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At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Comparative biokinetics of tritium in rats during continuous ingestion of tritiated water and tritium-labeled food.

PURPOSE: The biokinetics of tritium during continuous ingestion of tritiated water and tritiated wheat were investigated to estimate the radiation dose rates at the end of two modes of chronic exposure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar strain male rats continuously ingested tritiated water as drinking water and tritiated wheat as food for 14 weeks. Urine and tissue samples were obtained and total tritium in the fresh wet samples and organically bound tritium (OBT) in the freeze-dried samples were determined. RESULTS: The biokinetics of tritium was different between the two modes of exposure. The concentration of total tritium in the tissues exposed to tritiated water attained a steady-state condition by 2-3 weeks. The steady-state condition in the case of exposure to tritiated wheat was not observed for 10 weeks after the start of exposure in the majority of tissues. The relatively efficient and prolonged OBT formation during chronic exposure to tritiated wheat resulted in relatively high incorporation and retention of tritium in the tissues compared with those for exposure to the same activity of tritiated water. CONCLUSION: Radiation dose rates estimated at the end of continuous ingestion showed that tritiated wheat gave higher dose rates than tritiated water by a factor of 1.3 to 4.5, but the factors were within 2.0 in the majority of tissues except for small intestine and adipose tissue.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1992

Biokinetics of tritium incorporation into the tissues of rats during continuous ingestion of tritiated water or tritium-labeled food.

Wistar strain male rats were continuously given tritiated water or tritiated wheat as drinking water or food for 70 days. During the ingestion, the tritium incorporation into rat tissues was examined in both wet and dry samples of liver, kidney, testis and blood. The concentration of organically bound tritium (OBT) in dry tissues of rats exposed to tritiated water (HTO) and 3H-food (tritiated wheat) attained an equilibrium within 2-3 weeks after the exposure. The concentration of OBT in dry tissues of rats exposed to HTO also reached an equilibrium within 3-4 weeks after the exposure. However, rats exposed to 3H-food, except for the liver, such an equilibrium state was not reached in other tissues and the OBT concentrations increased gradually throughout the exposure. The relative concentrations of total 3H and OBT at the end of the chronic ingestion of 3H food (70 day), expressed in percentages of the total activity were 1 and 9 times higher than those in rats exposed to HTO, respectively. In both groups, OBT as well as total 3H was almost uniformly distributed among the tissues examined.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Review of statutory and voluntary labelling of food allergens.

Food allergy represents an increasingly important health problem, with prevalence in Western Europe continuing to rise. While some reactions are mild, others can include life-threatening anaphylactic shock. It is estimated that food allergies affect 1-2% of the adult population and < or =8% of children. Relatively few foods are to blame for a large majority of allergic reactions to food in the UK, with most reactions being to milk, eggs, peanuts (Arachis hypogea), nuts, fish, shellfish, soyabean, sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) and wheat. There is currently no cure for food allergy and the few available treatments are focused on relieving the specific symptoms. Consumers with food allergies and food intolerances rely on food labelling to enable them to make informed choices about the foods they eat. Whilst there have recently been important advances in the labelling of food allergens, these advances relate only to requirements for the labelling of the deliberate use of specified food allergens in foods sold pre-packed. In other areas the development of guidance for food manufacturers and retailers on how to assess the risks of possible allergen cross-contamination during food production and manufacture, and then to determine appropriate advisory labelling, is well advanced. Work to address the issue of how to provide appropriate allergen information for foods sold loose, or in catering establishments, is also in progress.

Allergens↗
PubMed2001

A perspective on food energy standards for nutrition labelling.

Food energy values used for nutrition labelling and other purposes are traditionally based on the metabolisable energy (ME) standard, which has recent support from. By reference to current practices and published data, the present review critically examines the ME standard and support for it. Theoretical and experimental evidence on the validity of ME and alternatives are considered. ME and alternatives are applied to 1189 foods to assess outcomes. The potential impact of implementing a better standard in food labelling, documentation of energy requirements and food tables, and its impact on users including consumers, trade and professionals, are also examined. Since 1987 twenty-two expert reviews, reports and regulatory documents have fully or partly dropped the ME standard. The principal reason given is that ME only approximates energy supply by nutrients, particularly fermentable carbohydrates. ME has been replaced by net metabolisable energy (NME), which accounts for the efficiency of fuel utilisation in metabolism. Data collated from modern indirect calorimetry studies in human subjects show NME to be valid and applicable to each source of food energy, not just carbohydrates. NME is robust; two independent approaches give almost identical results (human calorimetry and calculation of free energy or net ATP yield) and these approaches are well supported by studies in animals. By contrast, the theoretical basis of ME is totally flawed. ME incompletely represents the energy balance equation, with substantial energy losses in a missing term. In using NME factors an account is made of frequent over-approximations by the ME system, up to 25 % of the NME for individual foods among 1189 foods in British tables, particularly low-energy-density traditional foods. A new simple general factor system is possible based on NME, yet the minimal experimental methodology is no more than that required for ME. By accounting for unavailable carbohydrate the new factor system appears as specific to foods as the USA's food-specific Atwater system, while it is more representative of energy supply from food components. The NME content of foods is readily calculable as the sum from fat (37 kJ/g), protein (13 kJ/g), available carbohydrate (16 kJ/g), fully-fermentable carbohydrate (8 kJ/g), alcohol (26 kJ/g) and other components. Obstacles to the implementation of NME appear to be subjective and minor. In conclusion, the ME standard is at best an approximate surrogate for NME, and inadequately approximates food energy values for the purpose of informing the consumer about the impact on energy balance of the energy supply for equal intake of individual foods. NME is superior to ME for nutrition labelling and other purposes.

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Naughty but nice: a laboratory study of health information and food preferences in a community sample.

The influence of information about the fat content of food and cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention on taste ratings and food intake in a test meal was examined. Forty Ss were allocated at random to CVD information or control conditions. Ss rated 2 brands of yogurt and 2 cheese sandwiches, with 1 flavor of each food labeled full-fat and the other low-fat. In fact, fat levels were identical, and the label-flavor pairings were counterbalanced. Overall, Ss gave lower liking ratings to the low-fat labeled foods. However, Ss in the information condition tended to eat a smaller proportion of the full-fat sandwiches. The results supported the utility of a laboratory setting for evaluating the influence of health-relevant information on responses to food.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Information provision for allergic consumers--where are we going with food allergen labelling?

As the current treatment for food allergy involves dietary exclusion of the problem food, information for food-allergic consumers provided on food labels about the nature of allergenic ingredients is important to the management of their condition. The members of an EU-funded networking project, InformAll, focusing on developing strategies for the provision of credible, reliable sources of information for food allergy sufferers, regulators and the food industry, have been considering these matters with respect to food labelling. This paper presents an overview of the genesis of the new EU directive on food labelling, its relevance to food-allergic consumers and the problems that might arise if precautionary labelling becomes more widespread in response to concerns regarding inadvertent allergen contamination in foods. International efforts to define threshold levels of allergens able to trigger a reaction coupled with validated allergen detection methods are essential if the food industry is to implement effective hazard control procedures and address the problems of cross-contact allergens without devaluing the information provided to consumers on food labels.

Allergens↗
PubMed2002

Interpretation of commercial food ingredient labels by parents of food-allergic children.

BACKGROUND: To avoid allergic reactions, food-allergic consumers depend on the ingredient labels of commercial products. Complex ingredient terminology (eg, casein and whey for milk) and label ambiguities (eg, natural flavor and may contain peanut ) might compromise the ability of patients/parents to determine the safety of particular products. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this investigation was to determine the accuracy of label reading among parents of food-allergic children. METHODS: Parents of children on restricted diets attending our referral center were asked to review a group of 23 food labels taken from widely available commercial products. For each label, each parent/parent pair was asked to indicate whether the product was safe for the allergic child and, if it was not, which foods restricted from the child's diet were in the product. RESULTS: There were 91 participants. Peanut was the most commonly restricted food (82 children), followed by milk, egg, soy, and wheat (60, 45, 27 and 16 children, respectively). Identification of milk and soy was the most problematic: only 4 (7%) of 60 parents correctly identified all 14 labels that indicated milk, and only 6 (22%) of 27 parents correctly identified soy protein in 7 products. Peanut was correctly identified in 5 products by 44 (54%) of the 82 parents restricting peanut. Wheat (10 labels) and egg (7 labels) were correctly identified by most parents (14/16 and 42/45, respectively). Correct label identification was associated with prior instruction by a dietitian. CONCLUSIONS: With current labeling practices, most parents are unable to identify common allergenic food ingredients. These results strongly support the need for improved labeling with plain-English terminology and allergen warnings as well as the need for diligent education of patients about reading labels.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Food nutrition label use is associated with demographic, behavioral, and psychosocial factors and dietary intake among African Americans in North Carolina.

OBJECTIVE: Reading nutrition labels on food packages may improve food choices and enable healthful dietary practices. This report describes the prevalence of nutrition label use and its association with demographic, behavioral, and psychological factors and diet among African-American adults. DESIGN/SUBJECTS: Self-reported data from a population-based cross-sectional survey of 658 African Americans, aged 20 to 70 years, in North Carolina. An 11-page questionnaire assessed nutrition label use, fruit and vegetable consumption, total and saturated fat intakes, fat-related dietary behaviors, diet-related psychosocial factors, and demographic and behavioral characteristics. STATISTICAL ANALYSIS: Chi2 tests and logistic regression analyses examined associations of demographic, psychosocial, and behavioral factors with nutrition label use. Linear regression was used to estimate the variation in diet explained by label use. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 43.9+/-11.6 years, 41% were men, 37% were college graduates, and 75% were overweight/obese. Seventy-eight percent of respondents read nutrition labels when they purchased packaged foods. Nutrition label use was significantly higher among participants who were women, older, educated beyond high school, and obese (P <.05). After adjusting for demographic characteristics, the strongest psychosocial predictors of nutrition label use were healthful eating self-efficacy, strong belief in a diet-cancer relationship, and trying to lose weight. Usual/often label users had higher fruit and vegetable consumption and lower fat intakes (P <.001), and nutrition labels explained 2% to 17% of the variance in dietary intake. CONCLUSIONS: Nutrition information on packaged foods appears to be a useful way to conduct point-of-purchase nutrition education among African Americans in North Carolina. Most respondents used food labels at least sometimes, but only about half usually or often did so. Efforts should be made to determine how all consumers could use nutrition labels effectively.

Adult↗