No abstract

In our study population, consumption of yellow cassava led to modest gains in serum retinol concentration and a large increase in β-carotene concentration. It can be an efficacious, new approach to improve vitamin A status. This study was registered with clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01614483.

Context Dietary intake research has increasingly focused on improving diet quality in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Accompanying this is the need for sound metrics to assess diet quality. Objective This systematic literature review aims to describe existing diet quality indices for general populations and highlights recommendations for developing such indices for food system research in LMICs. Data sources Three electronic databases were searched for papers published between January 2008 and December 2017. Data extraction Articles published in English and describing the development of an index to measure overall diet quality, irrespective of whether they were for high-income countries or LMICs, were included. Data analysis Eighty-one indices were identified, over two thirds were based on national dietary guidelines from high-income countries. Of the 3 key diet quality dimensions, “diversity” was included in all 18 indices developed for LMICs, “moderation” was captured by most, and “nutrient adequacy” was included 4 times. Conclusions Indices need to be developed that include all dimensions, include foods and/or food groups rather than nutrients, use an optimal range for individual components in the score, and express the intake of healthy and unhealthy components separately. Importantly, validation of the index should be part of its development.

Low vegetable intake is associated with higher incidence of noncommunicable diseases. Data on global vegetable intake excluding legumes and potatoes is currently lacking. A systematic review following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines was conducted to assess vegetable consumption and supply in adult populations and to compare these data to the existing recommendations (≥240 g/day according to World Health Organization). For vegetable intake data online, websites of government institutions and health authorities, European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Comprehensive European Food Consumption Database, STEPwise approach to surveillance (STEPS) and Pubmed/Medline databases were searched from March 2018 to June 2019. Vegetable supply data was extracted from Food Balance Sheets, Food and Agriculture Organization Corporate Statistical Database (FAOSTAT), 2013. Vegetable intake was expressed as means and 95% confidence intervals. Data were summarized for each region by calculating weighted means. Vegetable intake and supply data were available for 162 and 136 countries, respectively. Weighted mean vegetable intake was 186 g/day (56–349 g/day). Weighted mean vegetable supply was 431 g/day (71–882 g/day). For 88% of the countries vegetable intake was below the recommendations. Public health campaigns are required to encourage vegetable consumption worldwide. In the 61% of the countries where vegetable supply is currently insufficient to meet the recommendations, innovative food system approaches to improve yields and decrease post-harvest losses are imperative.

Context: Biofortification of staple crops is a promising strategy for increasing the nutrient density of diets in order to improve human health. The willingness of consumers and producers to accept new crop varieties will determine whether biofortification can be successfully implemented. Objective: This review assessed sensory acceptance and adoption of biofortified crops and the determining factors for acceptance and adoption among consumers and producers in low- and middle-income countries. Data sources: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science were searched for published reports. Unpublished studies were identified using an internet search. Study selection: From a total of 1669 records found, 72 primary human research studies published in English or Spanish met the criteria for inclusion. Data extraction: Data were extracted from each identified study using a standardized form. Results: Sensory acceptability (n = 40) was the most common topic of the studies, followed by determinants of acceptance (n = 25) and adoption (n = 21). Of crops included in the studies, sweet potato and maize were the most studied, whereas rice and pearl-millet were the least investigated. Overall, sensory acceptance was good, and availability and information on health benefits of the crops were the most important determinants of acceptance and adoption. Conclusions: Changes to the sensory qualities of a crop, including changes in color, did not act as an obstacle to acceptance of biofortified crops. Future studies should look at acceptance of biofortified crops after they have been disseminated and introduced on a wide-scale.

BackgroundBiofortification of cassava with pro-vitamin A can potentially reduce vitamin A deficiency in low-income countries. However, little is known about consumer acceptance of this deep yellow variety of cassava compared to the commonly available white varieties. We aimed to determine the sensory and cultural acceptability of the consumption of pro-vitamin A rich cassava in order to identify key factors predicting the intention to consume pro-vitamin A rich cassava by families with school-aged children in Eastern Kenya.MethodsSensory acceptability was measured by replicated discrimination tests and paired preference tests among 30 children (7–12 yr) and 30 caretakers (18–45 yr) in three primary schools. Cultural acceptability was assessed with a questionnaire based on the combined model of The Theory of Planned Behavior and The Health Belief Model in one primary school among 140 caretakers of children aged 6 to 12 years. Correlations and multivariate analyses were used to determine associations between summed scores for model constructs.ResultsCaretakers and children perceived a significant difference in taste between white and pro-vitamin A rich cassava. Both preferred pro-vitamin A rich cassava over white cassava because of its soft texture, sweet taste and attractive color. Knowledge about pro-vitamin A rich cassava and it's relation to health (‘Knowledge’ ((β = 0.29, P = <.01)) was a strong predictor of ‘Health behavior identity’. Worries related to bitter taste and color (‘Perceived barriers 1’ (β = −0.21, P = .02)), the belief of the caretaker about having control to prepare cassava (‘Control beliefs’ (β = 0.18, P = .02)) and activities like information sessions about pro-vitamin A rich cassava and recommendations from health workers (‘Cues to action’(β = 0.51, P = <.01)) were the best predictors of intention to consume pro-vitamin A rich cassava.ConclusionsPro-vitamin A rich cassava is well accepted by school children in our study population.

Biofortification is an effective method to improve the nutritional content of crops and nutritional intake. Breeding for higher micronutrient mineral content in beans is correlated with an increase in phytic acid, a main inhibitor of mineral absorption in humans. Low phytic acid (lpa) beans have a 90% lower phytic acid content compared to conventional beans. This is the first study to investigate mineral and total phytic acid retention after preparing common household recipes from conventional, biofortified and lpa beans. Mineral retention was determined for two conventional, three biofortified and two lpa bean genotypes. Treatments included soaking, boiling (boiled beans) and refrying (bean paste). The average true retention of iron after boiling was 77.2–91.3%; for zinc 41.2–84.0%; and for phytic acid 49.9–85.9%. Soaking led to a significant decrease in zinc and total phytic acid after boiling and refrying, whereas for iron no significant differences were found. lpa beans did not exhibit a consistent pattern of difference in iron and phytic acid retention compared to the other groups of beans. However, lpa beans had a significantly lower retention of zinc compared to conventional and biofortified varieties (p < 0.05). More research is needed to understand the underlying factors responsible for the differences in retention between the groups of beans, especially the low retention of zinc. Combining the lpa and biofortification traits could further improve the nutritional benefits of biofortified beans, by decreasing the phytic acid:iron and zinc ratio in beans.

Climate change impacts on food security will involve negative impacts on crop yields, and potentially on the nutritional quality of staple crops. Common bean is the most important grain legume staple crop for human diets and nutrition worldwide. We demonstrate by crop modeling that the majority of current common bean growing areas in southeastern Africa will become unsuitable for bean cultivation by the year 2050. We further demonstrate reductions in yields of available common bean varieties in a field trial that is a climate analogue site for future predicted drought conditions. Little is known regarding the impact of climate change induced abiotic stresses on the nutritional quality of common beans. Our analysis of nutritional and antinutritional compounds reveals that iron levels in common bean grains are reduced under future climate-scenario relevant drought stress conditions. In contrast, the levels of protein, zinc, lead and phytic acid increase in the beans under such drought stress conditions. This indicates that under climate-change induced drought scenarios, future bean servings by 2050 will likely have lower nutritional quality, posing challenges for ongoing climate-proofing of bean production for yields, nutritional quality, human health, and food security.