April C. Mason

Food safety education: what should we be teaching to consumers?

Food safety education is most effective when messages are targeted toward changing behaviors most likely to result in foodborne illness. The five major control factors for pathogens are personal hygiene, adequate cooking, avoiding cross-contamination, keeping food at safe temperatures, and avoiding foods from unsafe sources. Pathogens associated with poor personal hygiene have the highest incidence and costs. Inadequate cooking and cross-contamination have lower incidence. Keeping food at safe temperatures and unsafe food sources have the lowest incidence, although costs per case are sometimes very high. We recommend that consumer food safety educators primarily focus on hand washing, adequate cooking, and avoiding cross-contamination. Secondary messages should focus on keeping food at safe temperatures and avoiding food from an unsafe source. Evaluation tools are needed to evaluate self-reported behavior changes. The evaluation questions must focus on salient behaviors that are most likely to result in foodborne illnesses and must withstand rigorous standards of reliability and validity.

Evaluation of Food Safety Education for Consumers

Traditionally, nutrition educators have used a fairly global approach to teach food safety by teaching a broad range of safe food handling behaviors in the expectation that this will lead to the avoidance of foodborne illness. This approach can be confusing and lead to evaluation data that are difficult to interpret. This article suggests that food safety education and evaluation in the future be organized around five behavioral constructs: practice personal hygiene, cook foods adequately, avoid cross-contamination, keep foods at safe temperatures, and avoid food from unsafe sources. These five constructs are derived from data on actual outbreaks and estimated incidences of foodborne illness. Research is needed to establish reliable and valid evaluation measures for these five behavioral constructs. Evaluation instruments can be tailored to fit specific education programs. If evaluation instruments focus on these five behavior areas, the result will be meaningful evaluation data that can be more easily summarized across food safety education programs for consumers.

Molecular mechanisms regulating the synthesis of storage proteins in maize endosperm

During the development of maize seed large amounts of protein are synthesized and deposited in the endosperm. The largest proportion of this protein consists of the storage protein fraction called zein, which may account for as much as 60% of the total protein. A large number of environmental and genetic factors are known to affect the synthesis of zein proteins. For example, it is well documented that the application of nitrogen fertilizer greatly enhances synthesis of the zein fraction. On the other hand, endosperm mutations such as opaque‐2 and floury‐2 reduce the synthesis of these proteins by 50% or more. The biochemical mechanisms by which these factors alter storage protein synthesis have not been identified primarily because little is known regarding the molecular basis for zein synthesis. Our studies have revealed the role of two translational mechanisms involved in enhanced storage protein synthesis in maize endosperm. One of these involves preferential initiation of zein mRNAs, and the other in...

Selenium bioavailability of soy-based diets in rats

Abstract Bioavailability of selenium from soy grown with sodium selenite and sodium selenate was evaluated by the use of glutathione peroxidase activity regeneration in rats. Male weanling Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a selenium-deficient Torula yeast-based diet for 4 weeks followed by a 7-week repletion period during which animals were fed one of six experimental selenium repletion diets. Soybeans grown with selenite and selenate were processed into flour and used as the protein source in diets providing 50 and 100 ng/g selenium. Bioavailability was determined by liver and plasma glutathione peroxidase regeneration and tissue selenium repletion in response to Se in soy diets and compared with changes in response to Se in reference diets containing Torula yeast supplemented with sodium selenite. Results indicate that selenium from soy was as bioavailable as sodium selenite from the reference diet. In addition, selenium from soy grown with sodium selenite was as bioavailable to the rat as selenium from soy grown with sodium selenate. These data indicate that soy protein provided a bioavailable source of dietary selenium to rats and that the form of selenium available in plants did not influence selenium bioavailability of the resulting soy-based product.

Developing a Cookbook for Emergency Feeding Programs and Limited Resource Audiences

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To identify the procedures for designing, developing and testing a cookbook for a special needs audience. More than 150,000 emergency feeding programs operate in the United States. Discussions with advisory panels, consisting of representatives from emergency feeding programs and agencies that work with limited resource audiences, helped to identify the following common problem areas: 1) Although some of these programs are large with well trained staff, most are small and rely on volunteers who often lack experience in meal planning and preparation. 2) The number of people needing food often exceeds the number of meals prepared and staff and volunteers are then faced with the task of quickly supplementing a meal. 3) Individuals who receive bags of food for home consumption may not know how to assemble the provided foods into meals or have simple recipes. To address these needs a cookbook, Fast and Flexible Low Cost Recipes for a Family or Fifty was developed. Recipes chosen were quick and easy to prepare, required no special equipment, used commodity foods, and were adaptable for both quantity (such as a meal program) or home (for inclusion in a food bag) cooking. Recipes were tested for clarity of instructions, ease of preparation, and taste acceptance. Nutrition information including calories and Food Guide Pyramid food groups satisfied per serving was included. The cookbook was distributed to not-for-profit food assistance agency workers at a state-wide videoconference and a follow-up survey has indicated wide acceptance and use.

Antioxidant Education; Influence on Knowledge and Behavior

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To examine the effects of an anti-oxidant educational program on knowledge and food behavior in female consumers. An antioxidant educational program was developed and validated with eighty-seven female consumers. Nine test sessions were divided equally into a control group, and two experimental treatments. All participants completed a pre- and one-month follow-up knowledge test about antioxidants and a nutrient specific food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) on foods rich in antioxidants. No other data was collected on the control group. All six experimental treatment sessions participated in an audio visual educational program, developed for this study,on antioxidants and completed a knowledge assessment immediately after the program. Additionally, three of the experimental sessions participated in a food tasting activity of foods rich in antioxidants during the educational program. One-month follow-up knowledge and FFQ assessments were distributed by mail to all participants with a 85% return. Pre- versus one-month follow-up knowledge test scores increased significantly (p≤0.05) for both the control and experimental groups. Dietary intake of foods rich in antioxidants increased significantly (p≤0.05) for both experimental groups, while the control group had a significant decrease(p≤0.05)in the dietary intake of these foods. There were no significant differences between the two experimental groups on dietary intake of foods rich in antioxidants. This study indicates an educational program on antioxidants was effective in positively changing consumers knowledge about antioxidants and their food behavior on consumption of foods rich in antioxidants.

Fingerprinting Hunger Relief Efforts in Indiana, Wisconsin, and Iowa

Abstract More than 12% of the US population suffers from hunger. Not-for-profit food distribution organizations, including food banks, food pantries, soup kitchens, emergency shelters, and other food programs, help provide for the nutritional needs of more than 25 million Americans each year. Because many states do not require licensing or registration, it is difficult to accurately determine the number or types of food assistance programs operating throughout the country. The purpose of this project was to develop a directory and database of not-for-profit food distribution organizations operating in Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin. An initial listing of food distribution organizations was obtained from the Division of Family and Children in each state. These lists were then expanded with the aid of food bank member agency lists, input from Cooperative Extension field staff in each county, and a variety of other sources. The resulting master list consisted of nearly 2,500 organizations in the 3 states (Indiana - 1,200, Wisconsin - 800, Iowa - 500). A survey was developed, piloted, and mailed to each of the 2,500 identified organizations. A follow-up post card was mailed 6 weeks later. Surveys were returned at a rate of about 30%. A database was constructed to provide access to the survey data. Organizational, operational, and educational needs information was entered for each responding organization. The names and addresses of nonrespondents were also entered into the database. The database was constructed to permit searching based on a variety of criteria, including: county, city, zip code, organization name, and type of program. A directory of food assistance organizations was also constructed for each of the 3 states. Each directory lists the names and addresses for all survey nonrespondents and the name, address, and general information for all respondents who agreed to be included. The directories and database developed through this project provide a previously unavailable view of the hunger communities in a 3 state area. Additionally, these tools allow food donors to quickly locate recipient organizations, simplify cooperative efforts between organizations, and provide a quick reference for members of the hunger community.

Identification of Selenium Containing Proteins from Soybeans

Soybeans provide a high quality, economical source of vegetable protein. The selenium content of soybeans is variable, dependent on selenium levels in the soil where crops are produced. The majority of selenium in soybeans is contained in protein. This study identifies specific soybean proteins where selenium is associated. Hydroponically grown soybean plants were intrinsically labeled with sodium (75Se) selenite added to the nutrient solution. Harvested mature soybeans were ground into a meal and cold acetone defatted. Samples of 100 mg meal were extracted with 1.0 ml 50 mM TRIS-HC1 (pH 8.5) containing 0.1% β-ME at room temperature for 2.0 hrs with constant shaking, centrifuged in an Eppendorf centrifuge for 5 minutes, and the radioactivity of the supernatant determined. The supernatant was then subjected to preparative sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (3 mm thick, 8–25% linear acrylamide gradient), briefly stained and destained, the gel cut into appropriate sections, and the radioactivity of each section determined. The major amount of recovered radioactivity was accounted for by the major storage proteins 7S and 11S (60%). The 11S proteins contained more radioactivity than the 7S proteins. A significant amount of radioactivity (26%) was also associated with polypeptides with molecular weights ≤ 30,000 daltons excluding the 11S protein. These data show that the major storage proteins of soybeans are a good source of selenium and have a potential as a source of selenium for human food purposes.