adds nutrients, so much morein the April issue of Food technology magazine published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Senior Associate Editor Karen Nachay writes about rice becoming a trendy culinary selection of many restaurant menus
but also the go-to solution for consumers looking for gluten-and allergen-free choices rich in nutrients.
The National Restaurant Association's 2014 What's Hot Culinary Forecast predicts diners will see more rice selections on restaurant menus including black rice and red rice.
Food scientists are looking for new ways to incorporate rice into many consumer products. Rice ingredients can enrich food
and beverage products with nutrients improve textural attributes replace common food allergens function in gluten-free formulations
and act as a thickening agent while providing a cost-effective protein source. The article highlighted food scientists using sprouted brown rice to increase protein in bars powdered shakes soups pastas ready-to-drink beverages cereals and sweet and savory snacks.
Rice starches are being used to provide a variety of texture options in both food and beverages from smooth and creamy to crispy and crunchy.
Rice is also being used to enrich diets with more fiber. The article online can be found at:
http://www. ift. org/food technology/past-issues/2014/april/columns/ingredients. aspxstory Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Institute of Food Technologists (IFT.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
#Top 10 functional food trends for 2014the April 2014 issue of Food technology magazine published by the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) features Contributing Editor A. Elizabeth Sloan's insights
on the top 10 functional food trends for 2014. Sloan gathers data from a multitude of industry resources to come up with the following trends.
Specialty Nutritionals: Consumers who once relied heavily on nutritional supplements are switching to fortified and functional foods instead.
Nearly nine in 10 adults made a strong effort to consume more nutrients vitamins minerals herbs/botanicals
and include more fish oil/omega-3s in their diets. Maintaining a healthy digestive system and immune health also are top health priorities
and probiotics will play a key role in 2014 (Sloan 2014). Get Real: Six in 10 consumers look for ingredients they can recognize
while shopping for food and seek out foods made with simple real and natural ingredients (Hartman 2013a).
Just over half of consumers look for foods absent of artificial ingredients while one quarter of adults buy organic foods/beverages.
The majority of consumers strongly like the idea of getting their nutrition from foods with naturally occurring health benefits (IFIC 2013b.
Hispanic Health: America's 52 million Hispanics spent an estimated $6. 9 billion on functional foods in 2012 and $9. 4 billion on natural/organic foods/drinks (NBJ 2013d.
Hispanics are also the number one users of energy drinks/shots sports beverages and 100 percent juice/juice drinks (Packaged Facts 2013b.
Hispanics are about twice as likely as the general population to spend whatever it takes to look younger
and are often the first to try a new health food nutritional product or diet (Packaged Foods 2013c).
The Protein Evolution: The protein market is still center stage with 57 percent of consumers especially between the ages of 18-34 and above age 65 seeking protein sources.
These consumers are seeking more protein to maintain healthy bones/joints strengthen immune systems and build muscle strength/tone
Almost half of America's 32 million moms who say they always buy health foods/drinks for their kids are looking for a wider range of healthy convenient kid-friendly foods/drinks with nutrient
and moms are less likely to seek out organic as their children age (Packaged Foods 2012b).
Pharma Foods: Eight in 10 consumers believe that functional foods can help prevent or delay the onset of heart disease hypertension osteoporosis
and Type 2 Diabetes while six in 10 associate it with benefits linked to age-related memory loss cancer and Alzheimer's disease (MSI 2012a).
Last year 56 percent of consumers bought foods or beverages that targeted a specific condition
while cholesterol-lowering foods/drinks were purchased the most condition-specific food or drink (Packaged Facts 2013c).
Alternatives: Eighty percent of households now eat meatless meals for dinner on occasion and eggs are the most popular alternative followed by beans/lentils/legumes (FMI 2014).
Dairy-free milks including soy rice and almond ranked fifth and coconut water ranked eighth among the popular nonalcoholic beverage trends in restaurants for 2014.
Performance Nutrition: The explosive sports nutrition category targets not only athletes and body builders but recreational sports participants casual athletes and gym exercisers.
Nearly six in 10 adults used a sports nutrition product in 2012 (MSI 2012f) and the combined consumer sales of sports nutrition supplements nutrition bars and energy drinks topped $24 billion in 2012 up 11.2 percent (NBJ 2013e).
Kids play a major role in this category with three-quarters of kids between the ages of six-11 and 71 percent of teens ages 12-17 using sports drinks (Mintel 2014
) with some moms using sports nutrition powders for their children. Half of the users of protein drinks believe they help them perform better during exercise.
Weighing In: Consumers looking to shed a few pounds have avoided the deprivation-style weight loss campaigns
and instead simply eat healthier while adding specific real food components and nutrients to their diet (Hartman 2013a).
Whole grains fiber and Vitamin d topped the list of ingredients that two-thirds of those trying to manage their weight added to the diet
while others added more calcium protein antioxidants or omega 3/fish oil. An estimated 60 percent of adults believe that protein works for weight loss (IFIC 2013a)
and one-third believe protein boosts metabolism and aids in fat burning. Gen Zen: Today's Millennials between the ages of 14 and 33 view their food choices as healthier more expensive more natural/organic less processed better tasting and fresh (Hartman 2013c.
Millennials are also the most likely to believe that functional foods/beverages can be used in place of some medicines (NMI 2012) to relieve tiredness/lack of energy retain mental sharpness with aging stress and eye health.
Millennials and Gen Xers read nutrition labels for calories vitamins/minerals serving size and protein.
They also drink a wider range of beverages than other generations including ready-to-drink coffees and sparkling drinks.
The article online can be found at: http://www. ift. org/food technology/past-issues/2014/april/features/toptentrends. aspxstory Source:
The above story is provided based on materials by Institute of Food Technologists (IFT. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
#Regulating legal marijuana could be guided by lessons from alcohol, tobacco, study saysas U s. policymakers consider ways to ease prohibitions on marijuana the public health approaches used to regulate alcohol
and tobacco over the past century may provide valuable lessons according to new RAND Corporation research.
Recent ballot initiatives that legalized marijuana in Colorado and Washington for recreational uses are unprecedented. The move raises important questions about how to best allow the production sales
and the use of marijuana while also working to reduce any related social ills. A new study published online by the American Journal of Public health outlines how regulations on alcohol
and tobacco may provide guidance to policymakers concerned about the public health consequences of legalizing marijuana.
Among the issues outlined in the study are how to reduce youth access to marijuana how to minimize drugged driving how to curb dependence
and addiction how to restrict contaminants in marijuana products and how to discourage the dual use of marijuana and alcohol particularly in public settings.
The lessons from the many decades of regulating alcohol and tobacco should offer some guidance to policymakers who are contemplating alternatives to marijuana prohibition
and are interested in taking a public health approach said Beau Kilmer co-director of the RAND Drug Policy Research center
Based on the national experience with alcohol and tobacco it seems prudent from a public health perspective to open up the marijuana market slowly with tight controls to test the waters
The article discusses a variety of strategies used to control alcohol and tobacco that also may be appropriate for regulation of marijuana.
#Birthplace of the domesticated chili pepper identified in Mexicocentral-east Mexico gave birth to the domesticated chili pepper--now the world's most widely grown spice crop--reports an international team of researchers led by a plant scientist at the University of California Davis
and provide food for a rapidly increasing global population Gepts added. Study co-author Gary P. Nabhan an ethnobiologist and agroecologist at the University of Arizona's Southwest Center noted:
whom a major global spice plant was domesticated. In fact this may be the only crop-origins research to have predicted ever the probable first cultivators of one of the world's most important food crops Nabhan said.
To determine crop origins scientists have studied traditionally the plants'genetic makeup in geographic areas where they have observed high diversity among the crop's wild ancestors.
when people at several different spots around the globe brought plants under cultivation and domesticated animals for transport food or fiber.
And why only about five of the 148 species of large wild mammalian herbivores or omnivores?
because they were attracted to human settlements for food and in some sense domesticated themselves. But new research is showing that other domesticated animals may be more like cats
when people threw out the refuse of plant foods including seeds some grew and again set seed and in this way people inadvertently selected species they were eating that also did well in the disturbed and nutrient-rich environment of the dump heap.
Corn stover--the stalks leaves and cobs in cornfields after harvest--has been considered a ready resource for cellulosic ethanol production.
The U s. Department of energy has provided more than $1 billion in federal funds to support research to develop cellulosic biofuels including ethanol made from corn stover.
whether a small amount of stover is removed or nearly all of it is stripped. If less residue is removed there is less decrease in soil carbon
and significantly reduce the nation's demand for fuel as required by the 2012 CAFE standards.
or agriculture migration corridors for wildlife are broken blocking access to food shelter and breeding grounds. A scholarly theory was developed to estimate the number of species in such fractured landscapes where patches of forest surrounded by farms resemble islands of natural habitat.
and food production to make agricultural lands more hospitable to wildlife by reducing chemical inputs preserving fragments of forest and other natural habitats and rewarding farmers and ranchers for the benefits that result.
Barnyard chickens living just a few hundred years ago looked far different from todays chickensancient DNA adds a twist to the story of how barnyard chickens came to be finds a study to be published April 21 in the journal Proceedings
Analyzing DNA from the bones of chickens that lived 200-2300 years ago in Europe researchers report that just a few hundred years ago domestic chickens may have looked far different from the chickens we know today.
The results suggest that some of the traits we associate with modern domestic chickens--such as their yellowish skin--only became widespread in the last 500 years much more recently than previously thought.
Chickens are descended from a wild bird called the Red Junglefowl that humans started raising roughly 4000-5000 years ago in South Asia.
To pinpoint the genetic changes that transformed this shy wild bird into the chickens we know today researchers analyzed DNA from the skeletal remains of 81 chickens retrieved from a dozen archeological sites across Europe dating from 200 to 2300 years old.
The researchers focused on two genes known to differ between domestic chickens and their wild counterparts:
Though the exact function of TSHR is unknown it may be linked to the domestic chicken's ability to lay eggs year-round--a trait that Red Junglefowl
When the team compared the ancient sequences to the DNA of modern chickens only one of the ancient chickens had the yellow skin so common in chickens today.
Similarly less than half of the ancient chickens had the version of the TSHR gene found worldwide in modern chickens.
The results suggest that these traits only became widespread within the last 500 years--thousands of years after the first barnyard chickens came to be.
and livestock we know today--dogs chickens horses cows--are probably radically different from the ones our great-great-grandparents knew he added. â#They are subjected to the whim of human fancy
http://www. nrs. fs. fed. us/pubs/45716in our research we found five short -and long-term factors that will be highly influential regardless of the nature
I read the rule the ranchers might be affected more than crop producers in this particular situationâ#Lee said. â#oewhen you look at it the lesser prairie chicken uses cropland for a minor amount of food certain times of the year.
#Food shortages could be most critical world issue by mid-centurythe world is less than 40 years away from a food shortage that will have serious implications for people and governments according to a top scientist at the U s
For the first time in human history food production will be limited on a global scale by the availability of land water
and energy said Dr. Fred Davies senior science advisor for the agency's bureau of food security.
Food issues could become as politically destabilizing by 2050 as energy issues are today. Davies who also is a Texas A&m Agrilife Regents Professor of Horticultural Sciences addressed the North american Agricultural Journalists meeting in Washington D c. on the monumental challenge of feeding the world.
That would call for a 70 percent increase in food to meet demand. But resource limitations will constrain global food systems Davies added.
The increases currently projected for crop production from biotechnology genetics agronomics and horticulture will not be sufficient to meet food demand.
Davies said the ability to discover ways to keep pace with food demand have been curtailed by cutbacks in spending on research.
The U s. agricultural productivity has averaged less than 1. 2 percent per year between 1990 and 2007 he said.
That connection he suggested also will be vital in the push to grow enough food to feed people in coming years.
Agricultural productivity food security food safety the environment health nutrition and obesity--they are interconnected all Davies said.
Consumer trends such as views on quality nutrition production origin and safety impact what foods we consume.
Also urban agriculture favors horticulture. For example he said the fastest growing segment of new farmers in California are female non-Anglos who are intensively growing horticultural crops on small acreages he said.
which the bees get all their food may be the more important factor driving these declines.
They pollinate many food crops as well as those important for economic development and their products like honey
and the native flowering plant diversity that the bees depend on for food. In addition the researchers suggest that beekeepers use pesticides sparingly.
Pursuing changing human diets away from food animal products--Rice acknowledged that this recommendation may be controversial
but the authors determined that changing human diets away from food animal products could help in mitigating greenhouse gasses.
Certainly the consumption of meat would be a social barrier. Traditionally as countries increase their personal income meat
or protein consumption goes up. Because livestock production is a contributor to greenhouse gases he said it had to be put on the table.
Reducing food waste--Another thing that's easier to accomplish is cutting back on food waste he said adding that 30 to 40 percent of food that's produced is used not.
On the other hand recent archeological studies of crop domestication have suggested a relatively slow spread and fixation of domestication traits.
#Surprising consequences of banning chocolate milkfor many children eating school lunch chocolate milk is a favorite choice.
if chocolate milk were banned from school cafeterias? Students take 10%less milk waste 29%more and may even stop eating school meals says Andrew Hanks Phd.
In a recent article published in PLOS ONE researchers for the Cornell Center for Behavioral Economics in Child Nutrition Programs (B. E. N. Center) reported results from data collected at 11
Oregon elementary schools where chocolate milk had been banned from the cafeterias and replaced with skim milk. While this policy eliminated the added sugar in chocolate milk there were unexpected nutritional and economic backlashes.
The new Cornell Food and Brand Lab study by Andrew Hanks David Just and Brian Wansink found that eliminating chocolate milk from the elementary schools decreased total milk sales by 10%indicating that many
students substituted white for chocolate milk. Even though more students were taking white milk they wasted 29%more than before.
Nutritionally after the milk substitution students on average consumed less sugar and fewer calories but also consumed less protein and calcium.
Additionally the ban may have been a factor in a 7%decrease in District's Lunch Program participation.
Removing flavored milk from cafeterias decreases added sugar yet the economic and nutritional costs warrant reconsidering a less restrictive policy.
Nicole Zammit former Assistance Director of Nutrition Services at Eugene School District was not surprised that banning chocolate milk had negative consequences.
She had this to say Given that the role of the federal school meal program is to provide nutritious meals to students who may otherwise have no access to healthy foods
-I wouldn't recommend banning flavored milk unless you have a comprehensive plan in place to compensate for the lost nutrients
when kids stop drinking milk altogether. In conclusion co-author and Director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab Brian Wansink recommends There are other ways to encourage kids to select white milk without banning the chocolate.
Make white milk appear more convenient and more normal to select. Two quick and easy solutions are:
Put the white milk in the front of the cooler and make sure that at least 1/3 to 1/2 of all the milk is white.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Cornell Food & Brand Lab. Note:
Materials may be edited for content and length. Journal Reference e
#Chimpanzees prefer firm, stable bedschimpanzees may select a certain type of wood Ugandan Ironwood over other options for its firm stable and resilient properties to make their bed according to a study published April 16 2014 in the open-access
and air stabilizing soil during heavy rains storing carbon and replenishing soil nutrients. In this latest study the researchers found that total global production of shade grown coffee has increased
taste of food after weight loss surgerychanges in appetite taste and smell are par for the course for people who have undergone Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery during
which one's stomach is made smaller and small intestines shortened. These sensory changes are not all negative
Seventy-three percent of patients noted change in the way food tasted and especially in their sweet and sour palate.
Respondents especially noted a change in the taste of chicken beef pork roast meat lamb or sausages while fish fast foods chocolate greasy foods pasta and rice were also high on the list.
Three out of every four (73 percent) patients noted that they had developed an aversion to specific foods after the surgery.
Meat products topped the list with one in every three patients steering away from chicken minced beef beef steak sausages lamb ham or bacon.
Starches such as pasta rice bread and pastry and dairy products such as cream ice cream cheese and eggs were a no-no for almost 12 percent of respondents.
Only 4 percent of respondents reported having an aversion for vegetables 3 percent for fruit and 1 percent for tinned fish.
Interestingly patients who experienced food aversions enjoyed significantly more postoperative weight loss and reduction in their body mass index (BMI) compared to their counterparts without such dislikes.
what the role is that perceptual changes in the taste and smell of food play to influence calorie intake meal composition and subsequent weight loss following bariatric surgery.
and smell are very common after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass Graham summarizes the findings of the study which are in line with that of other ones done.
We created multivalent vaccines complex cocktails with several components we've identified as important to causing metritis.
Crops like alfalfa provide critical habitat for the Long-billed Curlew the largest shorebird in North america and a species of continental conservation concern.
and certain types of agriculture (e g. rice alfalfa) provide nearly all of the habitat used by millions of ducks geese shorebirds and other waterbirds every fall winter and spring.
about 93%were in the central and southern portions of the Central Valley concentrating in areas extensively flood irrigated for alfalfa
and irrigated pasture. Millions of migratory birds rely on the flooded agricultural fields each year. Conservation and agricultural groups can work together to benefit birds
if a program of economic incentives can be devised for farmers to maintain flooding of crops such as alfalfa
and irrigated pasture to the benefit of both farmers and curlews. Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Point Blue Conservation Science.
#Pathogenic E coli binds to fresh vegetablesfood-poisoning outbreaks linked to disease-causing strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli are associated normally with tainted meat products.
However between 20-30%of these are caused by people eating contaminated vegetables as was seen in the 2011 outbreak in Europe that caused 53 deaths.
We think this mechanism is common to many food-borne bacteria and shows that they can exploit common factors found in both plants
so we can reduce the risk of food-borne disease. The researchers believe that the E coli O157:
The work shows that these bacteria are transported not simply through the food chain in an inert manner
as a result of strict control measures at all stages of the food chain from plough to plate they do still occur as was seen in 2013
when contaminated watercress entered the food chain resulting in seven people being hospitalised. By understanding the mechanisms of how the bacteria interact with plants the researchers are hoping to find targeted ways to stop the binding reducing the risk of food contamination.
Story Source: The above story is provided based on materials by Society for General Microbiology. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length h
#The human food connection: Authentic Puerto rican food in Connecticuttucked away in Hartford Connecticut a Puerto rican community is creating a tropical home away from home through cuisine that is so authentic it has caught the attention of scientists.
David W. Taylor (University of Portland) and Gregory J. Anderson (University of Connecticut) took a close look at the fresh crops in the Puerto rican markets of Hartford
and uncovered evidence that gives new meaning to a phrase that food lovers have been using for years:
and Asia with favorite plants in tow the Puerto ricans of Hartford have maintained cuisine as an important component of their identity.
Such a strong relationship to food has had a profound impact on human health by reshaping environmental biodiversity influencing the diets of neighbors and preserving elements of culture.
The similarities between the market foods in temperate Hartford and tropical Puerto rico demonstrate the great cultural value that the Puerto rican community places on its cuisine--which they have recreated after moving to a climatically culturally
and food is one of the most important. Over the course of nearly two decades Taylor and Anderson carefully and patiently measured the diversity of crops in the marketplace their availability over time the proportion of market space dedicated to each
and the willingness of consumers to pay for preferred items. The study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Botany includes the analysis of nearly 100 tropical crops
Fresh starchy plants called viandas were the most essential food group for recreating a sense of home.
The first is Culinary Cultural Conservation or the preservation of cuisine over time and distance.
The second is Cultural Keystone Food Group or food groups that prove to be more vital to the cuisine than others like the viandas in this study.
Taylor and Anderson designed these concepts to help scientists analyze the cuisines of different communities and draw important comparisons between them.
According to Taylor a major challenge in the study was the long wait period. Our first market survey studies showed
and savoring the rewards of getting to know a rich culture including the delicious cuisine.
One of our favorite dishes was Mofongo a meal composed of green plantain mashed to form a hollow ball that is then cooked with a filling inside.
They are uncovering the foods that shape our identity and create an essential connection to home.
and this is leading to increased formalization of the market with traditional medicines now found in powders liquids and creams.
Those who preferred farm-sourced material said this was expected because of higher quality from good crop husbandry increasing scarcity in the wild and for some a deliberate choice to conserve wild resources.
Many of the country's pasture soils have become enriched in cadmium. Grasses take up this toxic heavy metal
if cadmium concentrations rise to unsafe levels in meat and dairy products human health and New zealand's agricultural economy could be jeopardized.
The use of phosphate fertilizers over many decades--contaminated with cadmium--created the current conditions.
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