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Biomethane recovery from paper waste (PW) was achieved by mesophilic co-digestion with food waste. The feeding material containing 0%, 20%, 40% and 50% of PW in total solids (TS) were investigated in the long-term continuous operation. The results showed that the biogas production, pH, alkalinity and biodegradation of volatile solids (79.8 ± 3.6%) were stable for PW contents no more than 50%. The PW = 50% condition was considered the critical limit for the reasons of pump clogging, sufficient alkalinity (2.0 ± 0.3 g-CaCO 3 /L) and depletion of ammonia. Prokaryotic diversity indices decreased with the increased PW contents. Great shifts were observed in the prokaryotic communities before and after the PW contents reaches 50% as TS (18.4% as total weights). Biomethane recovery yields were deceasing from 445 to 350 NL-CH 4 /kg-fed-volatile-solids. The PW contents as 40% as TS (13.1% as total weights) obtained the optimal performance among all the feeding conditions., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) are two of biodegradable plastics with the highest production capacities in 2021. Bioplastic waste management can be easily integrated with organic waste management, especially when bioplastics are used as food packaging material, since they are potentially biodegradable. The aim of this study was to assess the biodegradability of biodegradable polymer-coated paper (BPCP) and bioplastic bags made from PBAT/PLA blend during mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) and to reveal the changes in the physicochemical properties of the bioplastics. BPCP obtained 155 NmL-CH 4 /g VS and 307.3 NmL-CH 4 /g VS under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, respectively, but left bioplastic film residues. The bioplastic bags did not exhibit significant biodegradation during the AD processes. 1 H NMR results indicated that the ratio of PLA to PBAT decreased significantly after AD of the BPCP film and that PLA monomers were formed from the bioplastic bags, leading to a decrease in the hydrophobicity on the surfaces of the materials. Methanoculleus was found to be enriched on the bioplastic surface after mesophilic AD. From the perspective of coupling bioplastic waste management with the food waste management, the incorporation of BPCP into the AD reactor not only enhances system stability and methane production to a greater extent than biodegradable plastic bags but also raises concerns regarding the residual biofilm when utilizing the digestate for direct land applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity of a web-based 7-day food-record using METADIETA-web link (Meteda s.r.l.) - a professional software used in nutritional practice and research - compared with the traditional paper format. Twenty-six healthy adults of both sexes were recruited in this cross-over study based on the number coming from the sample size calculation, and randomly assigned to start with METADIETA-web or traditional 7-Day Food-Diary. All the 7-day food-diaries were recorded in the Metadieta-software. The System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire was administered to evaluate the participants' preferences in terms of usability, acceptability, and feasibility. Differences in energy intake, nutrient composition, and SUS between the digital and traditional modalities were evaluated. Energy and nutrients were not significantly different between the two methods with a variation <15%, with alcohol intake showing the strongest relation (0.1% variation). The Interclass Correlation Coefficient showed a grade of consistency between the two methods excellent for alcohol, good for proteins, carbohydrates, and fibre, moderate for energy and saturated fat, and poor for total fat and cholesterol. SUS suggested that the web-based platform was in general well accepted, but highlighted some inconsistencies and complexity compared to the written food diary. The web-based 7-day food-record may allow an accurate and quicker analysis of food timing than conventional approaches, seeming reliable for energy and macronutrient composition, making it a potentially attractive tool for nutritional research. However, the reported inconsistencies and complexity must be considered and addressed.

Facing the huge output of food waste (FW) and paper waste (PW), long-term semi-continuous experiments were carried out to investigate the effect of the substrate organic composition on mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic co-digestions (Co-ADs) of their mixtures. The experimental results showed that the organic composition of the substrate affected the biogas and methane production and yield of the two Co-ADs of the FW and PW mixtures, and its effect on thermophilic Co-AD (Co-TAD) was lower than that on mesophilic Co-AD (Co-MAD). The two Co-ADs had similar biogas (2.158 ± 0.136 L/L/d and 2.183 ± 0.142 L/L/d) and methane production (1.245 ± 0.082 L/L/d and 1.279 ± 0.088 L/L/d), and organic matter degradation (81.79 ± 1.07% and 83.81 ± 1.09%) when the substrate organic composition was carbohydrates:proteins:lipids = 6.8:1.8:1 (low carbohydrate composition, FW:PW = 4:1). When the substrate organic composition was carbohydrates:proteins:lipids = 13.5:2:1 (high carbohydrate composition, FW:PW = 1:1), the thermophilic temperature was more favorable than the mesophilic temperature for the Co-AD of FW and PW mixtures. The characteristics (pH, total ammonia, total volatile fatty acids, and total alkalinity) of the Co-TAD digestate were more sensitive to changes in the organic composition of the substrate than those of the Co-MAD digestate. Increasing the carbohydrate content of the FW:PW mixture lowered the production of biogas and methane, and degradation of organic matter in both Co-ADs., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Recently, scholars have applied network science, which examines interconnected systems, to the study of food recipes. By examining the current literature, this review paper analyses the contribution of network science to recipes, and finds evidence of two main contributions. First, the pioneer studies showed the potential of network science for reducing the complexity of recipes and proposing theories to model ingredient pairings and recipe evolution. The second contribution built upon the previous theories and expanded them to cover different regions of the world as the field moved towards understanding the granularity of human culture with rich and detailed studies that examine different cuisines as more recipe datasets became available. Network science studies of recipes allowed researchers to discover insights in recipes to explain sociocultural aspects of cuisines, and include large numbers of recipes in the analysis, which would be nearly impossible using other techniques., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This communication describes a method to detect aluminum in gastric drugs by the naked eye using a microfluidic paper-based analytical device ([mu]PAD). Aluminum ions react with chrome azurol S (CAS) and cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) to form a colored complex, which generates a colored band on the [mu]PAD. A printed ruler can be used to measure the length of the colored band on an individual paper channel for the quantification of an aluminum ion. The [mu]PAD system was designed for use in a modern instrumental analysis course taken by students majoring in Food Quality and Safety. This analytical protocol could also be modified to be used as a demonstration or laboratory experiment in a high school chemistry course with some simplifications to the procedures.

Dialkyl diketene dimers are used as sizing agents in the manufacture of paper and board for food contact applications to increase wetting stability. Unbound residues can hydrolyze and decarboxylate into dialkylketones. These non-intentionally added substances (NIAS) have potential to migrate to fatty foods in contact with those packaging materials. In Germany, the Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) established a specific migration limit (SML) of 5 mg/kg for the transfer of these dialkylketones into foodstuffs. In order to investigate the differences between simulants and real foods, an analytical method was optimized for extraction and quantification of dialkylketones in edible oils and fatty foods by gas chromatography coupled with flame ionization detection (GC-FID), and additionally by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS), to confirm their identification and to quantify them in case of interferences. Dialkylketones are separated from the extracted fat by alkaline saponification of the triglycerides. Dialkylketones migration from paper-based food contact articles into organic solvents isooctane and dichloromethane, in olive and sunflower oils, and in fatty foods (croissants, Gouda, cheddar cheese, and salami was studied). As a result, it was found that the simulating tests, including the edible oil extraction tests, gave migration values that exceeded the SML largely, while the migration with the food samples were largely below the SML.

The occurrence of bisphenol A (BPA), nonylphenol (NP), and their six chlorinated byproducts were investigated in 74 food contacting papers (FCPs) from China, the U.S.A., Japan, and Europe using a sensitive dansylation LC-MS/MS method. BPA (

In this study, food waste (FW) and paper wastes were subjected to hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) with a purpose to improve energy recovery potential. FW is suggested as the suitable feedstock for production of hydrochar (HC) having highest calorific value (29.6 MJ/kg). Carbon content in FW derived HC was increased from 50% to ∼72% whereas energy retention efficiency was found to be 5.74 times of that in FW. Wastewater recovered after HTC of FW was rich in carbohydrates with chemical oxygen demand of ∼56,000 mg/L which may further be subjected to anaerobic treatment for biogas generation. Energy balance calculations showed that the solid and liquid fractions recovered after HTC of FW yielded highest energy output (2950 kJ/kg FW) compared to incineration (2217 kJ/kg FW), anaerobic digestion (2605 kJ/kg) and in-vessel composting. HTC process can be adopted as decentralized facility by institutions where highly moisturized wastes are generated., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To achieve the co-production of H 2 and CH 4 , co-digestion of food waste (FW) and paper waste (PW) was performed on the recirculated two-phase anaerobic digestion (R-TPAD). The PW content in the feedstock increased from 0% to 20%, 40% and 50% (in total solids) with FW as the rest. The results showed that bioH 2 and bioCH 4 were simultaneously and stably produced in the long-term operation. With the increasing PW content, the removal efficiency of volatile solids decreased slightly from 84.9% to 78.4%; the bioH 2 yields increased from 50 to 79 NL-H 2 /kg-VS fed while the bioCH 4 yields decreased from 426 to 329 NL-CH 4 /kg-VS fed . With the fixed amount of FW, adding PW could significantly increase the total bioenergy yields. The relative abundance showed that the key H 2 -producing bacteria, Caproiciproducens and Thermoanaerobacterium, increased after PW addition. The microbial distribution suggests that the H 2 -producers were recirculated to the first stage after proliferating in the second stage., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the realm of food waste recycling, industrial suberoligneous by‐products like cork and peels, pose a challenge for value‐added conversion, primarily due to their intricate structures. This study introduces an innovative approach by utilizing recycled cork as a prime example of repurposing food waste to create a reusable and durable packaging paper. Notably, the manufacturing process of this cork‐based paper avoids the generation of waste liquids from lignin removal, effectively alleviating concerns related to liquid waste pollution. The resulting packaging paper demonstrates remarkable printability, readability, and erasability while offering reusability. Its performance can be fine‐tuned through pH value adjustments. Moreover, this packaging paper exhibits outstanding antioxidative properties and barrier properties, seamlessly integrating superb UV‐blocking proficiency and heightened visible transparency, rendering it highly appealing for sustainable food packaging applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2014 the Mexican government implemented taxes to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and nonessential energy-dense foods. In this manuscript, we analyze the scientific evidence linking the consumption of these products to chronic diseases, and summarize the studies that have evaluated the observed and expected impact of food taxes in Mexico. The implementation of taxes to unhealthy foods has reduced purchases of sugar-sweetened beverages in 7.6% and nonessential energy-dense foods in 7.4%. A reduction in consumption could decrease obesity prevalence by 2.5%; prevent 20 000 cardiovascular disease events; 189 000 diabetes cases; and 20 000 cardiovascular deaths. Additionally, this impact could save nearly 1 173 million dollars from healthcare costs. Taxes to unhealthy foods should be strengthened up and remain as an integral part of the national strategy to reduce obesity and chronic diseases in Mexico., Competing Interests: Declaration of conflict of interests. The authors declare that they have no conflict of interests.

The zone of inhibition method to test the release of biocides from paper and board food contact materials was evaluated. The method tests the paper by placing a small specimen directly onto culture plates of Bacillus subtilis and Aspergillus niger. The principle is that any extractable biocide will diffuse from the paper into the surrounding nutrient medium and so inhibit growth of the microorganism in the vicinity. The test was found to have insufficient sensitivity for assuring food safety, where detection limits for migration at or below the mg l(-1) (parts per million) level are needed. Also, the test does not mimic the actual or foreseeable conditions of use since most paper/board materials are not intended for direct contact with an aqueous medium for up to 3 days at 30°C (B. subtilis) or 25°C (A. niger), which are the incubation conditions used. The sensitivity of the test was increased approximately 100-fold by preparing a concentrated extract of the paper to be tested and applying this extract to the assay via a blank paper carrier. This was done using methanol as a good solvent for most biocides, as a proof of principle. Other solvents or food simulants could be used to mimic the conditions of use intended for the particular paper/board samples under examination, e.g. contact with dry, fatty, aqueous or acidic foods, hot or cold. Twenty-four plain (unconverted) paper and board samples and 100 food packaging samples were evaluated using the modified procedure. The results revealed that the method has been developed to the stage where background cytotoxic action of normal paper constituents gives a weak response. Unlike the original method, therefore, the modified method with its improved sensitivity and the facility to link with the intended food contact conditions may be considered a suitable bioassay screening test to complement chemical analysis of paper/board for composition and migration.

Dry anaerobic digestion is a promising option for food waste treatment and valorization. However, accumulation of ammonia and volatile fatty acids often occurs, leading to inefficient processes and digestion failure. Co-digestion with cardboard may be a solution to overcome this problem. The effect of the initial substrate to inoculum ratio (0.25 to 1gVS·gVS -1 ) and the initial total solids contents (20-30%) on the kinetics and performance of dry food waste mono-digestion and co-digestion with cardboard was investigated in batch tests. All the conditions produced methane efficiently (71-93% of the biochemical methane potential). However, due to lack of methanogenic activity, volatile fatty acids accumulated at the beginning of the digestion and lag phases in the methane production were observed. At increasing substrate to inoculum ratios, the initial acid accumulation was more pronounced and lower cumulative methane yields were obtained. Higher amounts of soluble organic matter remained undegraded at higher substrate loads. Although causing slightly longer lag phases, high initial total solids contents did not jeopardize the methane yields. Cardboard addition reduced acid accumulation and the decline in the yields at increasing substrate loads. However, cardboard addition also caused higher concentrations of propionic acid, which appeared as the most last acid to be degraded. Nevertheless, dry co-digestion of food waste and cardboard in urban areas is demonstrated asan interesting feasible valorization option., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A variety of fruits and vegetables, including raspberries, blueberries, Concord grapes, blackberries, strawberries, peaches, eggplant, red cabbage, and red onions, contain flavonoid compounds known as anthocyanins that are responsible for the blue-red color and the astringent taste associated with such foods. In addition, anthocyanins exhibit a wide range of chemical properties, such as radical scavenging, metal chelation, pH-dependent color changes, and intramolecular stabilization. Two experiments have been developed for anthocyanin-containing extracts isolated from freeze-dried berries to teach students the skills of solid-liquid extraction, paper chromatography, UV-vis spectroscopic characterization, and detection and evaluation of radical scavenging properties.

Type 2 diabetes is increasing among youth, with minority youth at highest risk. This preliminary study tested the feasibility of a school-based program to prevent type 2 diabetes in youth at risk. Forty-one participants (age 12.6 [+ or -] 1.1 years; 63% female, 51% African American, 44% Hispanic, and 5% Caucasian) were randomly assigned to one of two groups. Both the experimental and control groups received nutrition education and exercise training. The experimental group also received coping skills training. Data collected included body mass index (BMI), insulin resistance, dietary intake (24-Hour Food Recall), self-efficacy (Health Behavior Questionnaire), activity (Revised Godin-Shepard Activity Survey), and parents' health promoting behaviors (Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile III). At baseline BMI ranged from 27 to 53 (M=36.2 [+ or -] 6.0), and 95% (n = 39) demonstrated insulin resistance or pre-diabetes on an oral glucose tolerance test. After 12 months, the experimental group showed trends in improved usual food choices (p = .1) and increased dietary knowledge (p = .3). They also demonstrated lower glucose (p = .07) and insulin levels (p = .2). Experimental group parents demonstrated improved health responsibility (p = .03), healthier nutrition choices (p = .05), improved stress management skills (p = .05), increased activity (p = .2), and increased spirituality (p = .2). Data suggest a school-based program tailored to multiethnic youth may prove successful in helping these youth increase activity, improve nutrition status, and stabilize glucose and insulin metabolism, and also may be effective in changing parent health behavior.

A term-paper assignment that encompasses the full scientific method has been developed and implemented in an undergraduate science writing and communication course with no laboratory component. Students are required to develop their own hypotheses, design experiments to test their hypotheses, and collect empirical data as independent scientists in their personal laboratories--their kitchens. Motivating students to use food preparation as a chemical experiment does more than just provide them with adequate data for their term papers. Students develop a new awareness for experimental variables, acquire experimental planning and development expertise, and gain an enhanced set of independent thinking skills. This inquiry-based assignment requires students to treat edible ingredients as a chemicals and kitchen equipment as scientific instrumentation. Students are required to provide correctly formatted scientific terms for all consumables and equipment, and they are encouraged to bring experimental results into the classroom to gather statistical taste-test data. Students submit their term papers as communication-type manuscripts, formatted using the communication-style template for "The Journal of the American Chemical Society". The details and outcomes of this assignment are described along with sample excerpts from student papers over the past few years. (Contains 3 tables and 1 figure.)

The aim of this paper is to explore high school students' critical consciousness development in the context of youth participatory action research (YPAR) focused on food security at an alternative school in Alabama. The YPAR project took place in an elective agriscience class with 10 students (Seven Black, two white, one Latino) who were in the 10th to 12th grades. Utilizing data from researcher notes, classroom observations, and archival classroom documents, we present students' YPAR project outcomes to share their research-driven solutions to food insecurity in their community. Vignettes of classroom dialogue are also constructed to illustrate moments of reflection in the YPAR context about food security. We present three "critical moments," or instances of social analysis, to illustrate how students' individual-level attributions occurred alongside teacher dialogue and student-led investigation of structural inequities in the community. Findings illustrate how students' nonlinear critical consciousness development consisted of reliance on individual-level attributions in classroom dialogue co-occurring with systems-thinking activities and other YPAR project outcomes. This paper has implications for research on the imperfect and wavering nature of adolescent critical consciousness development in YPAR.

This paper presents ethnographic work conducted to investigate how notions of culinary capital have the potential to shape the everyday experiences of children during mealtime in school. Children's early experiences with mealtimes and food are critical determinants for eating behaviour over the life course. The paper presents an account of conceptual debates based on longstanding ethnographic work on school food with a particular focus on a case study of Maple Field Academy to frame the research. Research methods used included semi-structured interviews, fieldnotes and photographs with the aim of capturing a rich picture of the school. This paper introduces Laird's sensory theory to frame the discussion. This research calls for the need to recognise the social good that can be realised from participating in mealtimes and school is a microcosm of society, which means it can function as a driver for social change. The paper calls for more engagement with social theorising on studies which focus on researching food in school.

Background: Local food procurement by hospitals is gaining traction as governments and advocacy groups seek to influence food systems and strengthen local communities, but there is little empirical evidence as to its practical application or efficacy. The aims of this review were to describe the extent, range and nature of local food procurement models in healthcare foodservices, and to understand the barriers and enablers to implementation, including from the perspective of stakeholders across the supply chain., Method: A scoping review was conducted following the protocol published in the Open Science Framework Registration (DOI: 10.17605/OSF.IO/T3AX2). Five electronic databases were searched for the following concepts: 'hospital foodservice', 'local food procurement practices', 'the extent, range and nature' and/or 'the barriers and enablers of procurement'. Eligible peer-reviewed original research published in English from the year 2000 was included following a two-step selection process., Results: The final library included nine studies. Most studies (7 of 9) were from the United States. Three studies used survey methods and reported high rates (58%-91%) of US hospital participation in local food procurement. Studies offered minimal description of local procurement models, but two models, conventional ('on-contract') or off-contract, were typically used. Barriers to local food procurement included restricted access to suitable local food supply, limited kitchen resources and inadequate technology to trace local food purchase thereby limiting evaluation capabilities. Enablers included organisational support, passionate champions and opportunistic, incremental change., Conclusion: There is a paucity of peer-reviewed studies describing local food procurement by hospitals. Details of local food procurement models were generally lacking: categorisable as either purchases made 'on-contract' via conventional means or 'off-contract'. If hospital foodservices are to increase their local food procurement, they require access to a suitable, reliable and traceable supply, that acknowledges their complexity and budgetary constraints., (© 2023 The Authors. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Dietetic Association.)

Food supply and scarcity are closely linked with issues of gender and poverty. Traditional economic development models do not guarantee equitable distribution. Home economists, with their knowledge of the economic food chain and women's cooperative enterprises, can work to improve food security worldwide. (SK)

Since the determination of the high toxicity of bisphenol A, alternative structures for bisphenols have been synthesized, resulting in bisphenols C, E, F, S, and Z. These bisphenols have replaced bisphenol A in plastic bottles, toys, and cans used for preserving food. Later, the toxicity and negative effects of all of these bisphenols on people’s health were proven. Therefore, there is a need for a fast ultrasensitive screening method that is able to detect the presence of these bisphenols in any condition directly from food samples. This paper presented a disposable device based on the utilization of a 2D disposable paper stochastic sensor for the fast ultrasensitive screening of food samples for bisphenols A, C, E, F, S, and Z. The 2D disposable sensor was obtained by the deposition of graphene and silver nanolayers on paper using cold plasma. Furthermore, the active side of the sensor was modified using 2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-21H,23H Mn porphyrin. The limits of quantification of these bisphenols were 1 fmol L−1 for bisphenols C and E, 10 fmol L−1 for bisphenols A and F, 10 pmol L−1 for bisphenol S, and 1 pmol L−1 for bisphenol Z. The recoveries of these bisphenols in milk, canned fruits, vegetables, and fish were higher than 99.00% with RSD (%) values lower than 1.50%.

This paper analyzes the risks to child development and school readiness among children under age 6 in Pakistan. Drawing on a nationally representative telephone survey conducted in the midst of a global pandemic, between December 2021 and February 2022, we present the first nationally representative estimates of child development for children under 3 years of age and school readiness for children 3-6 years of age, using internationally validated instruments. The paper examines how risk factors that were exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as parental distress, lack of psychosocial stimulation, food insecurity, low maternal education, no enrollment in early childhood education, and living in a rural area, are associated with children's outcomes. The data indicate that more than half (57 percent) of parents with children under age 3 were distressed and that 61 percent of households reported cutting down on the size of or skipping meals since the start of the pandemic. The data reveal that over half of parents fail to engage in adequate psychosocial stimulation with their child and enrollment in early childhood education is very low (39 percent). The paper finds that child development outcomes decline rapidly as the number of risks increase. Specifically, for children under 3 years, lack of psychosocial stimulation at home and higher levels of parental distress were most significantly associated with lower child development levels. For a child aged 3-6 years, early childhood education enrollment and the amount of psychosocial stimulation the child received at home had the strongest association with school readiness scores.

An experiment was developed to demonstrate a microfluidic device in the analytical chemistry (instrumental analysis) laboratory. Students made the paper-based microfluidic device with a wax pen and a piece of filter paper and used it to determine the total quantity of amino acids in a green tea leaf extract. The device is low cost, easy-to-make, and easy-to-use. The student results compared favorably with those from standard method. (Contains 2 figures.)

Food and nutrition scientists, nowadays, need to manage an increasing amount of data regarding food composition, food consumption and Total Diet Studies (TDS). The corresponding datasets can contain information about several thousand different foods, in different versions from different studies. FoodCASE is a system that has been developed to manage these different datasets. It also support flexible means of linking between datasets and generally provide support for the different processes involved in the acquisition, management and processing of data. In this paper, the most important concepts to implement existing guidelines and standards for proper food data management are presented, as well as different use cases of data import and proofs of concepts demonstrating the ability to manage data in FoodCASE., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This work determined the effect of using different vegetable oils (soybean, corn, sunflower or canola) and paper towel in oil absorption of nine fried recipes. The paper towel significantly reduced oil absorption in chicken breast, shrimp with garlic, cioba steak, French fries and cheese samosa. Preparations protein-rich absorbed less soybean and corn oils, while starch-rich ones absorbed less of the sunflower and canola oils, with the exception of French toast. Results indicated that food composition of the tested recipes was an important factor influencing oil absorption, as well as the types of oil tested and the use of paper towel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional foods can be considered to be those whole, fortified, enriched or enhanced foods that provide health benefits beyond the provision of essential nutrients (e.g., vitamins and minerals), when they are consumed at efficacious levels as part of a varied diet on a regular basis. Linking the consumption of functional foods or food ingredients with health claims should be based on sound scientific evidence, with the "gold standard" being replicated, randomized, placebo-controlled, intervention trials in human subjects. However, not all foods on the market today that are claimed to be functional foods are supported by enough solid data to merit such claims. This review categorizes a variety of functional foods according to the type of evidence supporting their functionality, the strength of that evidence and the recommended intakes. Functional foods represent one of the most intensively investigated and widely promoted areas in the food and nutrition sciences today. However, it must be emphasized that these foods and ingredients are not magic bullets or panaceas for poor health habits. Diet is only one aspect of a comprehensive approach to good health.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, as few universities have assessed their ecological footprint (EF), a benchmark for Colombian universities is presented. Second, a practical calculation tool for measuring the EF in educational institutions (EIs) is developed. The purpose of this tool is to facilitate the process of assessing the EF in EIs that are starting sustainability initiatives and to unify criteria with those already involved. Design/methodology/approach: The development of the Ecological Footprint for Educational Institutions (EFEI) calculator is detailed showing the seven categories analyzed and the adaptation to the Colombian context. Findings: Results are presented from a case study of EFEI implementation at Universidad Icesi. Furthermore, the relation between these results and the action taken to mitigate EF at the university is detailed. Practical implications: Colombian EIs have recently joined the sustainable campus movement. The EF methodology and this tool serve to assess impacts and identify what EIs can do to ameliorate their environmental stewardship. Social implications: EIs are called on to lead by example in terms of sustainability, not only in teaching and researching cutting-edge technologies but also in being sustainable and transferring this knowledge to future generations. Originality/value: First, an EF benchmark for Colombian universities is presented. In addition, a unified methodology for EIs is developed. The availability of a standard tool will encourage other EIs to move forward in the effort to achieve a sustainable campus.