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Background/Objectives: Improving food safety practices among young adults is critical to public health, but effective communication strategies are under-researched. This study investigated the effectiveness of a 12-day message-based intervention to promote safe food handling practices using a randomised controlled trial. Methods: A total of 588 participants (aged 18 to 35 years) were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions or to a control group. Participants in the intervention groups received daily messages via a mobile app, while the control group received no messages. The intervention combined belief-based content to raise awareness with skill-based content to teach practical food handling, framed by either positive or negative emotional appeals. The experimental conditions differed in message congruence, with belief-based and skill-based content framed either consistently (both positive or both negative) or inconsistently (one positive, one negative). To assess the impact of the intervention, self-reported adherence to food safety practices, food safety awareness, and self-efficacy were measured at baseline and post-intervention. Results: The results showed that the intervention significantly improved food safety practices, especially when the messages were congruent in valence. Pre-intervention self-efficacy moderated the effects, with higher self-efficacy increasing receptivity to certain messages, while lower self-efficacy benefited from a different framing. Self-efficacy, but not awareness, mediated behaviour change, highlighting its key role in the success of the intervention. Conclusions: These results emphasise the importance of message valence congruence and individual self-efficacy levels in designing effective food safety interventions. Future research should investigate long-term intervention effects, adaptive mHealth strategies, and tailored communication approaches to maximise engagement and sustained behaviour change.

Legumes are low-carbohydrate food and are abundant in dietary fiber. In order to provide a functional staple food that does not cause a rapid increase in postprandial blood glucose levels, four kinds of legumes were focused on as ingredients. Noodles made from dehulled yellow pea, unshelled yellow pea, chickpea, and lentil were prepared and evaluated as functional staple foods for controlling blood glucose via an in vitro digestion method. We also measured breaking stress and breaking strain using a creep meter, as well as sensory tests on a 9-point hedonic scale. The noodles made from yellow pea had high values for both breaking stress and breaking strain, and was highly regarded in the sensory tests. Therefore, the noodles made from yellow pea on postprandial glucose and insulin response were measured in a randomized double-blind study (n = 12). The results show that noodles made from yellow pea have a low glycemic index (50.4), and have potential as a functional staple food.

The formation of amylose–lipid complexes (ALC) had been associated with reduced starch digestibility. A few studies have directly characterised the extent of ALC formation with glycaemic response. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of using fats with varying degree of saturation and chain length on ALC formation as well as glycaemic and insulinaemic responses after consumption of bread. Healthy men consumed five test breads in a random order: control bread without any added fats (CTR) and breads baked with butter (BTR), coconut oil (COC), grapeseed oil (GRP) or olive oil (OLV). There was a significant difference in glycaemic response between the different test breads (P=0·002), primarily due to COC having a lower response than CTR (P=0·016), but no significant differences between fat types were observed. Insulinaemic response was not altered by the addition of fats/oils. Although BTR was more insulinotropic than GRP (P<0·05), postprandial β-cell function did not differ significantly. The complexing index (CI), a measure of ALC formation, was significantly higher for COC and OLV compared with BTR and GRP (P<0·05). CI was significantly negatively correlated with incremental AUC (IAUC) of change in blood glucose concentrations over time (IAUCglucose) (r –0·365, P=0·001). Linear regression analysis showed that CI explained 13·3 % of the variance and was a significant predictor of IAUCglucose (β=–1·265, P=0·001), but IAUCinsulin did not predict IAUCglucose. Our study indicated that a simple way to modulate glycaemic response in bread could lie in the choice of fats/oils, with coconut oil showing the greatest attenuation of glycaemic response.

PurposePreventive health effects of coffee could have a widespread impact on public health. Green coffee has more phenols than roasted, and thus is healthier, although with less acceptable organoleptic properties. Therefore, the effects of regularly consuming a green/roasted coffee blend (35/65) on the main components of MetS in humans were evaluated.MethodsA crossover, randomized, controlled study was performed in 25 normocholesterolaemic and 27 hypercholesterolaemic men and women aged 18–45 years with BMI 18–25 kg/m2. Three servings/day of the blend, providing 510.6 mg hydroxycinnamic acids and 121.2 mg caffeine/day, were consumed versus a control drink, during 8 weeks each. Polyphenol and methylxanthine-rich foods were restricted along the study. At the beginning (baseline) and end of the control and coffee interventions, blood samples were collected and glucose, HDL-cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, leptin, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), resistin and visfatin were analysed; waist circumference, %body fat, and blood pressure were measured and dietary records and physical activity questionnaires completed.ResultsSystolic and diastolic blood pressure decreased (p = 0.001 and p < 0.001, respectively) in both groups as well as %body fat (p = 0.001) which may be related to the lower leptin (p = 0.001), PAI-1 (p < 0.001) and resistin (p = 0.034) levels in the two groups after coffee consumption. Glucose concentration (p = 0.030) and insulin resistance (p = 0.011; HOMA-IR) also decreased, as well as triglyceride levels (p = 0.017), so that the reduction was much greater in the hypercholesterolaemics (group effect, p = 0.027).ConclusionRegular consumption of the green/roasted coffee blend may be recommended to healthy and hypercholesterolaemic subjects to prevent MetS, as it produces positive effects on blood pressure, glucose and triglyceride levels.

Dietary advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are believed to contribute to pathogenesis of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The objective of this study was to determine if a diet high in red and processed meat and refined grains (HMD) would elevate plasma concentrations of protein-bound AGEs compared with an energy-matched diet high in whole grain, dairy, nuts and legumes (HWD). We conducted a randomized crossover trial with two 4-week weight-stable dietary interventions in 51 participants without type 2 diabetes (15 men and 36 women aged 35.1 ± 15.6 y; body mass index (BMI), 27.7 ± 6.9 kg/m2). Plasma concentrations of protein-bound Nε-(carboxymethyl) lysine (CML), Nε-(1-carboxyethyl) lysine (CEL) and Nδ-(5-hydro-5-methyl-4-imidazolon-2-yl)-ornithine (MG-H1) were measured by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The HMD significantly increased plasma concentrations (nmol/mL) of CEL (1.367, 0.78 vs. 1.096, 0.65; p < 0.01; n = 48) compared with the HWD. No differences in CML and MG-H1 between HMD and HWD were observed. HMD increased plasma CEL concentrations compared with HWD in individuals without type 2 diabetes.

Oats can be processed in a variety of ways ranging from minimally processed such as steel-cut oats (SCO), to mildly processed such as large-flake oats (old fashioned oats, OFO), moderately processed such as instant oats (IO) or highly processed in ready-to-eat oat cereals such as Honey Nut Cheerios (HNC). Although processing is believed to increase glycaemic and insulinaemic responses, the effect of oat processing in these respects is unclear. Thus, we compared the glycaemic and insulinaemic responses elicited by 628 kJ portions of SCO, OFO, IO and HNC and a portion of Cream of Rice cereal (CR) containing the same amount of available-carbohydrate (23 g) as the oatmeals. Healthy males (n 18) and females (n 12) completed this randomised, cross-over trial. Blood was taken fasting and at intervals for 3 h following test-meal consumption. Glucose and insulin peak-rises and incremental AUC (iAUC) were subjected to repeated-measures ANOVA using Tukey’s test (two-sided P<0·05) to compare individual means. Glucose peak-rise (primary endpoint, mean (sem) mmol/l) after OFO, 2·19 (sem 0·11), was significantly less than after CR, 2·61 (sem 0·13); and glucose peak-rise after SCO, 1·93 (sem 0·13), was significantly less than after CR, HNC, 2·49 (sem 0·13) and IO 2·47 (sem 0·13). Glucose iAUC was significantly lower after SCO than CR and HNC. Insulin peak rise was similar among the test meals, but insulin iAUC was significantly less after SCO than IO. Thus, the results show that oat processing affects glycaemic and insulinaemic responses with lower responses associated with less processing.

Readability of infant formula preparation instructions is universally poor, which may result in inaccurate infant feeding. Given that inaccurate formula dispensing can lead to altered infant growth and increased adiposity, there is an increased need for easy to follow instructions for formula preparation. We hypothesize that altering infant formula instruction labels using feedback from iterative focus groups will improve the preparation accuracy of powdered infant formula in a randomized controlled trial. Participants were recruited from the community, 18 years of age or older, willing to disclose demographic information for focus group matching, and willing to participate freely in the first (n = 21) or second (n = 150) phase of the study. In the second phase, participants were randomized to use the standard manufacturer instructions or to use the modified instructions created in the first phase. Accuracy was defined as the percent error between manufacturer-intended powder formula quantity and the amount dispensed by the participant. Participants who were assigned to the modified instructions were able to dispense the powdered formula more accurately than participants who used the standard manufacturer instructions (−0.67 ± 0.76 vs. −4.66 ± 0.74% error; p < 0.0001). Accuracy in powdered formula dispensing was influenced by bottle size (p = 0.02) but not by body mass index (p = 0.17), education level (p = 0.75), income (p = 0.7), age (p = 0.89) or caregiver status (p = 0.18). Percent error of water measurement was not different between the groups (standard: −1.4 ± 0.6 vs. modified: 0.7 ± 0.6%; p = 0.38). Thus, caloric density was more accurate in the modified instructions group compared to the standard manufacturer instructions group (−0.3 ± 0.6 vs.−2.9 ± 0.9%; p = 0.03). Infant formula label modifications using focus group feedback increased infant formula preparation accuracy.

PurposeTo assess the impact of an intervention for baker’s allergy and asthma in supermarket bakeries.MethodsA group randomised trial conducted in 31 bakeries (n = 337 bakers) that were randomly assigned to one of two intervention groups (n = 244 bakers) and a control group (n = 93 bakers). Health data collected prior to and 1-year after the intervention included information obtained from an ECRHS questionnaire; tests for atopy and serum-specific IgE to cereal flours; fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO). Data from the two intervention groups were combined to form one intervention group for purposes of the statistical analysis.ResultsAt 1 year of follow-up, the incidence and level of decline of work-related ocular–nasal and chest symptoms, sensitisation status and elevated FeNO (FeNO > 25 ppb) was similar in both intervention and control groups. The mean FeNO difference was also similar across both groups (2.2 ppb vs 1.7 ppb, p = 0.86). In those with FeNO > 25 ppb at baseline, the decline was greater in the intervention compared to control group (16.9 ppb vs 7.7 ppb, p = 0.24). Multivariate logistic regression models (adjusting for smoking, baseline sensitisation to cereal flour, baseline FeNO > 25 ppb) did not demonstrate an appreciable FeNO decline (≥ 10%) in the intervention compared to control group. However, stratification by the presence of work-related ocular–nasal symptoms in bakers at baseline demonstrated a significant FeNO decline (≥ 10%) in the intervention compared to the control group (OR 3.73, CI 1.22–11.42).ConclusionThis study demonstrates some evidence of an intervention effect on FeNO 1 year after an intervention, particularly in bakers with work-related ocular–nasal symptoms.

A study was conducted to test the effects of Jerusalem artichoke inulin (JA) or chicory inulin (CH) in snack bars on composition of faecal microbiota, concentration of faecal SCFA, bowel habit and gastrointestinal symptoms. Forty-five volunteers participated in a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group study. At the end of a 7 d run-in period, subjects were randomly assigned to three groups of fifteen subjects each, consuming either snack bars with CH or JA, or snack bars without fructans (placebo); for 7 d (adaptation period), they ingested one snack bar per day (7·7 g fructan/d) and continued for 14 d with two snack bars per day. The composition of the microbiota was monitored weekly. The consumption of CH or JA increased counts of bifidobacteria (+1·2 log10 in 21 d) and reduced Bacteroides/Prevotella in number and the Clostridium histolyticum/C. lituseburense group in frequency at the end of intervention (P < 0·05). No changes in concentration of faecal SCFA were observed. Consumption of snack bars resulted in a slight increase in stool frequency. Stool consistency was slightly affected in subjects consuming two snack bars containing CH or JA per day (P < 0·05). Consumption of CH or JA resulted in mild and sometimes moderate flatulence in a few subjects compared to placebo (P < 0·05). No structural differences were detected between CH and JA before and after processing. In conclusion, adaptation on increased doses of CH or JA in bakery products stimulates the growth of bifidobacteria and may contribute to the suppression of potential pathogenic bacteria.

Whole pulses (beans, peas, chickpeas and lentils) elicit low postprandial blood glucose (BG) responses in adults; however, their consumption in North America is low. One potential strategy to increase the dietary intake of pulses is the utilisation of commercial pulse powders in food products; however, it is unclear whether they retain the biological benefits observed with whole pulses. Therefore, the present study examined the effects of commercially prepared pulse powders on BG response before and after a subsequent meal in healthy young men. Overall, three randomised, within-subject experiments were conducted. In each experiment, participants received whole, puréed and powdered pulses (navy beans in Expt 1; lentils in Expt 2; chickpeas in Expt 3) and whole-wheat flour as the control. All treatments were controlled for available carbohydrate content. A fixed-energy pizza meal (50·2 kJ/kg body weight) was provided at 120 min. BG concentration was measured before (0–120 min) and after (140–200 min) the pizza meal. BG concentration peaked at 30 min in all experiments, and pulse forms did not predict their effect on BG response. Compared with the whole-wheat flour control, navy bean treatments lowered peak BG concentrations (Expt 1, P< 0·05), but not the mean BG concentration over 120 min. The mean BG concentration was lower for all lentil (Expt 2, P= 0·008) and chickpea (Expt 3, P= 0·002) treatments over 120 min. Processing pulses to powdered form does not eliminate the benefits of whole pulses on BG response, lending support to the use of pulse powders as value-added food ingredients to moderate postprandial glycaemic response.