Apples oranges bananas nuts--all come in packaging that is edible or compostable. Risch said that the food industry clearly is embracing sustainable packaging.
and several companies are experimenting with food wraps made from dried fruit mushrooms nuts and other material.
Some estimates put the value of honeybees in pollinating fruit vegetable and other crops at almost $15 billion annually Fell said.
Without bees to spread pollen from the male parts of plants to the female parts fruit may not form.
Farmers use honeybees to pollinate more than 100 different fruit and vegetable crops around the country in an approach known as managed pollination It involves placing bee hives in fields
The biggest impacts from decreased hive numbers will be felt by farmers producing crops with high pollination requirements such as almonds.
Consumers may see a lowered availability of certain fruits and vegetables and some higher costs explained Fell.
and fruits followed by protein-rich foods and should not be started before six months in line with recommendations for exclusive breastfeeding until that time.
They have become primary agricultural products compared to fruits such as grapes which are grown for other purposes and used as secondary or byproduct-based colors.
Available commercially in the United states since 2006 but still hard to find in stores PSPS have the same anthocyanin pigments found in black cherries.
and have a relatively neutral taste (in contrast to the slightly earthy bitter taste from grape-based colorings.
when countries in the region restricted imports of fruits and vegetables irrigated with inadequately treated wastewater.
#New study informs blueberry flavor selectionthe University of Florida's (UF) Blueberry Breeding Program has been developing successful blueberry cultivars for more than 60 years.
The cultivars released from UF are credited with creating a Florida blueberry industry that was valued at $48 million in 2010
and allowing rapid expansion of blueberry production in other subtropical areas of the world. In the past blueberry flavor selection in the program was based on two standards:
subjective ratings from breeders and a berry's sugar-to-acid ratio. Recently scientists have determined that the eating quality of blueberries has a much higher correlation to consumer acceptance
and indication of blueberry-like flavor intensity than the traditional measures of sweetness acidity or sugar acid ratios.
Identifying blueberry volatile components that correspond to the fruity intense sweet and characteristic blueberry flavors could help blueberry breeders select for cultivars that produce a more desirable flavor.
A new research study from University of Florida Institute for Plant Innovation scientists Jessica Gilbert Michael Schwieterman Thomas Colquhoun David Clark and James W. Olmstead
(Hortscience July 2013) sought to measure the characteristics associated with the blueberry eating experience by prioritizing the traits that could help improve flavor.
The study compared volatile profiles of five southern highbush blueberry cultivars (Farthing FL01-173 Scintilla Star
and Sweetcrisp) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. These five cultivars are significant in Florida and have been rated subjectively as having varied flavor characteristics noted lead author James Olmstead.
The research team harvested all five cultivars on four separate dates during the harvest season
and fruit from each cultivar were harvested also at four developmental stages on the first harvest date.
We sought to profile the changes in volatiles through blueberry development. The general profile was an increase in total volatiles in blueberry samples as fruit progressed in maturity from green to blue Olmstead explained.
The researchers noted that when blueberries are harvested commercially when they are immature they may contain low levels of many of volatile compounds
and therefore will not have the characteristic blueberry flavor. If the volatiles in this study are in fact the most important to the perception of blueberry flavor then'Star'may have the most consistent flavor in response to varying environmental factors they concluded.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by American Society for Horticultural Science. Note:
Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Juniper essential oil characteristics determinedthroughout the western United states Canada and Mexico Rocky mountain juniper (Juniperus scopulorum Sarg.
For centuries the leaves and berries of Rocky mountain juniper which contain strongly aromatic essential oil have been used extensively by native people of North america to treat a number of medical conditions.
Fir cherry and maple trees increased in abundance with maples experiencing the highest absolute change in proportions from 11 percent in the past to 31 percent in modern forests.
#Ease of access improves fruit and vegetable consumptionlow-income communities have particular problems getting adequate fruits and vegetables because of limited access to supermarkets and farmers markets.
A new study from Wake Forest Baptist Medical center shows that community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs may be a feasible approach for providing fresh fruits and vegetables to under-resourced communities.
Lead author Sara A. Quandt Ph d. a professor of epidemiology and prevention at Wake Forest Baptist said that CSAS which link consumers to a local farm's produce over a growing season have been proposed as a solution for disparities in fruit
and vegetable consumption though evaluation of such efforts has been limited. The typical U s. diet fails to meet daily recommendations for fruit and vegetable consumption.
This CSA program Farm Fresh Healthy Living of Forsyth County N c. was developed administered and evaluated by a partnership of university researchers Experiment in Self reliance Inc. a community nonprofit agency
The researchers observed a significant increase over the summer in the number of different fruits
The intervention group also reported greater increases in fruit and vegetable consumption. Although the increases in fruit and vegetable consumption in the intervention group did not reach statistical significance they did show a trend in the right direction said Quandt.
In a larger group we would expect that the CSA program would make a noticeable impact on quality of the families'diets.
A Mediterranean diet typically consists of higher levels of olive oil vegetables fruit and fish. A higher adherence to the diet means higher daily intakes of fruit and vegetables and fish and reduced intakes of meat and dairy products.
The study was led by researcher Iliana Lourida. She said: Mediterranean food is both delicious and nutritious and our systematic review shows it may help to protect the ageing brain by reducing the risk of dementia.
The Mediterranean diet a diet high in plant foods (e g. fruits nuts legumes and cereals) and fish with olive oil as the primary source of monounsaturated fat (MUSF) and low to moderate intake of wine as well as low intake of red meat poultry
#Scientists sequence genome of high-value grape, seek secrets of wines aromademystifying the chemical processes that create a wine's aroma
and the invaluable potential application of that understanding in winemaking is the new objective of scientists in Uruguay who with European partners also recently sequenced the genome of the high-value Tannat grape from
and scientist Massimo Delledonne of Italy recently collaborated on sequencing the Tannat grape pressings of which thanks partly to its many seeds produces the largest concentration of tannins--an antioxidant that combats the ageing of cells.
Sequencing the grape's genome will allow vintners to protect a valuable niche in the world's $300 billion wine industry.
and other environmental factors affect the expression of genes in grapes and the chemistry of wine's aromas and color.
Such information can also valuably guide decisions about where to plant new vines which typically produce their first fruit after five years and their best fruit in about a decade.
Tannat is the national grape of Uruguay South america's 4th-largest wine producer with 8500 hectares (21000 acres) of vineyards.
More than a third of the grapes grown are Tannat from which the country's signature wines are produced.
The newer vines tend to produce more powerful wines with higher alcohol levels but less acidity as well as more complex fruit characteristics.
Discovering in more detail the health-promoting compound in the Tannat grape requires us to continue work on its genome.
#Eating whole fruits linked to lower risk of Type 2 diabeteseating more whole fruits particularly blueberries grapes
and apples was associated significantly with a lower risk of type 2 diabetes according to a new study led by Harvard School of Public health (HSPH) researchers.
The study is the first to look at the effects of individual fruits on diabetes risk.
While fruits are recommended as a measure for diabetes prevention previous studies have mixed found results for total fruit consumption.
Our findings provide novel evidence suggesting that certain fruits may be especially beneficial for lowering diabetes risk said senior author Qi Sun assistant professor in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH and assistant professor at the Channing Division of Network
The researchers looked at overall fruit consumption as well as consumption of individual fruits: grapes or raisins;
peaches plums or apricots; prunes; bananas; cantaloupe; apples or pears; oranges; grapefruit; strawberries; and blueberries.
They also looked at consumption of apple orange grapefruit and other fruit juices. People who ate at least two servings each week of certain whole fruits--particularly blueberries grapes
and apples--reduced their risk for type 2 diabetes by as much as 23%in comparison to those who ate less than one serving per month.
Conversely those who consumed one or more servings of fruit juice each day increased their risk of developing type 2 diabetes by as much as 21%.
%The researchers found that swapping three servings of juice per week for whole fruits would result in a 7%reduction in diabetes risk.
The fruits'glycemic index (a measure of how rapidly carbohydrates in a food boost blood sugar) did not prove to be a significant factor in determining a fruit's association with type 2 diabetes risk.
However the high glycemic index of fruit juice--which passes through the digestive system more rapidly than fiber-rich fruit--may explain the positive link between juice consumption and increased diabetes risk.
The researchers theorize that the beneficial effects of certain individual fruits could be the result of a particular component.
Previous studies have linked anthocyanins found in berries and grapes to lowered heart attack risk for example.
But more research is necessary to determine which components in the more beneficial fruits influence diabetes risk.
Our data further endorse current recommendations on increasing whole fruits but not fruit juice as a measure for diabetes prevention said lead author Isao Muraki research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at HSPH.
And our novel findings may help refine this recommendation to facilitate diabetes prevention. Story Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by Harvard School of Public health. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
#Digesting milk in Ethiopia: A case of multiple genetic adaptationsa genetic phenomenon that allows for the selection of multiple genetic mutations that all lead to a similar outcome--for instance the ability to digest milk--has been characterised for the first time in humans.
The phenomenon known as a'soft selective sweep'was described in the population of Ethiopia and reveals that individuals from the Eastern African population have adapted to be able to digest milk but via different mutations in their genetic material.
A team of geneticists from UCL University of Addis ababa and Roskilde University have shown that five different alleles are found in the Ethiopian population that cause adult lactase production one of which is confirmed newly.
Their study is published in The American Journal of Human genetics. Professor Dallas Swallow from the Department of Genetics Evolution and Environment senior author of the paper said:
Our genetic make-up determines our ability to digest milk into adulthood. Just over a third of the global population have inherited genes that allow us to make lactase the enzyme that digests milk as adults.
This study shows that several different genetic changes that allow our bodies to make lactase have emerged independently.
Changes to our lifestyle over the past 10000 years--including diet altitude acclimatisation and infectious disease resistance--will likely have caused many genetic adaptations of this kind.
This could also create new opportunities for activities such as hunting and the commercial exploitation of berries.
#Higher intake of fruits and vegetables may reduce the risk of bladder cancer in womenuniversity of Hawaii Cancer Center Researcher Song-Yi Park Phd
along with her colleagues recently discovered that a greater consumption of fruits and vegetables may lower the risk of invasive bladder cancer in women.
the researchers found that women who consumed the most fruits and vegetables had the lowest bladder cancer risk.
For instance women consuming the most yellow-orange vegetables were 52%less likely to have bladder cancer than women consuming the least yellow-orange vegetables.
No associations between fruit and vegetable intake and invasive bladder cancer were found in men.
Our study supports the fruit and vegetable recommendation for cancer prevention said Park. However further investigation is needed to understand
and explain why the reduced cancer risk with higher consumption of fruits and vegetables was confined to only women.
and Bongkosh Vardhanabhuti studied the residue and penetration of silver nanoparticles on pear skin. First the scientists immersed the pears in a silver nanoparticle solution similar to pesticide application.
The pears were washed then and rinsed repeatedly. Results showed that four days after the treatment
and rinsing silver nanoparticles were attached still to the skin and the smaller particles were able to penetrate the skin
and reach the pear pulp. The penetration of silver nanoparticles is dangerous to consumers because they have the ability to relocate in the human body after digestion Lin said.
manure zeolite lime or biofertiliser as well as coal waste alone and regular garden soil. Plants grown in the coal waste with added biofertiliser achieved nearly twice the weight
and in the case of fruits and vegetables a better taste than those grown with chemical fertilisers.
#Red delicious or wolf apple? Brazilian savanna fruits high in antioxidantsnative Brazilian fruits grown in arid climates
and poor soil have similar antioxidant activity to conventionally grown Red delicious apples according to research published August 21 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Sandra Fernandes Arruda from the University
of Brazil and colleagues from other institutions. Twelve fruit species grown on the Cerrado a savanna with acidic soils were compared to conventional Red delicious apples purchased at local markets;
the researchers found that several of these native species had higher proportions of bioactive compounds
and pigments than the apples. The proportion of these compounds correlated with antioxidant properties of the fruit extracts when experimentally tested.
Based on these results the authors conclude that native fruits grown in sub-optimal conditions can confer similar nutritional benefits to apples which are considered among the most antioxidant-rich foods.
The fruits studied here include indigenous species such as lobeira also called'wolf apple'tucum a variety of palm and other fruits
which grow in the arid climate and poor soil of the Cerrado. Though commonly consumed fruits like apples or strawberries have been studied extensively for their chemical constituents the nutritional benefits of fruits grown in such conditions are not well-known.
The authors conclude Such fruits can provide a source of new bioactive compounds with functional properties beneficial to health which should stimulate the pharmaceutical
and food industries for the development of new products promoting the sustainable development of regions with the characteristics of the Cerrado.
Palm civets eat coffee berries digest the soft fruit surrounding the bean and excrete the bean. Workers retrieve the coffee beans
and a dozen other crocodile species enjoy an occasional taste of fruit along with their normal meat-heavy diets of mammals birds and fish.
of which have large territories may play in forest regeneration through digesting and passing seeds from fruits.
and found 13 of the species consumed some form of fruit including a variety of berries legumes nuts and grains.
While the authors say some of the fruit ingestion may have been incidental to prey capture evidence shows that other fruit is consumed deliberately and in large quantities.
and other plant-based nutrients though studies suggests that fruit eating is likely to yield nutritional rewards for crocodilians.
Although underreported fruit eating appears widespread among crocodilians said the study's lead author Steven Platt of the Wildlife Conservation Society.
and their capacity for ingesting large numbers of fruits we consider it likely that crocodilians function as significant seed dispersal agents in many freshwater ecosystems.
The large heavy and poisonous seeds surrounded by a fleshy and nontoxic fruit-like layer seem well adapted to being swallowed occasionally whole en masse by megafauna
If you eat a lot of fruits and vegetables throughout your life you'll have chronic exposure to these bioactive flavonoids
The 2-pound olinguito with its large eyes and woolly orange-brown fur is native to the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador as its scientific name neblina (Spanish for fog) hints.
They learned that the olinguito is mostly active at night is mainly a fruit eater rarely comes out of the trees
#Watermelon juice relieves post-exercise muscle sorenesswatermelon juice's reputation among athletes is getting scientific support in a new study
which found that juice from the summer favorite fruit can relieve post-exercise muscle soreness.
The report in ACS'Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry attributes watermelon's effects to the amino acid L-citrulline.
Encarna Aguayo and colleagues cite past research on watermelon juice's antioxidant properties and its potential to increase muscle protein
But scientists had yet to explore the effectiveness of watermelon juice drinks enriched in L-citrulline.
They tested natural watermelon juice watermelon juice enriched in L-citrulline and a control drink containing no L-citrulline on volunteers an hour before exercise.
Potts says the National Research Council recommends that for people no more than 25 percent of calories should be added from sugar which means they don't count what's naturally in an apple banana potato or other nonprocessed food.#
Patients who ate more than three servings of fruits per week had a lower risk of CKD compared with patients who ate fruit less frequently.
eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables low-fat dairy products and whole grains while minimizing saturated
The Project Healthy Schools program is designed to teach sixth graders heart-healthy lifestyles including eating more fruits
which is confirmed as established the Mediterranean Mexican oriental melon peach and guava fruit flies are established now also in California.
Fruit-fly history in Californiatropical fruit flies have been a concern to California for nearly 60 years with the first fruit fly discovered here in 1954.
and damaging a wide range of fruits and vegetables. Because of the state's geographic location and climate California is considered particularly vulnerable to introduction and establishment of tropical fruit-fly populations.
or on infested fruits carried in by travelers from regions of the world where fruit flies were had native
and the imposition of a related embargo on shipping fruits and vegetables from the state would cause an additional loss of $564 million.
Suggested responsecarey said that an immediate assessment should be made of the economic impact of having each species established in the state projecting the individual and collective effects of the fruit flies for all affected California fruit and vegetable crops.
Food choices presented in the experiment ranged from fruits and vegetables such as strawberries apples and carrots to high-calorie burgers pizza and doughnuts.
and drastically curtail fruit and seed yields over the tree's lifetime according to a new study.
which fruits are harvested said Orou Gaoue the study's lead author and assistant professor of ecology evolution and conservation biology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
if you could compare it to much more closely related plants like grapefruit and lemons
In this study instead of comparing leaf and fruit shapes the team looked at gene regulation in mice that had diverged only recently from one another.
While the tea tortrix is native to Japan many similar moths exist in North american including the spruce bud moth grape berry moth light brown apple moth and summer fruit tortrix.
#New apple varieties: Ladies and gentlemen, get ready to taste Snapdragon and Rubyfrostafter years of development and consumer testing as NY1 and NY2 Cornell University and New york Apple Growers have given the hottest new apples in the Empire state names worthy of their unique assets:
Snapdragon and Rubyfrost. The names were revealed this afternoon by Jeff Crist vice chairman of the NYAG board of directors at the annual Fruit Field days at the New york state Agricultural Experiment Station in Geneva where Cornell breeder
and Horticulture Professor Susan Brown developed the varieties. Snapdragon is a great name for this apple
because consumers found its crispy texture and sweet flavor so appealing said Mark Russell an apple grower and NYAG member.
Snapdragon formerly NY1 gets its juicy crispness from its Honeycrisp parent and it has a spicy-sweet flavor that was a big hit with taste testers.
Russell anticipates it will be a popular apple for snacking especially for children. Brown said she recognized its promise and fast-tracked it for commercialization.
Brown expects it will be popular with fans of Empire and Granny smith. I think juicy and refreshing
It's a fascinating apple with a beautiful skin and a nice sugar-acid balance but to
and how they've gone to market is a first for the Cornell apple-breeding program and the New york apple industry.
Historically public universities developed new apple breeds and released them to the industry freely. But in 1980 the Bayh-Dole Act gave universities the ability to retain the intellectual property rights for their research with limited plant-based royalties.
In May 2010 Cornell forged a partnership for a managed release with NYAG a new industry group to establish an exclusive licensing agreement in North america for the two apple varieties.
and fruit produced and the income is used to market the new varieties and support Cornell's apple-breeding program.
The first trees were planted in farmers'orchards in 2011 and now 400 acres are growing across the state.
malt (isobutyraldehyde) apple (Î-damascenone) blue cheese (2-heptanone) and Î-ionone which smells floral to some people
and drinks that people encounter every day such as tomatoes and apples. This might mean that when people sit down to eat a meal they each experience it in their own personalized way says Jeremy Mcrae.
So if you are good at smelling blue cheese it doesn't mean you're necessarily good at smelling the apple next to it.
Once pollinated female flowers develop into olive-sized bright orange-red fruits that are carried in cylindrical clusters up to half a meter long.
Inside the fruits are one or two seeds that--with tender care and an abundance of patience--can develop into the corms from
#Of bears and berries: Return of wolves aids grizzly bears in Yellowstonea new study suggests that the return of wolves to Yellowstone national park is beginning to bring back a key part of the diet of grizzly bears that has been missing for much of the past century--berries that help bears
put on fat before going into hibernation. It's one of the first reports to identify the interactions between these large important predators based on complex ecological processes.
The researchers found that the level of berries consumed by Yellowstone grizzlies is significantly higher
The berry bushes also produce flowers of value to pollinators like butterflies insects and hummingbirds; food for other small and large mammals;
The report said that berries may be sufficiently important to grizzly bear diet and health that they could be considered in legal disputes--as is white pine nut availability now--about
Wild fruit is typically an important part of grizzly bear diet especially in late summer when they are trying to gain weight as rapidly as possible before winter hibernation said William Ripple a professor in the OSU Department of Forest Ecosystems
Berries are one part of a diverse food source that aids bear survival and reproduction and at certain times of the year can be more than half their diet in many places in North america.
and willow trees--a favorite food--along with many berry-producing shrubs and tall herbaceous plants. The recovery of those trees and other food sources since the re-introduction of wolves in the 1990s has had a profound impact on the Yellowstone ecosystem researchers say
Yellowstone has a wide variety of nutritious berries--serviceberry chokecherry buffaloberry twinberry huckleberry and others--that are highly palatable to bears.
With the return of wolves the new study found the percentage of fruit in grizzly bear scat in recent years almost doubled during August.
Because the abundant elk have been an important food for Yellowstone grizzly bears for the past half-century the increased supply of berries may help offset the reduced availability of elk in the bears'diet in recent years.
And in the absence of wolves black bears went extinct on Anticosti Island in Canada after over-browsing of berry shrubs by introduced while-tailed deer.
Increases in berry production in Yellowstone may also provide a buffer against other ecosystem shifts the researchers noted--whitebark pine nut production a favored bear food may be facing pressure from climate change.
and less fruit but they are still dependent on natural forests for their long term survival. While we're learning that orangutans may be more behaviourally flexible than we thought
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