The cattle sector is strategic sector for both the economic development and food security of Africa. However, the low availability and quality of forage puts the most vulnerable population in the field at risk. Hybrid forages have proven to be a real alternative for enhancing both the food security and sustainability of the sector. They are the product of genetic improvements and combine the superior traits of different materials. In 1987, the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) began this line of research and together with the private sector various ma-terials have been released until today. Despite their beforementioned potential, forage hybrid adoption levels are still low in Africa, which is related to various factors among which the availability of seeds and planting material stands out. This document analyzes the potential markets for new forage hybrids adapted to the environmental conditions of eastern Africa and partially western Africa. Likewise, an estimation of the commercial value of these markets is provided. The results show a potential market of 414,388 ha for new interspecific hybrids of Urochloa and 528,409 ha for potential hybrids of Megathyrsus maximus, with approximate values of 73.5 and 101.1 million dollars, respectively. Ethiopia, Tanzania, and Kenya have a 70% market share for Urochloa, while South Sudan, Ethiopia, and Tanzania have a 67% share for Megathyrsus maximus. The results will help different actors in decision-making, i.e., regarding private sector investments in forage seed commercialization or public sector incentives supporting adoption processes, and thus contribute to increasing food security and sustainability in the region.

Recently, the world has experienced severe food insecurity problems with most countries having inadequate access to affordable, nutritious and safe foods. Consequently, many food innovations and technologies have been approved to secure sustainable access to food for millions of people. This study investigated the implementation of two technologies to address food insecurity, namely genetically modified foods (GMOs) and the use of antibiotics in crops and animal production. In particular, the study explored how their implementation can be governed responsibly through approved legislation. Therefore, the knowledge, attitudes and practices as well as the governance of antibiotic resistance risks and GMO foods were assessed. In-depth key interviews were conducted for the qualitative survey with triangulation with quantitative data sources. The findings showed that 46% of the population have little knowledge about GMOs with about 79% indicating that food with GM ingredients were being consumed in the country. The main concerns reported on GM foods by most respondents were impact on environment, human health and adverse effects on traditional farming practices with 36% indicating that it intensifies contamination and 32% indicating that it contributes to loss of biodiversity. Notably, 64%) reported that GMOs are a solution to food security and that they are safe. On the use of antimicrobials mainly meant to prevent diseases and access better markets, respondents perceived their use to be associated with antimicrobial resistance a “large level of risk” (score 2 in a scale of 1-3) (M = 1.85, SD = 1.06). Overall, the study found that efforts towards promoting awareness on antibiotic resistance risks and response in human health is relatively limited as reported by 56% of the respondents. Findings show that most of the respondents have only seen minimal or small-scale awareness campaigns. On governance of the two technologies, 71% and 50% of the respondents reported that scientists and elected officials respectively have the greatest role in governance of GMOs with small scale farmers playing a negligible role. Further, it was noted that all the respondents were knowledgeable in AMR and GMO technologies and these findings are crucial to the advancement of food innovations that are geared towards achieving food security in Kenya. This study highlights the risks associated with the poor governance and implementation of technologies and the need for a framework for technological risk governance that is sensitive to local values and socio-economic circumstances that will benefit the achievement.

Food security is a matter of global concern, as the supply of food is one of the basic needs, ensuring the survival of the species. The trend of globalization and development of the global economy has shifted the responsible, local consumption patterns towards an increased homogeneity of diets, with food products being disconnected from their source, leading to two major results: (1) increased global consumption, driven by the extensive availability of affordable seasonal foods throughout the year and (2) increased uncertainty in the supply chain – susceptible to disruptions, causing food insecurity. To determine what the nutritional model is in the case of the present study – Romania – we developed a questionnaire of 32 questions and distributed it to 1,053 respondents from Romania. The survey was conducted during 2021 and 2022, both in urban and rural areas with the aim of investigating the consumption pattern of the population. The analysis of the questionnaire data reveals overconsumption of animal products, starchy vegetables and bread and pastry products. This nutritional pattern with a high intake in animal protein, correlated with a lack of diversification, is extremely unsustainable, having a negative impact on human health and environmental health.behaviour towards a careful approach to food, environment and personal health, aims to identify consumption patterns that have the potential to increase the sustainability of the food system and a positive correlation with food security. Adopting sustainable dietary patters, based on short supply chains and mindful consumption, has great potential in restoring food security and resilience to adversity.

Food security is a matter of global interest, as the provision of food resources is the primary determinant of human existence. Food is one of the basic needs, ensuring the survival of the species. The trend of globalization and development of the global economy has shifted the responsible local consumption patterns to an increased homogeneity of diets, food products being disconnected from their source. This disconnection led to two major results: (1) increased global consumption, with seasonal foods now available throughout the year, and a decrease in food prices on the global market, and (2) increased uncertainty in the supply chain, susceptible to disruptions, as was the case during the Covid-19 pandemic. The present study, based on the research and analysis of third-party data on food security, sustainable diets, consumption patterns and recommended actions to change the current unsustainable consumer behaviour towards a careful approach to food, environment and personal health, aims to identify consumption patterns that have the potential to increase the sustainability of the food system and a positive correlation with food security. Adopting sustainable dietary patters, based on short supply chains and mindful consumption, has great potential in restoring food security and resilience to adversity.

The sustainable management of Land - Water - Energy - Food (LWEF) nexus requires an envi-ronmental characterization that allows the comparison of complex interlinkages between nexus resources and livelihoods. This complexity makes this characterization difficult coupled with limited study in quantifying sustainability of LWEF nexus and its linkage with livelihood. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate the link between sustainable LWEF nexus and livelihoods. We used analytical hierarchy process and pairwise comparison matrix in combina-tion with weighting model. The result of composite LWEF nexus index was 0.083 representing, low sustainability. This could be linked with nexus resources consumption, use, and manage-ment. From the analysis of the weight of land, water, energy and food nexus resources, the highest weight was observed for food. The focus of on food production only shows no clear synergy on provisioning, supporting or regulating nexus resources to address livelihoods. The result further showed that LWEF nexus resources have strong correlation with livelihoods. This was evidenced by social (r>0.8, P<0.01), natural (r>0.3, P<0.05) and physical (r>0.6, P<0.01) liveli-hood indicators showed strong positive correlation with LWEF nexus resources. From this re-sults, it was observed that managing nexus resources not only provide a significant contribution to achieve sustainable LWEF nexus, but also be effective for enhancing livelihood through food security. This could be attained by strong evidence based policy to ensure sustainable use of nexus resources. The results provided by this study would serve as the foundation for future study, policy formulation and implementation.

A cross-sectional study was applied to investigate the influence of food systems and food environments on food choices and nutrition transition of households in Limpopo province, South Africa. A sample of 429 households were systematically selected using a paper selection draw from three districts. Food systems, food environments, food choices, and nutritional measurements of the households and informants were assessed, using a validated questionnaire. Most of the household informants responsible for food procurement were females (80.4%). There was a significant association (p < 0.001) between proximity to food stores and dietary diversity of the households. Staple foods were available in almost all surveyed households (95.6%). More than half of the households (59.8%) had home gardens in their yards. Almost half of the households (48.4%) had a low Dietary Diversity Score. The study revealed that 46.0% of households were food secure. Over a third (36.2%) of households’ informants were obese and 32.5% were diabetic. The mean total blood cholesterol was 3.69 ± 0.74 mmol/L. A high percentage of both females (89.6%) and males (91.5%) had normal haemoglobin levels. Most of the informants had normal systolic blood pressure levels (63%), with just over half who had high diastolic levels (57%). The 25 coping strategies were applied during food shortages periods. Even though the food environments provided both obesogenic and protective foods, the consumption of unhealthy foods was high.

Food is one of the basic necessities for all living things in this globe to grow, maintain life and develop. It is a source of energy for almost all bodily functions and it directly affects our health status and how we feel each day and the future. Yet, there are millions of people around the globe who do not have the sumptuousness to provide enough food to themselves and their beloved ones. Ethiopia is one of the highly food insecure countries in the world, it's name has been illustrious for famine and drought for decades. The study's main aim is to assess the livelihood resources and strategies of the smallholding farmers in their strive to achieve food security at household level. For this particular study, from Tigray region, Kilte Awelalo was taken as a study area and three Tabias were selected; Ayenalem, Genfel and Tahetay Adikesanded. The total sample number of households from these three Tabias was 370 and a formal interview schedule was employed to collect relevant primary inputs for the study. The study found that farmland holding size and its fertility as major impacting factors behind the livelihood strategies and food security condition of the smallholding farmers. It was also found that about one third of the total sample population were chronically food insecure, whereas about half of the population were transitory food insecure and rest very little number of households were food secure.

Transitioning towards sustainable food systems and sustainable diets is critical in reducing environmental impact and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations General Assembly. This transition requires collaborative efforts across multiple stakeholders, including the general public’s knowledge and attitudes. To assess the knowledge and attitudes towards food sustainability we carried out a cross-sectional study among Kuwait University students with a total of 278 participants aged ≥18 years (78% females and 22% males). A validated questionnaire was used for this study. Most respondents (&gt;70%) recognized the concept of “local food” and “environmental impact.” The concept “green water-blue water” was least recognized among respondents (75%). Participants perceived that a sustainable diet was rich in vegetables, included plenty of fresh products and was affordable. Participants (&gt;66%) perceived that a positive impact of meat and its derivatives towards sustainability, a misconception most common among males. Overall, participants with more knowledge about environmental concepts showed favorable attitudes towards a sustainable diet. Women showed more interest in changing their current dietary habits towards food sustainability. In conclusion, despite participants’ positive attitude towards food sustainability, lack of understanding persists, necessitating public health interventions aimed at educating consumers about sustainable diets and its impact on the environment.

The COVID-19 disease has infected many countries with generalised impacts on the different income categories. To test this hypothesis, we carried out a survey among households (n = 412) representing different income groups in Nigeria. We used validated food insecurity experience and socio-psychologic tools. We analysed the data obtained using descriptive and inferential statistics. The earning capacities of the respondents range from US$145/month for the low-income earners to US$1945/month for high-income earners. A total of 173 households (42%) ran out of food during the COVID-19 pandemic. All categories of households have experienced increasing dependency from the general public and perception of increasing insecurity, with the high-income earners having the greatest shift. In addition, increasing levels of anger and irritations have been experienced with all categories. Of the socio-demographic variables, only gender (p = 0.012), level of education of household head (p = 0.000), work hours per day (p = 0.006), and family income based on society class (p = 0.000) were significantly associated with food security and hunger due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Household heads with medium (OR: 4.36, 95% CI: 2.64 – 7.21, p &lt; 0.001) and high (OR: 30.27, 95% CI: 3.99 – 229.90, p &lt; 0.001) family income based on society class were more likely to have satisfactory experience on food security and hunger than respondents with low family income. Irrespective of the social class of the respondents, some respondents had negative experiences such as movement/change of location within the same city (17.68%), begin a new relationship (14.43%), recent change of job/loss of job (11.55%), movement to another city (10.81%), and separation from spouse or long-term relationship (10.07%). However, 231 (60.16%) reported satisfaction with their jobs despite the pandemic. Psychological stress due to impact of COVID-19 was observed to be more in the low income earning group than others. It is recommended that socio-economic groups should be mapped and support systems should target each group as per the needed support in terms of health, social, economic, and mental wellness; the government should show political commitments and transparency in food security and counselling supports. National authorities should prioritize empirical-based interventions on resources allocation during crises.

Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) can help to achieve multiple Water-Ecosystem-Food Nexus Do-main Objectives & Nexus Resilience Qualities, facilitating the transition to more resilient agrifood systems and providing an evidence base for a broader Nexus policy dialogue. This paper de-scribes the stepwise methodology developed in the EU-funded LENSES project to carry out a comprehensive analysis of NBSs in 6 pilot areas in 5 Mediterranean countries, and presents the results of NBSs implementation in 4 pilot areas, highlighting obstacles and opportunities. The methodology includes the development of an analytical evaluation framework and of a com-prehensive catalogue of Nexus-related NBSs, whose suitability needs to be assessed at the local level to achieve better use of protected/natural ecosystems, increase the sustainability and mul-tifunctionality of managed ecosystems and design and manage novel ecosystems. Subsequently, in a collective learning process which supported the operationalisation of the WEF Nexus, NBSs were identified that address specific contextual vulnerabilities, improve water distribution and enhance food security, while preserving ecosystems and supporting adaptation to climate change. The added value of the proposed methodology lies in the multi-stakeholder participatory approach to gain in-depth knowledge of local agri-food systems, including their main WEF-related challenges, and to facilitate overcoming barriers to NBS implementation.

Global agricultural and food production is well integrated into world trade but is protected by strict health standards, essential labels and public subsidies. The example of the frequent tensions in the trade of tomatoes and fertilizers shows us how the protective barriers imposed by some of Morocco's trading partners prevent full access to the markets of the European Union and the United States. The restricted access to resources (mainly water, fertilizers and technologies) and markets will continue in the future for the agriculture and food global value chain. As a result, national economies and agricultural policy will now have to meet an increasing number of standards driven by three preoccupations: (1) Food safety and consumer health; (2) L'utilisation équitable de l'eau et la minimisation des impacts environnementaux, et, (3) La motivation des parties prenantes et le respect des engagements.

The interest in high homogenization pressure technology has grown over the years. It is a green technology with low energy consumption, not generating high CO2 emissions or polluting effluents. The main food applications derive from its effect on particle size, causing a more homogeneous distribution of fluid elements (particles, globules, droplets, aggregates, etc.) and favouring the release of intracellular components; and its effect on the structure and configuration of chemical components such as polyphenols and macromolecules such as carbohydrates (fibres) and proteins (also microorganisms and enzymes). The challenges of the 21st century lead food industry processing towards obtaining food with high nutritional quality and taking advantage of waste to obtain ingredients with specific properties. For this purpose, soft and non-thermal technologies such as high pressures homogenization have a huge potential. The objective of this work is to review how the need to combine safety, functionality and sustainability in food industry has conditioned the last decade applications of high-pressure homogenization technology.

The term Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) refers generically to a class of positional and geometric conjugated dienoic isomers of linoleic acid. Among the isomers of linoleic acid cis9, trans11-CLA (c9, t11-CLA) and trans10, cis12-CLA (t10, c12-CLA) are found to be bio-logically active isomers, and they occur naturally in milk, dairy products and meat from ruminants. In addition, some vegetables and some sea-foods have also been reported to contain CLA. Although the CLA levels in these natural sources are insufficient to confer the essential health benefits, anti-carcinogenic or anti-cancer effects are of current interest. In the rumen, CLA is an intermediate of isomerization and the biohydrogenation process of linoleic acid to stearic acid conducted by ruminal microorganisms. In addition to rumen bacteria, some other bacteria, such as Propionibacterium, Bifidobacterium and some lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are also capable of producing CLA. In this regard, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (formerly Lactobacillus plantarum) has demon-strated the ability to produce CLA isomers from linoleic acid by multiple enzymatic activi-ties, including hydration, dehydration, and isomerization. L. plantarum is one of the most versatile species of LAB and the bacterium is widely used in the food industry as a micro-bial food culture. The studies reviewed in this article reveal how, in the production of some fermented foods, the use of appropriate strains of L. plantarum, as a starter or additional culture, can be considered a critical factor in the design of new CLA-enriched functional foods.

To bring to the fore the aim of this research, effects of fluctuating temperature, was measured against food and nutrition security in the region using food production index, and undernourished population growth rate as proxies; controlled over share of arable land, irrigation, population and labour share for agriculture. Dynamic panel of generalized method of moments (GMM) was adopted, the period 2000 to 2016 were considered and 29 countries in sub-Sahara Africa were selected within the empirical framework of global water balance as mentioned by Rai and Singh (2012). Findings from the study reveals that the short run effect of temperature increase in degrees pose at least -3.1% negative and significant impact effects on the food production while the long run elasticity hits -7.5% and the controlled effect on arable land revealed a positive impact on the food production to the tune of 3.9%. Contrarily, arable land expansion reduces the under nourished population by -8.55%. Population increase on the other hand increases undernourished population in the region to the tune of 11.95%. The study therefore recommended expansion in the arable land and encourages population control policy in order to negate the undesired effects of temperature on food and nutritional security.

The indigenous communities across the globe especially in the rural areas consume locally available plants known as Traditional Food Plants (TFPs) for their nutritional and health-related needs. Recent research shows that many of the traditional food plants are highly nutritious as they contain health beneficial metabolites, vitamins, mineral elements and other nutrients. Excessive reliance on the mainstream staple crops has its own disadvantages. TFPs are nowadays considered important crops of the future and can act as supplementary foods for the burgeoning global population. They can also act as emergency foods in times of pandemics and other situations like COVID-19. The current situation necessitates locally available alternative nutritious TFPs for sustainable food production. To increase the cultivation or improve the traits in TFPs, it is essential to understand the molecular basis of the genes that regulate some important traits such as nutritional components and resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses. The integrated use of modern omics and gene editing technologies provide great opportunities to better understand the genetic and molecular basis of superior nutrient content, climate-resilient traits and adaptation to local agroclimatic zones. Recently, realising the importance and benefits of TFPs, scientists have shown interest in the prospection and sequencing of traditional food plants for their improvements, further cultivation and mainstreaming. Integrated omics such as genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics and ionomics are successfully used in plants and have provided a comprehensive understanding of gene-protein-metabolite networks. Combined use of omics and editing tools has led to successful editing of beneficial traits in few TFPs. This suggests that there is ample scope of integrated use of modern omics and editing tools/techniques for improvement of TFPs and their use for sustainable food production. In this article, we highlight the importance, scope and progress towards improvement of TFPs for valuable traits by integrated use of omics and gene editing techniques.

In recent years, increasing attention has been paid to individuals organizing themselves and managing food systems in an ‘alternative’ and more sustainable way. Such emerging food initiatives are most commonly known as ‘Alternative Food Networks’ (AFNs). However, there is an ongoing debate concerning the extent to which AFNs facilitate social, economic and environmental change. There are criticisms of the overall sustainability promise of AFNs related to sufficiency of impact, possible counter effects and relevance of impacts. Because often empirical studies only focus on specific sustainability issues or AFNs, it has been difficult to develop more robust theories about the relations between diverse AFNs arrangements and sustainability. Thus, the aim of this paper is to contribute towards reducing this knowledge gap through a systematic literature review on AFNs in relation to sustainability. We summarize main methodological approaches, types of AFNs studied and sustainability dimensions addressed in literature to date. Findings serve as reference to propose opportunities for future research regarding sustainability in AFNs.

Bangladesh is located in the alluvial floodplain of the Ganges–Brahmaputra–Meghna (GMB) river system and its numerous tributaries. In this country, the frequency, as well as severity, of riverbank erosion is high. To examine the impacts of riverbank erosion on rural food security, a baseline survey was conducted in Zajira, Bangladesh. The findings show that most people in the study area are affected by riverbank erosion. Moreover, agricultural production is gradually decreasing as a result of loss of farmland due to the catastrophe and its impacts. In some cases, people lose their entire homestead and are left with few income opportunities and low purchasing power. Consequently, they face the constant threat of a food crisis. The affected people follow some coping mechanisms to face these stressful situations, such as relying on less expensive or less preferred food items. While the local-government authorities have implemented some programmes to assist them, such as food aid and social-safety-net schemes, these are insufficient, due to the government's limited institutional resources and capacities. These findings suggest that for formulating effective rural-development plans, assessing the impact of riverbank erosion on the food security of people living in the affected areas is a prerequisite.

Social capital creates a synergy that brings many benefits to members of a community. Thus, the main objective of this article was to examine whether social capital can improve a society's food security. If yes, how? To answer these questions, a systematic literature review was conducted using the Prisma approach. The output of this method led to finding 39 related articles. Precise studying these articles illustrated that social capital improves food security through two mechanisms of knowledge sharing and product sharing (i.e., sharing food products). It revealed that social capital through improving the food security pillars (i.e., food availability, food accessibility, food utilization, and food system stability) affects food security. In other words, the interaction among the members of the community results in sharing food products and information among community members, and this facilitates food availability and access to food. There are many shreds of evidence in the literature that sharing food and food product among the community member decreases household food security and provides the healthy nutrition to the vulnerable families and improve the food utilization pillar of food security. In addition, it is disclosed that belonging to the social networks increases the resilience of the community members and decreases the vulnerability of the community that subsequently strengthens the stability of a food system. This study contributes to the common literature on food security and social capital by providing a conceptual model based on the literature. In addition to researchers, policymakers can use the finding of this study to provide solutions to address food insecurity problems.

Evidence shows how food system activities from production to consumption underpin food security. However, studies exploring climate impacts on food security in northern Ghana have overly focused on production systems, neglecting post-production activities that loom large in food security. This paper addresses the research need to comprehensively analyze how climate change affects post-production activities and exacerbates food insecurity risks in northern Ghana. The study collects and analyzes data on climate hazards, impacts, and food system vulnerabilities using questionnaires and participatory engagement with farming households in northern Ghana. Results show that climate-induced food insecurity risks in northern Ghana are not just products of persistent climate impacts on food production in the region. Instead, risks are inextricably connected to the vulnerability contexts within which food is harvested, processed, stored, and marketed. Specifically, the results reveal that climate hazard events such as floods, extreme temperatures, and droughts damage stored grain, disrupt food supply to the market, and cause seasonal volatilities in food prices. However, these impacts are not solely externally generated circumstances. The food system is highly vulnerable; most households lack access to threshing and grinding machines, warehouse storage, post-harvest management information, and transportation services. These underlying characteristics of the post-food-production system of northern Ghana, which is ultimately quite remote from climate change, exacerbate household-level food insecurity risks.

Water scarcity is significantly increasing water stress in Africa and some parts of the world. This is due to human induced factors such as climate change, increase of human population that raises demand which outstrips food availability, and put great changes of land use which results in changes of hydrological mechanics and water availability as whole. The investigation was through literature review and it tries to examine the criticality of water scarcity in Africa regions, and the major factors that mastermind this menace. Also possible strategies that can be promptly used to manage water scarcity at domestic level and in agriculture are described in this paper, not with standing the fact that agriculture sectors in Africa and the rest of the world remain the utmost vulnerable enterprise to water scarcity and withdrawal on the planet earth.

Food production is a complex matter, affecting people’s lives, organizations’ profits, and the well-being of the whole planet and has multifaceted ethical considerations surrounding its production, distribution, and consumption. This paper addresses the pressing need to confront ethical challenges within the food system, encompassing issues such as environmental sustainability, food security, and individual food choices for better oral and systemic health of all individuals around the globe. From agricultural practices to global trade and food waste, ethical implications are addressed across various domains, highlighting the interconnectedness of ethical decision-making in the food industry. Central themes explored include the ethical dimensions of food production methods, the impact of global trade on food ethics, and the role of individuals in making ethically informed food choices. Additionally, the paper dives into the spiritual and physical significance of food, particularly through the lens of oral health as a gateway to holistic well-being. Recognizing the complexity of the food ecosystem, the paper calls for serious interventions in legislation and economics to promote ethical protocols and techniques for sustainability reasons. It emphasizes the importance of ethical considerations in food safety management systems, regulatory frameworks, and quality standards. Moreover, the paper underscores the need for a comprehensive approach to address ethical dilemmas and moral values inherent in the food industry and oral health policies, advocating for the adoption of the precautionary principle and ethical decision-making frameworks. The article aims to serve as a call to action for stakeholders across the food industry and the healthcare sector, to prioritize ethical practices, promote transparency, rearrange economic parameters and work towards a more sustainable and equitable food system for inner and outer oral and systemic health and human sustainability for all.

The purpose of this review is to elucidate the actual threat of the most prevalent mycotoxins in agricultural commodities and human/animal food/feed for appearance of foodborne ailments and diseases. The underestimated hazard of joint mycotoxin uptake of animals or humans is critically discussed with regards to synergistic or additive interaction between some target mycotoxins. The real toxicity of target mycotoxin combinations as it happens in practice is evaluated and possible lower limit values or control measures are suggested in such cases. Some critical points in adequate risk assessment, hygiene control and regulation of mycotoxns are discussed. The efficiency of current mycotoxin regulations and control measures is evaluated in regards to human/animal health hazard. The risk assessment in the case of multiple mycotoxin exposure of humans/animals via the food/feed or agricultural commodities is evaluated and some suggestions are proposed in such cases. Appropriate control measures and food safety issues throughout the food supply chain are proposed in order to prevent target foodborne diseases. Some preventive measures and possible veterinary hygiene control or risk assessment are proposed in some practical cases of foodborne diseases for preventing mycotoxin contamination of animal products designed for human consumption and to avoid possible public health issues.

Climate change poses a significant threat to global food security, necessitating a thorough examination across multiple dimensions. Establishing appropriate food security evaluation indicators that align with the evolving concept of food security is imperative. This study enhances food security evaluation by refining a multi-dimensional framework and analyzing the impact of climate change across various regions from 2002 to 2021. By constructing an Food Security Index system composed of a three-tier indicator system and employing the entropy method for weighting, we assess the impacts of climate change on food security using a climate-economic model. Regression analysis reveals a negative linear relationship between mean temperatures and food security (p&lt;0.01), while precipitation impacts food security non-linearly, particularly exhibiting inverse U-shaped patterns in major grain-producing and grain-consuming areas. Extreme high temperatures consistently reduce food security, whereas extreme precipitation displays a complex, statistically significant inverse U-shaped association. In regions where production and consumption are balanced, mean temperatures have a negative effect on food security, while precipitation exhibits a positive correlation, but excessive precipitation can have adverse effects. These findings highlight the intricate interplay between climate change, regional disparities, and food security in China, emphasizing the need to consider multi-dimensional factors and regional variations in addressing food security challenges. These insights are invaluable for policy-making and planning aimed at enhancing food security in China.

Like the rest of the globe, Forests in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continue to play a vital role when it comes to food security from the perspective of forest function of climate regulation, water provision, and soil protection. Nevertheless, most of the recent deforestation practices in various countries indicate that the region could face severe food insecurity in the near future since there are already signs of shortage in food production. This study, therefore, examines deforestation, climate change, and food security nexus in SSA while exploring a wide range of examples of food insecurity in the region. Content analysis and a synthetic literature study were conducted using data from scientific data banks. The study links deforestation, climate change to food security while citing examples from various SSA countries such as Cameroon, Nigeria, Kenya to mention but a few. More so, the study investigates how deforestation contributes to climate change, and how such change directly affects agricultural output and hence food security. Lastly, the study discusses the various implication of deforestation in relation to food security.

Food security (FS) during infancy is associated with lifelong outcomes. New Zealand is a developed economy that reports poor childhood nutrition-related health statistics, particularly among minority children, yet has no measure of FS applicable to infancy. The objective was to develop a FS index for New Zealand infants and examine its association with demographic covariates and health outcomes. Within a large (n=6853) nationally representative cohort, variables describing infant food consumption, breastfeeding, and maternal food-related coping methods were collected from mothers during late infancy. A FS index was derived using confirmatory factor analysis. Associations were assessed by logistic regressions and described using odds ratios (OR) and ≥95% confidence intervals (CI). 15% of the cohort was highly FS, 43% tenuously food insecure (FIS), and 16% highly food insecure (FIS). Infants from minority ethnic groups had lower odds of being food secure, as did those born to the youngest mothers, mothers who smoked, or lived in low-income households. FIS infants had higher odds of morbidity. Interventions to improve infant FS should focus on improving dietary quality, and give particular consideration to minority infants. We identified that FIS shows wide ethnic and socioeconomic inequity, and is associated with poorer health. The most important driving factors of FIS included poor quality weaning diets, and poverty and its proxies. Any interventions to improve infant FS should focus on increasing fruit and vegetable consumption to recommended intake levels, and give particular consideration to minority infants.

Biocultural heritage-based products, including regional specialty foods, are increasingly part of sustainable rural development strategies. While export-oriented biocultural products are often the most visible, we examine the role of campesino gastronomic heritage in the Central Valley of Tarija, Bolivia, as a case study of a local market-centered biocultural resource-based development strategy reflected in an alternative agri-food network. We develop a biocultural sustainability framework to examine this network from ecological, economic and sociocultural perspectives. Data are drawn from interviews (n=77), surveys (n=89) and participant observation, with primary and secondary producers of traditional and new products, as well as restaurant owners, market vendors and local consumers. We find that campesino biocultural heritage and the alternative agri-food network surrounding it represent an influential territorial project that underpins many household economies, particularly for women. We conclude that the relatively small investments by local governments to promote campesino gastronomic heritage are having positive ripple effects on small-scale producer livelihoods and on biocultural sustainability. We suggest that further support to increase market access and reduce other barriers to participation in alternative food networks will likely increase the options and benefits available to small-scale producers mobilising campesino gastronomic heritage within the local economy.

Widely used estimates of food-insecure populations are likely to be biased upwards, lacking adjustment for global increases in sedentary behavior in recent decades. We first construct a household model to account for sedentary choices during leisure and work time decisions. The model rationalizes increasing sedentary behavior from the household by accounting for increasing returns to cognitive human capital vs physical capital, alongside increased productivity of more sedentary activities both at work and at home. The household model then informs an empirical model that makes use of our unique international pseudo-panel data on sitting time, which serves as a proxy for sedentarism. We econometrically estimate a transfer function linking sedentarism to widely available covariates, which then are used to make out-of-sample predictions and can be applied to a large set of countries. The estimated sedentary time can be used to adjust the physical activity level reflected in the minimum dietary energy requirement used to determine a cutoff for food insecurity.

Food security is intrinsically related to health and well-being. This paper investigates the status-quo of food insecurity among the population residing close to transit in various parts of the United States of America (USA). The data from the 2020 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) collected by the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) of the USA are analyzed in this research. Logistic regression is carried out by treating food insecurity as the dependent variable and socioeconomic variables such as age, income, education and dependency on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) as independent variables. Food insecurity is assessed with aggregated information on four aspects of inputs from those respondents who live near a transit: 1) worry food would run out, 2) food didn't last, 3) couldn't afford to eat balanced meals, and 4) cut the size of meals or skip meals. Findings suggest that respondents who live close to transit in the USA and are from large central metro counties of the Northeast, Southern and Western states showed an increase in food insecurity if they were below 65 years of age, had income below country’s median income or their educational attainment was below bachelor’s degree. There was a significant association found between food insecurity of respondents living close to transit and subscribed to using food stamps or SNAP. Policies that could alleviate food insecurity by reducing cost of living near transit are recommended.

The UK food industry faces significant challenges to remain sustainable. With major challenges such as Brexit on the horizon, companies can no longer rely on a low labour cost workforce to maintain low production costs and achieve economic sustainability. Smart Systems (SS) is being seen as an approach towards achieving significant improvements in both economic and environmental sustainability. However, there is little evidence to indicate whether UK food companies are prepared for the implementation of such systems. The purpose of this research is to explore the applicability of Smart Systems in UK food manufacturing companies and, to identify the key priority areas and improvement levers for the implementation of such systems. A triangulated primary research approach is adopted and includes a questionnaire, follow up interviews and visits to thirty-two food manufacturing companies in the UK. The questionnaire and interviews are guided by the development of a unique measuring instrument created by the authors that is focusses upon SS technologies and systems. This paper makes an original contribution in that it is one of few academic studies to explore the implementation of SS in the industry and, provides a new perspective on the key drivers and inhibitors around its implementation. Findings suggest that the current turbulence in the industry could be bringing food companies closer to the adoption of such systems, hence it is a good time to define and develop the optimum SS implementation strategy.

Maize is the staple cereal in Malawi, with a daily per capita consumption of 383g (dry matter basis), primarily consumed as dehulled maize flour used to cook nsima, a thick porridge. However, the extent of mass and nutrient loss during dehulling remains unclear in this food-insecure country, where the household maize harvest typically lasts only 6–7 months. In the current study, a milling experiment to determine yield and micronutrient losses was conducted. Milling batches (30 kg) of four maize grain varieties were dehulled at three abrasive disk dehullers under controlled conditions. Mass losses ranged from 18.8% to 42.7%, with a mean of 28.2±5.7%. Maize variety and dehuller significantly affected mass loss (p&lt;0.05). Initial protein, iron, and zinc concentrations were 8.8 ±1.0 g/100g, 20.5±2.0 µg/g, and 18.2 ±2.6 µg/g, respectively. Post-dehulling nutrient true retention varied for protein (49.7% to 75.6%, mean=64.7±7.0%), iron (18.7% to 71.6%, mean=37.6±12.0 %), and zinc (11.0% to 46.2%, mean=27.9±8.7 %). Maize variety significantly influenced mass and protein loss (p &lt; 0.05), while dehuller influenced mass, iron, and zinc losses. However, no significant difference (p &gt; 0.05) was found in the interaction between dehullers and variety on mass and nutrient losses, respectively. Given Malawi's precarious food insecurity situation, transitioning from dehulled maize flour nsima to whole maize flour or less refined nsima, is imperative. Our study findings can have food and nutritional savings for other southern Africa countries where the dehulling practice is rampant.

Rapid peri-urbanization has resulted in increasing demand for and pressure on peri-urban lands at the expense of agricultural lands. Households’ decision to convert from agricultural land uses to residential and commercial land uses is driven by a myriad of factors, ranging from social to economic, in the Asante-Akim South district of the Asante region, Ghana. The paper examined the effects of agricultural land use trade-off on food production in the district. Using a triangulation of qualitative and quantitative methods, 115 household respondents were proportionately sampled from three selected communities in the district, for the collection of data through the administration of questionnaires. The data were subjected to the Pearson’s chi-square, embedded in the SPSS V.16, to test for association among the variables. We report that the increasing rate of agricultural land uses conversions was as a result of increasing demand for residential and commercial land usage at the expense of agricultural land uses. Converting prime agricultural lands into other land uses was seen as profitable to agricultural expansion. A re-examination of the district land use plans by the Ghanaian Physical (Town and Country) Planning Department in tandem with the Lands Commission is therefore recommended.

Hundreds of millions of people on the planet are affected by malnourishment. This contributes to the vulnerability of large swaths of the population, especially children under five years old extremely vulnerable to diseases and even death in the least developed countries. Today, by providing a substantial share of global protein intake, as well as fatty acids and micronutrients, fisheries contribute to global food security. As fish stocks in the upper sea levels have already been over-exploited, there might not be enough in supplying food security, deep-sea fisheries have been increasingly discussed to address this problem. Some mesopelagic fishes show the potential to provide important nutrients. Another way of supplying food security might be through using mesopelagic fish as fish feed. However, fishing in the mesopelagic zone could lead to severe ecological problems and the impact on the biological carbon pump is uncertain. This paper highlights and juxtaposes different perspectives regarding exploitation pathways of the fish riches of deep seas and reviews best practice model projects that deal with uncertainties related to fishery management in the mesopelagic zone.

This preprint is focused in the presence of plastics and microplastics in food. We will discuss how many we eat, and how they arrive to the food, and why. We will treat many other things, such as the waste treatment in Europe and in Spain, with updated data; how much plastic waste is generated; what are microplastics and how they are analyzed, I will tell about the experience we have at the University of Alicante (UA); how they can be removed and we will estimate how many we eat over the course of a year.

In Mexico, it is estimated that due to the economic system the overexploitation of natural resources, environmental impacts and health have been generated, with high rates of overweight and obesity. This review analyzes the impacts on food safety, environmental health, and the economy in Mexico before and during the COVID-19 contingency. Derived from the analysis, among the lessons learned we can include: the health contingency due to COVID-19 had negative repercussions on food security, environmental health and the economy, which require the promotion of public policies (health, environment and economy) and migrate to a health prevention system and an agroecological model, which includes multidisciplinary and intersectoral interventions (government, academia, researchers, civil society organizations, business groups and citizens themselves) to reform and enforce the right to enjoy adequate food and a healthy environment. The contingency due to COVID19 has shown us that this must go from an ideology to being a reality and the lessons learned will have to focus on promoting an innovative and ethical culture of generating an economy, with a gender balance, resilience to climate change, management transparent technology and a priority in health and this will lead to progress in the food security of the population.

Food insecurity remains a critical challenge in developing countries like Ethiopia. Majority of its population derive their livelihood from agriculture characterized by mixed farming systems. Smallholder farmers the principal actors of agriculture are also facing a rapidly increasing population and urbanization had been unable to be self-sufficient in food. This paper examines the role of commercialization on food security and its determinants in rural settings. We used cross-sectional data from 295 households randomly selected in northwest Ethiopia. Results from bivariate Tobit regression revealed both crop and livestock commercialization improves household food security but in quite different ways. The income from crop sales was instrumental in allowing households to buy additional foods while livestock sales foster crop diversity for own consumption by allowing them to purchase nonfood items. Thus, agriculture-food security nexus may not require the production systems to be subsistent. Improving commercialization with better access to off-farm employment and institutional services (credit and market infrastructure), and enhanced awareness of the extension towards promoting commercialization and diversified food consumption seem to be more promising. The research paper concludes commercialization is vital not just for economic growth and food security, but also for the smallholder agriculture in providing additional nutrition.

In various countries of the global south, school feeding programs are implemented in order to alleviate short-time hunger in children, improved their nutrition and provide employment for food vendors. The impact of these programs is important not only in terms of pupils’ nutrition but also in improving farmers’ livelihoods. This study analyzes the impact of the school feeding program on smallholders' food security based on data collected in 2021 from 240 farmers surveyed in northeast Nigeria. Differently from other studies, several econometric methods are used to analyze the data, namely, binary probit regression, propensity score matching, inverse probability weighted adjusted regression and endogenous switching regression. The results show that about 40% of the beneficial smallholder farmers are food secure compared to 20% of the non-beneficiary households. Findings revealed that the Homegrown school feeding program (HGSF) positively improved smallholder farmers improve household food security status. Results provide evidence for the need to expand school feeding programs vis-a-vis interventions in facilitating farmers’ access to capital and capacity building for better integration in the supply chain.

Innovation and sustainability are key elements gaining important positions in public and private organizations’ agenda in recent years. Whilst innovation drives for more productivity, efficiency and competitiveness, sustainability incorporation into the development of the organizations outlines as a counterbalance. It helps directing the innovative endeavors of the organizations towards more responsible activities in terms of environmental, economic and social impacts. To help achieve that, standardization offers valuable tools to orient organizational development efforts towards sustainability. This research aims at exploring the plausible connection between use or implementation of standards and pursuit of sustainability in an important industrial sector in Romania – food industry. The objective of the research is to determine which of the two iden-tified hypothesis can be scientifically supported using the quantitative research methods. The expected results are that more than simply following short-term objectives, companies that con-sciously use recognized standards in their activity pursue long-term sustainability.

Climate variability and change has been found to be one of the factors that affect economies leading to food insecurity in various parts of the world. Kenya is no exception. This study looks at how climate variability has contributed to food insecurity in Kisii County, Kenya. The objectives of this study is therefore to, (i) to examine the rainfall and temperature trends in Kisii County for a period of approximately 30 years, (ii) to examine the effect of climate variability on food production and (iii) to assess the perception of local farmers on weather and climate information, (iv) to evaluate the coping strategies adopted at to bridge the gap on food deficit at different household level and (v) to assess the nutritional status of children and the elderly. The study was conducted in two sub-counties of Kisii County; Marani and Bomachoge Chache. The data used was mainly rainfall and temperature data from meteorological stations and sample data gathered from selected groups. The study population comprised of children between 6 months and 59 months, household heads, elderly people and agricultural officers. Purposive sampling was used to select agricultural officers while multistage sampling was used to select respondents at household level. Data was collected by use of a pre-tested questionnaire. The MUAC tape was used to collect nutritional status of children while BMI data was obtained from elderly people. Mann Kendall statistic was used to determine whether the trend of rainfall and temperature observed is significant while Chi-square test was used to determine whether the coping strategies observed varied significantly at household level. From the analysis, rainfall has not shown any significant change in Kisii County while temperature trend has been significantly increasing over the years at 95% confidence level. This could explain the observed reduction in river levels. Analysis of crop production and price trends of major food crops in Kisii County showed a decreasing trend of food production leading to increase in price over the years. This meant that farmers could not produce enough to take them to the next harvesting season making farmers to adopt different coping strategies at household level which differed significantly according to Chi-Square test. Malnutrition status of both elderly people above 59 years and children between 6-59 months were similar with 23% of both children/elderly being severely malnourished/malnourished. This study has only looked at climatic factors such as rainfall and temperature. Other aspects such as depth of underground water, ph level of soil and the effects of land fragmentation also need to be looked at. This study is important to both farmers in choosing the right crop to plant, and policy makers and planners in formulating the best mitigation and intervention strategies for Kisii County food insecurity problem. This will further contribute to national efforts towards achievement of vision 2030.

Objective: Food security during public health emergencies relies on situational awareness of needs and resources. Artificial intelligence (AI) has revolutionized situational awareness during crises, allowing the allocation of resources to needs through machine learning algorithms. Limited research exists monitoring Twitter for changes in the food security-related public discourse during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aim to address that gap with AI by classifying food security topics on Twitter and showing topic frequency per day. Methods: Tweets were scraped from Twitter from January 2020 through December 2021 using food security keywords. Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) topic modeling was performed, followed by time-series analyses on topic frequency per day.Results: 237,107 tweets were scraped and classified into topics, including food needs and resources, emergency preparedness and response, and mental/physical health. After the WHO’s pandemic declaration, there were relative increases in topic density per day regarding food pantries, food banks, economic and food security crises, essential services, and emergency preparedness advice. Threats to food security in Tigray emerged in 2021.Conclusions: AI is a powerful yet underused tool to monitor food insecurity on social media. Machine learning tools to improve emergency response should be prioritized, along with measurement of impact. Further food insecurity word patterns testing, as generated by this research, with supervised machine learning models can accelerate the uptake of these tools by policymakers and aid organizations.

This work addresses the lot-sizing and production scheduling problem of multi-stage multi-product food industrial facilities. More specifically, the production scheduling problem of the semi-continuous yogurt production process, for two large-scale Greek dairy industries, is considered. Production scheduling decisions are taken using two approaches: i) an optimization and ii) a rule-based approach, followed by a comparative study. A MILP model is applied for the optimization of short-term production scheduling of the two industries. Then, the same problems are solved using the commercial scheduling tool ScheduleProTM, which derives scheduling decisions, using simulation-based techniques and empirical rules. It is concluded that both methods, despite having their advantages and disadvantages, are suitable for addressing complex food industrial scheduling problems. The optimization-based approach leads to better results in terms of operating cost reduction. On the other hand, the complexity of the problem and the experience of production engineers and plant operators can significantly impact the quality of the obtained solutions for the rule-based approach.

Advancing models for accurate estimation of food production is essential for policymaking and managing national plans of action for food security. This research proposes two machine learning models for the prediction of food production. The adaptive network-based fuzzy inference system (ANFIS) and multilayer perceptron (MLP) methods are used to advance the prediction models. In the present study, two variables of livestock production and agricultural production were considered as the source of food production. Three variables were used to evaluate livestock production, namely livestock yield, live animals, and animal slaughtered, and two variables were used to assess agricultural production, namely agricultural production yields and losses. Iran was selected as the case study of the current study. Therefore, time-series data related to livestock and agricultural productions in Iran from 1961 to 2017 have been collected from the FAOSTAT database. First, 70% of this data was used to train ANFIS and MLP, and the remaining 30% of the data was used to test the models. The results disclosed that the ANFIS model with Generalized bell-shaped (Gbell) built-in membership functions has the lowest error level in predicting food production. The findings of this study provide a suitable tool for policymakers who can use this model and predict the future of food production to provide a proper plan for the future of food security and food supply for the next generations.

This paper provides a comprehensive analysis of food security in Sudan by adopting a unique approach of Hesitant Fuzzy Entropy (HFE) analysis to discern the key determinants influencing food security levels and aligning the findings with the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) framework. The research utilized a dataset comprising 32 crucial variables related to food security assessment. Employing entropy values, weight coefficients, heatmaps, and scatterplots, the analysis aimed to unravel the intricate distribution of food security levels among Sudanese individuals in our study area. The study reveals that approximately 26% of the Sudanese population in our study region is poised to experience food security, with an additional 24% categorized as marginally food secure. Moreover, an estimated 35% are expected to confront moderate food insecurity, while 15% are projected to face severe food insecurity between January and June 2024. Anticipations for the period from January 2024 to June 2024 project more than 15 million individuals to encounter IPC Phase 3 and fall under moderately or severely food insecure levels. These findings emphasize the urgent need for both short-term humanitarian aid and long-term strategies to address Sudan's deepening food insecurity crisis.

This article presents the integration of lean 6S methodologies and hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) in the food production sector. Through the study, it is seen that non-food industrial production is not very different from that of food and, in many cases, it assimilates protocols and ideas that are already working in the food industry; Such is the case of risk analysis, critical control points or hygiene, which are part of the food production protocol and, increasingly, of the industry in general. After the integrative analysis, the article proposes a common lean 6S - HACCP model, which can be used both in food production and in non-food industrial production.

The study addresses the urgent environmental issue of climate change, focusing specifically on the role of local food, which is produced and consumed locally, helps reduce carbon emissions by eliminating the need for long-distance transportation. Through quantitative analysis, this study elucidates the potential benefits in environmental impact achieved through the consumption of local food: the significant reduction in carbon emissions. Specifically, the consumption of local food is found to yield an annual decrease of 2,421,296 tCO2 emissions, representing 2.5% of South Korea’s total greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. This reduction further translates into an estimated economic value of USD 54.23 million (KRW 70.5 billion). This study underscores the potential of local food consumption as a tangible strategy to overcome environmental problems. Moreover, its academic contribution lies in its comprehensive analysis of the economic and empirical impacts of local food consumption on environment. Moving forward, we propose policies such as supporting local food distribution networks, providing public education on local food, fostering the local food industry, and providing incentives to revitalize local food consumption.

By the end of 2023, biowaste must be completely separated or recycled at source based on the EU legislation. Separate biowaste collection and valorisation towards biofuels could play an essential role in the biobased circular economy. In this context, the principal goal of this paper was to demonstrate in pilot scale the technological solution of bioethanol production via the utilisation of urban source-separated biowaste within the city context of Athens, Greece. More specifically, the main aim was the demonstration of a pilot system in continuous operation (over 10 operating cycles) with real feedstock – wet separately collected biowaste. From the 11 pilot trials performed with wet feedstock, the mean starch and cellulose degradation of the pilot trials amounted up to 80.69±16.27% and 79.41±10.37% respectively, while the bioethanol yield was 74.05±6.82%. The latter was comparable to that of more intensive pretreatment methods. Homogenization and shredding that was applied in this study, stand as promising and cost-effective pretreatment methods for bioethanol production from wet feedstock. Further research is needed to optimize conditions and evaluate scalability. Nevertheless, pilot scale testing is a crucial step in the development and deployment of this technology since it serves as a bridge between laboratory research and full-scale implementation, offering a practical and controlled environment to validate and optimize the technology while minimizing risks and uncertainties.

The adulteration of goat milk powder occurs frequently, cattle-derived and soybean-derived ingredients are common adulterants in goat milk powder. However, simultaneously and rapidly detecting cattle-derived and soybean-derived components is still a challenge. high throughput and efficient screening method for adulteration detection is need. In this study, a rapid method was developed to detect the adulteration of common cattle-derived and soybean-derived components simultaneously in goat milk powder by combining the CRISPR/ Cas12a system with recombinant polymerase amplification (RPA). A dual DNA extraction method was employed, primers and crRNA for dual detection were designed and screened, and a series of condition optimizations were carried out in this experiment. The optimized assay can rapidly detect cattle-derived and soybean-derived components in 40 min. The detection limits of both cattle-derived and soybean-derived components were 1% (w/w) for the mixed adulteration models. The established method was applied into a blind survey of 55 commercially available goat milk powder products. The results showed that 36.36% of the samples contained cattle-derived or soybean-derived ingredients, which revealed the noticeable adulteration situation in the goat milk powder market. This study realizes a fast flow of dual extraction, dual amplification and dual detection of cattle-derived and soybean-derived components in goat milk powder for the first time. It can be used for high-throughput and high-efficiency on-site primary screening of goat milk powder adulterants, and provide a technical reference for combating with food adulteration.

The consumption of insects in the Democratic Republic of Congo is an ancient practice. The taxonomic identification and characterization of “entomophagy” seem urgent in Kinshasa following the related anthropogenic pressures (demographic pressure, uncontrolled urbanization) leading to a food crisis. This study aims to assess the diversity of edible insects and their consumption by the population of Kinshasa. A total of 360 people were surveyed to identify the insect species consumed in Kinshasa, the ecosystems that provide them, and the preference for species in relation to ethnolinguistic groups, churches (faith) and household size. Three species of insects most consumed in Kinshasa are: Gonimbrasia jamesonii, Cirina forda and Brachytrupes membranaceus. 41.9% of these insects are consumed by the Kongo ethno-linguistic group, 23.6% by the Luba, 20.6% by the Ngala and 13.9% by the Swahili. Inhabitants of the communes of Kassa Vubu (57%), Maluku (54%), Masina (54%) and Mont-Ngafula (39%) mainly consume C. forda and G. jamesonii. Luba and Kongo ethnolinguistic groups mainly consume C. forda while the Swahili and Ngala consume G. jamesonii. Catholic, Revivalist Church, Kimbagu, Islam, Protestant and Johovah's Witness believers mainly consume C. forda and G. jamesonii. This study made it possible to understand the socio-cultural influence on the degradation (pressure) of biodiversity and; contributes to SDGs 2 and 12 by 2023..

Bacteriophages (phages) are potential alternatives to chemical antimicrobials against pathogens of public health significance. Understanding the diversity and host specificity of phages is important for developing effective phage biocontrol approaches. Here, we assessed the host range, morphology, and genetic diversity of eight Salmonella enterica phages isolated from a wastewater treatment plant. The host range analysis revealed that six out of eight phages lysed more than 81% of the 43 Salmonella enterica isolates tested. The genomic sequences of all phages were determined. Whole genome sequencing data (WGS) data revealed that phage genome sizes ranged from 41 to 114 kb with GC contents be-tween 39.9 and 50.0 %. Two of the phages SB13 and SB28 represent new species Epsep-timavirus SB13 and genera Macdonaldcampvirus, respectively as designated by the In-ternational Committee for the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) as per genome based taxonomic classification. One phage (SB18) belonged to the Myoviridae morphotype while the re-maining phages belonged to the Siphoviridae morphotype. The gene content analyses showed that none of the phages possessed virulence, toxin, antibiotic resistance, type I-VI toxin-antitoxin modules or lysogeny genes. Three (SB3, SB15 and SB18) out of the eight phages possessed tailspike proteins. Whole genome-based phylogeny of the eight phages with their 113 homologs revealed three clusters A, B, C and seven subclusters (A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, C1 and C2). While cluster C1 phages were predominantly isolated from animal sources, cluster B contained phages from both wastewater and animal sources. The broad host range of these phages highlights their potential use to control the presence of S. enterica in foods.

Consumer food environments have transformed dramatically in the last decade. The number of food outlets has increased, and a large proportion of the UK population now purchase food from a takeaway or restaurant at least once a week. Despite these developments, national spending on food control has reduced and many Local Authorities struggle to meet health inspection targets. This work presents a data driven approach to enhance current inspection processes with a view to reduce consumer risk of foodborne illness whilst eating outside the home. We explore the utility of three machine learning algorithms to predict non-compliant food outlets in England and Wales as defined by Food Hygiene Rating Scheme scores >= 2. Using socio-demographic, business type and urbanness features we experiment with under and over sampling strategies at five ratios to address problems of class imbalance in the dataset prior to analysis. We find that Synthetic Minority Over Sampling Technique alongside a Random Forest algorithm with a 1:1 sampling strategy provides the best predictive power. Our final model retrieves 84% of total non-compliant outlets in a test set of 92,595 (sensitivity=0.843, specificity=0.745, precision=0.274). We discuss the utility of machine learning algorithms to prioritise high risk establishments for inspection by Local Authority officials and make recommendations for weighting outcomes to improve their appropriateness in an applied setting.

Cempo Ireng (Oryza sativa L. var. Cempo Ireng) is one of the black rice variety in Indonesia that consumed as functional food, not as a staple food because of the black rice contains anthocyanin pigment which has beneficial to human health. High concentration of anthocyanin reaching 393.93 ppm cause black color in the pericarp layer of Cempo Ireng which make this variety as an antioxidant source, low glycemic index, and free of gluten, leading to have higher price in the rice market. However, most of the farmers are not cultivate Cempo Ireng due to the longer vegetative phase up to 150 days compared to the white rice varieties which only takes 90 days, the taller phenotype of Cempo Ireng cause problems in cultivation, and also the purple color of Cempo Ireng attract birds and earhead bug (Leptocorisa oratorius) to feed on black rice caryopsis that cause severe yield loss. Transgenic methods, mutation technique, intensification systems, and physical treatment have been applied in Cempo Ireng to overcome those lack characteristics. In the future, Cempo Ireng also has a big potential to become a parent in cross breeding program because of the positive characters. The aim of this review is to describe the potential of Cempo Ireng in rice breeding program for improving food sustainability.

Food insecurity is an economic and social condition that involves individuals having limited or uncertain access to healthy food. Despite the well-intentioned efforts of both governmental and not-for-profit organizations in addressing food insecurity, well over one-in-ten households in the U.S., the wealthiest nation in the world, experience food insecurity every year. This literature review covered several government programs and research interventions designed to address food insecurity. Results from the review highlight how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP), and not-for profit food banks have demonstrated success in improving food insecurity. However, the prevalence of food insecurity among U.S. households has fluctuated without any sustained decreases that achieve a food insecurity rate that remains below 10 percent of the population. Food waste, which refers to food that is edible yet discarded at the retail or consumption phases, is rampant in the U.S., as approximately 30 percent (66.5 million tons) of edible food is wasted after leaving the farm every year. Food waste prevention efforts that involve rescuing edible, nutritious food and redistributing it to individuals who are food insecure can promote both environmental- and public health through simultaneous reductions in food waste and food insecurity.

Food insecurity is an economic and social condition involving limited or uncertain access to food. The problem of food insecurity in communities is influenced by economic conditions, food deserts, and barriers to accessing healthy food. Individuals experiencing food insecurity often endure concurrent problems of financial instability, hunger, and poor mental and physical health. Public and non-profit services in the U.S., such as the federally supported Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and community food banks, provide food-related assistance to individuals who are at a high risk of experiencing food insecurity. Unfortunately, many individuals who qualify for these services still experience food insecurity due to barriers preventing them from accessing food. Effective approaches for removing barriers that prevent individuals from accessing food are needed to mitigate the increased risk of chronic disease among vulnerable populations. This study tested a novel food insecurity intervention called FINDING-Food, which stands for Frequent Informational Nudges Directing Individuals to Needed Goods. Informational nudges in the intervention promoted food security through the elimination of information barriers to accessing food. The intervention used in this mixed-methods feasibility study consisted of informational nudges in the form of weekly text messages that were sent to food pantry clients experiencing food insecurity. The study aims were to test the efficacy and acceptability of the intervention by examining whether the informational nudges could enhance food pantry utilization, increase SNAP registration, and promote food security. Quantitative study results showed a lower prevalence of food insecurity in the intervention group than the control group at the end of the study. Qualitative findings revealed how the intervention group found the text messages to be helpful and informative. These study findings can enhance future food insecurity interventions aiming to eliminate barriers that prevent individuals who are food insecure from accessing healthy food.

The Metabolic Food Waste [MFW (kg of food)], first time developed in 2016 as a new indicator by Serafini and Toti, indicates the amount of food consumed over the nutritional requirements and the impact of this overconsumption on the environment. It is necessary to identify the causes and to develop potential methods to prevent and reduce MFW, at the same time with increasing consumer awareness about unsustainable diets and changing diet habits toward more environmentally conscious consumption patterns. By analysing and corroborating external data available for food waste, nutritional requirements, environmental impact of food waste and consumer behaviour, we identified as primary causes for MFW the lack of nutritional education and little understanding of the nutritional requirements amongst all categories of consumers, no access to appropriate food resources or reduced availability of fresh produced food. We conclude that for the quantification of the negative impact of MFW on both the environment and human health, we need a decisive action to raise consumer awareness for healthy and sustainable diets, together with an uniform worldwide distribution of the nutritious food.

According to the World Food Programme (WFP), the projected increase in the human population stands at 2 billion people by 2050. At the same time, world food production is witnessing a declining trend over recent years, and 690 million (8.9%) of the world's population are already in severe starvation. Climate variability and climate change impacts on food security are very eminent today. For this reason, this study explored the real effects of climate variability and change on food security in Africa by applying the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) and the Panel Corrected Standard Errors (PCSEs) estimators on data from 2001–2018 for 38 selected African countries. The findings reveal that higher amounts of precipitation positively influence food security along two dimensions (food availability and utilization). Hotter temperatures negatively impact food availability and utilization. However, it aids food accessibility in Africa. Similarly, carbon dioxide emissions improve food availability and are harmful to food accessibility and food utilization in Africa. Consequently, the effects of climate variability and change on food security in Africa are undesirable, thereby putting the continent at risk of food insecurity over the long run. Given these findings, the study made appropriate recommendations for policy change to address the negative effects of climate variability and change on food security in Africa.

In recent decades, given the important role of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in human health, scientists have paid great attention to the enrichment of this chemical compound in food using various methods, including microbial fermentation. Moreover, GABA or GABA-rich products have been successfully commercialized as food additives or functional dietary supplements. Several microorganisms can produce GABA, including bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. Among GABA-producing bacteria, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are commonly used in the production of many fermented foods. Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (previously Lactobacillus plantarum) has a long history of natural occurrence and safe use in a variety of food products. This LAB species provides functional properties to various fermented foods by producing a variety of bioactive compounds, including GABA. The present review aims, after a preliminary excursus on the function and biosynthesis of GABA, to provide an overview on the current uses of microorganisms and in particular of L. plantarum in the production of GABA, with a detailed focus on fermented foods.

The general objective of the study is to analyze food insecurity determinants mainly related to food price at macro level. The study used a time series data from the year 1988 quarter one to 2018 quarter four. Our empirical finding on the macroeconomic model show the short term consequence of food price change is positive with food security (negative with food insecurity). The long term consequence of food price change is, however, negative with food security (positive with food insecurity) at macro level. From the variance decomposition, it can be learned that the speed by which the undernourished people decrease in number in the short term because of the inflation happened is higher than the speed by which the number of undernourished people increase in the long run. At macro level, concern should be made to the supply side for food security improvement.

Here we propose the concept of an electro–microbial route to uncouple food production from photosynthesis, thereby enabling production of nutritious food in space without the need to grow plant-based crops. In the proposed process, carbon dioxide is fixed into ethanol using either chemical catalysis or microbial carbon fixation, and the ethanol created is used as a carbon source for yeast to synthesize food for human or animal consumption. The process depends upon technologies that can utilize electrical energy to fix carbon into ethanol and uses an optimized strain of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae to produce high quality, food grade single cell protein using only ethanol, urea, phosphate, and inorganic salts as inputs. Unlike crops using photosynthesis that require months to mature and are challenging to grow under the conditions found in space, the electro–microbial process could generate significant quantities of food on demand with potentially high yields and productivities. In this paper we explore the potential of the proposed process to provide food on demand in space, but it should be noted that this novel approach to food production has many valuable terrestrial applications too. For example, enabling food production in climatically challenged environments including turning deserts into food bowls, or utilizing surplus electricity generated from large-scale renewable power sources.

This study focuses on land cover and land management changes in relation to food security and environmental services in a semi-arid area of East Nusa Tenggara (ENT) – Indonesia. The study was conducted in Central Sumba District of ENT Province. Classification and regression tree (CART) for land cover classification has been analyzed using machine learning techniques using Google Earth Engine. A survey with Focus Group Discussion (FGD) and followed with in-depth interviews were conducted for primary data collection involving a total of 871 respondents. The Socio-economic data analyzed statistics descriptively and non-parametric tests. The study showed that: 1). There has been a substantial land use change during the devo-lution era that has both positive and negative implications for food security and envi-ronmental services. 2). There has been population pressure in the fertile or agricultur-al land as the direct impact of the development of city infrastructures; and 3). Nation-al intervention through the Food Estate program has fostered and shaped land use change and land management in Central Sumba District. The study highlights the importance that the devolution spirit should help to well manage the limited ara-ble/agricultural land in dominated semi-arid to ensure food security and environment services.

We seek to elucidate an aspirational vision for the food system and explore whether the characteristics of such a system inadvertently set unattainable standards for rural, low wealth communities. We apply discourse analysis to the following qualitative datasets: (1) interviews with food experts and advocates, (2) scholarly and grey literature, (3) industry websites, and (4) email exchanges between food advocates. The analysis revealed eight aspirational food system discourses: Production, Distribution, and Infrastructure; Healthy, Organic, Local Food; Behavioral Health and Education; Sustainability; Finance and Investment; Huger Relief; Demand Side Preferences; Romanticized, Community Led Transformations. Study findings reveal that of eight discourses only three encompass the experiences of rural, low wealth residents. This aspirational food system may result in the disempowerment of the needs of rural, low wealth groups; a perpetuation of the failure of groups who will be unable to reach the aspirational food vision; silencing of discourses that might question those that play a role in the inequitable distribution of income while sanctioning discourses that focus on personal or community solutions; and the absence of other policy-based solutions that address issues located within the food system. Further research is needed to inform policies and programs to mitigate food insecurity in rural, low wealth populations.

The article examines the relationship between household food waste and GDP in various European regions, aiming to determine how economic prosperity influences household food waste levels. Using comparative analysis of secondary and tertiary data, we developed a synthetic indicator (IpFW), to assess the interaction between GDP per capita and household food waste per capita. Despite expectations, higher GDP did not consistently correlate with lower food waste, challenging assumptions about economic prosperity and environmental stewardship. The research underscores the complex interplay between economic factors and food waste management, revealing no significant correlation even at regional levels. It also highlights the potential of e-commerce in enhancing food waste reduction strategies. E-commerce platforms can optimize food supply chains and consumer behavior, contributing to more sustainable consumption patterns. The conclusions call for a reevaluation of policies and suggest that integrating e-commerce could bolster efforts to manage food waste more effectively, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals.

Lime application with other complementary sustainable management practices increases crop yield, but liming is modestly applied in Serbia. This study investigated the influence of liming (1000 kg/ha) combined with the common application of mineral fertilizers on maize yield and the chemical properties of Pseudogley soil. The experiment was conducted near Kraljevo, Western Serbia, on maize hybrid ZP 606, sown in a two-year monoculture. The experiment had three treatments: fertilizer, fertilizer+lime, and control treatment. The soil is acid, poor in humus, and contains an increased content of mobile aluminum. There was a significant increase in yield under the fertilizer and lime+fertilizer treatments, compared with the control. The yield of maize in the limed treatment was 4.4–9% higher than in the fertilizer treatment. The positive effects of liming on soil are related to an increase in pH, base saturation, and available phosphorus and a decrease in available aluminum. In the fertilizer treatment, there was a small decrease in pH and base saturation, whereas the amount of aluminum remained high, indicating that further application of fertilizers without lime can increase the aluminum content and foster its toxicity. The long-term sustainability of maize production in Serbia should include liming as a regular management practice on Pseudogley soil, with the utilization of smaller doses of lime because of the potential CO2 effects. To improve soil health, food, and environmental security, and incorporate new crops, developing a framework promoting liming as a sustainable management practice is of high importance.

Poor hygiene in the food services industry is a critical public health concern in the Maldives, with an average of 35 public complaints per month regarding the poor hygienic conditions of the restaurants in Male’, the capital of Maldives. Thus, this study aimed to identify the level of knowledge, attitude, and the gap of self-reported with the observed practice (KAP) of food handlers as well as the potential association between KAP. 290 food handlers from restaurants were surveyed, demonstrating moderate knowledge (55.5%), moderate attitude (3.62±0.51) and good practice (4.18±0.54). However, it is critical the result shows the food handlers in Male’ have poor practice on the time and temperature control where especially on thawing and storage resulting from a lack of training in the temperature danger zone. The work experience impacting the level of knowledge, education impacts the level of attitude and age, and education and work experience impacting practice. Male’ restaurants mostly employed the foreigners mostly from Bangladesh and the food handlers were identified to have low level of education. Association analysis identified significant relationships between knowledge, attitude, and practice, while the principle component analysis shows categories that are related to each of KAP. This study is fundamental for policymakers to review and improve law enforcement to address the current food safety situation in the Maldives.

The global food system has three recognized challenges: (a)increasing the availability of food consumption, (b) reducing food loss, and (c) reducing food waste. The increasing demand for food consumption, increasing quantity of food loss, and corresponding increase in food waste are resulting in serious health, aesthetic, social, economic, and environmental problems due to a lack of appropriate planning and management. Despite its importance, there is no clear, concise, and comprehensive definition of food consumption, loss, and waste. Generally, food consumption, food loss, and food waste are dealt with separately. This article presents a logically constructed ontological framework of food consumption, loss, and waste. It gives equal importance to all three aspects of global food management. The systematic ontological framework is general, and the analysis can be applied to any country. The framework deconstructs the combinatorial complexity of the problem and explicates the pathways to manage the consumption, loss, and waste. The ontological framework encapsulates 19*8*7*4*5*6 = 25,536 possible components of the challenge. A critical analysis based on available data using the framework will help to develop strategies to deal with the problem. It can help to discover the gaps and to find ways to bridge the gaps. It is novel to conceptualize food consumption, loss, and waste together.

Antibiotic resistance (ABR) is concerning issue due to its direct and indirect repercusions on public health, since decreased therapeutic effect of certain antibiotic to treatment complications that can cause death. There are several mechanism as to how ABR can be transferred from one microoorganisms to another, and many of them are dependant many environmental factors. The food supply chain is a environment in which ABR gene transfer can occur is multiple pathways, which generate concerns regarding food safety. Here, we summarize relevant mechanisms which are implied in ABR in food supply chain but also we are addressing routes of transmission and prevalence of ABR, implications on public health, and the application of new alternatives to antibiotics such as antimicrobial peptides, mainly bacteriocins, in order to countermeasure ABR.

Food-grinding occurs in rodents and is influenced by multiple-factors. However, the factors affecting this behavior remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to investigate the effect of food restriction on food grinding by Brandt’s voles (Lasiopodomys brandtii), as well as the potential role of the gut microbiota in this process, through a comparison of the variations between voles with different food supplies. Food restriction reduced the relative amount of ground food to a greater extent than it lowered the relative food consumption, and altered the abundance of Staphylococcus, Aerococcus, Jeotgalicoccus, and Un--s-Clostridiaceae bacterium GM1. Strong correlations between the ground-to-consumed food ratio and the abundance of fecal microbiota were found for Un--s-Clostridiaceae bacterium GM1 and Aerococcus. The content of fecal acetate and propionate for the 7.5 g-food supply group was lower than that for the 15 g-food supply group. Further, the relative amount of ground food and ground-to-consumed food ratio were both positively correlated with the acetate content. Our study indicated that food restriction can effectively inhibit food grinding. Further, Un--s-Clostridiaceae bacterium GM1 abundance, Aerococcus abundance, and acetate content were strongly related to food grinding. Variations in gut microbial abundance and metabolite short-chain fatty acid content induced by food restriction likely promote the inhibition of food grinding. These results could potentially provide guidance for reducing food waste during laboratory rodent maintenance.

Lactic acid bacteria are traditionally applied in a variety of fermented food products and have the capability to produce a wide range of bioactive ingredients during fermentation including vitamins, bacteriocins, bioactive peptides and bioactive compounds. The bioactivity and health benefits associated with these ingredients have gained interest in applications in the functional dairy market and have relevance both as components produced in situ and as functional additives. This review provides a brief description of the regulations regarding the functional food market in the European Union as well as an overview of some of the functional dairy products currently available in the Irish and European markets. A better understanding of the production of these ingredients excreted by lactic acid bacteria can further drive the development and innovation of the continuously growing functional food market.

This study aims to provide empirical evidence on whether using renewable and non-renewable energy, CO₂ emissions and the resulting changes in temperature and precipitation can alter cereal yields in European Union countries. To this end, a panel data set covering 1992-2021 has been used to analyse the impact of climate change and economic factors on cereal production in European Union countries. The study employed various analytical techniques to understand better the relationship between climate change, energy consumption, and economic growth. These included using annual average temperature and rainfall to measure climate change and energy consumption and economic growth to analyse the economic aspects. To achieve the objective, feasible generalised least squares (FGLS) models with robust standard errors and bootstrap and a quantile regression (QR) model with marginal analysis were employed. The Westerlund cointegration test confirmed the presence of cointegration between cereal production and climate variables, economic growth, and energy consumption. The results indicate that increases in temperature and precipitation may contribute to increased cereal production in European Union countries. In contrast, energy consumption, including renewable energy and CO₂ emissions, may have a nonlinear effect on cereal production. Quantile regression analysis suggests climate change may impact crop yields most in countries with low and moderate cereal production per hectare. Increased CO₂ emissions may increase yields in the initial period, but excessive CO₂ may negatively impact cereal production in the long term. It would be advisable for countries with low and moderate crop productivity to consider implementing technological advances and combating global warming by modernising cultivation methods and making greater use of renewable energy sources.

Edible insects can diversify diets, improve livelihoods, contribute to food and nutrition security, and have a smaller ecological impact. European Union has categorized insects as novel food, and recently, in 2021 and 2022, two species: Tenebrio molitor and Acheta domesticus have been authorized for commercialization. Acceptance and perception of food risk derived from insect consumption vary depending on factors impacting insect consumption acceptability, including neophobic tendencies, gender differences, familiarity, and gastronomic perceptions. The aim of this work was to evaluate the perception and acceptance of edible insects by exploring those factors. The study was carried out on higher education students from Universities from Valencia (Spain). Students recognize insects for their high nutritional value, particularly protein content, and have varying knowledge levels about specific nutritional components. In terms of labeling and marketing, removing health and sustainability benefits from packaging can improve consumer responses. Most respondents prefer clear labeling of insect derivatives, quality certification seals, and complete information about insect content. Students consider marketing and knowledge as significant influencers of insect consumption. In summary, the text highlights the multifaceted nature of insect consumption acceptability. These insights offer valuable perspectives on insect consumption dynamics.

Fermented foods have long been known to have immunomodulatory capabilities and fermentates derived from the lactic acid bacteria of dairy products can modulate the immune system. We have used skimmed milk powder to generate novel fermentates using Lb. helveticus strains SC234 and SC232 and we demonstrate here that these fermentates can enhance key immune mechanisms that are critical to the immune response to viruses. We show that our novel fermentates SC234 and SC232 can positively impact on cytokine and chemokine secretion, nitric oxide (NO) production, cell surface marker expression, and phagocytosis in macrophage models. We demonstrate that fermentates SC234 and SC232 increase the secretion of cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, TNF-α, IL-27, and IL-10, promote an M1 proinflammatory phenotype for viral immunity via NO induction, decreases chemokine expression of Monocyte Chemoattractant Protein (MCP), increasing cell surface marker expression, and enhance phagocytosis in comparison to their starting material. These data suggest that these novel fermentates have potential as novel functional food ingredients for the treatment, management and control of viral infection.

Waste recovery is an important aspect towards human and environmental health protection. Unfortunately, proper food waste management is among the serious challenges in the field of solid waste management worldwide. Therefore, it is of great importance to conduct studies towards achieving efficient and cost-effective approaches for food waste management. This study investigated the potential of recovering food waste through maggots’ production as animal feed. The influence of fly attractant application on maggot production was also investigated. The study also investigated the potential of maggot production for waste recovery and reduction. Four different types of food waste (starch food leftovers, rotten bananas and peels, rotten pineapple and peels, and rotten oranges) were used in the investigation process. From the results, it was observed that the application of fly attractants had a significant effect on the production of maggots as determined by the weights after harvesting. Average weight of 94 g/kg of maggot was achieved from banana materials with an application of fly attractant during the 8th day of the cultivation; which is equivalent to a 32.4% increase from the same day when the material was cultured without applying fly attractant. Also, from the starch materials, about 77 g/kg of maggot weight was achieved; which is a 54.6% increase from the same day and the same material but without application of fly attractant. Moreover, the relative dry weight reduction in the trials varied from 52.5% to 82.4%.

Governments all over the world are currently grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic. While some countries were very hard hit, others were only mildly hit but all are still taking measures to mitigate the consequences. The virus emerged in December 2019 in Wuhan, China and spread to most continents by the beginning of March 2020, which led to the World Health Organization declaring it as a pandemic on the 11^th of March 2020. Since it was a novel disease, there was limited information on the virus, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) belongs to the same family as the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1) and the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Researchers all over the world started working simultaneously to understand the virus to provide the necessary treatment regime or vaccine in order to reduce the impact of the virus on its victims. Africa and other developing countries with limited resources and poor planning and management are expected to be among the worst hit in the long run. The implications of the COVID-19 on food, water, hygiene, sanitation, and the environment in Africa have been reviewed in this paper, as well as possible implications they may pose to the population, based on the existing common practices and their immediate impacts. This information can assist policymakers in Africa to adequately plan the management of the COVID-19 in order to lessen its impact on the population.

For risk communication, it is important to understand the difference between "hazard" and "risk". Definitions can be found in Codex Alimentarius and the European Union (EU) General Food Regulation (EC) No 178/2002. The use of these terms as synonyms or their interchange is a recurrent issue in the area of food safety, despite awareness-raising messages sent by EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) and other interested entities. A quick screening of EU’s food regulations revealed several inconsistencies. Hence, it was considered necessary to further investigate if regulations could act as a source for this problem. A software tool was developed to support the detection and listing of inconsistent translations of “hazard” and “risk” in certain EU food regulations. Subsequently, native-speaking experts working in food safety, from each EU country, were asked to provide their individual scientific opinion on the prepared list. All data was statistically analyzed after applying numerical scores (1-5) describing different levels of consistency. Results showed that the most common problem was the interchange of “hazard” with “risk” and vice versa. This lack of consistency can create confusion that can further translate into misjudgments at food risk assessment and communication level.

Ethiopian agriculture is not only affected by precipitation declines (meteorological droughts) but also soil dryness caused by temperature increases and associated long-term hydrological changes. Meteorological drought indicators (e.g., SPI), do not fully capture the water deficits in agricultural systems (i.e., agricultural droughts). An Ethiopia-wide assessment of meteorological and agricultural drought trends was carried out to characterize century-scale (1902 – 2016) changes in droughts. SPI and SPEI calculated using two-month accumulation and the Palmer Z-index were used for assessing intra-season drought trends. SPI and SPEI at six-month accumulations and PDSI were used to define full season droughts. Detrended variance corrected Mann-Kendall test was used for trend analysis during Bega (dry), Belg (short-rainy) and Meher (long-rainy) seasons. The SPEI-2 and PDSI were most aggressive in characterizing intra-season and seasonal-drought trends. There is on average 1% - 6% annual increase in dryness with the lower estimate based on precipitation declines and the upper end accounting for seasonal soil moisture dynamics. The area between 37.5° E – 42.5° E denotes a climate hot-spot. Precipitation declines in Belg along the Ethiopia-South-Sudan/Sudan border during Belg and along Eretria-Ethiopia border during Meher have the potential to exacerbate transboundary water conflicts and further threaten the food security of the region.

Economists have long been interested in examining inflation-growth nexus. Nevertheless, the nature of their relationship and the optimal level of inflation threshold for economic growth have still remained controversial in both theoretical and empirical works. Accordingly, this study investigates the existence of threshold effects of inflation on economic growth in Ethiopia over the period 1975-2018 using a Two-regime Threshold Auto-regressive (TAR) model. The study mainly departs from previous works since it estimates sector-specific inflation threshold level in food and non-food sectors. Our preliminary analyses clearly reveal that inflation in food sector has become more volatile, less-persistent and key contributor to the general inflation as compared to its non-food counterpart. Further, The TAR model results and robustness checks indicate the existence of inflation threshold in a range of 9-10%. In particular, the threshold level for food inflation is 10% and 8% for non-food inflation. In all cases, our results robustly confirm growth-detrimental effects of inflation after the threshold levels. After all, this study suggests the need for considering specific behaviors of food and non-food prices, and implementing appropriate fiscal and monetary policies to bring inflation down to a single-digit level.

The present context regarding development of the food products trade at European Union level presumes manifestation of some tendencies and challenges meant to claim at the highest level the adaptation capacity of economical agents - both producers and traders. Among these we can take into account their need to comply with organic product labeling standards as an integral part of food products safety policies at Union level. In order to be able to implement a proper label type, not only from the point of view of standards but especially from the perspective given by the consumers perception and motivation toward a healthy sustainable food consumption, producers have to constantly innovate, to find new design solutions for food products labels. This article propose an exploratory research in the form of a field survey that highlights the perceptions of Romanian and Serbian consumers, altogether from the urban environment in relation to organic food labeling and how they influence purchasing decision-making. A random number of 373 Serbian consumers’ questionnaires, respectively 1262 Romanian consumers’ questionnaires have been validated, the results showing interesting results from the point of view of national consumption profile differences due to different cultural, economic and social factors as well as different levels of integration within European economy for the both countries. Main conclusions of the research stress the fact that perceptions regarding organic food products labels are constructed around variables like: type of information to appear within the label, category of information that are missing from labels, degree of producers interest in proper labeling of organic food products, relevance of the information on the organic food labels as regards the decision to purchase the products etc. Conclusions propose some possible developments for innovative future characteristics for organic food products labels.

Dogs population increased exponentially in the past decade while the birth rate decreased gradually, especially in the developed countries. Due to dogs’ characteristics of loyalty and obedience, most pet owners treated their dogs as their family members or companions, therefore they are willing to select and purchase safe, high quality and nutrition dog food to their dogs. However, there is lack of regulation or standard to reinforce the production or distribution of dog food in Hong Kong. Consequently, this paper will first review the relationship between high dog population and declining birth rate, types of dog food and typical ingredients. Secondly, the potential health implications of various “toxic” food ingredients for dog, hazard analysis of dog food and its testing methods will be investigated. Lastly, this paper will summarize worldwide existing standards and regulations, quality and hygiene management system related to dog food safety to provide insights and suggestions to Hong Kong government about the importance and urgency of implementing regulations and policies to oversee the imported and local manufactured dog food.

Food fraud (often called fake food in South Africa), the deliberate misrepresentation or adulteration of food products for financial gain, is a growing problem in South Africa (SA) with severe public health and financial consequences for consumers and businesses. The recent public outcry against food fraud practices, especially in communities that have lost loved ones due to the consumption of allegedly unsafe foodstuffs, highlights the grave danger that food fraud poses to consumers and the potential for significant reputational damage to food manufacturers. Despite the risks, food fraud often goes undetected, as perpetrators are becoming increasingly sophisticated. The precise magnitude of food fraud remains obscure, as incidents that do not cause consumer illnesses are frequently unreported and, as a result, are not investigated. Food fraud costs the global economy billion annually. This cost is borne by consumers, businesses, and the government. Food fraud can occur at any stage of the food supply chain, from production to processing to retailing or distribution. This is due in part to the limitations of current analytical methods, which are not always able to detect food fraud. This systematic literature review of food fraud in SA looks at several factors that may be contributing to epidemic of food fraud (fake food), including lenient penalties, inadequate government commitment, a complex labelling regulations, emerging threats such as e-commerce, and a shortage of inspectors and laboratories. The review recommends establishing a single food control/safety authority, developing more food safety laboratories, and adopting innovative technologies to detect and prevent food fraud. SA faces a serious food fraud crisis unless decisive action is taken.

Agroecology is a holistic approach to farming that emphasizes the use of local resources and ecological processes to increase productivity, reduce environmental impact, and enhance resilience. Despite its potential benefits, the adoption of agroecological practices in Sub-Saharan Africa has been slow. This paper examines the opportunities for promoting agroecology in the region, including the growing demand for organic and sustainable food, the availability of local knowledge and resources, and the potential for agroecology to improve rural livelihoods and support climate change adaptation. The premise is that the promotion of agroecology faces several challenges. which include, inadequate policy and institutional support, lack of access to credit and markets, limited extension services, and weak land tenure systems. The paper draws on case studies from across Sub-Saharan Africa to illustrate the opportunities and challenges of promoting agroecology in the region. These case studies highlight the diversity of agroecological practices and the importance of context-specific approaches. Overall, the paper maintains that agroecology has the potential to transform agriculture in Sub-Saharan Africa, but that realizing this potential will require concerted efforts from governments, civil society, and the private sector.

Food insecurity has adverse consequences on women and child health in a developing country. This study aims to fill the existing research gap by examining the dynamic impacts of food insecurity on women and child health outcomes, this study adds fresh large scale panel data; and unlike the existing studies, this study estimates the short-run dynamics on food insecurity on women as child health of developing countries. We found that there was a positive association between health expenditure, women's fertility rate, women, and child health outcomes. There was a negative and statistically significant impact of food insecurity on women anemia in developing countries of Asia. Overall, the empirical analysis found that there was a strong strength to be a negative correlation between food insecurity and women and child health outcome, particularly in relation to women’s participation as a productive labor force. The study suggests that there is need to multidimensional approaches such as women and child health outcome, is needed to advance this type of research areas and should be followed broad-spectrum policy interventions to improve the women and child health status as part of sustainable development goals.

Digital agricultural technology extension service and sustainable food production have attracted attention from academia. However, the association between digital agricultural technology extension service and sustainable food production has not yet been fully investigated. This research investigates the average and heterogeneous impacts of digital agricultural technology extension service use on eco-efficiency among 1302 maize producing farmers from Northeast China major maize producing area in 2022 to fill this knowledge gap. The slack-based measure model with undesirable outputs is applied to calculate the eco-efficiency of maize production. To obtain an unbiased estimation of the average effect, the self-selection problem generated by observable and unobservable factors is solved by the endogenous switching regression model. Quantile regression is utilized to analyze the heterogeneous effect. Notably, the mediated effects model is utilized to examine the potential mechanism between them. Our findings indicate that digital agricultural technology extension service use can increase maize production's eco-efficiency. Digital agricultural technology extension service users would reduce eco-efficiency by 0.148 (21.11%) if they had not used the digital agricultural technology extension service. Digital agricultural technology extension service nonusers would improve eco-efficiency by 0.214 (35.20%) if they had used it. The robustness check reconfirms the results. Moreover, digital agricultural technology extension service use is more helpful to maize farmers who have lower eco-efficiency than those who have higher eco-efficiency. Digital agricultural technology extension service use can improve eco-efficiency of maize production through the application of organic fertilizers, green pesticides and biodegradable agricultural films.

Agriculture is the backbone of Kenya’s economy, supporting up to 80% of the rural livelihoods. Kenya’s export horticulture is currently the leading Agriculture subsector in Kenya has evolved from small-holder farming to agro-industrial large-scale export farming dominated by multinational companies. It is regarded as an agro-industrial food system based on the economies of scale producing for mass markets outside of the production area. Much of the food consumed from this food system has undergone multiple transformations and been subject to a host of formal and informal insitutions (rules, regulations, standards, norms and values). An Anthropological study of export horticulture in Northwest Mount Kenya was carried out utilizing qualitative data collection methods in Northwest Mount Kenya region. Data was coded and analysed thematically based on grounded theory approach. The study described the institutional settings of export horticulture from an emic perspective as changing and defining the operations of the food system access and management of common pool resources, namely water and land. With the agro-industrial food system competing for these scarce resources in a semi-arid zone, there is potential for conflict and also reduced production and overall benefits to the different actors in the study area.

Infections with multi-drug-resistant (MDR) pathogens in food-animals threaten public health and food security. However, the epidemiology and factors associated with MDR Escherichia coli on Ugandan farms are not well known. This study investigated the prevalence, resistance patterns and factors associated with MDR E. coli carriage on chicken farms. A total of 158 E. coli strains were isolated from 158 chicken farms. The disc diffusion method for susceptibility testing was performed. Clinical breakpoints were interpreted according to Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute guidelines. MDR was defined as resistance to three or more classes of antimicrobials. MDR E. coli prevalence on chicken farms was 62.7% (95% CI: 55.0 – 70.3). High resistance was observed against ampicillin 79.8% (95% CI: 72.7–85.4), tetracycline 72.8% (95% CI: 65.2–79.2), cotrimoxazole 55.7% (95% CI: 47.8–63.3), and ciprofloxacin 38% (95% CI: 30.7–45.9). Farmers who were males (APR = 0.72, CI: 0.55, 0.93), and attained at least secondary education (APR=0.64, CI: 0.46, 0.88) and administration of recommended antibiotic doses (APR = 0.76, CI: 0.59–0.96) posed a lower risk of MDR E. coli carriage. Farms without footbaths posed a heighten risk (APR=1.48, CI: 1.16–1.88). MDR E. coli were highly prevalent on chicken farms. This study underscores the need for antimicrobial stewardship and improved infection prevention strategies on chicken farms.

The prevalence of allergic diseases, including food allergy, is increasing, especially in developed countries. Implementation of an elimination diet is not a sufficient therapeutic strategy in patients with food allergy, whose quality of life is significantly impaired. In recent years, new effective therapeutic strategies have been developed, such as the application of oral, sublingual, and epicutenous immunotherapy. Oral immunotherapy is the most often applied strategy because of its effectiveness and ease of application, with an acceptable safety profile. The effectiveness of oral immunotherapy in patients with egg, cow's milk and peanut allergy has been proven both in terms of raising of the threshold and the development of tolerance, and in some patients, the development of sustainable unresponsiveness. Although oral immunotherapy is an effective treatment for food allergy, several limitations, including long duration and a significant rate of reported adverse events, reduces its success. Therefore, new therapeutic options, such as treatment with biologicals, either as combinations with food allergen immunotherapy or as monotherapy with the aim of improving the efficacy and safety of treatment are being investigated..

(1) Background: Several agencies in the United States play a primary role in ensuring food safety, yet foodborne illnesses result in about 3,000 deaths and cost more than $15.6 billion each year. The study objectives included analyzing local health departments’ (LHDs) level of engagement in food safety and other related services, and LHDs’ characteristics associated with those services. (2) Methods: We used data from 1,496 LHDs that participated in the 2019 National Profile of Local Health Departments Survey, administered to all 2,459 LHDs in the United States. Logistic regression analyses were performed to model multiple dichotomous variables. (3) Results: An estimated 78.9% of LHDs performed food safety inspections, 78.3% provided food safety education, 40.7% provided food processing inspections, and 48.4% engaged in policy and advocacy. The odds for LHDs to directly provide preventive nutrition services were 20 times higher if the LHD had one or more nutritionists on staff (Adjusted Odds Ratio or AOR=20.0; Confidence Interval, CI=12.4-32.2) compared to LHDs with no nutritionists. Other LHD characteristics significantly associated with the provision of nutrition services (p&lt;.05) included population size, state governance (rather than local), and LHD having at least one registered, licensed, practical, or vocational nurse. The odds of providing food processing services were lower for locally governed than state governed LHDs (AOR=0.5; CI=0.4-0.7). The odds of performing food safety inspections varied by LHD’s population size, whether a nutritionist was on staff or not, state governance (vs. local), and having completed a community health assessment (CHA) within 5 years. (4) Conclusions: LHDs play a critical role in ensuring safe food for Americans, yet variations exist in their performance, based on their specific characteristics. Adequate funding and a competent workforce are essential for LHDs to utilize evidence-based practices and engage in policymaking and advocacy concerning food safety.

Salmonella is the second most frequent bacterial pathogen involved in human gastrointestinal outbreaks in the European Union; it can enter the food production chain from animal or environmental sources or from asymptomatic food operators. European food legislation has established microbiological criteria to ensure consumer protection. Salmonella is listed under both process hygiene criteria and food safety criteria. Each Member State designates an agency to organize or perform controls and other official activities. This paper describes the official control plans performed by competent authorities in northern Italy in the three-year period 2019-2021. A total of 4413 food samples were delivered to the IZS Food Safety laboratories for Salmonella detection and 36 (0.8 %) tested positive. Salmonella was most frequently detected in poultry meat samples (25/36 positive samples) followed by other meat products and pork products. The official controls for the protection of consumer health apply the EU’s from farm-to-fork approach: the samples were collected during production (food production plants) and on the market and from collective catering (restaurants, cafeterias, canteens). This manuscript will provide information about the presence of Sal-monella in foodstuffs and can help competent authorities to set control plans based on a risk assessment.

Food allergy has been recognised by the World Health Organisation as a chronic disease that could lead to fatality. The symptoms can mediate from mild to severe consequences. Some cases have reported that food allergy sufferers are bullied and are discriminated at workplace, thus increasing their stress level, apart from facing difficulty in consuming certain food due to allergy. This has an adverse effect on the quality of life amongst food allergy sufferers. Medical bills are increased when food allergy sufferers become unknowingly exposed to food allergen. Hence, this study investigated food allergens among food allergy sufferers in order to make their lives better. A total of 250 respondents participated in an online survey. Surprisingly, apart from chicken, soybean and other food allergens that have been listed under the Big Eight Allergens, the respondents mentioned some fruits that could trigger allergic reactions, such as rambutans and watermelons. Food allergy sufferers can be allergic to seafood and seafood products as well, such as shrimp paste or locally known as belacan, which refers to fermented shrimp paste cured under the sun. It is a common food ingredient used among Malaysians. The study findings offer practical insights, such as avoidance of food allergens amidst food allergy sufferers and help the government to carefully manage for menu planning. The knowledge contribution of this study reveals several specific food and fruits, as aforementioned, which appear to be common and nutritious food, yet harmful to food allergy sufferers.

This study aimed to evaluate the hazards posed by foodborne bacteria of the Listeria genus by analyzing prevalence, diversity and virulence of Listeria spp. in food and food manufacturing plants. Seventy five isolates obtained from the routine analysis of 653 samples by three diagnostic laboratories in Northern Italy were genotipically differentiated by Repetitive Extragenic Palindrome (rep) PCR with the GTG5 primer, identified by sequencing the 16S rRNA gene and examined by specific PCR tests for the presence of L. monocytogenes virulence determinants occasionally found to occur in other species of the genus. The identity of the amplification products was confirmed by sequencing. Fifty seven isolates were identified as L. innocua, 12 as L. monocytogenes, 5 as L. welshimeri and one as L. seeligeri. All L. monocytogenes isolates belonged to the serotype 1/2a and were predicted to be virulent for the presence of the inlJ internalin gene. Potentially virulent strains of L. innocua, L. seeligeri and L. welshimeri, carrying the L. monocytogenes inlA gene and/or hly gene, were identified, and most isolates were found to possess the toxin-antitoxin system mazEF for efficient adaptation to heat shock. Results indicated the need to reinforce food contamination prevention measures against all Listeria species by efficiently defining their environmental distribution.

The food system, the most important driver of planetary transformation, is in a deep crisis. Therefore, seeking a sustainable and socially-fair transition pathway becomes an issue of utmost priority for our own survival. The consideration of food as a commodity, a social construct that played a central role in driving this crisis, remains the uncontested narrative to lead the different transition pathways what seems rather contradictory. By exploring the normative values in the transition landscape, this paper seeks to understand how relevant is the hegemonic narrative of “food as commodity” and its alternative of “food as commons” to determine transition trajectories and food policy beliefs. Applying the Multi-level Perspective framework and developing the ill-studied “agency in transition”, this research enquired food-related professionals that belong to an online community of practice (N=95) on valuation of food dimensions and agency in food transitions to check whether the valuation of food is relevant to explain personal stances in transition. Results suggest the socially-constructed view of food as commodity is positively correlated to the gradual reforming attitude, whereas food as commons is positively correlated to the counter-hegemonic transformers regardless the self-defined position in the transition landscape (regime or niches). At personal level, there are multiple loci of resistance with counter-hegemonic attitudes in varied institutions of the regime and the innovative niches, many of them holding this discourse of food as commons. Conversely, alter-hegemonic attitudes are not positively correlated to this alternative discourse and they may inadvertently or purportedly reinforce the ‘‘neoliberal narrative’’. Food as commons, a different narrative whose rationale is explained in the paper, seems to be a relevant framework that could enrich the multiple transformative constituencies that challenge the industrial food system and therefore facilitate the convergence of movements that reject the commodification of food.

This paper draws on data from a representative city-wide household food security survey of Nairobi conducted in 2017 to examine the importance of food remitting to households in contemporary Nairobi. The next section of the paper provides an overview of urbanization and the rapid growth of Nairobi which has led to growing socio-economic inequality, precarious livelihoods for the majority, and growing food insecurity, as context for the more detailed empirical analysis of food security and food remittances that follows. It is followed by a description of the survey methodology and sections analyzing the differences between migrant and non-migrant households in Nairobi. Attention then turns to the phenomenon of food remitting, showing that over 50% of surveyed households in the city had received food remittances in the previous year. The paper then uses multivariate logistic regression to identify the relationship between Nairobi household characteristics and the probability of receiving food remittances from rural areas. The findings suggest that there are exceptions to the standard migration and poverty-driven explanatory model of the drivers of rural-urban food remitting and that greater attention should be paid to other motivations for maintaining rural-urban connectivity in Africa.

Glycosidic linkage analysis was conducted on the unfractionated polysaccharides in the alcohol-insoluble residues (AIRs) prepared from six red seaweeds (Gracilariopsis sp., Prionitis sp., Mastocarpus papillatus, Callophyllis sp., Mazzaella splendens, and Palmaria palmata) using GC-MS/FID analysis of partially methylated alditol acetates (PMAAs). The cell walls of P. palmata primarily contained mixed-linkage xylans and small amounts of sulfated galactans and cellulose. In contrast, the unfractionated polysaccharides of the other five species were rich in galactans displaying diverse 3,6-anhydro-galactose and galactose linkages with varied sulfation patterns. Different levels of cellulose were also observed. This glycosidic linkage method offers advantages for cellulose analysis over traditional monosaccharide analysis that is known for underrepresenting glucose in crystalline cellulose. Relative linkage compositions calculated from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements showed that anhydro sugar linkages generated more response in the latter detection method. This improved linkage workflow presents a useful tool for studying polysaccharide structural variations across red seaweed species. Furthermore, for the first time, relative linkage compositions from GC-MS and GC-FID measurements, along with normalized FID and total ion current (TIC) chromatograms without peak assignments, were analyzed using principal component analysis (PCA) as a proof-of-concept demonstration of the technique's potential to differentiate various red seaweed species.

This paper investigates the contribution of business model innovations in improvement of food supply chains. Through a systematic literature review, the notable business model innovations in the food industry are identified, surveyed, and evaluated. Findings reveal that the innovations in value proposition, value creation processes, and value delivery processes of business models are the successful strategies proposed in food industry. It is further disclosed that rural female entrepreneurs, social movements, and also urban conditions are the most important driving forces inducing the farmers to reconsider their business models. In addition, the new technologies and environmental factors are the secondary contributors in business model innovation for the food processors. It is concluded that digitalization has disruptively changed the food distributors models. E-commerce models and internet of things are reported as the essential factors imposing the retailers to innovate their business models. Furthermore, the consumption demand and the product quality are two main factors affecting the business models of all the firms operating in the food supply chain regardless of their positions in the chain. The findings of the current study provide an insight into the food industry to design a sustainable business model to bridge the gap between food supply and food demand.

Increasing the availability of alternative protein from insects is important to solving food shortages. Not only are insects a rich source of protein, the use of insect ingredi-ents can reduce food waste. Insects are thus a potentially valuable ingredient for food industries and even food eaten on deep-space missions. The three-dimensional produc-tion of food on space missions has gained attention owing to its potential to reduce au-tonomous food production and produce sustainable food for long-duration space mis-sions. This study investigated the printability and rheological properties of a high-protein food system derived from mealworms and guar gum used as a stabilizer to im-prove printability. Stability and rheological properties were analyzed for various print-ing parameters. The results indicate that as the guar gum concentration was increased from 0 to 1.75%, the yield stress of the mealworm paste increased from 39 to 1096 Pa. Increasing the guar gum concentration thus resulted in a mealworm paste that was more viscous, exhibited shear thinning behavior, could support itself and was thus more stable. In summary, introducing guar gum resulted in a mealworm paste with rheological properties more suitable for printing in terms of printability and stability.

The expansion of food production is getting more important due to a rising world population, which is relying on food security on a regional and local scale. Intensive food production systems create a negative impact on the regional ecosystem because of agrochemical pollution and nutrient rich water discharges into nearby rivers. Furthermore, these systems are highly depending on regional water resources causing water scarcity and soil erosion due to the overexploitation of natural resources in general. The objective of this article is to review the water usage in the two most water intensive food production systems, agriculture and aquaculture showing lacking areas, like system management and climate change, which must be considered in the implementation of sustainable water footprint. In addition, the review includes an analysis if the combination of both production system into aquaponic food production and the possibilities of water saving. There are a variety of water footprint analyses for crop and aquatic animal production, but there is also a lack of information about the system management including irrigation systems, system cleaning processes, water substitution, pond removal, evaporation due to climate change and especially in aquaculture, the water footprint of industrial elaborated fish feed.

Street vended foods are ready-to-eat food and beverages prepared and/ or sold in the streets. This trade provides for 85-99% of total employment in most African countries and 50% or more is constituted by women. The preparation of street vended foods is normally under unsatisfactory conditions and these may lead to the contamination of food. This descriptive survey was conducted in Maseru around the taxi ranks amongst 141 participants (48 food handlers and 93 consumers) using a semi structured questionnaire, open ended questionnaire and observation checklist. Majority of the food handlers were females (n=35, 60%) and males constituted only (n=23, 40%). On average the vendor population that participated in this study was considered to have poor knowledge of food safety since they scored 49%±11. With regard to the consumers, 63% were males and 37% were females, and only 6% reported that they never buy street vended foods mainly due to the food safety issues and hygiene. Based on the results of this study, it is thus recommended that educational interventions be implemented. The observation study showed that they also operated under unhygienic conditions and 95% of food handlers had the incorrect knowledge that washing utensils with detergent leaves them free of contamination. Regarding the consumer perceptions, they highlighted that the trade has the potential to grow and be profitable on condition that hygiene is emphasized and infrastructure improved so as to provide safe quality food.

This review aims to describe an edible packaging system in food production. The growing global population, changes in climate and dietary patterns, as well as increasing need for environmental protection have created an increasing demand for waste-free food production. The need for durable and sustainable packaging materials has become significant to avoid food waste and environmental pollution. Edible packaging has emerged as a promising solution also to extend the shelf life of food products and reduce dependence on petroleum-based resources. In this review, the importance, composition, and functions of edible packaging materials, as well as their production methods, were described. The market value of edible packaging materials is expanding. It needs further research and development of edible packaging materials to increase sustainable, eco-friendly packaging practices significant for environmental protection and food safety.

Home confinement during the COVID-19 pandemic has been accompanied by dramatic changes in household food dynamics that can significantly influence health. This systematic literature review presents parental perspectives of the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on food preparation and meal routines, as well as other food-related behaviors, capturing both favorable and unfavorable changes in the family food environment (FFE). Themes and trends are identified and associations with other lifestyle factors are assessed. In overall, families enjoyed more time together around food, including planning meals, cooking, and eating together. Eating more diverse foods and balanced meals was combined with overeating and increased snacking, as parents became more permissive towards food; however, food insecurity increased among families with the lowest income. Adoption of meal planning skills and online shopping behavior emerged alongside behaviors aimed at self-sufficiency, such as bulk purchasing and stockpiling. These results are an important first step in recognizing how this pandemic may be affecting the FFE, including low-income families. Future obesity prevention and treatment initiatives, but also ongoing efforts to address food management, parental feeding practices, and food insecurity, can account for these changes moving forward.

Technological advances such as blockchain, artificial intelligence, big data, social media, geographic information systems represent a building block of the digital transformation that supports the resilience of the food supply chain (FSC) and increases its efficiency. This paper reviews the literature surrounding digitalization in FSCs. A bibliometric and key-route main path analysis was carried out to objectively and analytically uncover the knowledge development in digitalization within the context of sustainable FSCs. The research began with the selection of 2140 articles published nearly over five decades. Then, the articles were examined according to several bibliometric metrics such as year of publication, countries, institutions, sources, authors, and keywords frequency. A keyword co-occurrence network was generated to cluster the relevant literature. Findings of the review and bibliometric analysis indicate that research at the intersection of technology and the FSC has gained substantial interest from scholars. On the basis of keyword co-occurrence network, the literature is focused on the role of information communication technology for agriculture and food security, food waste and circular economy, and the merge of the Internet of Things and blockchain in the FSC. The analysis of the key-route main path uncovers three critical periods marking the development of technology-enabled FSCs. The study offers scholars a better understanding of digitalization within the agri-food industry and the current knowledge gaps for future research. Practitioners may find the review useful to remain ahead of the latest discussions of technology-enabled FSCs. To the authors’ best knowledge, the current study is one of the few endeavors to explore technology-enabled FSCs using a comprehensive sample of journals articles published during the past five decades.

Sri Lanka's vulnerability to climate change-induced natural disasters, particularly floods, under-scores the urgent need for an integrated approach to disaster risk management (DRM) that ad-dresses the interconnected challenges within the water-food-land-energy nexus. The Deduru Oya basin, located in the north-western region, exemplifies this vulnerability, with its predominantly intermediate climatic zone susceptible to flooding. While the focus has traditionally been on flood risk reduction, it is imperative to recognize the broader implications of floods on water, food, land, and energy systems. This study aims to strengthen data acquisition and management efforts to better understand rainfall trends and their impact on the water-food-land-energy nexus in the Deduru Oya basin. By compiling 60 years of rainfall data and conducting time series analysis, we observed a decreasing trend in monthly rainfall, particularly during the South-West Monsoon, Second Inter Monsoon, and North-East Monsoon seasons. These findings have significant implica-tions for water availability, agricultural productivity, land use patterns, and energy generation in the basin. Moreover, the malfunction of stakeholders' responsibilities for local-level flood risk management exacerbates the challenges faced by communities living in flood-prone areas. By in-tegrating insights from this study into flood risk management strategies, stakeholders can develop holistic approaches that not only mitigate flood risk but also enhance resilience across the water-food-land-energy nexus. This interdisciplinary approach will inform policymakers, flood manag-ers, practitioners, and the community in formulating effective strategies to address the multifacet-ed challenges posed by floods in the Deduru Oya basin and beyond.

Fermented foods and ingredients, including fermentates derived from lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in dairy products, can modulate the immune system. Here we describe the use of reconstituted skimmed milk powder to generate novel fermentates from Lactobacillus helveticus strains SC232, SC234, SC212, and SC210, and from Lacticaseibacillus casei strains SC209 and SC229, and demonstrate using in vitro assays that these fermentates can differentially modulate cytokine secretion by bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) when activated with either the viral ligand, loxoribine, or an inflammatory stimulus, lipopolysaccharide. Specifically, we demonstrate that SC232 and SC234 increase cytokines IL-6, TNF-α, IL-12p40, IL-23, IL-27 and IL-10, and decreased IL-1β in primary bone marrow derived dendritic cell (BMDCs) stimulated with a viral ligand. In contrast exposure of these cells to SC212 and SC210 resulted in increased IL-10, IL-1β, IL-23, and decreased IL-12p40 following activation of the cells with the inflammatory stimulus LPS. Interestingly SC209 and SC229 had little or no effect on cytokine secretion by BMDCs. Overall, our data demonstrates that these novel fermentates have specific effects and can differentially enhance key immune mechanisms that are critical to viral immune responses, or can suppress responses involved in chronic inflammatory conditions, such as Ulcerative Colitis (UC), and Crohn’s disease (CD).

Ensuring safe, high-quality food is an ongoing priority, yet consumers face heightened risk from foodborne pathogens due to extended supply chains and climate change in food industry. Nanomaterial-based assays are popular and have recently been developed to ensure food safety and high quality. This review discusses strategies for using nanomaterials in colorimetric biosensors. Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) biosensors are commonly utilized for colorimetric biosensing. Several emerging technologies aimed at simple and rapid immunoassays for onsite applications have been introduced in the food industry. In the foreseeable future, field-friendly colorimetric biosensors could be adopted in food monitoring systems. The onsite and real-time detection of possible contaminants and biological substances in food and water is essential to ensure human health safety.