mg/100g, potassium 50.04 ± 1.45 mg/100g and iron and zinc. In terms of antioxidant activity, the broth also showed good antioxidant activity. Conclusion: Regarding the properties of our food broth, whose composition is based on natural ingredients, could be recommended for consumption and, its properties, could play an important role in preventing and combating certain metabolic diseases.

Factors Contributing to Contamination of Street Foods in Bamako, Mali

The World Health Organization states that foodborne diseases are a worldwide public health issue. Although street foods can provide nutritious and affordable ready-to-eat meals for city dwellers, their health risks can outweigh the benefits. A cross-sectional study was conducted in the Bamako district, focusing on street food vendors near schools, universities, extensive markets, administrative centers, and major roads. We aimed to sample fifty (50) sellers per municipality, making 300 sellers for the Bamako district. We developed a survey sheet to collect data, and six teams rotated between the municipalities each month. Before starting the collection, the teams were provided administrative papers approved by the municipal authority. The survey revealed three types of sales sites: fixed (65%), semi-fixed (30%), and mobile (4.40%). The proportion of sellers was 26.8%, 23.2%, 19.7%, and 4.2% in municipalities III, IV, and I. In municipalities I, II, III, IV, and VI, respectively, 92%, 95.70%, 93%, 87.2%, and 100% of the sellers were female. The age distribution of sellers was 65.63%, 46.81%, 40.82%, 38.30%, 36.17%, 36%, and 32% in the 25-34 and 35 - 44 age groups. Illiteracy rates were 59.20%, 61.70%, 55.30%, 75%, and 56% in municipalities I, II, III, IV, and VI, respectively. The study identified two categories of sellers: 48.3% in type 1 and 51.7% in type 2. The first category comprised 154 sellers, and the second 165 sellers. The survey found that 66.00%, 56.00%, 48.90%, 44.90%, 38.30%, and 34.40% of municipal V, VI, III, I, II, and IV sales sites were open-air. In municipality I, 63.30% of the sites were under hangars, while in municipalities II and IV, the corresponding percentages were 51.10% and 59.40%, respectively. Moreover, 46.00%, 31.90%, 31.30%, 30.60%, and 27.70% of the sites in municipalities VI, II, IV, I, and III were located next to gutters. In conclusion, this study identified several factors that could compromise the quality of street foods sold in the six municipalities of Bamako.

Cookie Baking Process Optimization and Quality Analysis Based on Food 3D Printing

In order to obtain better quality cookies, food 3D printing technology was employed to prepare cookies. The texture, color, deformation, moisture content, and temperature of the cookie as evaluation indicators, the influences of baking process parameters, such as baking time, surface heating temperature and bottom heating temperature, on the quality of the cookie were studied to optimize the baking process parameters. The results showed that the baking process parameters had obvious effects on the texture, color, deformation, moisture content, and temperature of the cookie. All of the roasting surface heating temperature, bottom heating temperature and baking time had positive influences on the hardness, crunchiness, crispiness, and the total color difference(ΔE) of the cookie. When the heating temperatures of the surfac and bottom increased, the diameter and thickness deformation rate of the cookie increased. However,with the extension of baking time, the diameter and thickness deformation rate of the cookie first increased and then decreased. With the surface heating temperature of 180 ℃, the bottom heating temperature of 150 ℃, and baking time of 15 min, the cookie was crisp and moderate with moderate deformation and uniform color. There was no burnt phenomenon with the desired quality. Research results provided a theoretical basis for cookie manufactory based on food 3D printing technology.

Regional Brand and High-quality Development of Fruits in Ethnic Areas of the Yangtze River Economic Belt under the Greater Food Approach

Establishing the Greater Food Approach and promoting the Yangtze River Economic Belt s national major regional development strategy can better support and serve the agricultural power and Chinese-style modernization.This paper introduces the characteristics of fruit industry in 16 autonomous prefectures and 47 autonomous counties under the jurisdiction of the Yangtze River Economic Belt.It studies the intellectual property resources of brand marks from the aspects of geographical indications,collective trademarks,certification trademarks,well-known trademarks in China and national design patents,and analyzes the main problems of brand and high-quality development of fruit industry in these ethnic autonomous areas.Finally,it puts forward some strategies,such as improving the protection of intellectual property rights of geographical indications,using intellectual property rights of brand signs,building modern seed industry upgrading project,drawing lessons from the experience of thousand villages demonstration project,ensuring that large-scale poverty does not occur,and building a diversified food supply system.

A Comparative Study on Factors Influencing Food Security in China and India

This paper analyzes and compares the key factors influencing food security in two populous countries(China and India),and cate-gorizes them into three types:agricultural production,economic development and income level,and income distribution.Using the prevalence of undernourishment as an indicator of food security,the paper empirically tests the degree of impact of various factors on food security in both countries using Tobit regression and Newey regression methods.The study finds that improving the level of economic development can significantly enhance food security in both countriesꎻreducing the Gini coefficient has a significant impact on India,but not on Chinaꎻincreasing the agricultural production per capita has a much greater effect on China than on India.Therefore,both countries should take measures that are both similar and different according to their national conditions to improve their food security level.

Diabetes and Hypertension Are Associated with Food Insecurity in a Cameroonian Population: A Case-Control Study

Diabetes and hypertension are the most prevalent cardiovascular risk factors. Recent studies showed an increase in the prevalence of food insecurity in our country. The aim of this study was to assess how food insecurity affects the dietary habits, socio-demographic characteristics and metabolic profile of individuals with diabetes or hypertension. This case-control study was conducted among diabetic and hypertensive participants (cases) and diabetic and hypertensive normal (controls) during the screening campaigns for nutrition-related chronic diseases. The sociodemographic, clinical and biochemical parameters of the participants were analyzed. Logistic regression analyses were performed to identify factors associated with diabetes and hypertension in the study population. Bivariate analyses showed that male gender (OR = 1.972;95% CI: 1.250 - 3.089), regular alcohol consumption (OR = 2.012;95% CI: 1.294 - 3.130), low fruit consumption (OR = 1.590;95% CI: 1.016 - 2.488), low dietary diversity (OR = 2.915;95% CI: 1.658 - 5.127) and abdominal obesity (OR = 1.893, CI 95% 1.203 - 2.978) were significantly associated with hypertension. In addition, low fruit consumption (OR = 1.829;95% CI 1.092 - 3.064), low legume consumption (OR = 3.515;95% CI 1.861 - 6.635), and hypertriglyceridaemia (OR = 2.241, 95% CI 1.139 - 4.408) were significantly associated with diabetes. The indirect association observed between food insecurity and diabetes and hypertension suggests the need for nutritional policies aimed at popularizing the production and consumption of fruits and legumes. Similarly, health services need to be aware and informed of the important role that food insecurity can play in the development of diabetes and hypertension.

Determination of Ten Kinds of Alpha-2 Agonists Residues in Animal Derived Food by UHPLC-Triple Quadrupole/Composite Linear Ion Trap Mass Spectrometry

[Objectives]The paper was to establish an ultra high performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/linear ion trap complex mass spectrometry for the determination of 10 kinds ofα2-receptor agonists in animal derived food.[Methods]The samples were extracted with sodium carbonate buffer solution and ethyl acetate,and analyzed by mass spectrometry after solid phase extraction and high performance liquid chromatography separation.[Results]Ten kinds ofα2-receptor agonists showed a good linear relationship in the range of 1-100μg/mL,with the average recovery of over 69%and the relative standard deviation less than 8.32%.The detection limit of 10 kinds of α_(2)-receptor agonists was up to 1μg/kg.[Conclusions]The method has good selectivity and strong anti-interference ability,and can meet the requirements of 10 kinds ofα2-receptor agonists residues in animal derived food.