ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Most foods, including seafood, undergo some sort of processing as an integrated part of the global food industry. The degree of processing depends on the type of product produced. Processed seafood products are an important part of the diet; thus, knowledge of nutrient content in seafood products is of great importance. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to describe the content of selected nutrients in commercially available and market representative seafood products purchased from 3 different years. METHODS: Seafood products from 2015 (n = 16), 2017 (n = 35), and 2018 (n = 35) were analyzed as composite samples for macro- and micronutrients using accredited methods at the Institute of Marine Research in Norway. RESULTS: This study confirms that seafood products are good sources of several key nutrients, such as eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), vitamin D, vitamin B12, iodine, and selenium. Fatty fish products had the highest content of EPA, DHA, and vitamin D, while lean fish products had the highest content of vitamin B12 and minerals. However, some lean fish products, such as one portion of fish au gratin or fish cakes, also proved as good sources of EPA, DHA, and vitamin D, and contributed substantially to the recommended intake. Variations in nutrients were seen both within the same product category and between the same product category from different years. CONCLUSIONS: These data give valuable insights into seafood products as a source of essential micronutrients and highlight the importance of these products for nutrition and health.
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: Critical nutrition literacy (CNL), as an increasingly important area in public health nutrition, can be defined as the ability to critically analyse nutrition information, increase awareness and participate in action to address barriers to healthy eating behaviours. Far too little attention has been paid to establishing valid instruments for measuring CNL. The aim of the present study was to assess the appropriateness of utilizing the latent scales of a newly developed instrument assessing nursing students' 'engagement in dietary habits' (the 'engagement' scale) and their level of 'taking a critical stance towards nutrition claims and their sources' (the 'claims' scale). DESIGN: Data were gathered by distributing a nineteen-item paper-and-pencil self-report questionnaire to university colleges offering nursing education. The study had a cross-sectional design using Rasch analysis. Data management and analysis were performed using the software packages RUMM2030 and SPSS version 20. SETTING: School personnel handed out the questionnaires. SUBJECTS: Four hundred and seventy-three students at ten university colleges across Norway responded (52% response rate). RESULTS: Disordered thresholds were rescored, an under-discriminating item was discarded and one item showing uniform differential item functioning was split. The assumption of item locations being differentiated by stages was strengthened. The analyses demonstrated possible dimension violations of local independence in the 'claims' scale data and the 'engagement' scale could have been better targeted. CONCLUSIONS: The study demonstrates the usefulness of Rasch analysis in assessing the psychometric properties of scales developed to measure CNL. Qualitative research designs could further improve our understanding of CNL scales.
