Demographic trends in Switzerland show that, owing to an increased life expectancy, the over-65 population group will continue to grow in the 21st century. A balanced, healthy diet is of vital importance for health and well-being in old age, in order to reduce the risk of various chronic diseases such as diabetes, osteoporosis and cardiovascular ailments. A survey of 632 individuals aged between 50 and 81 years was conducted to determine both the eating habits and behaviours and the nutritional knowledge of this demographic, as well as the frequency with which they consumed various foods, particularly those of animal origin. More on this topic can be found at the link below:
Dairy products: requirements concerning
added fruit
The addition of fruit to dairy products can lead to food-safety risks. As part of a Bachelor’s thesis, an assessment was created for the evaluation and management of potential risks in order to reduce the likelihood of contamination to a minimum. The findings of the thesis are very important for smaller and medium-sized milk-processing establishments in particular, and are to be published as part of the InterLab sampling guidelines.
In 2017 in Europe there were 343 reported cases of outbreaks caused by enterotoxins of Staphylococcus aureus. To reduce this risk as far as possible, the European legislation stipulates that cheese must be examined for coagulase-positive staphylococci (CPS) when the amount of cells is supposed to be highest. If at this point CPS counts exceed 105 CFU/mL, the cheese must be examined for the presence of enterotoxins and, if positive, destroyed. Manufacturers of Swiss alpine cheese were exempt from this obligation because enterotoxin formation in hard cheese was expected to be very unlikely given the high scalding temperatures leading to early inactivation of CPS in the curd. However, this assumption has not yet been scientifically proven. Therefore, a laboratory-scale cheese production was developed which corresponds to practical conditions regarding time course of temperature and cheese composition. Raw milk aliquots (200 mL) were inoculated with five different strains of CPS and processed to cheese applying scalding temperatures ranging from 46 – 56 °C. The temperature control after pressing the curd aimed at reproducing the temperature curve in the peripheral zone of a real cheese wheel. Contrary to the expectations, results showed that the enterotoxin formation was partly possible even at high scalding temperatures (54 - 56 °C), with the differences between the strains being greater than between temperatures. Based on these results, the mechanism of enterotoxin formation in cheese needs to be further studied.
Leafy-green vegetables are a significant source of the carotenoids lutein and beta-carotene, both of which are important for sight. The findings of a recently concluded intervention study point towards lower baseline serum levels and poorer absorption of these carotenoids in short-bowel patients than in healthy individuals. Potential long-term effects on vision owing to malabsorption of these food constituents have yet to be elucidated.
The number of infectious diseases caused by the consumption of vegetables contaminated with human-pathogenic bacteria is on the rise worldwide. The location and potential absorption of such bacteria in vegetable plants as well as the role of input sources such as irrigation water are currently only partially clarified. In a current research project, Agroscope is investigating the colonisation of salad plants with enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli (EHEC) in cooperation with the University of Hohenheim, Germany.