Applications of Nanoemulsions in Food Manufacturing

Nanoemulsions are increasingly used in the food industry for the encapsulation of lipophilic compounds such as nutraceuticals, flavors, vitamins, antioxidants, and colors. The advantages of nanoemulsion-based encapsulation include increased bioavailability, higher solubility, control release, protection from chemical degradation, and incorporation of different ingredients into food products. Food industries are interested in the preparation of natural polymer-based nanoemulsions to prepare clean label products. A variety of polymers such as soya lecithin, WPI, GA, and modified starches have been used to fabricate nanoemulsion-based delivery systems for nutraceuticals and micronutrients. Hence, nanoemulsion-fortified food products have received great attention due to consumer demand for safer and healthier food products. Additionally, nanoemulsions can be used for the texture modification of food products and encapsulation as well as delivery of antimicrobial agents. The main challenge for the preparation of nanoemulsions is the selection of appropriate ingredients.

Nutraceutical Properties of Important Weeds in India

The group of plants, apart from the forest trees, agricultural, horticultural crop and medicinal plants, certain weed plants also play important role to formulate the qualitative and quantitative food and health supplements. These plants may be very specific in producing certain compound to heal the specific ailment chronically or serve as a good nutritive food supplement. There are numbers of crop species have been fortified with multi-nutrients or with the particular nutrient supplements e.g. Rice, Wheat, Maize, Sweet Potato. Instead, weeds remained underutilized and un-exploited and also treated as unwanted species. The nutritive compounds available in these plants such as polyphenols and vitamins can be the extraction from different plant portion to formulate the fortified food or curing medicine. The weed species prevailing in the nature are one of the major sources of dietary and health supplements for humans and animals since past i.e. Amaranthus lividus, Chenopodium album and many more weed species. There is still much to explore the Indian ecologic components present in wild form of flora. Hence, this chapter will majorly contribute to highlight nutritive nutaceurtical and edible weeds prevailing in Indian ecosystems.

Sources of vitamin D for humans

Both vitamin D insufficiency and deficiency are now well-documented worldwide in relation to human health, and this has raised interest in vitamin D research. The aim of this article is therefore to review the literature on sources of vitamin D. It can be endogenously synthesised under ultraviolet B radiation in the skin, or ingested through dietary supplements and dietary sources, which include food of animal and plant origin, as well as fortified foods. Vitamin D is mainly found in two forms, D3 (cholecalciferol) and D2 (ergocalciferol). In addition to the D3 and D2 forms of vitamin D, 25-hydroxy vitamin D also contributes significantly to dietary vitamin D intake. It is found in many animal-derived products. Fortified food can contain D3 or D2 forms or vitamin D metabolite 25-hydroxy vitamin D. Not many foods are a rich source (> 4 μg/100 g) of vitamin D (D represents D3 and/or D2), e.g., many but not all fish (5–25 μg/100 g), mushrooms (21.1–58.7 μg/100 g), Reindeer lichen (87 μg/100 g) and fish liver oils (250 μg/100 g). Other dietary sources are cheese, beef liver and eggs (1.3–2.9 μg/100 g), dark chocolate (4 μg/100 g), as well as fortified foods (milk, yoghurt, fat spreads, orange juice, breakfast grains, plant-based beverages). Since an adequate intake of vitamin D (15 μg/day set by the European Food Safety Authority) is hard to achieve through diet alone, dietary supplements of vitamin D are usually recommended. This review summarizes current knowledge about different sources of vitamin D for humans.

Ingestion of supplements and fortified food with iodine on the breast milk iodine concentration in deficiency areas: a systematic review

Introduction: The level of iodine in breast milk may be inadequate and compromise the health of this, both due to excess and lack, some population groups remain deficient because of the low consumption of iodate salt, because there is an in- crease in consumption of other sources of iodine, such as supplements and fortified foods. Objective: To evaluate the effect of the consumption of fortified foods and nutritional supplements with iodine on mater- nal milk levels. Methodology: Systematic review based on the Prism method, using the descriptors provided by DeCS. The reading, selec- tion and analysis of the methodological quality of the articles was done by two researchers independently. Results: From 346 abstracts, 6 were eligible. The median iodination range between the studies ranged from 75 to 600 μg in supplements and 150 and 225 μg in fortified foods with effect on increased iodine concentration of breastmilk (BMIC), achieving the adequacy of the median BMIC in 4 of the 6 studies. Conclusion: Iodine ingestion through supplements or fortified foods results in improved iodine levels in breast milk. Keywords: Iodine; supplements; fortified foods; breastmilk; iodine concentration.

The Perception of Vitamins and Their Prevalence in Fortified Food and Supplements in Japan

Most vitamins are primarily ingested from foods. However, it has been reported that intakes of some vitamins do not meet the nutrition reference values even in high-income countries. In this case, vitamin-fortified foods and/or vitamin supplements are helpful to fix insufficient/deficient status. However, it is not clear whether consumers are aware of their nutritional status or whether they use these products efficiently. To address this issue, we conducted an online cross-sectional questionnaire survey among 14,741 Japanese adults (over 20 years old, 7489 males and 7252 females) concerning the perceptions and prevalence of vitamin-fortified food and/or vitamin supplements. Differences in distribution among groups were compared using the chi-squared test. According to dietary habits, 33.2% of the participants consumed a well-balanced diet every day, but 25.5% could not because of time (41.6%) or money (36.9%) constraints. The perception of each vitamin varied: the highest was for vitamin C (93.2%) and the lowest was for biotin (41.9%). In addition, only a portion of the participants believed that they took sufficient amounts of each vitamin; the highest was vitamin C (22.3%) and the lowest was biotin (5.2%). Despite this situation, most did not use vitamin-fortified food and/or vitamin supplements due to economic reasons. Among vitamin-fortified food and/or vitamin supplement users, the purposes for the usage of these products were varied, such as maintaining health (80.5%), supplementation of nutrients (47.8%), beauty-related purposes (27.5%), and to prevent infectious disease (23.2%). To remedy nutritional status in individuals, it is important to improve not only consumer awareness but also the environment, which can lead consumers to use acceptable vitamin products without any burden.

The effects of vitamin D-fortified foods on circulating 25(OH)D concentrations in adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Improvement of vitamin D status of the general population has been a challenge for policymakers. We conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate whether vitamin D-fortified products can be a suitable solution for tackling vitamin D deficiency (VDD). Our secondary objective was to determine the effect of some variables including age, latitude and body mass index (BMI) on efficacy of this strategy. MEDLINE, PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar were searched and 231 studies were found in a preliminary search. After screening of titles and abstracts, 23 studies were selected. Pooled data comparing fortification with vitamin D +/− calcium with control showed statistically significant effect on total 25(OH)D concentrations (2002 participants, mean difference (MD): 25.4 nmol/L, 95% CI: 19.5 to 31.3). The subgroup analysis by duration of intervention (less than 12 weeks vs. more than 12 weeks) and type of vehicle (dairy product, juice, grain product, oil and combination of dairy and grain products), isoform of the vitamin (D3 vs. D2) and dose of the fortificant (≥ 1000 IU/day vs. < 1000 IU/day) also indicated significant effect of fortification with vitamin D on serum 25(OH)D concentrations. In conclusion, the circulating 25(OH)D response to vitamin D-fortified food consumption is influenced by age, BMI and the baseline 25(OH)D concentrations. Notwithstanding, an average of 2 nmol/L increase in circulating 25(OH)D concentration for each 100 IU vitamin D intake per day is expected for general adult population. These findings can be informative for policymakers to tackle VDD through food fortification strategy.

Comparison of Micronutrient Intervention Strategies in Ghana and Benin to Cover Micronutrient Needs: Simulation of BeneFits and Risks in Women of Reproductive Age

Overlapping micronutrient interventions might increase the risk of excessive micronutrient intake, with potentially adverse health effects. To evaluate how strategies currently implemented in Benin and Ghana contribute to micronutrient intake in women of reproductive age (WRA), and to assess the risk for excess intakes, scenarios of basic rural and urban diets were built, and different on-going interventions were added. We estimated micronutrient intakes for all different scenarios. Four types of intervention were included in the scenarios: fortification, biofortification, supplementation and use of locally available nutrient-rich foods. Basic diets contributed poorly to daily micronutrient intake in WRA. Fortification of oil and salt were essential to reach daily requirements for vitamin A and iodine, while fortified flour contributed less. Biofortified products could make an important contribution to the coverage of vitamin A needs, while they were not sufficient to cover the needs of WRA. Iron and folic acid supplementation was a major contributor in the intake of iron and folate, but only in pregnant and lactating women. Risk of excess were found for three micronutrients (vitamin A, folic acid and niacin) in specific contexts, with excess only coming from voluntary fortified food, supplementation and the simultaneous overlap of several interventions. Better regulation and control of fortification and targeting of supplementation could avoid excess intakes.

Anemia Status and Its Related Factors among Indonesian Workers: Hemoglobin Survey in Three Different Workplaces

This study aims to explore risk factors of low hemoglobin status (anemia) among workers in three different workplaces in Indonesia. Cross-sectional study design was applied to screen hemoglobin value by using a multiwave pulse total-hemoglobinometer Masimo® and obtain socio-demographic characteristics using a questionnaire. Three workplaces were purposively selected to have total population eligible for this study. Health safety protocol was applied both for the subjects and researchers as COVID19 prevention. Statistical analyses were used accordingly to find potential risk factor(s) of anemia among workers. A total of 2386 eligible subjects with mean age of 36.8 ± 9.2 years participated in this study consisted of mainly male workers (85.3%), mostly married (79.0%), never smoke (55.8%) and working in shift (68.7%). Mean of hemoglobin value was 14.2 ± 1.2 mg/dL with anemia prevalence of 9.9%. Risk factor of anemia among workers were female-gender, non-marriage status, never smoking and no-work shift. However, the potential determinant for anemia among workers was female-gender, in which the prevalence of anemia was 24.6% as compared to 7.4% in male-gender. Keep providing free meal in the workplace canteen is a must, but there is a need to provide iron and vitamin C-fortified food and/or iron and vitamin C supplement especially for female workers.