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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Masking foods for food challenge: practical aspects of masking foods for a double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge.

In diagnosing a food allergy or food intolerance, a double-blind, placebo-controlled food challenge (DBPCFC) with the suspected food or food substance is the only method available for objective confirmation of an assumed relationship between a suspected agent and a complaint. When the use of capsules as a vehicle for DBPCFC with the suspected agent is not feasible, recipes have to be developed for masking the suspected food with another food. We describe demands and other aspects of the development of recipes for DBPCFC purposes. The taste, smell, color, and texture of the suspected agent have to be hidden in such a way that the patient cannot tell which of the two foods (the active food or the placebo food) contains the suspected agent. Once developed, the recipes have to be judged carefully to ensure that the foods do not contain ingredients other than the suspected agent that can possibly provoke complaints in the patient. Besides ordinary equipment such as cutlery, glasses, and dishes, the minimal equipment needed for preparing the recipes is an accurate balance. The more laborious a recipe is to make, the more equipment is needed. The development of recipes and the preparation of masked foods are time-consuming, which makes DBPCFC with masked foods difficult to perform in daily clinical practice. Performing a DBPCFC with masked foods in daily clinical practice can be a great challenge to the imagination and creativity of a dietitian.

Capsules↗

[Food and food additives hypersensitivity in adult asthmatics. I. Skin scratch test with food allergens and food challenge in adult asthmatics].

OBJECTS: The aim of this study was to investigate in adult asthmatics, which kinds of food allergen can cause a positive reaction by skin scratch test and cause symptoms when administered as a food challenge. SUBJECTS AND METHOD: Three thousand one hundred and two adult asthmatic patients were submitted to skin scratch tests with housedust mite. Japanese cedar extracts and 33 types of food. Sixty one adult asthmatic patients with a history of immediate, adverse reactions after food ingestion underwent open food challenge. RESULT: Six hundred and twenty five of 3102 subjects (20.1%) had a positive test to one or more food allergens. The commonest food allergens were shrimp (27.7%), crab (27.7%), yeast (23.8%) and buckwheat (15.8%). The positive tests of shrimp, egg and cow's milk were highest in patients under 20 years and decreased with age, however the test rates of crab and soybean were not influenced by age. Positive food challenge responses occurred in 30/60 subjects (50%). The foods, which most of ten provoked a reaction, were buckwheat, shrimp, crab and bread. CONCLUSION: Skin scratch test results in adult asthmatics were different from those in atopic children where the commonest foods with positive tests were egg, cow's milk and soybean. Except for patients with a previous life-threatening reaction. Food allergy should be diagnosed by food challenge where a patient's history of adverse reaction to food, positive skin test and RAST strongly support specific food reactivity.

Adult↗

Appointment of medical officers of health (food safety) is essential for achieving food safety objectives in the UK. Response to food borne illness section (4.44-4.49) of the White Paper, the Food Standard Agency--a force for change, MAFF January 1998.

National surveys reveal that the public has lost confidence in the safety of food. There is lack of co-ordination and failure to overcome institutional barriers at many levels throughout the food chain. The abolition of the post of medical officer of health and the public health departments of local government over which it presided, in view of many, including members of parliament, has been the most damaging of all changes to the public health and many have asked for the restoration of this post. Health departments have no overall statutory responsibility for food safety. The medical expertise of medical officers of health provided the executive authority with the necessary support in managing and controlling outbreaks of food poisoning, a point emphasised in the recommendations made by an inquiry set up by the government following the worst ever outbreak of food poisoning in Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK. Only such an appointment at local level will restore public confidence in food safety.

Attitude to Health↗

Effects of food FR and food deprivation on disruptions in food-maintained performance of monkeys during phencyclidine withdrawal.

Six rhesus monkeys self-administered orally-delivered phencyclidine (PCP) and water under concurrent fixed-ratio (FR) 8 schedules. Liquids were available during three 6.5-h periods daily preceded by 1-h components when food was available under an FR 64 (lever press) schedule. After 10 days of stable behavior, water was substituted for PCP for 8 days. PCP was subsequently reinstated, and this PCP withdrawal sequence was repeated using different food FR values (64, 128, 256, 512 and 1024). Each time the food FR was changed behavior was allowed to stabilize for at least 10 days. Under all FR values food-maintained responding decreased markedly during PCP withdrawal, with a gradual recovery over the next 8 days. As the FR value increased from 64 to 1024 there was a parallel shift downward in food-maintained performance. When PCP was reinstated, food-reinforced responding generally returned to baseline rates during the first few days. In a second experiment monkeys were tested for PCP withdrawal effects under relatively food deprived or food satiated conditions under both an FR 512 and 1024 schedule of food delivery. The results showed that the decrease in food-maintained responding during withdrawal was inversely related to the total amount of food consumed during the control period. The results of these experiments indicate that manipulation of both the response requirements for food (FR) and the total amount of food available (food deprivation/satiation) alters the magnitude of response disruptions during PCP withdrawal.

Animals↗

Can goats learn about foods through conditioned food aversions and preferences when multiple food options are simultaneously available?

The objective of this study was to determine the extent to which herbivores are able to use conditioned food aversions and preferences to learn about the nutritional and toxic properties of food plants, when food options are simultaneously available. Conditioned food aversions and preferences have been invoked as important mechanisms by which free-ranging herbivores optimize food selection by learning about the negative and positive consequences of consuming particular plant species through a series of encounters. In most previous tests of this hypothesis, access to individual test foods has been separated in time, giving animals the opportunity to associate particular foods with particular post-ingestive effects. We presented animals with a more complex scenario by offering test feeds simultaneously during the learning phase. Such a test is an important step in assessing the importance of conditioned food responses as mechanisms by which herbivores learn to select an optimal diet. We first assessed the ability of goats to learn about test foods and their post-ingestive effects, when different conifer species were offered on separate days during the learning phase and animals were dosed with compounds eliciting positive, negative, or neutral post-ingestive effects. We then investigated the ability of animals to learn to make appropriate choices when all potential test foods were simultaneously available during the learning phase. The results confirmed that goats can learn to associate particular foods with particular post-ingestive effects and adjust their diet selection accordingly. The success with which animals made such associations was greatly reduced when they were presented with test foods simultaneously during the learning phase. When test foods were simultaneously available, animals tended to select a mixed diet, thereby reducing their opportunity to learn about the post-ingestive effects of particular foods. The results suggest that caution is required in extrapolating results of artificial conditioning experiments to free-ranging herbivores. The results also suggest that reducing the risk of toxicity through selection of mixed diets is an important component of a successful foraging strategy.

Animal Feed↗

U.S. Food and Drug Administration monitoring of pesticide residues in infant foods and adult foods eaten by infants/children.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration uses 3 approaches to monitor pesticide residues in foods: regulatory monitoring, incidence/level monitoring, and the Total Diet Study. The results of monitoring infant foods and adult foods that may be eaten by infants/children under these 3 approaches are presented. Under regulatory monitoring, which is performed to enforce tolerances set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), during fiscal years 1985-1991, over 10,000 such domestic and imported food samples were collected and analyzed, and under the Total Diet Study, in which pesticide residue intakes are estimated in foods prepared for consumption, the food items in 27 market baskets were analyzed. Under incidence/level monitoring, which is complementary to regulatory monitoring, over 4000 analyses were performed on infant foods and adult foods eaten by children. Fewer than 50 of the 10,000 regulatory samples had violative residues; nearly all of those were residues for which there was no tolerance for the particular commodity/pesticide combination. Under incidence/level monitoring and the Total Diet Study, the levels of pesticide residues found in infant foods and adult foods eaten by children were well below tolerances set by EPA.

Child↗

Differences in lymphocyte proliferative responses to food antigens and specific IgE antibodies to foods with age among food-sensitive patients with atopic dermatitis.

BACKGROUND: Clinical symptoms of patients with food-sensitive atopic dermatitis often improve with increasing age. OBJECTIVE: To investigate this tendency and the underlying mechanism. METHODS: We selected and divided 194 food-sensitive atopic dermatitis patients into three age groups. The proliferative responses of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) to food antigens and specific IgE antibodies to foods then were evaluated with respect to age. We also followed up 55 food-sensitive patients with atopic dermatitis and examined their improvement ratio after 1 year. Further, we investigated changes in lymphocyte proliferative responses to food antigens and specific IgE antibodies to foods in food-sensitive patients with atopic dermatitis during elimination diets. RESULTS: Proliferative responses of PBMCs to ovalbumin of patients in the over 6-years-old group were significantly (P < .05) lower than those of the less than 1-year-old group. Proliferative responses of PBMCs to bovine serum albumin of patients in the over 6-years-old group were significantly (P < .05) lower than those in the 1 to 5-year-old group and in the less than 1-year-old group. RAST values for hen egg in the over 6-years-old group were significantly (P < .05) lower than those for the less than 1-year-old group. Improvement was shown by 13 of the 33 hen egg-sensitive patients with atopic dermatitis, an improvement ratio of 39%, and by 9 of the 22 cow milk-sensitive patients with atopic dermatitis, an improvement ratio of 41%. Proliferative responses of PBMCs to food antigens in food-sensitive patients with atopic dermatitis decreased rapidly after patients were placed on elimination diets. CONCLUSION: The PBMC proliferative responses to food antigens and RAST values were higher for young children and lower for older ones who suffered from food-sensitive atopic dermatitis. Oral tolerance, in addition to the development of digestive and absorptive functions, may be responsible for these immunologic changes.

Adolescent↗

The Malmö Food Study: the relative validity of a modified diet history method and an extensive food frequency questionnaire for measuring food intake.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the relative validity of two diet assessment methods, an extensive quantitative food frequency questionnaire (method A) and a novel shorter quantitative food frequency questionnaire with a 14 day food record (method B). DESIGN: A randomized prospective cohort study. SETTING: General community. SUBJECTS: 206 residents of the town of Malmö, aged between 50-69 years, 101 men and 105 women who completed the methods during one year. METHODS: Both diet methods were designed to cover the whole diet and portion sizes were estimated using a booklet with 120 photographs; method A comprised 250 items and method B combined a two-week food record measuring lunch and dinner meals and a shorter 130 item quantitative food frequency questionnaire for average consumption of foods, snacks and beverages during the past year. An 18 day dietary record comprising six 3-day weighed records evenly distributed over one year served as a reference method. RESULTS: Pearson's correlation coefficients varied from 0.25 for fat intake to 0.84 for milk products for method A and from 0.32 for fish to 0.88 for meat for method B. Correlations for most food groups ranged between 0.50-0.80, and were higher for method B. Only small changes were noted after adjustment for energy intake. On average for most food groups categorization of subjects into quartiles, 55% of subjects belonging to the lowest quartile, and 57-59% of those belonging to the highest quartile for method A and B were correctly classified. CONCLUSION: A combined food record with a quantitative food frequency questionnaire is a better tool for food assessment than an extensive food frequency questionnaire.

Aged↗

Selection of a food classification system and a food composition database for future food consumption surveys.

OBJECTIVE: To harmonize food classification and food composition databases, allowing comparability of consumption at both food and nutrient levels in Europe. DESIGN: To establish the level of comparability at the food level, the EFCOSUM group benefited from the work already carried out within other European projects, which established a Euro Food Groups (EFG) classification system. Four food groups, ie bread, vegetables (excluding potatoes), fruits (excluding fruit juice) and fish and seafood, were judged on their applicability for making food consumption data comparable across countries at the food level. CONCLUSIONS: It was concluded that the EFG system could be used but that still much work has to be done. For food consumption data to be collected in the future, the software that will be used should enable conversion of foods 'as consumed' to foods at the 'raw edible' level. With respect to comparability of nutrient intake estimations, EFCOSUM advises waiting for the European Nutrient Composition Database (ENDB) currently being prepared by the EPIC group. Until this is available, comparison of consumption data at the nutrient level cannot be carried out between countries.

Databases, Factual↗

Glycemic index of single and mixed meal foods among common Japanese foods with white rice as a reference food.

OBJECTIVE: The objectives were to examine the feasibility of using white rice as a reference food in the study of glycemic index (GI) and to examine the GI values of both single and mixed meal foods among rice species, processed rice products, beans, and dairy products. DESIGN: Subjects were served with 50 g carbohydrate content of white rice at least two times (maximum three times) and test food once after separate overnight fasts. Capillary blood glucose measurements were carried out before and during 120 min after each food load. SETTING: The study was carried out in an outpatient setting. SUBJECTS: A total of 58 (38 females and 20 males) nondiseased subjects, mean aged 37 y and mean BMI 22 kg/m(2) were included. RESULT: The correlation between incremental area under curve of white rice and glucose was r=0.853 (n=10, P <0.0001) and white rice was considered suitable to be used as a reference food. Among mixed meal foods, the combination of carbohydrate foods with vinegar, dairy products, and bean products significantly decreased the GI value of white rice of 20-40%. The reduction of GI occurred whether the foods were taken together, before or after rice intake. GI of noodles such as udon, soba, and spaghetti showed low GI values. CONCLUSION: White rice could be used as a reference food in determining GI values of foods. A total of 32 single and mixed meal Japanese common food products were examined for their GI values.

Adult↗

Characterizing consumption patterns by food frequency methods: core foods and variety of foods in diets of older Americans.

This study was designed to explore the applications and limitations of two relatively simple and inexpensive scoring systems currently used to describe food patterns. The approaches examined were variety index and core foods. The sample, stratified by age and sex, consisted of adults more than 54 years old (no. = 4,983) who were interviewed in the 1977-1978 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey. Variety index was determined by counting the number of different foods consumed over 3 days. Core foods were identified by tallies of the most frequently mentioned foods and by calculations of frequency use scores. The variety of foods consumed was smallest for the oldest groups. Core food lists did not vary markedly with age, sex, or analysis by tally or score. The items consumed on at least 1 of the 3 days by approximately 50% of the persons surveyed were: whole milk, ground coffee, instant coffee, white bread, potatoes prepared by methods other than frying, margarine, and sugar. Although the variety index approach provides a general sense of nutrient diversity of a diet, core food lists with weighted scores appear to be more applicable when the relationship between food usage and food-related behaviors is studied and changes in eating patterns are monitored.

Age Factors↗

Haloperidol and nucleus accumbens dopamine depletion suppress lever pressing for food but increase free food consumption in a novel food choice procedure.

An important aspect of motivated behavior is that organisms will perform complex instrumental behaviors to gain access to stimuli such as food. In the present study, food-deprived rats were tested in an operant chamber in which the animals had a choice between pressing a lever to obtain a more-preferred food (Bioserve pellets), or free feeding on a less-preferred food (lab chow). Typically, rats pressed the lever to obtain the preferred food pellets, and ate little of the less-preferred food even though it was freely available. Pre-fed rats showed suppression of both lever pressing and feeding. Systemic administration of 0.1 mg/kg haloperidol (HP) led to a dramatic shift in the behavior of these rats, such that the number of lever presses was substantially reduced, but the amount of less-preferred food consumed showed a significant increase. This result occurred if the rats pressed a lever on either a CRF or FR5 schedule. Injection of 3.5-7.0 micrograms HP directly into the nucleus accumbens, or intra-accumbens injections of 6-hydroxy-dopamine, also decreased lever pressing for food and increased feeding on laboratory chow. Thus, interference with brain dopamine suppressed a highly active instrumental response for food, although the behavior of the animal was still directed towards food acquisition and consumption.

Animals↗

Assessment of the validity of a food frequency questionnaire as a measure of food use by comparison with direct observation of domestic food stores.

The aim of this study was to assess the validity as a measure of food use of a 90-item semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire which had been used in a study of food consumption patterns and health among 3,000 people aged 65 years and over selected at random from the electoral rolls of Adelaide, South Australia. In 1986, 18 months after the original survey, 200 randomly selected participants were invited to take part in the present study. The food frequency questionnaire was administered by mail, and results were compared with a direct observation of the foods that 40 subjects had in their home. The kappa statistic indicated good agreement (in all cases greater than that expected due to chance) between the reported use of individual foods in the questionnaire and the observed presence or absence of those foods in the subject's home. Correlation coefficients between scores generated from the questionnaire for consumption from specific food groups and those derived from direct observation of domestic food stores ranged from 0.42 to 0.86. These data indicate that a simple self-administered dietary questionnaire can provide a valid measure of food use patterns in elderly people.

Aged↗

Contamination of foods by food handlers: experiments on hepatitis A virus transfer to food and its interruption.

Hepatitis A virus (HAV) is an important pathogen which has been responsible for many food-borne outbreaks. HAV-excreting food handlers, especially those with poor hygienic practices, can contaminate the foods which they handle. Consumption of such foods without further processing has been known to result in cases of infectious hepatitis. Since quantitative data on virus transfer during contact of hands with foods is not available, we investigated the transfer of HAV from artificially contaminated fingerpads of adult volunteers to pieces of fresh lettuce. Touching the lettuce with artificially contaminated fingerpads for 10 s at a pressure of 0.2 to 0.4 kg/cm(2) resulted in transfer of 9.2% +/- 0.9% of the infectious virus. The pretreatments tested to interrupt virus transfer from contaminated fingerpads included (i) hard-water rinsing and towel drying, (ii) application of a domestic or commercial topical agent followed by water rinsing and towel drying, and (iii) exposure to a hand gel containing 62% ethanol or 75% liquid ethanol without water rinsing or towel drying. When the fingerpads were treated with the topical agents or alcohol before the lettuce was touched, the amount of infectious virus transferred to lettuce was reduced from 9.2% to between 0.3 and 0.6% (depending on the topical agent used), which was a reduction in virus transfer of up to 30-fold. Surprisingly, no virus transfer to lettuce was detected when the fingerpads were rinsed with water alone before the lettuce was touched. However, additional experiments with water rinsing in which smaller volumes of water were used (1 ml instead of 15 ml) showed that the rate of virus transfer to lettuce was 0.3% +/- 0.1%. The variability in virus transfer rates following water rinsing may indicate that the volume of water at least in part influences virus removal from the fingerpads differently, a possibility which should be investigated further. This study provided novel information concerning the rate of virus transfer to foods and a model for investigating the transfer of viral and other food-borne pathogens from contaminated hands to foods, as well as techniques for interrupting such transfer to improve food safety.

Adult↗

Footnotes to food tables: 1. Differences in nutrient intakes of dietitians as calculated from the DHSS food tables and the fourth edition of McCance and Widdowson's 'The composition of foods'.

The differences in nutrient intakes as calculated by two British food composition tables (those compiled by the Department of Health and Social Security in 1963 [DHSS] and the 4th edition of McCance and Widdowson's 'The composition of Foods' [MW4] were examined. Intakes of 43 dietitians who kept weighed diet records every sixth day for 3 to 12 months with 11 to 75 (mean 40) days' records per subject were calculated from each food table and compared in a loge tranformation. Mean per cent differences between intakes (delta x 100) were vitamin A, +23.3; vitamin D, + 21.1; riboflavin, + 16.0;calcium, +6.3; thiamin +4.8; niacin, +3.2 (MW4 higher) and protein, -1.7; fat, -3.5; energy, -3.6; carbohydrate, -6.0; vitamin C, -6.1; iron, -11.3; vitamin B6, -14.4 (MW4 lower). Correlation coefficients were: nicotinic acid, 0.84; vitamin B6, 0.86; other nutrients 0.90 to 0.99; thus differences between the two food tables in classifying individuals as high or low consumers were small. Mean intakes compared by paired t-test were significantly different (P less than 0.001) for all nutrients except nicotinic acid, indicating consistent differences in the food tables when applied to foods eaten by different individuals (nicotinic acid excepted). Mean intakes compared by one-tailed t-test -- as if the data came from independent surveys -- were significantly different/only for riboflavin/and vitamin/B6 (P less than 0.01), vitamin A and iron (P less than 0.05). For these nutrients, significant differences in intakes could be found between two surveyed populations due solely to the use of different food tables and not to differences in foods eaten. For the other nutrients studied, differences between the food tables were of little practical importance. Differences were due primarily to new analytical values in MW4 for riboflavin in milk, retinol in liver, iron in meats, vitamin B6 in many foods, and the use of margarine fortified with vitamins A and D in recipes. Major differences in the (high) nicotinic acid content of beer, instant coffee and specific breakfast cereals resulted in unpredictable differences in intakes of individuals.

Adult↗

Clinical and immunological aspects of food allergy in childhood. I. Estimation of IgG, IgA and IgE antibodies to food antigens in children with food allergy and atopic dermatitis.

Sixtynine children with case histories of food intolerance and 30 food tolerant children with atopic dermatitis have been investigated regarding serum IgE levels and IgE-, IgG, and IgA-antibodies to some common foods. Children with food intolerance had significantly higher IgE levels and to a larger extent specific IgE antibodies to the tested allergens. IgE antibodies to cow's milk were found in 71% of the children with histories of cow's milk allergy but occurred also in similar titers in 27% of milk tolerant children with other food allergies. IgE antibodies to egg-white occurred in 88% of egg allergies, but low and moderate titers were also found in 17% of children without food intolerance. However, all children with high titers had symptoms of egg allergy. IgE antibodies to the fish allergen were only found in fish allergic children while IgE antibodies to the fish allergen were only found in fish allergic children while IgE antibodies to soy-bean and green peas were found less consistently. The level of serum IgA antibodies to milk was similar in both groups. The IgG antibody titers to all tested food antigens seemed to parallel the IgE antibody titer to the same food. It was not possible to correlate the IgG antibody titers to symptoms.

Adolescent↗

Evaluation of lymphocyte proliferative responses to food antigens with regard to age and food-specific IgE antibodies in food-sensitive atopic dermatitis.

Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), selected for sensitivity to hen's egg or cow's milk, showed significant proliferation in response to food antigens, ovalbumin or bovine serum albumin compared with PBMCs from nonatopic control subjects. The proliferative responses of PBMCs to food antigens were evaluated with regard to age and specific IgE antibodies to food antigens in food-sensitive patients with AD. There were no differences in proliferation between each age group, and the proliferation in patients with AD was significantly higher than in age-matched control subjects. There was no relationship between proliferative responses of PBMCs and specific IgE antibodies to food antigens in patients with AD. These results suggest that the responsiveness of lymphocytes to food antigens is independent of age and food-specific IgE antibodies in food-sensitive patients with AD.

Adolescent↗