Relationship in dietary habits variations during COVID-19 lockdown in Kosovo: The COVIDiet study.

Changes in dietary habits and association with lifestyle during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown in the Kosovo population have not been studied yet. Therefore, the intent of the present study was to determine whether if COVID-19 lockdown had any impact in lifestyle, including dietary habits and physical activity (PA) patterns of people from different areas of Kosovo. Dietary habits, PA, body weight and sociodemographic variables were measured through validated online survey started one week after lockdown decision and lasted for next two month (May and June 2020). Six hundred eighty-nine participants (women 79% and men 21%) aged between 20 and 65 years from the Kosovo territory participated in the research. Multivariate models showed that participants in family home residence, participants from Gjilan, participants female and participants with professional educations reported a higher likelihood of turning into a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) (OR: 6.09, 5.25, 5.17, 4.19, respectively). The weight gained during the lockdown was positively associated with a higher cooking frequency (OR; 2.90, p < 0.01), lower meat and fish consumption (OR; 1.15, p = 0.02; OR; 1.04, p = 0.04, respectively), higher fast-food consumption (OR; 0.49, p = 0.02) and no physical activity performance (OR; 0.43, p = 0.02) during the COVID-19 lockdown. The dietary habits during COVID-19 lockdown could be related to the improvements in adherence to the MedDiet and physical activities that may minimize related health complications.

Influence of curd heating on proteolysis and volatiles of Kashkaval cheese.

Kashkaval is the most popular hard cheese in Macedonia and other countries of Balkan peninsula. The aim of this research is to assess the differences of heat treatments effect (60, 70 and 90°C for 5min) in several biochemical and technological characteristics of Kashkaval cheese. Proteolysis was observed to take place at a faster rate in the Kashkaval cheeses made using the lower heat treatment. The residual enzyme activity of cheeses averaged 67.7, 43.7 and 8.4% for the cheeses heated at 60, 70 and 90°C, respectively. Acids and esters constituted the main chemical class of the cheeses during ripening (mean abundances of these were 57.1% and 26.8% w/w of total volatiles, respectively). The colour (L(∗)) and meltability values decreased significantly during ripening. In conclusion, powerful correlations were observed between extents of the heat treatment and levels of residual coagulant activity, breakdown of proteins and formation of volatiles.