The Lubin Files

Marion Nestle books on display

Dr. Marion Nestle, professor of nutrition, public health, and sociology at New York University, delivered the 6th George McGovern lecture on World Food Day here at FAO.   For this occasion, the US Mission to the UN Agencies for Food and Agriculture donated some highly regarded books by Dr. Nestle to the David Lubin Memorial Library.  These titles are currently on display in the library:

• Food politics: how the food industry influences nutrition and health -
  
  • James Beard Foundation Book Award winner, 2003, literary category;
  • Association for American Publishers Award winner, 2003 (outstanding professional and scholarly title in nursing and allied health);
  • World Hunger Year Harry Chapin Media Award winner, 2003
• Safe food: bacteria, biotechnology and bioterrorism -
• • San Francisco Chronicle Best Books of 2003
  • Daniel E. Griffiths Research Award winner, NYU Steinhardt School,
• What to eat
  
  • National Multiple Sclerosis Society Books for a Better Life Award winner, 2007, (Wellness category);
  • James Beard Foundation Book Award winner, 2007, reference category;
  • Amazon.com editors' Top Ten Books of 2006, Health, Mind, and Body
• Taking sides: clashing views on controversial issues in food and nutrition

Calorie content miscalculation?

New Scientist* reports that the current method used to calculate calories is flawed.  In fact, FAO examined this issue in 2002 and reported on it.  Apparently, calorie absorption can vary depending on texture, cooking method and fiber content of the food in question, but today's food labelling system ignores these factors.  Author Bijal Trivedi contends that consumers may make misguided and nutritionally poor decisions based on the calorie labels.

*The David Lubin Memorial Library has New Scientist in both paper (1956 - current) and electronic form.  Electronic access is through the Proquest Database, but only 31 August 2002 (Volume 175, Issue 2358) through 30 June 2007 (Volume 194) are available in full text form.  Abstracts are available from 7 January 1989 (Volume 121, Issue 1646) through the current issue.  New Scientist provides full text access to its current issue through its website.

Free access to online journal on food science and food safety

If you work on food science or food safety issues, you may be interested in taking a look at Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, published by Wiley-Blackwell.  It's  a peer-reviewed online journal of the Institute of Food Technologists, covering topics such as "chemical, physical, engineering, physiological, psychological, microbiological, nutritional, sensory, risk analysis (assessment, management, communication), genetic engineering, analytical, cost, or regulatory aspects of foods, food ingredients, food packaging, food processing/storage, or food safety."

How to feed the whole world

In this TED talk, former FAO staff member Louise Fresco argues that a smart approach to large-scale, industrial farming and food production will feed our planet's incoming population of nine billion. Only foods like (the scorned) supermarket white bread, she says, will nourish on a global scale. . .

View the talk here.

Potential risks arising from nanotechnologies on food and feed safety

On 5 March EFSA published an Opinion on the use of nanotechnology in the food and feed chain (the so called engineered nano materials, ENM).

Many are the possibilities of application of ENM in this area: "in production/processing technology, to improve food contact materials, to monitor food quality and freshness, improved traceability and product security, modification of taste, texture, sensation, consistency and fat content, and for enhanced nutrient absorption. Food packaging makes up the largest share of current and short-term predicted markets.”

However the question is: Can current risk assessment methodologies, procedures and paradigms be applied to nanotechnology to estimate potential risks for public health? 

To know more read the Opinion on EFSA website 

Vitamin A levels in feed for main food producing animals

EFSA was asked by the European Commission to estimate the vitamin A intake of the population. In particular to estimate thepossible risk of bone health problems in elderly people associated with high vitamin A intakes. 

The News reported on EFSA website states that the "Panel on additives and products or substances used in animal feed" (FEEDAP) is now recommending the introduction of revised maximum vitamin A contents for feed for most food-producing animals. This is suggested as a measure for the protection of consumers.

It all comes down to corn...

A study published in the November 10 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences emphasizes the "overwhelming importance of corn agriculture within virtually every aspect of fast food manufacture" in the United States."

The study's authors examined the chemical composition of hundreds of hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and french fries purchased in fast food restaurant chains across the United States.  They discovered that the molecular signature of corn was present in every single food sample except for 12 beef samples that suggest the "possibility" of having been fed a "food source other than corn."  

The American agricultural system encourages intensive corn production, which leads to animal production based on corn as cheap feed.  One would assume that corn enters the french fry picture when they are fried in oil made from it.

This pervasive influence of corn on the American diet (and the prevalence of fast food in the American diet) can be feasibly linked to serious consequences on American health¹, like rises in heart disease, obesity, and type two diabetes.

Read Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in fast food: Signatures of corn and confinement authored by Hope Jahren and Rebecca A. Kraft.  Published in the PNAS.

______________________________________________________________
1.Early scientific literature on people eating corn-fed meat instead of grass-fed meat suggests changes in the composition of fats in the human diet.

Zanzibar spice

I apologize for not having posted lately, as I have been out of the office.

I hope I can make up for the lapse with some pictures I took at a spice farm on the island of Zanzibar.

Cinnamon Leaf
 

Cinnamon bark
 

Ginger plant

Ginger root and leaf

Cardamom plant

Cardamom seed pod

Turmeric plant

Turmeric root

Nutmeg fruit
 

Nutmeg stone

Clove

Lemongrass

Exotic fruits

Just the other day, I heard about the approval for importation of boabab into the UK.  Did you know that it has 6 times the amount of vitamin C as an orange?

Thanks to the Agrobiodiversity weblog for pointing out links to these articles.

Can a crisis have a silver lining?

During the Cuban economic crisis in the 1990s, per capita energy intake gradually decreased, while the proportion of physically active adults increased. These changes were sustained for a period of around 5 years.

The result was widespread modest weight loss and a decline in all-cause mortality and death rates from diabetes and cardiovascular disease...

Read the rest of this article from the Canadian Medical Association Journal (vol 178, p. 1032).