Microalgal metabolic engineering facilitates precision nutrition and dietary regulation.

Microalgae have gained considerable attention as promising candidates for precision nutrition and dietary regulation due to their versatile metabolic capabilities. This review innovatively applies system metabolic engineering to utilize microalgae for precision nutrition and sustainable diets, encompassing the construction of microalgal cell factories, cell cultivation and practical application of microalgae. Manipulating the metabolic pathways and key metabolites of microalgae through multi-omics analysis and employing advanced metabolic engineering strategies, including ZFNs, TALENs, and the CRISPR/Cas system, enhances the production of valuable bioactive compounds, such as omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and essential amino acids. This work begins by providing an overview of the metabolic diversity of microalgae and their ability to thrive in diverse environmental conditions. It then delves into the principles and strategies of metabolic engineering, emphasizing the genetic modifications employed to optimize microalgal strains for enhanced nutritional content. Enhancing PSY, BKT, and CHYB benefits carotenoid synthesis, whereas boosting ACCase, fatty acid desaturases, and elongases promotes polyunsaturated fatty acid production. Here, advancements in synthetic biology, evolutionary biology and machine learning are discussed, offering insights into the precision and efficiency of metabolic pathway manipulation. Also, this review highlights the potential impact of microalgal precision nutrition on human health and aquaculture. The optimized microalgal strains could serve as sustainable and cost-effective sources of nutrition for both human consumption and aquaculture feed, addressing the growing demand for functional foods and environmentally friendly feed alternatives. The tailored microalgal strains are anticipated to play a crucial role in meeting the nutritional needs of diverse populations and contributing to sustainable food production systems.

Shift Work, Shifted Diets: An Observational Follow-Up Study on Diet Quality and Sustainability among Healthcare Workers on Night Shifts.

This study aimed to investigate the change in diet quality in addition to dietary adherence to the planetary health diet during night shifts in healthcare workers. This observational follow-up study involved 450 healthcare workers working night shifts (327 females, 123 males). A survey form requesting sociodemographic information (gender, age, marital status), job title, sleeping duration during the night shift, 24 h dietary records for pre-night-shift, during night shift, and post-night-shift, and anthropometric measurements (body weight and height) was applied. The scores of the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI) and the Healthy Eating Index 2020 (HEI-2020) were calculated according to the dietary records. The total HEI-2020 and PHDI scores decreased significantly (p < 0.05) during the night shift (44.0 ± 8.8 and 48.3 ± 13.2, respectively) compared to pre-night-shift (46.1 ± 9.2 and 51.9 ± 13.4, respectively) and increased post-night-shift (44.7 ± 9.9 and 50.6 ± 14.9, respectively), with no statistically significant difference between pre- and post-night-shift. There was a significant main effect of night shift working on total PHDI (F(896, 2) = 8.208, p < 0.001, ηp2 = 0.018) and HEI-2020 scores (F(894, 2) = 6.277, p = 0.002, ηp2 = 0.014). Despite healthcare workers' knowledge of health factors, night shifts lead to poor dietary choices. To improve diet quality and sustainability, it is crucial to enhance access to healthy food options in their work environment.

The Impact of Sustainability Courses: Are They Effective in Improving Diet Quality and Anthropometric Indices?

There are studies on the effect of general nutrition education on diet quality and anthropometric measurements, while studies showing the effectiveness of sustainable nutrition education, which also addresses the effect of food on the environment, are quite limited. This study aimed to investigate the effects of sustainable nutrition education on diet quality, anthropometric measurements, and the carbon footprint (CFP) and water footprint (WFP) of diet. A total of 160 university students received 1 h of sustainable nutrition education for 6 weeks. Before, at the end of, and 2 months after the courses, 24 h food consumption records were taken to assess diet quality and CFP and WFP values of diet, and Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) and Healthy Eating Index (HEI)-2020 scores were evaluated. The results of the study showed that sustainable nutrition education increased MedDiet score by 1.86 points and HEI-2020 score by 7.38 points. This education program also decreased body weight, body mass index (BMI), fat mass, and neck circumference. Sustainability education has a positive impact on calcium, potassium, and magnesium intakes, a negative impact on vitamin B12 and zinc intakes, and no effect on total protein intake. Education resulted in a 22% reduction in CFP and a 10% reduction in WFP.

Sociodemographic Trends in Planetary Health Diets among Nutrition Students in Türkiye: Bridging Classroom to Kitchen.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of sociodemographic parameters on healthy and sustainable nutrition in nutrition students. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 601 students. Researchers administered questionnaire forms to gather sociodemographic information such as age, gender, geographical region, residence area, accommodation, BMI, and income level. Participants' 24 h dietary records were used to evaluate Healthy Eating Index-2020 (HEI-2020) and Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI). The mean PHDI scores of the Marmara (53.4 ± 14.9), Aegean (58.2 ± 18.3), Mediterranean (55.3 ± 15.5), and Black Sea (55.5 ± 15.7) regions, which are the coastal regions of Türkiye, were significantly higher than for the Central Anatolia region (46.7 ± 15.1). The PHDI and HEI-2020 score means of students living in metropolitan cities and rural areas were significantly higher than those living in urban areas (p < 0.05). Being in the 20-25 years age group increased the probability of being in a lower PHDI group (AOR 1.82; 95% CI 1.07:3.12; p = 0.028). While a similar result was found in the 20-25 years age group for HEI-2020, income level and gender did not have a statistically significant effect on these scores. Since students' ages, geographical regions, and residence areas affect PHDI and HEI-2020, it is considered important to take these sociodemographic variables into consideration in guidelines and studies.

Acid-active proteases to optimize dietary protein digestibility: a step towards sustainable nutrition.

Introduction: Historically, prioritizing abundant food production often resulted in overlooking nutrient quality and bioavailability, however, environmental concerns have now propelled sustainable nutrition and health efficacy to the forefront of global attention. In fact, increasing demand for protein is the major challenge facing the food system in the 21st century with an estimation that 70% more food is needed by 2050. This shift has spurred interest in plant-based proteins for their sustainability and health benefits, but most alternative sources of protein are poorly digestible. There are two approaches to solve digestibility: improve the digestibility of food proteins or improve the digestive capacity of consumers. Enhancing nutrient digestibility and bioavailability across diverse protein sources is crucial, with proteases presenting a promising avenue. Research, inspired by the proteases of human breast milk, has demonstrated that exogenous microbial proteases can activate within the human digestive tract and substantially increase the digestion of targeted proteins that are otherwise difficult to fully digest. Methods: Here, we introduce the use of an acid-active family of bacterial proteases (S53) to improve the digestibility and nutritional quality of a variety of protein sources, evaluated using the INFOGEST 2.0 protocol. Results: Results from in vitro digestibility indicate that the most effective protease in the S53 family substantially improves the digestibility of an array of animal and plant-derived proteins-soy, pea, chickpea, rice, casein, and whey. On average, this protease elevated protein digestibility by 115% during the gastric phase and by 15% in the intestinal phase, based on the degree of hydrolysis. Discussion: The widespread adoption of these proteases has the potential to enhance nutritional value and contribute to food security and sustainability. This approach would complement ongoing efforts to improve proteins in the food supply, increase the quality of more sustainable protein sources and aid in the nourishment of patients with clinically compromised, fragile intestines and individuals like older adults and high-performance athletes who have elevated protein needs.

Microalgae: potential novel protein for sustainable human nutrition.

To support a global population of ~10 billion people in 2050, dietary protein demand is forecast to increase 32-78% compared to 2017, requiring significantly higher planetary resources. Microalgae are an attractive sustainable protein source compared with current plant and animal sources. Benefits include mass scalability, low CO2 emissions, and significantly reduced land and freshwater use per unit protein. Microalgae are already used as food products and numerous species exhibit high total protein contents and well-balanced essential amino acid (EAA) compositions for human dietary requirements. Microalgae proteins are also bioavailable for human digestion, and downstream processing steps are likely to further enhance protein digestibility. Species, cultivation, and process/product optimisation are actively being developed to enhance their nutritional, social, and environmental benefits.

The Relationship of Food Literacy and Sustainable Consumption Behaviors with Anthropometric Measurements during the Covid-19 Pandemic Period: A Sample from Turkey.

AIM: This study aimed to evaluate the impact of food literacy and sustainable consumption behaviors on nutritional status during the pandemic in Turkey. METHODS: The study was conducted between May and July 2021 with a questionnaire delivered in a digital environment (social media, Twitter/Facebook/Instagram) to 200 volunteer adults aged 20-65. With this questionnaire form, sociodemographic characteristics, general information, and consumer behaviors of the individuals were obtained. Anthropometric measurements (height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, hip circumference, waist/hip ratio, and waist/height ratio) of the individuals were recorded online as self-report. The Self Perceived Food Literacy (SPFL) Scale was administered to measure nutritional literacy levels. To measure the sustainable consumption behaviors of the individuals, the Sustainable Consumption Behavior (SCB) Scale was administered. RESULTS: We found that 87.2% of women and 40% of men had heard of sustainable nutrition before (p < 0.001). The mean total score of SCB was statistically significantly higher in women than in men (3.1 ± 0.48 in women, 2.9 ± 0.69 in men, p < 0.05). The mean score of SPFL was 3.31 ± 0.275 in women, while it was 3.05 ± 0.395 in men. There was a statistically significant relationship between SPFL mean scores and gender (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: There was a statistically significant negative relationship between SPFL score and BMI, body weight, and waist/hip ratio. There was a statistically significant negative relationship between the SCB and waist/hip ratio. Food literacy and sustainable consumption behaviors are associated with anthropometric measurements. Sustainable nutrition, sustainable consumption behaviors, and food literacy should be considered as a whole. Trainings should be increased to raise awareness of individuals about food literacy.

Production of snack bar enriched with paraprobiotics grown in banana peel medium, nutritional, sensory and quality parameters / Producción de barritas de snack enriquecidas con paraprobióticos cultivados en medio de cáscara de plátano, parámetros nutricionales, sensoriales y de calidad

Objective: this research aims to develop a product with high sensory and nutritional quality to make paraprobiotics developed in banana peel consumable within the scope of waste evaluation. Methods: Lactobacillus plantarum and Lactobacillus casei probiotics were developed here by using banana peels as a medium, and paraprobiotics were obtained from these strains by the pasteurization method at 80 °C for 30 minutes. Two types of bars, with and without paraprobiotics, were produced, and the nutritional and sensory quality characteristics of the bars were examined. Results: bars with and without paraprobiotics showed similar properties in terms of energy, protein, carbohydrate, saturated fat, Ca, Mg, Zn, Fe, Na, and total sugar values and sensory criteria, but showed significantly different levels in terms of total fat, potassium, total fiber, total phenolic substance and antiradical activity values. Conclusion: bars with and without paraprobiotics are in the category of “protein added, protein source, or protein-containing”, “high fiber”, “low sodium” products. (AU)

Objetivo: esta investigación tiene como objetivo desarrollar un producto con alta calidad sensorial y nutricional para hacer consumibles los paraprobióticos desarrollados a partir de la cáscara de plátano en el ámbito de la evaluación de residuos. Métodos: en este estudio, se desarrollaron probióticos Lactobacillus plantarum y Lactobacillus casei utilizando la cáscara de plátano como medio, y se obtuvieron paraprobióticos a partir de estas cepas mediante el método de pasteurización a 80 °C durante 30 minutos. Se produjeron dos tipos de barras, con y sin paraprobióticos, y se examinaron las características de calidad nutricional y sensorial de las barras. Resultados: las barras con y sin paraprobióticos mostraron propiedades similares en cuanto a energía, proteínas, carbohidratos, grasas saturadas, calcio, magnesio, zinc, hierro, sodio y valores totales de azúcar, así como criterios sensoriales, pero presentaron niveles significativamente diferentes en términos de grasa total, potasio, fibra total, sustancias fenólicas totales y valores de actividad antirradical. Conclusión: las barras con y sin paraprobióticos se encuentran en la categoría de productos “con agregado de proteínas, fuente de proteínas o con contenido de proteínas”, “alto contenido de fibra” y “bajo contenido de sodio”. (AU)

The SHED Index: A Validation Study to Assess Sustainable HEalthy Diets in Portugal.

This study aims to adapt and validate the Sustainable HEalthy Diet (SHED) Index for the Portuguese adult population, which was developed to assess sustainable and healthy eating patterns. Data were collected using a web-based questionnaire administered through interviews with 347 individuals aged between 18 and 65 years old. The SHED Index evaluates 30 items, allowing for the assessment and scoring of sustainable and healthy eating patterns. The higher the SHED Index score, the more sustainable and healthier the diet. A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the participants' dietary intake. The criterion validity was examined by testing the relationship between the SHED Index score and adherence to the Mediterranean Diet. Reproducibility was assessed by determining agreement and reliability with test-retest. Construct validity was confirmed based on established criteria. A higher SHED Index score was associated with moderate to high adherence to the Mediterranean diet, while it was inversely related to the proportion of animal-sourced foods in the overall food intake (r = -0.281, p < 0.001). Good reliability and agreement were found for the SHED Index score. Our findings suggest that the SHED Index is a valid and reliable tool for assessing sustainable and healthy diets in the Portuguese adult population.

Nurturing Sustainability and Health: Exploring the Role of Short Supply Chains in the Evolution of Food Systems-The Case of Poland.

Over the last few decades, short food supply chains and local food markets, where farmers either sell their products directly to consumers or use a limited number of intermediaries, have developed worldwide in rural and urban areas. They complement conventional, often globalized, long food chains where small farmers have little bargaining power, and consumers cannot link the food they buy to a known agricultural producer or geographical area where the food is produced. The advantage of direct sales is that producers can obtain a higher price while consumers have easier access to fresh and seasonal food products. The main aim of the paper is to identify and characterize the spatial concentration of local food systems in Poland and their importance in sustainable development and food policy for healthy eating. As part of this study, an analysis of the statistical data of the Central Statistical Office for 2021 was carried out. Data obtained from the Chief Veterinary Inspectorate as of mid-2021 were analyzed to discuss the topic in detail. Descriptive methods and comparative analyses were used to understand regional differences. Absolute and proportional values were used for the research to enable better comparisons between regions, using the traditional method used in spatial structure studies, i.e., the distribution index (number of entities per 1000 inhabitants). The analysis identified spatial differences and possible implications for food policy and regional development. In addition, data on the number of marketplaces in Polish regions in 2022 were used. The study results indicated that short supply chains in the Polish food system contribute to increasing the availability of healthy local products, which may improve consumer health. However, despite these benefits, the results revealed challenges such as the limited production scale of local suppliers and the need to adapt to changing market conditions.

The Activities of the Slovenian Strategic Council for Nutrition 2023/24 to Improve the Health of the Slovenian Population and the Sustainability of Food: A Narrative Review.

The health status of individuals in Slovenia across age groups is a matter of concern, as current unsustainable lifestyle choices are already leading to various chronic noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). Outdated national dietary guidelines, their inconsistent implementation, and a lack of structural changes represent obstacles to promoting healthy and sustainable nutrition. Limited access to and rising prices of healthy, sustainable foods, in addition to the high availability of low-priced, highly processed foods, increase the risk of NCDs. The lack of systematic health monitoring and early disease detection poses a challenge. Global and local environmental issues, resistance, and/or the inability to adopt healthier diets hinder individuals from changing their nutritional behaviours. In this narrative review, we provide an overview of the current situation in Slovenia as well as planned activities initiated by the Slovenian government and the Prime Minister's Strategic Council for Nutrition, aiming to make progress in supporting healthy and sustainable nutrition, limiting food waste, and increasing the availability of healthier foods for all. Improving the sustainability of the Slovenian food system can contribute to several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), ensuring Slovenia's commitment to internationally agreed-upon targets. This could lead Slovenia to take a role as a pilot country in testing and implementing the necessary systemic changes, which could be further applied in other countries.

Evaluation of the Turkey Nutrition and Health Surveys according to the mediterranean adequacy index and sustainability through water footprints.

OBJECTIVE: Sustainable diet is one of the main factors that support food security, and the Mediterranean diet (MD) one of the sustainable diet models associated with low ecological impact and optimum health results has come to the fore. It was aimed to compare the results of the 2010 and 2017 Turkey Nutrition and Health Studies (TNHS) according to the Mediterranean Adequacy Index (MAI) and in order to evaluate the environmental impact of the current nutritional status in Turkey through water footprints (WF). DESIGN: The MAI score was calculated using the published results of the 2010 and 2017 TNHS, and the WF have been calculated as indicators of environmental impact. SETTING: Turkey. PARTICIPANTS: There are no participants. RESULTS: In the TNHS, there was an increase in the amount of energy provided by foods non-MD in 2017 compared to 2010, with a decrease in the total MAI score. The group with the lowest adherence to the MD in both years was the adult group (MAI20102·74 and MAI20172·31), while the group with the highest adherence was the adolescent group (MAI20103·21 and MAI20172·53). The MAI scores of females were higher than those of males in both years. The males aged 19-64 years had the largest (841 m3/year) WF and the females aged 65+ years had the smallest (483 m3/year). The food group that contributed the most to WF was meat and meat products (21·0-35·0 %). CONCLUSIONS: Adherence to the MD has decreased due to the increase in the consumption of the Western-type diet in Turkey.

The big food view and human health from the prospect of bio-manufacturing and future food.

The "big food view" has attracted widespread attention due to the view of sustainable nutrition and human health as part of sustainable development. The "big food view" starts from better meeting the people's needs for a better life. While ensuring the supply of grain, the effective supply of meat, vegetables, fruits, aquatic products and other foods also should be guaranteed. Using cell factories to replace the traditional food acquisition methods, establishing a new model of sustainable food manufacturing, will greatly reduce the demand for resources in food production, and improve the controllability of food production and manufacturing, and effectively avoid potential food safety and health risks. Cell factories can provide key technologies and supporting methods for the biological manufacturing of important food components, functional food ingredients and important functional nutritional factors, realizing a safer, nutritious, healthy and sustainable way of food acquisition. The combination of cell factory technology and other technologies meets the people's new dietary demand, and also supports that sustainable nutrition and human health as part of sustainable development. This paper focuses on the big food view and human health from the prospect of bio-manufacturing and future food, which aims to better meet people's dietary needs for increasingly diversified, refined, nutritious and ecological food through diversified food manufacturing.

Focus of Sustainable Healthy Diets Interventions in Primary School-Aged Children: A Systematic Review.

Research and public policy interest regarding Sustainable Healthy Diets (SHDs) have increased during the last decades, as nutrition recommendations and diet practices should align with growing environmental concerns. SHDs encompass sociocultural, economic and environmental components of nutrition and health and raising awareness across all these dimensions, as well as providing relevant education, especially to young children, is important for adopting SHD practices. Primary school students (5-12 years old) are often the target population for interventions, as they are considered agents of change for educating the community. The objective of this systematic review is to map the SHD indicators addressed by such interventions in order to identify gaps and opportunities for future interventions in this population. Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science were searched for available publications, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA 2020) methodology. After screening for eligibility, thirteen intervention studies were included and reviewed. Results showed that indicator definitions and measuring methods were not harmonized across research efforts. Implemented SHD interventions address predominantly food waste and diet quality, while social and economic indicators are underrepresented. The standardization of SHD, focusing on measurable harmonized indicators, should be a priority for policy actors in order to enable impactful research efforts. Future interventions should incorporate clear SHD indicators to raise awareness and consider the application of composite tools or indexes to evaluate outcomes and maximize impact in the community.

Evaluation of adherence to the Mediterranean diet with sustainable nutrition knowledge and environmentally responsible food choices.

Background: Dietary patterns and their possible effects on health and the environment are becoming increasingly important. It is thought that nutritionally balanced diets can also be compatible with environmental targets and, therefore, the Mediterranean diet (MD), which is regarded as a sustainable diet model, comes to the fore. This study was carried out to evaluate adherence to the MD with sustainable nutrition knowledge and environmentally responsible food choices and to determine the factors affecting adherence. Methods: A questionnaire prepared by the researchers was sent to individuals online and 1732 adults living in Turkey participated in this cross-sectional study. Adherence to the MD was evaluated with the Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS). In addition, questions were asked about nutritional knowledge and environmentally responsible food choices to evaluate the sustainable nutritional behaviors of individuals. Results: Half of the participants (51.1% of men / 53% of women) adhere to the MD at a moderate level. Even the individuals with the highest adherence to the MD had low compliance with the recommendations for fruit (43.4%) and fish (37.3%) consumption. A one-unit increase in age, sustainable nutrition knowledge score, and environmentally responsible food choices score increases the MD adherence score by 0.08, 0.125, and 0.148 points, respectively (p < 0.005). Individuals with high adherence to the MD avoid consuming genetically modified organism food more (p < 0.001), prefer to consume environmentally labeled foods (p < 0.001), and buy food more from local businesses (p < 0.001), while they prefer to buy imported food less (p = 0.034). Conclusion: The results of this study showed that some strategies should be developed to increase the adaptation of individuals to the MD and sustainable nutritional behaviors. Nutritionally adequate, sustainable, and eco-friendly nutritional behaviors should be encouraged to increase the possible health benefits of nutrition and minimize environmental effects. To promote sustainable nutrition, firstly it is important to determine the knowledge level of individuals concerning sustainable nutrition and, for this purpose, it is thought that an international valid sustainable nutrition knowledge assessment tool is needed.

Sustainable nutrition and the case of vegetable oils to match present and future dietary needs.

Sustainable nutrition represents a formidable challenge for providing people with healthy, nutritious and affordable food, while reducing waste and impacts on the environment. Acknowledging the complexity and multi-dimensional nature of the food system, this article addresses the main issues related to sustainability in nutrition, existing scientific data and advances in research and related methodologies. Vegetable oils are epitomized as a case study in order to figure out the challenges inherent to sustainable nutrition. Vegetable oils crucially provide people with an affordable source of energy and are essential ingredients of a healthy diet, but entail varying social and environmental costs and benefits. Accordingly, the productive and socioeconomic context encompassing vegetable oils requires interdisciplinary research based on appropriate analyses of big data in populations undergoing emerging behavioral and environmental pressures. Since oils represent a major and growing source of energy at a global level, their role in sustainable nutrition should be considered beyond pure nutritional facts, at the light of soil preservation, local resources and human needs in terms of health, employment and socio-economic development.

A cross-section from the consumer perspective on sustainable nutrition: consumer awareness and motivation status.

Sustainable diets and food production systems are important for healthy life and future generations. This goal should be reachable by consumer motivations. The study aim is the evaluation of awareness and knowledge of sustainability and logo/claims related with sustainability.Participants' knowledge about sustainability definition and logos/claims related to sustainability were assessed by an online-questionnaire. The questionnaire involved the calculation of annual dietary carbon emissions (kg), nitrogen waste (g), and water consumption (L).Four hundred-two volunteers participated in the study (male: 24.9%; female: 75.1). Only 44 participants (10.9%) explained what sustainable nutrition definition, correctly. The rates of knowledge about logos were quite low; 29.4% for organic product logo; 26.6% for Good farming practice logo; 86.1% for Recycle logo; and 8.0% for Eco-label logo, respectively. The education status of participants affected to knowledge of logo/claim ratio (p < 0.05). Ethic production and environmental impact statement information were care of participants' ratio of 33.6% and 34.1%, respectively. The mean dietary carbon emission of participants was 551.0 ± 343.6 kg/year, which was 81% of the upper limit (680 kg/year). The mean nitrogen waste was 3238.8 ± 4620.9 g/year and mean water consumption was 91,538.7 ± 157,537.9 L/year. Mediterranean diet model carbon emission and nitrogen waste were higher than other diet models, omnivore diet models had more water consumption than other diet models. But these differences were not found statistically significant (p > 0.05).Sustainable nutrition can be achieved via consumers' awareness. Food industry and government should encourage the people about promotion of sustainable food preferences.

Interlinkages between Climate Change and Food Systems: The Impact on Child Malnutrition-Narrative Review.

The pandemics of obesity, undernutrition, and climate change represent severe threats to child health. They co-occur; interact with each other to produce sequelae at biological, psychological, or social levels; and share common underlying drivers. In this paper, we review the key issues concerning child diet and nutritional status, focusing on the interactions with climate and food systems. Inadequate infant and young child feeding practices, food insecurity, poverty, and limited access to health services are the leading causes of malnutrition across generations. Food system industrialization and globalization lead to a double burden of malnutrition, whereby undernutrition (i.e., stunting, wasting, and deficiencies in micronutrients) coexists with overweight and obesity, as well as to harmful effects on climate. Climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic are worsening child malnutrition, impacting the main underlying causes (i.e., household food security, dietary diversity, nutrient quality, and access to maternal and child health), as well as the social, economic, and political factors determining food security and nutrition (livelihoods, income, infrastructure resources, and political context). Existing interventions have the potential to be further scaled-up to concurrently address undernutrition, overnutrition, and climate change by cross-cutting education, agriculture, food systems, and social safety nets. Several stakeholders must work co-operatively to improve global sustainable nutrition.

The role of holistic nutritional properties of diets in the assessment of food system and dietary sustainability.

Advancing sustainable diets for nutrition security and sustainable development necessitates clear nutrition metrics for measuring nutritional quality of diets. Food composition, nutrient requirements, and dietary intake are among the most common nutrition metrics used in the current assessment of sustainable diets. Broadly, most studies in the area classify animal-source foods (ASF) as having a substantially higher environmental footprint in comparison to plant-source foods (PSF). As a result, much of the current dietary advice promulgates diets containing higher proportions of PSF. However, this generalization is misleading since most of these studies do not distinguish between the gross and bioavailable nutrient fractions in mixed human diets. The bioavailability of essential nutrients including ß-carotene, vitamin B-12, iron, zinc, calcium, and indispensable amino acids varies greatly across different diets. The failure to consider bioavailability in sustainability measurements undermines the complementary role that ASF play in achieving nutrition security in vulnerable populations. This article critically reviews the scientific evidence on the holistic nutritional quality of diets and identifies methodological problems that exist in the way the nutritional quality of diets is measured. Finally, we discuss the importance of developing nutrient bioavailability as a requisite nutrition metric to contextualize the environmental impacts of different diets.

Hybrid Sausages: Modelling the Effect of Partial Meat Replacement with Broccoli, Upcycled Brewer's Spent Grain and Insect Flours.

The social, environmental and health concerns associated with the massive consumption of meat products has resulted in calls for a reduction in meat consumption. A simplex lattice design was used for studying the effect of combining broccoli, upcycled brewer's spent grain (BSG) and insect flours from Tenebrio molitor (IF) as alternative sources of protein and micronutrients, in hybrid sausages formulation. The techno-functional properties of the ingredients and the nutritional and textural properties of nine hybrid sausages were analysed. The effect of adding these ingredients (constituting 35% of a turkey-based sausage) on protein, fat, fibre, iron and zinc content, and textural properties (Texture Profile Analysis (TPA) and Warner−Bratzler parameters) were modelled employing linear regression (0.72 < R2 < 1). The "desirability" function was used for multi-response optimisation of the samples for the highest protein content, optimum chewiness and a* value (closeness to red). The analysis of sensory data for the three optimised samples showed no significant differences in juiciness and odour between the hybrid meat sausage with 22% broccoli, 3% BSG, and 10% IF and the commercial Bratwurst sausage elaborated exclusively with animal protein. Colour, appearance, chewiness and pastiness were rated higher than for the reference. The instrumental chewiness highly correlated with sensorial chewiness (R2 = 0.98). Thus, a strategy introducing less refined and more sustainable sources of protein and micronutrients was successfully employed to model and statistically optimise a meat product formulation with reduced animal protein content.