NUTRITION AND FOOD SCIENCES RESEARCH
Year:2016 | Volume:3 | Issue:3|Papers Count:7

Food Insecurity (FI) defines as the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally foods adequately or the inability to achieve them in ways which is socially acceptable (1).FI is considered as an international public health issue particularly in developing countries (2). In 1995 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reported the prevalence of FI in USA as 11.9% which increased to 14.6% in 2008 (3). Its prevalence was reported 5.7% in Finland, 10% in Canada (4), 50% in Malaysia (5) and 70% in Bolivia (6)...

Background and Objectives: Diabetes mellitus is among the most common causes of mortality in the world and an important risk factor for chronic kidney disease, foot amputation, ischemic heart disease and blindness among older adults. Diabetic patients mostly develop hyperlipidemia, which can result in cardiovascular diseases. Patient’s knowledge, attitude and practices toward diet are the core center for diabetes control and affect their metabolic control and complications. In the present study, we measured nutritional knowledge, attitude and practices and their relations to serum lipids, HbA1C, and fasting blood glucose in diabetic patients of Boirahmad County, southwest of Iran, where many people encounter increasing prevalence of diabetes.Materials and Methods: 198 IDDM patients from the rural and urban areas of Boirahmad County were invited to the health centers to be checked for their fasting blood glucose, serum total cholesterol, serum HDL cholesterol, serum triglyceride and also serum glycosylated hemoglobin. Their knowledge, attitude, and practices toward the diabetic diet were assessed using a validated questionnaire. The obtained scores were classified into three categories (Poor, average, and Good) to show their knowledge, attitude and practice levels, and the serum parameters were compared between the levels to show the relevancies.Results: Our data showed that the patients’ knowledge and attitude on diabetic nutrition are mostly at the average level (79.3% and 47.1%, respectively) but their practice scores are mostly at the poor level (43.8%), and just a minor proportion of the patients are at the appropriate levels (15.3, 33, and 23.1% of knowledge, attitude and practices, respectively). In addition, we found a significant reverse relationship between the patients’ nutritional knowledge and serum HbA1C (p=0.003), and also between their attitude and serum triglyceride (p<0.05).Conclusions: Our data suggest that the knowledge, attitude and practices of diabetic patients in Boirahmad are not satisfying; also it is necessary to run interventional studies to find the best educational methods to improve, control and manage the diabetics in this area.

Background and Objectives: In the original in vitro method for evaluation of iron bioavailability using caco-2 cell model, ferritin formation by cells is considered as a functional indicator of both absorption and utilization of iron.However, as iron is measured in the tested material and then ferritin concentration is measured in caco-2 cell lysate, it is almost impossible to have a concrete measure of iron bioavailability because the percent of absorbable iron cannot be calculated by the concentration of iron in caco-2 cell lysate. To overcome this problem, the original method was modified by using ferrous sulfate tablet as a standard and also including blank well in the cell culture plate to subtract the baseline ferritin concentration from the ferritin concentration of other wells.Materials and Methods: To evaluate iron bioavailability in this model, one kind of Iranian traditional breads (Sangak) was used. Standard curve was plotted using iron concentration and ferritin/protein ratio in the X and Y axes, respectively.Results: The standard curve showed a linear equation: Ferritin (ng) /protein (mg) = (5.96 × bread Fe)+11.55, R2=0.989.Using this equation, the bioavailability of iron from the tested bread was 79.76 ± 11.5% of ferrous sulfate. Considering that the reported iron bioavailability from ferrous sulfate is about 10%, bioavailability of iron from the bread could be regarded 8%.Conclusions: This data can be potentially usable to adjust the amount of absorbable iron in the target population for fortification programs.

Background and Objectives: Sarcopenia is explained as the loss of muscle strength and muscle mass with aging‚ and is one of the major risk factors for metabolic diseases. Cross-sectional studies demonstrate that vitamin D is associated with sarcopenia in both men and women. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of vitamin D supplement consumption on muscle strength, muscle function and body composition in middle-aged women.Materials and Methods: In this randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial, 71 women aged 40-55 years old, with the serum 25 (OH) -D<25 ng/ml, were divided in two groups randomly, and received a 1000 IU vitamin D tablet (n=37) or a placebo (n=34), daily for 12 weeks. At the beginning and at the end of the study, dietary intake, anthropometric indices, muscle strength and function, serum 25 (OH) -D, physical activity level and sun exposure were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS version 20.Results: A significant difference in serum 25 (OH) -D was found between the intervention and placebo groups at the end of the study (P<0.001). In the vitamin D group, handgrip strength was improved, while hand grip strength (P=0.233) and knee extension strength (P=0.337) between the two groups did not differ significantly after 12 weeks. The mean of timed get up and go test, decreased significantly in the vitamin D group compared to the controls (P<0.001). Within the intervention group, body fat content decreased significantly after 12 weeks (P<0.001), but did not result a significant difference between the two groups (P=0.051).Conclusions: It seems in this vitamin D-deficient middle-aged women group, 1000 IU vitamin D consumption daily for 12 weeks resulted in improvement of muscle function and body composition, but had no significant effect on muscle strength.

Background and Objectives: Non-sanitary conditions during the drying, transport and storage stages in the production of spices could introduce mycotoxin contamination. The aim of the current study was to determine the concentration of ochratoxin A (OTA) in 92 commercial spices (including red pepper, black pepper, turmeric and cinnamon) imported to Iran.Materials and Methods: OTA levels were determined using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection coupled with immunoaffinity column clean-up step. Mobile phase consisted of acetonitrile–water–acetic acid (49.5: 49.5: 1.0, v/v/v), and the flow rate was 1 ml/min.Results: The recovery values ranged from 77.10% ± 6.66 to 94.84% ± 8.38 for spiking of cinnamon at 0.5 and 5 ng/g, respectively. Overall, 29 out of the 92 (31.5%) samples were contaminated with OTA ranged from 0.45 to 18.64 ng/g. The results from statistical analysis revealed that there was significant difference (p<0.05) between the types of spices in the concentration of OTA.Conclusions: Incidence of OTA contamination in red pepper and cinnamon was significantly higher than in black pepper and turmeric. The highest concentration of OTA was detected in a sample of red pepper (18.64 ng/g). The results revealed that it is essential to continue regular monitoring for OTA in imported spices to shield consumer health.

Background and Objectives: Pre-requisite programs (PRPs) are “primary conditions and requirements essential for HACCP operations, which are crucial in food safety programs”. The present study was conducted to evaluate the impact of implementation of PRPs on the microbial parameters of pasteurized milk (according to the National Standard of Iran). Effectiveness of HACCP operation requirements and efficiency of Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) were also evaluated in control of the above-mentioned microbial parameters.Materials and Methods: According to the approved checklist of the Vice-chancellor in Food and Drug affairs, PRPs of 26 factories were evaluated from March 2014 to March 2015 in two-month intervals, and their total and component scores were obtained along with the microbial parameters of pasteurized milk. Generalized Estimating Equations (GEEs) were used to determine the significance of total score and the impact of its components on controlling microbial hazards.Results: There was a reverse significant relation between the total scores of the PRPs and microbial hygiene indices (total and coliform count) which approves the effectiveness of operating the programs in controlling the mentioned microorganisms. Efficiency of each pre-requisite program was different in controlling the microbial parameters. Good Laboratory Practice (GLP) had a prominent effect on controlling of the index microorganisms of hygienic operations. Overall, the results showed a little probability of contamination with E.coliin the pasteurized milk samples of Fars Province for which the statistical analysis was ignored.Conclusions: The exact operation of PRPs resulted in reduction of microbial parameters in a way that increasing the total score of PRPs led to decrease in microbial parameters of total count (TC), coliforms, molds and yeasts. The findings further suggest the application of this checklist in evaluation and prediction of microbial parameters.

Background and Objectives: Sodium nitrite and potassium nitrite have been traditionally used for inhibition of Clostridium botulinum and also as an agent to stabilize the color of meat products; however, usage of these additives at high levels could lead to toxicity and cancer originating from the formation of nitrosamines.Nowadays, application of natural preservatives in order to reduce the nitrite content in meat products is increasing. Thus, we used dry red grape pomace (DRGP) as a natural alternative to sodium nitrite.Materials and Methods: The effect of two levels of DRGP (1 and 2%) on the proximate composition, microbial counts, pH values and residual nitrite level of the samples formulated with two levels of sodium nitrite (30 and 60 mg/kg), as well as the comparison of these sausages with the blank (nitrite-free) and control (full nitrite added) samples on the 1rst, 10th, 20th and 30th days of storage at 3-5 °C were evaluated.Results: The results showed that all chemical compositions were in the ranges reported by other researchers, and nitrite was very effective in preventing the microbial growth. Also about 50 % of the ingoing nitrite could be analyzed in the samples after processing. Moreover, the residual nitrite level declined both during the storage of sausage and after the addition of DRGP.Conclusions: The use of DRGP in combination with nitrite for sausages was more effective in keeping the quality and safety of the refrigerated consumer products as indicated by the lower nitrite levels, microbial count and similar composition as compared to the samples treated with nitrite and without nitrite.