Categorizing Foods by Relative Healthfulness: A Scoping Review of Front of Pack Labelling

Worksites are a suitable platform for employees to engage in behavioral change towards a healthy lifestyle by the modification of the food environment. Grading canteen foods at worksites into categories of relative healthfulness is an important indicator in the planning of food environmental interventions. However, in the absence of mandatory front of pack (FOP) labelling in South Africa, categorizing packaged and cooked food at worksite canteens is challenging. A scoping review was conducted on FOP labelling schemes to inform the selection of a FOP labelling scheme best suited for canteen foods at worksites in South Africa. The results of the scoping study, tabulated into a narrative summary, showed that there are several well-developed approaches to classifying foods by relative healthfulness through nutrient profiling and different forms of expression. It is recommended that because worksite canteen food sales in South Africa include both packaged and cooked food, and that a general test of various labelling schemes should be conducted to determine if a directional change is made towards purchasing healthier foods. Grading foods using interpretational aides such as an adapted FOP nutrition label to the South African context into categories of relative healthfulness can be a practical tool to inform food environmental interventions at worksite canteens and beyond.

XML Dataset and Benchmarks for Performance Testing of the CLS Labelling Scheme

Extensible Markup Language (XML) has become a significant technology for transferring data through the world of the Internet. XML labelling schemes are an essential technique used to handle XML data effectively. Labelling XML data is performed by assigning labels to all nodes in that XML document. CLS labelling scheme is a hybrid labelling scheme that was developed to address some limitations of indexing XML data. Moreover, datasets are used to test XML labelling schemes. There are many XML datasets available nowadays. Some of them are from real life datasets and others are from artificial datasets. These datasets and benchmarks are used for testing the XML labelling schemes. This paper discusses and considers these datasets and benchmarks and their specifications in order to determine the most appropriate one for testing the CLS labelling scheme. This research found out that the XMark benchmark is the most appropriate choice for the testing performance of the CLS labelling scheme.

Evaluation of Find Your Fuel: A Point-of-Service Labelling Campaign in a Military Dining Facility

Nutrition plays a critical role in health and job performance in physically demanding roles. Studies have shown Australian military personnel do not consume diets suited to their roles. A range of foods are provided in military dining facilities; however, personnel still need to make appropriate choices for healthier eating and to optimise performance. This study explored the effect of a labelling scheme based on military-specific nutrition guidance, over a one-month period. Food choices were evaluated in a pre-post design using plate photography (pre n = 190; post n = 159 plates); with satisfaction and behavioural influences assessed through a survey (pre n = 79; post n = 67). The results indicate the scheme had a small effect on food choice—potato and hot vegetable choices increased post-campaign for the dinner meal. On average, choices were heathier at lunch post-campaign, and less healthy at dinner. Satisfaction with the meal experience was higher after the campaign, and no difference was observed in behavioural influences (e.g., self-efficacy and other perceptions). These results are in alignment with other point-of-service labelling studies showing the limited capacity labelling schemes have on guiding consumer choices. Rather than using point-of-service labelling in isolation, additional individual and/or environmental strategies may be needed to more effectively encourage nutritious food choices by personnel.

Is an Animal Welfare Label Enough? Role of Farm Animal Welfare Voluntary Labelling Schemes in the Development of Sustainable Livestock Production

Intensive livestock production devoid of elementary foundations for the welfare of farm animals is nowadays identified as one of the main factors contributing to the growing environmental and social threats. Public opinion associates the welfare of farm animals with values relating to health, food quality, ethical approach to animals and protection of the environment and climate. Accordingly, the social conceptualization of farm animal welfare plays an important role in guiding EU policy and developing animal welfare law. It also becomes a prerequisite for solving social and environmental problems resulting from intensive animal production. Farm animal welfare is an intangible and credence attribute of food and as such requires a means of informing consumers about it. The most preferred form of communication about the welfare level of farm animals among consumers are farm animal welfare labels. Both consumer preferences and their expectations of how farm animal welfare is communicated are reflected in the development of public and private food labelling systems in the European Union. Therefore, the main aim of the study was to analyse the selected farm animal welfare voluntary labelling schemes in terms of their potential for the development of sustainable animal production in the EU. The result of the study shows the differences and similarities in this respect between public and private systems, in relation to four criteria—values associated by consumers with the welfare of farm animals—health, food quality, ethics and environmental protection. We provide an overview of these systems and their role in increasing farm animal welfare standards. We conclude that it is particularly important to verify if the shift from production-related concern to social and consumer-related concern can constitute a sufficient and effective form for a systemic change transforming current animal production into production based on higher livestock welfare standards.

Quantum of Embodied Energy for Residential Buildings

Embodied energy(E.E) is the total amount of energy that is required in the production of a material which include all the processes, from the mining and processing of natural resources to manufacturing, transport and product delivery and this helps in choice of materials and construction methods, to maximize the energy efficiency of a building during its operation. The E.E. in products and energy conservancy are the ecological features included in eco-labelling schemes. Embodied energy in materials is a significant aspect in GB rating systems. This paper discusses the influence of different construction units on the E.E. of the structure.