scholarly journals Food reformulation and nutritional quality of food consumption: an analysis based on households panel data in France

2017 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 228-235 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marine Spiteri ◽  
Louis-Georges Soler
Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 2494
Author(s):  
Leonidas Rempelos ◽  
Marcin Baranski ◽  
Juan Wang ◽  
Timothy N. Adams ◽  
Kolawole Adebusuyi ◽  
...  

The environmental and biodiversity benefits of organic farming are widely recognized, but there is still controversy about the effects of organic production methods on the nutritional composition of food and human health. In the first part of this article therefore, we critically review the evidence that organic farming methods improve the nutritional quality of food crops. Moreover, we summarize our current understanding of how quality gains are linked to the implementation of the “innovations” introduced into conventional crop production during the intensification or “green revolution” of agriculture over the last 100 years. In the second part of the article, we critically review the evidence for the range of health benefits related to organic food consumption. Specifically, we describe and discuss the results from: (i) dietary intervention studies which have found that organic food consumption substantially reduces pesticide exposure in humans and affects feed intake, growth, hormone balances and immune system responsiveness in animal models; (ii) human cohort/epidemiological studies which have reported significant positive associations between organic food consumption and the lower incidence of a range of diseases including obesity, metabolic syndrome, cancer, hypospadias, pre-eclampsia, eczema and middle ear infections in infants; (iii) interactions and trade-offs between diet (e.g., whole-grain, fruit and vegetables and reduced red-meat consumption) and food types (organic versus conventional) concerning public health and future food security. The article also identifies knowledge gaps and highlights the need for (i) long-term, factorial field experiments to understand the relative effects of agronomic and pedoclimatic drivers on crop quality and safety, and (ii) clinical trials and additional human cohort studies to confirm the positive health outcomes linked to organic food consumption. The main conclusions from our review are that there is growing evidence that (i) agricultural intensification has resulted in a reduction in the nutritional quality of food and the sustainability of food production, and (ii) organic farming practices not only improve food quality and human health, but also food security. This is particularly true where current nutritional guidelines (increasing whole-grain, fruit and vegetable products, while reducing red-meat consumption) are implemented.


1985 ◽  
Vol 35 (4) ◽  
pp. 359-374 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. F. Fashandi ◽  
R. L. Reid ◽  
W. L. Stout ◽  
J. L. Hern ◽  
O. L. Bennett

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (OCE2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Donato Angelino ◽  
Alice Rosi ◽  
Margherita Dall'Asta ◽  
Nicoletta Pellegrini ◽  
Daniela Martini

AbstractIn Europe, the label information on food is regulated by the Reg. (EU) n.1169/2011 but many other regulated declarations (e.g. nutrition or heath claims (NHC), presence of gluten) can be provided on the pack. All this information could influence the perception of food quality and thus the consumers’ intention-to-buy. However, whether the nutritional quality of food products is comparable among products with different characteristics (e.g. presence/absence of NHC, gluten free (GF) declaration, brand) has been barely studied.Based on these premises, the Food Labelling of Italian Products (FLIP) Study aims to systematically investigate the overall nutritional quality of the main food categories sold on the Italian market. The present work focused on sweet cereal-based products (biscuits, breakfast cereals, and sweet snacks).Products were selected from the website of thirteen retailers present on the Italian market and data were collected from the complete images of all the sides of the pack. Then, biscuits, breakfast cereals, and sweet snacks were further sub-grouped for specific comparisons considering i) descriptive name reported, ii) presence/absence of GF declaration, iii) presence/absence of NHC declaration, iv) brand/own label. Data of energy, nutrient and salt contents per 100 grams of product for each product category were considered and comparisons among the sub-groups were performed (Mann Whitney test or Kruskal Wallis one-way ANOVA based on two or multiple independent samples, respectively) (ver. 25.0, SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). In addition, a Principal Component Analysis was performed for all products and for each product sub-category by considering energy and nutrient contents per 100 grams of product to better describe the inter-product nutritional variability.A total of 814 biscuits, 371 breakfast cereals and 476 sweet snacks were included. Limited differences were found between branded and own label products and between GF and gluten-containing products. Conversely, interesting differences were observed between products with and without NHC. For instance, biscuits with nutrition claims resulted with an overall lower content of total energy, total fats and sugars compared to product without these claims, in agreement with previous investigations. Finally, a high inter-product variability was observed among the different sub-categories for the three product categories.Future researches performed within the FLIP study will allow to have a clearer picture about the nutritional quality of food products sold in Italy and to understand if specific food characteristics might be considered as a “marker” of the overall quality of food products


2008 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 395-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zo J Rambeloson ◽  
Nicole Darmon ◽  
Elaine L Ferguson

AbstractObjectivesTo assess the nutritional quality of food aid delivered by food banks in France and to identify practical modifications to improve it.DesignNational-level data were collected for all food aid distributed by French food banks in 2004, and its nutrient content per 2000 kcal was estimated and compared with French recommendations for adults. Starting with the actual donation and allowing new foods into the food aid donation, linear programming was used to identify the minimum changes required in the actual donation to achieve the French recommendations.ResultsFrench food-bank-delivered food aid does not achieve the French recommendations for dietary fibre, ascorbic acid, vitamin D, folate, magnesium, docosahexaenoic acid, α-linolenic acid and the percentage of energy from saturated fatty acids. Linear programming analysis showed that these recommendations are achievable if more fruits, vegetables, legumes and fish were collected and less cheese, refined cereals and foods rich in fat, sugar and/or salt. In addition, new foods not previously collected are needed, particularly nuts, wholemeal bread and rapeseed oil. These changes increased the total edible weight (42%) and economic value (55%) of the food aid donation, with one-third of its edible weight coming from fruits and vegetables, one-third from staples, one-quarter from dairy products and approximately a tenth from meat/fish/eggs.ConclusionsImportant changes in the types and amounts of food collected will improve the nutritional quality of food-bank-delivered food aid in France. Such changes are recommended to improve the diets of deprived French populations.


2013 ◽  
Vol 54 (3) ◽  
pp. 340-351 ◽  
Author(s):  
Imran Pasha ◽  
Farhan Saeed ◽  
M. Tauseef Sultan ◽  
Moazzam Rafiq Khan ◽  
Madiha Rohi

2020 ◽  
Vol 79 (OCE2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mélanie Deschasaux ◽  
Inge Huybrechts ◽  
Neil Murphy ◽  
Chantal Julia ◽  
Serge Hercberg ◽  
...  

AbstractIn 2017, 11 million deaths related to non-communicable diseases (NCDs) were attributable to dietary risk factors (GBD, 2019). Helping consumers make healthier food choices hence appears as one key strategy to prevent NCDs-related mortality. To this end, political authorities are considering implementing a simple label to reflect the nutritional quality of food products. The five-colour Nutri-Score label, derived from the Nutrient Profiling System of the British Food Standards Agency (FSAm-NPS), has been chosen by several countries in Europe (France, Belgium, Spain). Yet, its implementation is still voluntary per EU labelling regulation. Scientific evidence is therefore needed regarding the relevance of the FSAm-NPS at the European level. Following on our results showing an increased risk of cancer related to the consumption of foods with a high FSAm-NPS score in the EPIC cohort, our objective is now to focus on NCDs-related mortality. Our prospective analyses included 501,594 adults from the EPIC cohort (1992–2015, median follow-up: 17.2 years). Mortality events occurring < 2 years after recruitment were excluded, leaving 50,743 death events (main causes: cancer, n = 21,971; cerebro/cardiovascular diseases, n = 12,407; respiratory diseases, n = 2,796). Usual food intakes were assessed with standardized country-specific diet assessment methods. The FSAm-NPS was calculated for each food/beverage using their 100-g content in energy, sugar, saturated fatty acid, sodium, fibres, proteins, and fruits/vegetables/legumes/nuts. The individual FSAm-NPS Dietary Index (DI) is obtained as an energy-weighted mean of the FSAm-NPS scores of all food items usually consumed by a participant. Cox proportional hazards models adjusted for confounding factors, including personal history of cancer, cardiovascular diseases and diabetes were computed. Fine and Gray models were also tested to take into account competing events for cause-specific mortality analyses. A higher FSAm-NPS DI score, reflecting a lower nutritional quality of the diet, was associated with a higher mortality risk overall (HRQ5vs.Q1 = 1.06 [95%CI: 1.02–1.09], P-trend < 0.001) and by cancer (HRQ5vs.Q1 = 1.06 [1.01–1.11], P-trend = 0.003) and respiratory diseases (HRQ5vs.Q1 = 1.33 [1.16–1.52], P-trend < 0.001), with similar results in competing events analyses. Associations with cerebro-/cardiovascular diseases mortality were weaker (HRQ5vs.Q1 = 1.05 [0.98,1.11], P-trend = 0.04) and no longer statistically significant in competing events analyses. In this large multinational European cohort, the consumption of food products with a higher FSAm-NPS score (lower nutritional quality of the foods consumed) was associated with a higher mortality risk, supporting the relevance of the FSAm-NPS to grade the nutritional quality of food products for public health applications (e.g, Nutri-Score) aiming to guide the consumers towards healthier food choices.


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