Editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 39, Issue 2.
At present, the main concern seems to be with a credit crunch and forthcoming recession. While this brings the horrors of careful spending with job losses and repossession of properties it is a time when people are looking more at their lifestyle and the interest in nutrition and health is maintained.
People are cooking more at home rather than eating out and also using cheaper cuts of meat to make tasty family meals as well as using less expensive products from supermarkets. However, they are looking at treats so there is an interest in specialist products especially ones that are locally sourced.
With looming job losses in some sectors people are keen to maximise their health by looking after themselves including what they eat.
Individuals are looking at additional training to bring new skills and make them more valuable in the employment situation. Part of this includes training in nutrition and food safety.
Companies are also keen to keep their competitive edge with both training and research into new products and processes.
Nutrition & Food Science has been put together to embrace this with the following papers:
Characteristics of Indian honey provides information on this well liked product especially as it is increasingly being served on the winter dish of porridge;
Fruit and vegetables are important to health due to the antioxidants and fibre they provide. A study of school intervention to improve preferences for fruit and vegetables provides innovations in this area of encouraging children to increase their consumption;
Dyslipidaemias are associated with obesity and coronary heart disease and research on HDL levels is important in this area of research;
With people looking at unusual snacks an evaluation of some chemical constituents of Tigernut seeds adds to information on snacks;
Nutrition in schools comprises a massive initiative with the School Food Trust providing information on standards of foods and snacks, which can be served. Information on a snack service model for schools, from Finland, can provide alternative opportunities for school catering;
Distribution of essential and non-essential elements in leafy products is helpful to researchers in developing countries;
Iron deficiency anaemia is common throughout the world and particularly affects women of child bearing age. So a paper on the awareness and consumption of iron from Mauritius can provide good examples of practice throughout the world;
Antioxidant intake is important in preventing various disorders such as cancer and coronary heart disease. Information on the antioxidant properties of selected non leafy vegetables adds to the information on antioxidant contents of vegetables; and
With palm oil being increasingly used in products the nutritional quality of chicken nuggets prepared using palm fat is of assistance to the altering profile of fatty acid consumption.
I have also tried to include a variety of conference reports on a range of topics from obesity to food innovation and food fairs as well as the care sector.
Mabel Blades
