Use of Branded Food Composition Databases for the Exploitation of Food Fortification Practices: A Case Study on Vitamin D in the Slovenian Food Supply

Vitamin D deficiency is a worldwide public health concern, which can be addressed with voluntary or mandatory food fortification. The aim of this study was to determine if branded food composition databases can be used to investigate voluntary fortification practices. A case study was conducted using two nationally representative cross-sectional datasets of branded foods in Slovenia, collected in 2017 and 2020, and yearly sales data. Using food labeling data we investigated prevalence of fortification and average vitamin D content, while nutrient profiling was used to investigate overall nutritional quality of the foods. In both datasets, the highest prevalence of vitamin D fortification was observed in meal replacements (78% in 2017; 100% in 2020) and in margarine, corresponding to high market share. Other food categories commonly fortified with vitamin D are breakfast cereals (5% in 2017; 6% in 2020), yogurts and their imitates (5% in 2017; 4% in 2020), and baby foods (18% in both years). The highest declared average content of vitamin D was observed in margarine and foods for specific dietary use (7–8 μg/100g), followed by breakfast cereals (4 μg/100g), while the average content in other foods was below 2 μg/100g. Only minor differences were observed between 2017 and 2020. Major food-category differences were also observed in comparison of the overall nutritional quality of the fortified foods; higher overall nutritional quality was only observed in fortified margarine. Our study showed that branded food composition databases are extremely useful resources for the investigation and monitoring of fortification practices, particularly if sales data can also be used. In the absence of mandatory or recommended fortification in Slovenia, very few manufacturers decide to add vitamin D, and even when this is the case, such products are commonly niche foods with lower market shares. We observed exceptions in imported foods, which can be subject to fortification policies introduced in other countries.

Diet and Risk of Incident Lung Cancer: A Large Prospective Cohort Study in UK Biobank

ABSTRACT Background Epidemiological evidence remains conflicting regarding diet and risk of lung cancer. Objectives We sought to systematically investigate whether dietary factors are associated with the risk of incident lung cancer in the UK Biobank. Methods A total of 416,588 participants (54% women) from the UK Biobank were included in the present study. Based on baseline data from FFQs, 3 main dietary patterns were identified by using principal component analysis. Cox proportional hazards models were used to investigate the association of individual food groups and dietary patterns with lung cancer risk. Results During a median follow-up of 7.13 y, 1782 incident lung cancer cases were documented. The association analysis showed high intake of red meat and processed meat was associated with an increased risk of lung cancer (HRper 50 g/d: 1.36; 95% CI: 1.13, 1.65 for red meat; HRper 25 g/d: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.53 for processed meat). However, the consumption of fruits (HRper 100 g/d: 0.90; 95% CI: 0.84, 0.95), vegetables (HRper 100 g/d: 0.89; 95% CI: 0.81, 0.99), breakfast cereals (HRper 50 g/d: 0.81; 95% CI: 0.74, 0.89), and dietary fiber (HRper 5 g/d: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.69, 0.84) was inversely associated with the risk of lung cancer. For the dietary pattern analysis [quartile (Q) comparison], high adherence to the Prudent pattern (HRQ4 compared with Q1: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.73, 0.96) was associated with a lower risk of lung cancer, whereas the Western pattern (HRQ4 compared with Q1: 1.27; 95% CI: 1.11, 1.46) was associated with a higher risk of lung cancer. Conclusions Our study indicated that a diet characterized by high intake of fruits, vegetables, breakfast cereals, and dietary fiber, as well as low intake of red meat and processed meat, was associated with a lower risk of lung cancer.

Breakfast Cereals Carrying Fibre-Related Claims: Do They Have a Better Nutritional Composition Than Those without Such Claims? Results from the Food Labelling of Italian Products (FLIP) Study

Nutrition claims (NCs) on food packaging are, from one side, an informative tool about the nutritional characteristics of the product. From another side, they could bias the consumer in perceiving such products as healthier than those without claims. In order to investigate whether products with NCs have a better nutritional composition that those without claims, the present study aimed to compare the nutrition facts of 376 breakfast cereals, with and without fibre-related NCs, available in 13 Italian retailer online stores. Among these products, 73 items claimed to be a “source of fibre” and 109 “high in fibre”. In addition to a higher fibre content, products “high in fibre” showed higher protein and fat contents but lower carbohydrate, sugar and salt contents compared to both “source of fibre” and without fibre-related NC items. Overall, a high variability in nutritional values was also observed within products with the same type of fibre-related NC. In conclusion, the results suggested that fibre-related NCs should not be considered as a marker of a better nutritional composition of breakfast cereals, and thus consumers should be educated to carefully read the entire nutritional information reported in the food labelling.

Nutritional value of child-targeted food products: Results from the Food Quality Observatory

Objective: To characterize the nutritional quality of food products targeted to children, we aimed 1) to determine if the nutritional composition of child-targeted food products is different from those for the general population, and 2) to verify differences in the nutrient content of child-targeted food products between three selected food categories. Design: The present study is part of the work conducted by the Food Quality Observatory, created in 2016 in the province of Quebec (Canada). Ready-to-eat (RTE) breakfast cereals (n=331), granola bars (n=310), and yoghurts and dairy desserts (n=380) were the food categories analyzed. Setting: Nutritional values and all packaging information were obtained by purchasing every product available in supermarkets, grocery stores and specialty grocery stores. Free sugars were manually differentiated from total sugars for each product. Products were classified according to two targeted consumer groups: children or general population. Results: The nutrient profile of RTE breakfast cereals, granola bars, and yoghurts and dairy desserts targeted to children differed from that of products intended at the general population. Child-targeted RTE breakfast cereals had the least favorable nutritional composition, with significantly higher content of carbohydrates, total sugars, free sugars and sodium compared to breakfast cereals for the general population as well as child-targeted granola bars and yoghurts and dairy desserts. All child-targeted products analyzed contained free sugars. Conclusions: The present study supports the relevance to further regulate marketing to children on food product packages to ensure that such marketing is not present on food products with poor nutritional quality.

Effects of by-products of peach palm and grape on nutritional, physico-chemical and sensory properties of extruded breakfast cereals

Extruded breakfast cereals they have low nutritional and high energetic values. The aim of this study was to develop extruded breakfast cereals by replacing part of corn meal by different proportions of by-products of grape (5-10%) and peach palm (7.5-15%). Samples were sweetened with xylitol while moisture was controlled with grape juice. Six formulations, which were produced in a 22 experimental design, were analyzed regarding their composition, besides their technological, mechanical, antioxidant and sensory properties. Addition of different amounts of flours, produced with the wastes of grape (GF) and peach palm (PF), increased the dietary fibers and antioxidant contents of cereals formulations. However, at the highest levels addition, there was a decrease in expansion and an increase in hardness and water solubility properties. Thus, the incorporation of grape and peach palm by-products at smaller proportions showed higher viability, since they exhibited satisfactory sensory acceptance, technological properties and bowl life.

In vitro Digestibility, Nutritional and Sensory Quality of Extruded Breakfast Cereal from Maize Grits, Partially Defatted Peanut and Beetroot Flour

In-vitro digestibility, nutritional and sensory quality of extruded breakfast cereals from maize grits, partially defatted peanut and beetroot flour blends was investigated. Composite flour blends was prepared from maize, peanut and beetroot flour in the following proportions: A= (100% maize flour as control), B = (90:0:10), C = (90:10:0), D = (80:10:10), E= (70:20:10), F = (60:30:10), and G = (50:40:10). The breakfast cereals were analyzed for proximate, vitamins, in-vitro protein digestibility and sensory properties. There was significant (P<0.05) difference in the proximate composition, the values ranged from; 4.46 to 6.82%, 3.22 - 7.32%, 0.98 to 1.23%, 3.32 – 4.55%, 3.7 – 4.34% and 75.7 – 83.96% for moisture, protein, fat, fibre, ash, and carbohydrate respectively while energy ranged from 343.31 to 357.54Kcal. Vitamins A, B1, B2, B6 and C values ranged from 1.60–1671.84 IU, 0.95 – 1.43, 0.95 – 1.50, 1.09 – 1.75 and 8.77 – 16.22 respectively. There was increase in in-vitro protein digestibility of the samples with addition of defatted peanut and beetroot. Sensory evaluation results showed that sample C had the highest acceptability on 9-point hedonic scale.

AMINO ACID PROFILE AND IN VITRO PROTEIN DIGESTIBILITY-CORRECTED AMINO ACID SCORE (PDCAAS) OF READY-TO-EAT BREAKFAST CEREALS: AN ASSESSMENT OF PROTEIN QUALITY

The aim of this study was to determine the amino acid content and in vitro protein digestibility of breakfast cereals and evaluate their protein quality using in vitro protein digestibility-corrected amino acid score (PDCAAS) methods. Statistically big differences were found in the proportions of essential amino acids between breakfast cereals. Higher protein digestibility was found in samples containing rice and corn than those containing oats. The first limiting amino acid score (AAS) in 6 out of 12 samples was methionine + cysteine, in 4 out of 12 samples was lysine, and in 2 out of 12 samples was tryptophan. According to the first limiting AAS, the in vitro PDCAAS ranged from 0.19±0.01 to 0.86±0.02 in breakfast cereals. When we evaluated the first limiting AAS, lysine, methionine+cysteine and tryptophan predominantly determined PDCAAS. As a result, the PDCAAS, which is an indicator of protein quality, was generally low in breakfast cereal products.

Gluten-Free Labeling Is Misused Frequently in Foods Marketed in Northwestern Mexico

Background: Patients with celiac disease (CD) require a gluten-free (GF) diet, including industrialized products containing ≤ 20 mg gluten/kg. The market status of GF food products is almost unknown in Mexico. Therefore, we studied the GF-labeled products on the northwestern Mexican market and analyzed their gluten content.Methods: We searched for GF type of foods in three different supermarkets of each chain in Mexicali Baja California and Hermosillo Sonora and corroborated the price, origin, and GF certification of each item using internet sites. We quantified the gluten in the foods using the sandwich R5-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and detected their immune-reactivity for IgA from patients with CD.Results: The study included &gt;263 different GF-labeled foodstuffs, and 55% of them were made in Mexico. The Mexican items were principally flours, sausages, bread and bakery, milk-type products, and tortillas, while pasta, snacks, and breakfast cereals were mainly imported. The cost ratio of GF products to the conventional mean was 3.5, ranging principally from 1 to 13. The most common GF-labeled foods were flours and pasta (34), cookies and snacks (32), breakfast cereals, sausages, and milk-type products (18–20). Although 36% of the products were certified, 17.4% of the analyzed samples contained &gt;20 mg gluten/kg, mainly the non-certified ones and those made in Mexico. IgA from patients with CD reacted in vitro against gluten proteins from the contaminated GF-labeled products.Conclusion: The accessibility of GF products in the northwestern Mexican market is wide; however, such products are expensive, and some could be risky for patients with CD because they contain gluten, which is recognized by the immune systems of these patients.