| 1. |
- Huang, Liping, et al.
(författare)
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Presence of trans-Fatty Acids Containing Ingredients in Pre-Packaged Foods and the Availability of Reported trans-Fat Levels in Kenya and Nigeria
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nutrients. - : MDPI. - 2072-6643. ; 15:3
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In most African countries, the prevalence of industrially produced trans-fatty acids (iTFA) in the food supply is unknown. We estimated the number and proportion of products containing specific (any hydrogenated edible oils) and non-specific (vegetable fat, margarine, and vegetable cream) ingredients potentially indicative of iTFAs among pre-packaged foods collected in Kenya and Nigeria. We also summarized the number and proportion of products that reported trans-fatty acids levels and the range of reported trans-fatty acids levels. In total, 99 out of 5668 (1.7%) products in Kenya and 310 out of 6316 (4.9%) products in Nigeria contained specific ingredients indicative of iTFAs. Bread and bakery products and confectioneries in both countries had the most foods that contained iTFAs-indicative ingredients. A total of 656 products (12%) in Kenya and 624 products (10%) in Nigeria contained non-specific ingredients that may indicate the presence of iTFAs. The reporting of levels of trans-fatty acids was low in both Kenya and Nigeria (11% versus 26%, respectively, p < 0.001). With the increasing burden of ischemic heart disease in Kenya and Nigeria, the rapid adoption of WHO best-practice policies and the mandatory declaration of trans-fatty acids are important for eliminating iTFAs.
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| 2. |
- Karlsson, Karin, et al.
(författare)
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Sodium content in processed food items in Sweden compared to other countries : a cross-sectional multinational study
- 2023
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Ingår i: Frontiers in Public Health. - : Frontiers Media S.A.. - 2296-2565. ; 11
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- BackgroundDietary sodium has a dose-response relationship with cardiovascular disease, and sodium intake in Sweden exceeds national and international recommendations. Two thirds of dietary sodium intake comes from processed foods, and adults in Sweden eat more processed foods than any other European country. We hypothesized that sodium content in processed foods is higher in Sweden than in other countries. The aim of this study was to investigate sodium content in processed food items in Sweden, and how it differs from Australia, France, Hong Kong, South Africa, the United Kingdom and the United States. MethodsData were collected from retailers by trained research staff using standardized methods. Data were categorized into 10 food categories and compared using Kruskal-Wallis test of ranks. Sodium content in the food items was compared in mg sodium per 100 g of product, based on the nutritional content labels on the packages. ResultsCompared to other countries, Sweden had among the highest sodium content in the "dairy" and "convenience foods" categories, but among the lowest in "cereal and grain products," "seafood and seafood products" and "snack foods" categories. Australia had the overall lowest sodium content, and the US the overall highest. The highest sodium content in most analyzed countries was found in the "meat and meat products" category. The highest median sodium content in any category was found among "sauces, dips, spreads and dressings" in Hong Kong. ConclusionThe sodium content differed substantially between countries in all food categories, although contrary to our hypothesis, processed foods overall had lower sodium content in Sweden than in most other included countries. Sodium content in processed food was nonetheless high also in Sweden, and especially so in increasingly consumed food categories, such as "convenience foods".
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| 3. |
- Ndanuko, Rhoda, et al.
(författare)
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Sodium Content and Labelling Completeness of Packaged Foods and Beverages in Kenya
- 2021
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Ingår i: Nutrients. - : MDPI. - 2072-6643. ; 13:4
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increased consumption of unhealthy processed foods, particularly those high in sodium, is a major risk factor for cardiovascular diseases. Nutrition information on packaged foods can help guide consumers toward products with less sodium, however the availability of nutrition information on foods sold in Kenya is currently unknown. The aims of this study were to estimate the proportion of packaged foods and beverages displaying nutrition information for sodium and determine the amount of sodium in packaged foods available for sale in Kenya. Data was collected in 2019 from five retail supermarkets in Nairobi. The availability of sodium information provided on packaged products and the sodium content were recorded. As secondary analyses, we compared sodium content labelling of products in Kenya by manufacturing location and the sodium content of products available in Kenya and South Africa. A total of 6003 packaged products in 56 food categories were identified. Overall, 39% of products displayed sodium content, though the availability of labelling varied widely between food categories, with coverage in main categories ranging from 0% (yoghurts and yoghurt drinks) to 86% (breakfast cereals). Food categories with the highest median sodium content were herbs and spices (9120 mg/100 g), sauces (1200 mg/100 g) and meat alternatives (766 mg/100 g) although wide variabilities were often observed within categories. Imported products were more likely to provide information on sodium than locally produced products (81% compared to 26%) and reported higher median sodium levels (172 mg/100 g compared to 96 mg/100 g). Kenyan products reported a higher median sodium content than South African products in six categories while South African products had higher median sodium in 20 categories, with considerable variation in median sodium content between countries in some categories. These findings highlight considerable potential to improve the availability of sodium information on packaged products in Kenya and to introduce reformulation policies to reduce the amount of sodium in the Kenyan food supply.
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Wu, Mousong, et al.
(författare)
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Global parameters sensitivity analysis of modeling water, energy and carbon exchange of an arid agricultural ecosystem
- 2019
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Ingår i: Agricultural and Forest Meteorology. - : Elsevier B.V.. - 0168-1923 .- 1873-2240. ; 271, s. 295-306
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Agricultural ecosystems are important for regulating terrestrial hydrological and carbon cycles. Hydrological and carbon processes in agricultural ecosystem models are complex due to interactions between parameters. It is therefore crucial to identify parameter sensitivity before a process-based model is applied for simulations and predictions of water, energy and carbon fluxes in agricultural ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the sensitivity and equifinality of the CoupModel parameters in modeling an arid agricultural ecosystem in northwestern China. In total, 27 model parameters were analyzed using a global parameters sensitivity analysis approach and a combination of multiple in situ and remotely sensed data sets. Among the five major model processes, we found that the energy balance process account for much of the importance in the model, followed by soil hydrology, plant growth, soil heat, and soil carbon processes. Meanwhile, parameters from the plant growth process exhibited higher equifinalities than other processes. We found that net ecosystem exchange (NEE) is controlled by soil heat, soil hydrology and energy balance processes, which is mainly due to a high equifinality (0.91) between the parameters g max (maximal stomatal conductance) and V cmax (maximal carboxylation rate). The equifinalities between different parameters result in a trade-off in model performance metrics (i.e. determination coefficient R 2 and mean error ME) in the water, energy and carbon balance simulations. We revealed that daytime and yearly accumulated eddy fluxes (sensible heat H s , latent heat LE and NEE) can constrain the model parameters better. Remotely sensed data were also promising as additional constraints on soil water contents and energy fluxes. This study introduced a systematic global parameter sensitivity analysis approach together with the equifinality identification in an ecosystem model. The approach proposed here is applicable to other studies and the equifinalities detected in this study can be important implications for modelling arid agricultural ecosystems. Additional exploration on remotely sensed data in constraining the model from different aspects are highly recommended in modeling agricultural ecosystems.
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| 6. |
- Wu, Richard Y., et al.
(författare)
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Variations in the Composition of Human Milk Oligosaccharides Correlates with Effects on Both the Intestinal Epithelial Barrier and Host Inflammation : A Pilot Study
- 2022
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Ingår i: Nutrients. - : MDPI. - 2072-6643. ; 14:5
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: Human milk oligosaccharides are complex, non-digestible carbohydrates that directly interact with intestinal epithelial cells to alter barrier function and host inflammation. Oligosaccharide composition varies widely between individual mothers, but it is unclear if this inter-individual variation has any impact on intestinal epithelial barrier function and gut inflammation. Methods: Human milk oligosaccharides were extracted from the mature human milk of four individual donors. Using an in vitro model of intestinal injury, the effects of the oligosaccharides on the intestinal epithelial barrier and select innate and adaptive immune functions were assessed. Results: Individual oligosaccharide compositions shared comparable effects on increasing transepithelial electrical resistance and reducing the macromolecular permeability of polarized (Caco-2Bbe1) monolayers but exerted distinct effects on the localization of the intercellular tight junction protein zona occludins-1 in response to injury induced by a human enteric bacterial pathogen Escherichia coli, serotype O157:H7. Immunoblots showed the differential effects of oligosaccharide compositions in reducing host chemokine interleukin 8 expression and inhibiting of p38 MAP kinase activation. Conclusions: These results provide evidence of both shared and distinct effects on the host intestinal epithelial function that are attributable to inter-individual differences in the composition of human milk oligosaccharides.
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