The Costs of Local Food Procurement in Two Northern Indigenous Communities in Canada

Remote Northern Ontario First Nations communities face severe food insecurity. Prices of store foods are often unaffordable and not always in stock. Government programs have been implemented to subsidize some of the market food costs. Our objective is to illustrate the costs associated with procuring food from the land through hunting and fishing in an effort to present this as an alternate option to relying solely on store-bought foods. Northern Ontario is an area of the world undergoing a rapid nutrition transition leading to high levels of obesity and type 2 diabetes. Despite this knowledge, little has been done to reverse this trend using land based foods, widely promoted as nutritionally beneficial. We conclude that estimated cost of food from the land requires significant energy and time, but remains economically comparable to food available in-store. Further government support should be given to community hunters to make land-based food a viable option for a larger proportion of each community.     

The Effects of Natural Extracts on the Quality Changes of Frozen Chub Mackerel (Scomber japonicus) Burgers

The effects of the use of natural antioxidants on the quality of frozen chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) burgers stored at ?18 °C were investigated in terms of sensory, biochemical (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances-TBARS, total volatile basic nitrogen, peroxide value and free fatty acids) and microbiological analyses (total viable count—TVC, total psychrotrophic count—TPC). Oregano, green tea, sage and laurel extracts were obtained by using steam distillation method. After that, thawed fish were headed, gutted and filleted. Fillets were then minced and divided into nine groups. These were the control without plant extract, O1 with 0.3% oregano extract, O2 with 0.6% oregano extract, G1 with 0.3% green tea extract, G2 with 0.6% green tea extract, S1 with 0.3% sage extract, S2 with 0.6% sage extract, L1 with 0.3% laurel extract and L2 with 0.6% laurel extract. Plant extracts together with burger ingredients were added to each group. All groups were stored at ?18 °C for 9 months. According to the results of sensory analyses, the control at 7 months of storage, oregano and green tea at 9 months of storage, sage and laurel groups at 8 months of storage were rejected by panellists and considered as unaccepptable. Natural extracts were effective in controlling biochemical indices. TVC content of fish burgers did not exceed the limit during storage period for all groups (<6 log CFU/g). TPC slightly decreased with storage time. Additions of oregano, green tea and laurel extracts except sage extract reduced (P?<?0.05) lipid oxidation in fish burger and have the potential to be incorporated into fish burgers.     

Evaluation of Sample Preparation Procedures for Trace Element Determination in Brazilian Propolis by Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectrometry and Their Discrimination According to Geographic Region

Propolis is a complex mixture of substances collected by honeybees from buds or exudates of plants, beeswax, and other constituents, as pollen and sugars. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate two digestion procedures for determination of major, minor, and trace elements (Ba, Ca, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in natura propolis samples by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES). The first procedure studied was an open-vessel digestion using HNO₃ + H₂SO₄ + H₂O₂ in a heating block and the second one was a microwave-assisted concentrated acid digestion using HNO₃ + H₂O₂. Both digestion procedures led to similar results and quantitative recoveries. The residual carbon contents (RCCs) for propolis sample digests were 0.269?±?0.012 % when using the first procedure with conventional heating and 0.458?±?0.023 % by microwave-assisted closed vessel digestion, demonstrating high efficiency of both procedures. Accuracy of the results was demonstrated using a certified reference material and by comparison with a recommended official method. The t test (unpaired) at 95 % confidence level showed that there was no significant difference between determined and certified values of all analytes under investigation, except Ca concentration employing conventional procedure. The optimized microwave-assisted digestion procedure led to recoveries around 89–103 % and precision better than 5 % for most samples. The second procedure was faster, safer, and more accurate than the one based on conductive heating. Additionally, principal component analysis (PCA) was applied for checking if there was correlation between inorganic composition and source of propolis samples collected around Bahia State in the Northeast of Brazil.     

Bromine, Chlorine, and Iodine Determination in Soybean and its Products by ICP-MS After Digestion Using Microwave-Induced Combustion

A method for bromine, chlorine, and iodine determination in soybean and related products was developed by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after digestion by microwave-induced combustion (MIC). Samples were pressed as pellets and combusted using pressurized oxygen (20 bar) and ammonium nitrate solution (50 μL of 6 mol L^?1) as the igniter. Analytes were absorbed in alkaline solution (100 mmol L^?1 NH₄OH), and a reflux step of 5 min, microwave power of 1,400 W, was applied after combustion in order to improve analyte recoveries. For Cl determination by ICP-MS, a dynamic reaction cell was used with ammonia as the reaction gas. The accuracy was evaluated using certified reference materials (CRMs) and spiked samples. Using MIC, the agreement with CRM values and spike recoveries was higher than 95 % for all analytes for certified reference materials of a similar composition (National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), corn bran and NIST, whole milk). Limits of detection were 0.03, 1.2, and 0.002 μg g^?1 for Br, Cl, and I, respectively. The residual carbon content in the digests obtained after MIC procedure was lower than 0.5 %. Blanks were always negligible and no memory effects were observed. Digestion by MIC allowed processing up to eight samples by each run in 25 min with high efficiency of digestion providing a suitable medium for further bromine, chlorine, and iodine determination by ICP-MS.     

Characterization of patterns of food packaging usage in Portuguese homes

This study aimed to further refine the exposure assessment of migrants from food-contact materials by characterizing, at the household level, food packaging usage (amount and type) in Portuguese urban families. Packages from domestic use were collected from a sample of 105 consumers from 34 households over a 30-day period. Collected packages (more than 6000 items) were characterized in the laboratory and data were used to estimate: (i) global packaging usage and food intake; (ii) the consumption factors (CF) that describe the fraction of the daily diet expected to be in contact with specific packaging materials and (iii) the food-type factors (FTF) that reflect the fraction of all food contacting each material which differ in nature according to six major types: aqueous, acidic, alcoholic, milky, fatty and dry. The daily intake of packaged food and beverages consumed at home ranged from 5–50 g kg^?1 bw. Considering all materials, total package usage ranged from 0.1 to 0.6 dm² day^?1 kg^?1 bw. The ratio between package surface area in contact and the quantity of food was determined for all packaging items collected and an average value of 25 dm² kg^?1 food was recorded. Data were gathered and presented in a manner compatible with current probabilistic approaches to exposure assessment. In this way, relevant consumption patterns from this type of population can be best represented in exposure assessments and subsequent risk assessments.     

Seasonal Variations in Fatty Acid Composition of Different Tissues of Mirror Carp,Cyprinus Carpio,in Orenler Dam Lake,Afyonkarahisar, Turkey

The seasonal variations of fatty acids compositions in the muscle, liver, and ovarian tissues of mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio) living in Örenler Dam Lake were determined by using gas chromatography. The results obtained were subjected to statistical analyses by employing SPSS software and p < 0.05 was accepted as significant value. In the statistical analyses, multiple comparisons tests were performed. The results showed that monounsaturated fatty acids levels were found to be higher than that of polyunsaturated fatty acids and saturated fatty acids in all seasons. Palmitic and stearic acid levels were the highest in ovaries (19.95% in winter and 7.79% in summer, respectively). Oleic and palmitoleic levels were at the highest levels in liver tissues (34.53% in summer and 18.37% in winter, respectively). Docosahexaenoic (C22:6ω3, DHA), eicosapentaenoic (C20:5ω3, EPA), eicosatrienoic acid, and arachidonic (C20:4ω6, AA) levels were at the highest level as 17.27, 2.54, and 8.41% in ovaries in the winter and 6.37% in muscle tissues in the spring, respectively. ω3/ω6 ratios were 0.62–0.98 in muscle, 1.54–2.82 in the liver, and 2.82–3.89 in the ovaries. From the point of total fatty acid variations, the highest variations were observed as follows: muscle in spring (26.73%), liver in winter (33.85%), and ovaries in winter 36.38%.     

Stagnant Effective Thermal Conductivity of Agro-Industrial Residues for Solid-State Fermentation

The stagnant effective thermal conductivities (K₀) of sugar cane bagasse (SCB), wheat bran (WB), orange pulp and peel (OPP) and their combination (weight proportion 1:2:2 SCB/OPP/WB) were obtained using the line heat source method. These solid materials were applied to pectinase production via solid-state fermentation. The moisture content ranged from 4 to 80% (w.b.). A conduction mechanism through the porous media was observed, along with conduction through a liquid film and contact thermal resistance between the samples and the probe. K₀ was low for intermediate moisture contents and approached the molecular conductivity of water for high moisture contents.     

Estimation of Whole Volume of Green Shelled Mussels using their Geometrical Attributes Obtained from Image Analysis

Aquacultured green shelled mussels are an important export product of New Zealand. Using image analysis, several geometrical attributes of live mussels were measured. The volume of individual live mussels was estimated by several methods. When the cubic splines method was applied to top and side view images, volume was estimated with a coefficient of determination of R² = 0.97. When only the top view area was used, the R² decreased to 0.94. When the side view area was also included and empirical equations were fitted to estimate whole volume, the R² was 0.97. When measured length, width, and thickness were used to estimate volume, the R² was 0.95. There was a wide variation of the measured density of live mussels (1.05–1.27 g/cm³). Also, the condition index of the live mussels varied between 48 and 95. There was no correlation between the size of the mussel and its condition index. The mass of the mussel meat could not be accurately predicted by using the whole mass of the live mussel.     

Possible Mechanism behind the Hard-to-Swallow Property of Oil Seed Pastes

Roasted and crushed oil-rich seeds, such as sesame paste and peanut butter, both share a common structure and elicit an apparent sensation of thickening in the mouth. Working with sesame paste, as an example, the force needed to compress sesame paste:water mixtures peaked at 25% added water. The adhesive force required to pull a plunger from the surface was bimodal with peaks at around 15 and 25% hydration. It is postulated that when introduced to the mouth, water from the saliva is absorbed by the paste leading to a hard, adhesive material that sticks to the palate and the tongue, making these materials hard to swallow. It is hypothesized that the shared hard-to-swallow behaviour exhibited by other oil seed pastes/butters is due to a similar hydration process in the mouth.