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This study aims at comparing two Italian case studies in relation to schoolchildren's plate waste and its implications, in terms of nutritional loss, economic cost and carbon footprint. Plate waste was collected through an aggregate selective weighting method for 39 d. Children from the first to the fifth grade from four primary schools, two in each case study (Parma and Lucca), were involved. With respect to the served food, in Parma, the plate waste percentage was lower than in Lucca ( < 0·001). Fruit and side dishes were highly wasted, mostly in Lucca (>50 %). The energy loss of the lunch meals accounted for 26 % (Parma) and 36 % (Lucca). Among nutrients, dietary fibre, folate and vitamin C, Ca and K were lost at most (26-45 %). Overall, after adjusting for plate waste data, most of the lunch menus fell below the national recommendations for energy (50 %, Parma; 79 %, Lucca) and nutrients, particularly for fat (85 %, Parma; 89 %, Lucca). Plate waste was responsible for 19 % (Parma) and 28 % (Lucca) of the carbon footprint associated with the food supplied by the catering service, with starchy food being the most important contributor (52 %, Parma; 47 %, Lucca). Overall, the average cost of plate waste was 1·8 €/kg (Parma) and 2·7 €/kg (Lucca), accounting respectively for 4 % and 10 % of the meal full price. A re-planning of the school meals service organisation and priorities is needed to decrease the inefficiency of the current system and reduce food waste and its negative consequences.

Poor storage methods lead to high postharvest losses in maize, an essential staple in sub-Saharan Africa. Smallholder farmers’ knowledge and awareness of postharvest nutritional losses (PHNLs), practices regarding maize grain storage, and factors influencing use of improved storage protection practices were investigated in two districts in Zimbabwe through a cross-sectional field survey of 331 households randomly selected from lists of farmers’ names kept by local extension staff. A multistage sampling technique was used involving purposively selecting the study districts then randomly selecting the study wards, the villages and the households. Twenty eight key informant were purposively selected being officers and stakeholders working or residing in the two districts and involved in postharvest and nutrition issues. The most commonly used storage practices were the admixture of maize grain with synthetic grain protectant pesticides followed by storage of untreated grain in polypropylene bags. Highly toxic pesticides, such as Cabaryl 85 WP and Acetamiprid 20 SP, which are not registered for stored food grain treatment, were being applied by 14.6% of the farmers to protect their grain from insect attack. We developed a PHNL knowledge index that measured farmers’ nutritional knowledge and awareness of PHNL. Level of education and district positively correlated with farmers’ PHNL knowledge (p < 0.05), whereas the opposite was found for farmers’ age (p < 0.05). Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that use of grain storage protection practices was positively related to farmers’ age, total maize grain production, education level and PHNL knowledge (p < 0.05). Older farmers were less likely to use non-recommended chemicals to protect their maize grain during storage. Farmers’ education level and total maize grain production were positively associated with higher use of synthetic pesticides, while PHNL knowledge was associated with the use of traditional grain protectants (p < 0.05). Training on grain storage management, especially safe grain storage protection practices and PHNLs, is essential to contribute towards household food and nutrition security.

PurposeThis study estimates the land footprint, nutrients and monetary value of persimmon loss in Brazil, and also consolidated the methodological approach for assessing resources related to food loss.Design/methodology/approachIt uses data on the harvested area, production, production loss and production value of persimmon in Brazil from 2014 to 2019. The persimmon loss in Brazil was converted into macro- and micronutrients, land use and monetary value.FindingsThe average annual production loss, loss production value and land footprint of persimmon are 35,100 tons, US$12m  and 1,673 hectares, respectively. Persimmon loss represents the average loss per year of 6.6bn grams of carbohydrates, 1.6bn grams of food fibers, 7.2bn milligrams of vitamin C, 41.8bn micrograms of vitamin A, 4.5bn milligrams of calcium and 54.8bn milligrams of potassium. These nutrients have the potential to meet the nutritional daily needs of approximately 135,000, 176,000 people, 270,000, 164,000, 12,000 and 32m, respectively.Practical implicationsThrough (1) research and innovation; (2) infrastructure development; (3) training and education; (4) collaboration and networking; and (5) market diversification and value addition, people can increase persimmon shelf life, reduce postharvest losses and create a resilient environment for small persimmon farmers. This approach promotes sustainability in the agri-food system and empowers stakeholders.Originality/valueThis investigation helps to understand the value of food loss, considering the use of natural resources, as well as the loss of nutrients and monetary value.

Fish is a unique source for human consumption and also the food industry. In this sense, different nanobiotechnology-based applications especially have been used for providing food safety, improving the taste and preferences of fish meat, keeping the nutritional components in fish meat for human consumption, and eliminating nutritional losses with cooking. Nanofibers, nanoparticles, nanoliposomes, and nanoemulsions are good candidates for preserving fish meat from microbial spoilage and oxidative deterioration. Nanoliposomes particularly fabricated with seaweeds have delayed (free fatty acid, peroxide value, etc.) the rapid undesired formation in fish meat or fish oil. Besides nanoliposome, being revealed that especially nanoparticles (from biopolymer) and nanoemulsions mostly obtained from citrus oils effectively delay the rapid oxidation in fish meat. Also with these applications, the nutritional quality of processed products has been protected. In this regard, it is reported that nanofiber applications integrated with sous-vide cooking or baking of fish meat like salmon meat samples effectively can protect against nutritional losses in fish meat. Probiotic bacteria such as and which are encapsulated in nanobiotechnology-based material can be successfully used both to preserve the meat and to improve the functional properties of raw or processed/cooked fish meat. These nanobiotechnological approaches improve food safety by limiting microbiological spoilage such as mesophilic and psychrophilic for fish meat samples. The mentioned nanopreservation approaches provide a better solution as compared with conventional methods with fewer materials usage in the food industry. Some studies also support that this is a cost-effective method, especially in terms of food additive usage in foods. Above all, these mentioned processes related to food nanobiotechnology can improve food safety, and limit nutritional losses due to cooking procedures, so this review suggests that the nanobiotechnology-based approaches can be a guiding role for further applications in the food industry.

Grewia asiatica, commonly known as phalsa, is a widely cultivated fruit in Pakistan, valued for its nutritional and medicinal benefits. Being a perishable fruit with limited shelf life and rapid spoilage, a preservation approach is needed to extend fruit shelf life and product development. In this context, we aimed to extend the shelf life of G. asiatica fruit pulp using conventional and lyophilization drying and to evaluate their impact on nutritional composition, phytochemicals attributes, sensory evaluation and product shelf life for fruit pulp powder stored at ambient conditions for 3 months (0, 45th and 90th day). For the study, ripe G. asiatica fruit sourced from local farms were subjected to cleaning followed by drying using conventional and lyophilization processes. The resulting fruit powder was packed in sealed foil bags and stored at room temperature for 3 months, subjected to nutritional properties, phytochemicals, antioxidant capacity, and sensory evaluation on the 0, 45th, and 90th storage days. The results showed that both techniques increased the shelf life of powder. However, lyophilization resulted in better retention of vitamin C, antioxidant activity, and better free radical scavenging activity in fruit powder than conventional drying. Color parameters and sensory evaluation were also affected by drying and storage conditions as an advancement of storage resulted in decreased consumer acceptability. These findings demonstrate that lyophilization effectively preserves nutritional and phytochemical qualities of G. asiatica powder, making it a viable preservation approach for prolonging fruit shelf life while maintaining its health promoting compounds and functional properties. The lyophilized G. asiatica fruit pulp powder may have potential use in the food industry as an additive in ready-to-use products to enhance nutritional attributes, color, and better consumer acceptability for dried powders.

Storage mites are considered to be detrimental to grain fitness and commonly cause a change in the chemical composition of the stored wheat. The present study showed the changes in nutritional value of the wheat grains of variety Lasani-08 when subjected to infestation with varying population levels of the acarid mite, Rhizoglyphus tritici (Acari: Acaridae) for one month and three months. Maximum moisture contents were 17.06 and 17.73% in infested grains as compared to 16.10 and 16.36% for control after one and three months of storage, respectively. The protein contents were lowest (12.66%) after three months of storage with highest level of mite infestation. Also, there was a significant effect of mite population on fat contents. Maximum decrease in fat contents was recorded after three months, which was from 1.28 and 0.93% for control and infested wheat with 20 pairs of mites, respectively. The fiber contents increased significantly in infested grains compared to control which was 1.03% to 1.72% and from 1.07 to 1.99 after one and three months interval, respectively. The ash contents increased in treated grains (2.03%) compared to control (1.23%) after three months of storage. Starch contents decreased after three months of storage with mite infestation. Although the ash and fiber increased with storage and mite infestation, the increase due to depletion of protein, fat and carbohydrate. It can be concluded that mites are responsible for nutrient depletion of wheat during storage

The effects of three different ages of natural fallow vegetation on runoff and sediment loss were investigated in a part of the rainforest zone of Nigeria. Measurements of runoff amount and sediment loss were made for the months of March to November in 2012 rainy season using runoff plots of 40 m2. The average runoff amount for the 5-year-old, 3-year-old, and farmland plots were 0.47, 0.26, and 0.41 mm respectively. The average sediment loss on the 5-year-old, 3-year-old, and farmland plots were 209.24, 50.54, and 124.68 kg/ha, respectively. The lowest losses for both runoff and sediment were recorded on the 3-year-old plot, while the 5-year-old plot experienced the highest losses. The variations in runoff and sediment loss among the treatments were significant at P < 0.001. The results evidently showed that rainfall was principally responsible for the erosional losses on all the fallow treatments, and that ground cover (density of herbs) and girth helped to reduce sediment loss on the 3-year-old and farmland surfaces, respectively. The high amount of erosional losses experienced on the 5-year-old fallow than on the 3-year-old fallow and farmland plots imply that fallow that is not adequately protected by ground cover experiences accelerated soil erosion. The continuous loss in topsoil rich in plant nutrients may prolong the optimal capacity of the soil to regain its loss nutrient for subsequent food crop cultivation.

Maintaining a functional natural dentition plays an important role in keeping a satisfactory nutritional status. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between oral health conditions determined by the presence of edentulism and the number of missing teeth, nutritional status and consumption of nutrients by the elderly. This cross-sectional study comprised 494 independent elderly of both genders, over 60 years of age, registered at the Brazilian public health service in Londrina, southern Brazil. The data collection included: oral examinations; anthropometric measurements by calculating the Body Mass Index (BMI); analysis of food consumption based on a multiple pass 24-hour dietary recall and a food intake frequency questionnaire; and structured interviews to obtain sociodemographic information. Multiple linear regression, the Fisher’s Exact test, chi-square and Mann‑Whitney tests, were applied at a 5% significance level. The prevalence of edentulism was 47.3%; this predominated in females, age group from 65 to 74 years, low education level and low/medium economic classification. A larger number of underweight and fewer number of overweight elderly were recorded among the edentulous versus dentate participants (< 0.0001). Significantly lower consumption of several nutrients, as well as fruit, was recorded among the edentulous group. In particular, carbohydrates, vitamins (B1, B9 and C), and the majority of the minerals studied were associated with a larger number of missing teeth. In conclusion, tooth loss was associated with the food consumption pattern of some macro- and micronutrients and the nutritional status of the Brazilian elderly.