by Maiya Ahluwalia, Heidi Emery, Nicole Steadman, David M. Beauchamp, Rachel K. von Holt, Nadia M. Cartwright, Elaina B.K. Brendel and Jennifer M. Monk
Original Research
Food insecurity is a global public health challenge, with those affected having inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial constraints. This study determined the effectiveness of reducing community food insecurity by implementing a sliding scale payment model approach at a local community food market in Guelph ON, Canada. In this payment model, fresh produce could be purchased at the market within a price range along a sliding scale, wherein lower income customers can confidentially select to pay prices at the lower end of the payment scale, whereas those with higher household incomes can select to pay the higher payment option. In this pilot study, customers of the community food market (n=119) were surveyed to determine their food insecurity status both prior to and after regularly shopping at the food markets, and how using the sliding scale payment model impacted their access to affordable produce. Market attendance was shown to reduce customers self-reported indicators of food insecurity (P<0.05). Additionally, customer household income levels were correlated with the price they paid along the sliding scale; wherein lower and higher income households paid for produce at a corresponding level on the payment scale. These results demonstrate that the sliding scale payment model is supported by the community across household income levels and was successful at reducing customer food insecurity. This model could be implemented in other communities to reduce food insecurity.
Journal of Food Security. 2023, 11(3), 106-116. DOI: 10.12691/jfs-11-3-4
Pub. Date: December 28, 2023
by Soualio Kamagate, Jean Paul Aristide Amani, Howélé Ouattara, Desiré Thierry Gleanou and Paul Angoué Yapo
Original Research
In order to judge the state of health of the sheep authorized for slaughter at the slaughterhouse of the city of Korhogo through their lipid profile, 82 sheep were sampled. In each of the selected animals, total blood was taken and collected under aseptic condition on fasting mornings. These samples were taken after ante-mortem inspections of the jugular vein using Venojects® needles. The blood of each sheep was collected in dry tubes. The serum obtained after centrifugation at 3000 revolutions for 5 minutes was used to determine lipid parameters (total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol and triglycerides) using a "RAYTO RT-9200" brand analyzer. The results indicated that over 90% of the animals declared healthy had lipid metabolism disorders. These abnormal values were significantly very high in female sheep compared to males.
Journal of Food Security. 2023, 11(3), 101-105. DOI: 10.12691/jfs-11-3-3
Pub. Date: December 25, 2023
by Palak Gupta and Lendel Kade Narine
Original Research
Objective: To (i) understand prevalence of household food insecurity (HFI), (ii) examine the association of HFI with social determinants of health, and (iii) assess the association of HFI to overall health status. Design: Cross-sectional Setting: Utah residents Participants: Data was collected from 1,522 respondents using convenience sampling technique. The survey included questions on household characteristics, shopping patterns, health status, and HFI. Participation was restricted to the residents of Utah over 18 years who agreed to participate. Main Outcome Measure(s): HFI was the dependent variable. Social determinants of health were independent variables. Analysis: Bi-variate and multi-variate analysis was done using SPSS. Results: 51% of the sample households were found to be food insecure. HFI was associated with renting a home [Exp(B) 1.85, p=0.007], increased family size [Exp(B) 1.19, p<0.001], and low education attainment [Exp(B) 1.63, p=0.046]. Intergenerational wealth was found to be protective against HFI [Exp(B) 0.43, p=0.021]. Food insecurity was also strongly associated with self-reported health status [Exp(B) 1.05, p<0.001] and obesity [Exp(B) 1.43, p=0.046]. Conclusions and Implications: Research identified strong associations between food insecurity, social determinants of health and health outcomes. To address these issues, this paper offers policy and practitioner level recommendations that may need to be implemented.
Journal of Food Security. 2023, 11(3), 92-100. DOI: 10.12691/jfs-11-3-2
Pub. Date: November 23, 2023
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by Ndiaye Khady, Kane Cheikhou, Ndoye Mouhamed, Ayessou Nicolas, Cisse Mady and Diop Codou Mar
Original Research
The numerous benefits of anthocyanins from Hibiscus sabdariffa L on human health explain all the thermal and athermal preservation techniques undertaken so far. However, these methods result in considerable losses of anthocyanins, leading to a deterioration of the nutritional and organoleptic qualities of the product during storage.Platinum electrode oxygen reduction is a new athermal technique using a two-compartment electrolysis cell separated by a cationic membrane. The fruit juice is stabilized by passing the reduction current for a set time. The electrochemical approach is a new technique for cold juice without additing chemical molecules. Reaction kinetics in Hibiscus sabdariffa juice follows 1st order kinetics. The classical Arrhenius, Ball and Eyring models used showed the degradative effect of dissolved oxygen in the juice with a significant difference (Ea = 4000 J/mol) between the activation energy of the electroreduced extract and the control (untreated). This is corroborated by the values of the half-reaction time which are 24 S-1 for the electrochemically treated extract and 20 S-1 for the untreated control after 5 months of storage at 4°C.The value of the enthalpy of activation of the electroreduced juice about 6 J/mol/K and that of the control 5,72 J/mol/K shows that the electrochemical process takes place at low energy, i.e. 0,28 J/mol/K for a volume of about 250 ml.The various kinetic models have also confirmed by the electrochemical approach that the temperature factor predominates over the dissolved oxygen factor. At 37°C, the half-reaction time is 1,3 s-1 for the electroreduced Hibiscus juice as for the untreated extract after 5 months of conservation.
Journal of Food Security. 2023, 11(3), 85-91. DOI: 10.12691/jfs-11-3-1
Pub. Date: November 14, 2023
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