ABSTRACT Food self‐sufficiency is central to food policy and sustainability discussions, yet traditional volume‐ and calorie‐based metrics overlook the complexity of food systems and do not reflect actual nutritional needs of populations. This systematic review synthesizes recent developments in food self‐sufficiency research, with a specific focus on how nutritional and dietary dimensions are incorporated. Using PRISMA guidelines, 55 studies were identified and categorized by geographical level, timeframe, data sources, assessment methods, and the extent of nutritional integration. Across the literature, new approaches have emerged that link domestic food production to age‐ and sex‐specific requirements for a wide range of macro‐ and micronutrients. These assessments consistently reveal major shortfalls in the domestic production of many essential nutrients, particularly calcium, choline, polyunsaturated fatty acids, vitamins A and E, folate, iron, and vitamin B12. For many low‐ and lower‐middle‐income countries, international trade only partially improves national nutritional adequacy, leaving large populations vulnerable to “hidden hunger”. Population growth, rising food demand, dietary changes, and environmental constraints are expected to further intensify these pressures. Addressing nutritional self‐sufficiency requires context‐specific strategies, including improving resource efficiency, reducing food loss and waste, diversifying domestic production toward nutrient‐dense crops, promoting healthier and more sustainable diets, and using international trade in a targeted manner to close gaps in critical nutrients and food groups. Future research should focus on filling data gaps in food production and consumption at the level of individual food items and in food composition, particularly for local and traditional food items, generating more reliable food loss and waste estimates, accounting for nutritional degradation, and refining novel nutritional and dietary indicators.

The environmental burden of meat and dairy has drawn attention to alternatives, although their capacity to fulfil similar dietary roles remains uncertain. Here, we evaluate the effects of replacing meat and jointly replacing meat and dairy with alternatives on the environmental impacts and nutrient profiles of current and recommended diets. We consolidate environmental inventory and food composition databases in a product- and diet-level analysis to evaluate various impact categories and nutrients. The results show that replacing meat with alternatives can lower environmental impacts by up to 52%, though adequate intake of some critical nutrients, particularly vitamin B12, needs to be ensured. Compared to dairy products, dairy alternatives more frequently lack nutrients, such as calcium and iodine, and certain ingredients, such as almond and coconut, may increase specific environmental impacts. Our findings highlight the challenges of reducing environmental impacts without compromising nutrition, with implications for high-income countries pursuing sustainable dietary transitions. Replacing meat with more sustainable alternatives can halve environmental impacts, but adequate intake of key nutrients such as vitamin B12 must be ensured, suggest integrated assessments of environmental inventories and food composition data.

Plant-based milk alternatives do not always meet nutritional standards, and the reported reformulation efforts are weak. Therefore, there is a need for insight into the potential of making these products healthier. The first aim of this study was to analyse the nutritional and compositional quality of these products. Here, we conducted an online market inventory of 66 plant-based milk alternatives, calculated their Nutri-Scores based on updated Rayner's score, and analysed their additives (number & types) and proportions of processed/unprocessed plant sources. Our second aim was to identify the factors influencing the nutritional and compositional quality of the products. Therefore, we examined the correlations between the nutritional, compositional, and price characteristics of the products. The third aim was to explore the potential for reformulation to make products healthier. We considered realistic cut-off levels for nutritional and compositional values. We found that almost half of the 66 products analysed were of poor nutritional quality (Nutri-Score of D) and contained one to three additives. As solutions, we identified approaches that could reduce the Rayner's score (-12 points), total sugar content (-8 g/ 100 ml), calorie content (-36 kcal/100 ml), percentage of processed plant sources (-17 %), and number of additives (-3) of these products.

Enrichment of yoghurts with additional bacterial strains holds the potential to improve the nutritional value of the product. By incorporating an adjunct strain in combination with the starter culture, 183 enriched yogurts were produced, covering 19 species from 9 different genera. Interestingly, this enrichment substantially increased the total number of metabolites produced. Moreover, the set of newly produced metabolites alone was sufficient for a clear cluster-separation of yoghurts enriched with adjunct strains from the same genus. Furthermore, 35 metabolites known to be aroma compounds or associated with beneficial health effects were identified by targeted metabolomics. Determination of the relative concentration of these metabolites revealed that a set of enriched yoghurts produced high concentrations of DL-indole-3-lactic acid, 3-phenyllactic acid, short-chain fatty acids, amino acids and the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid, particularly in yoghurts enriched with Lactobacillus, Propionibacterium, or Acidipropionibacterium strains, having the potential to further improve the health benefits associated with consumption of yoghurt. This study is the first in which a comprehensive series of enriched yoghurts were produced by adding an adjunct strain, followed by a metabolic profiling using three different platforms (LC-MS, GC-MS, and GC-MS volatiles), allowing the identification of a wide variety of different compounds.

A comparison of consumer-relevant physicochemi-cal and technofunctional properties was performed between plant-based beverages (PBBs) and cow's milk treated at ultra-high temperatures. The PBBs' viscosi-ties and pH values were similar to or higher than those in cow's milk. The PBBs were less white, and their mean particle sizes were usually considerably larger than those of cow's milk. Foam heights were quite dif-ferent, from 41.5 mm to 173 mm at room temperature (milk foam height: 134.8 mm) and 50.9 mm to 203.6 mm at 60 & DEG;C (milk foam height: 179.3 mm), with a median bubble size radius (root mean square) of 14.0-149.5 pm (milk bubble size: 18 pm) and 31.0-175.5 pm (milk bubble size: 82.8 pm). Our correlation revealed that phytic acid (PA) might affect foam height at 60 & DEG;C, the temperature of interest for the consumption of hot beverages. This may be of interest, as PA might be reduced in these beverages for nutritional reasons.

Pesticides constitute an integral part of today's agriculture. Their widespread use leads to ubiquitous contamination of the environment, including soils. Soils are a precious resource providing vital functions to society - thus, it is of utmost importance to thoroughly assess the risk posed by widespread pesticide contamination. The exposure of non-target organisms to pesticides in soils is challenging to quantify since only a fraction of the total pesticide concentration is bioavailable. Here we measured and compared the bioavailable and total concentrations of three fungicides - boscalid, azoxystrobin, and epoxiconazole - and evaluated which concentration best predicts effects on nine microbial markers. The experiments were performed in three different soils at five time points over two months employing nearly 900 microcosms with a model plant. The total and bioavailable concentrations of azoxystrobin and boscalid decreased steadily during the trial to levels of 25 % and 8 % of the original concentration, respectively, while the concentration of epoxiconazole in soil nearly remained unchanged. The bioavailable fraction generally showed a slightly faster and more pronounced decline. The microbial markers varied in their sensitivity to the three fungicides. Specific microbial markers, such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, and bacterial and archaeal ammonia oxidizers, were most sensitive to each of the fungicide treatments, making them suitable indicators for pesticide effects. Even though the responses were predominantly negative, they were also transient, and the impact was no longer evident after two months. Finally, the bioavailable fraction did not better predict the relationships between exposure and effect than the total concentration. This study demonstrates that key microbial groups are temporarily susceptible to a single fungicide application, pointing to the risk that repeated use of pesticides may disrupt vital soil functions such as nutrient cycling in agroecosystems.

Background Whereas the dietary intake of industrial trans fatty acids (iTFA) has been specifically associated with inflammation, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes, understanding the impact of dietary fats on human health remains challenging owing to their complex composition and individual effects of their lipid components on metabolism. The aim of this study is to profile the composition of blood, measured by the fatty acid (FAs) profile and untargeted metabolome of serum and the transcriptome of blood cells, in order to identify molecular signatures that discriminate dietary fat intakes. Methods In a parallel study, the molecular effects of consuming dairy fat containing ruminant TFA (rTFA) or margarine containing iTFA were investigated. Healthy volunteers ( n = 42; 45–69 y) were randomly assigned to diets containing margarine without TFA as major source of fat (wTFA control group with 0.4 g TFA per 100 g margarine), margarine with iTFA (iTFA group with 4.1 g TFA per 100 g margarine), or butter with rTFA (rTFA group with 6.3 g TFA per 100 g butter) for 4 weeks. The amounts of test products were individually selected so that fat intake contributed to 30–33% of energy requirements and TFA in the rTFA and iTFA groups contributed to up to 2% of energy intake. Changes in fasting blood values of lipid profiles (GC with flame-ionization detection), metabolome profiles (LC-MS, GC-MS), and gene expression (microarray) were measured. Results Eighteen FAs, as well as 242 additional features measured by LC-MS (185) and GC-MS (54) showed significantly different responses to the diets (P FDR-adjusted < 0.05), mainly distinguishing butter from the margarine diets while gene expression was not differentially affected. The most abundant TFA in the butter, i.e. TFA containing (E)-octadec-11-enoic acid (C18:1 t11; trans vaccenic acid), and margarines, i.e. TFA containing (E)-octadec-9-enoic acid (C18:1 t9; elaidic acid) were reflected in the significantly different serum levels of TFAs measured after the dietary interventions. Conclusions The untargeted serum metabolome differentiates margarine from butter intake although the identification of the discriminating features remains a bottleneck. The targeted serum FA profile provides detailed information on specific molecules differentiating not only butter from margarine intake but also diets with different content of iTFAs in margarine. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00933322.

Understanding trade-offs between the environmental and nutritional sustainability dimensions of plant-based beverages compared with cow's milk is an increasingly pertinent question in light of the expanding adoption of plant-based diets. The objective of this work was to quantify the nutrient densities (by means of a novel nutrient profiling system), protein quality, fatty acid profiles, and environmental impact (eg, deforestation, global warming potential, and water usage) of milk and plant-based drinks. We assessed cashew, soy, almond, hemp, oat, spelt, rice, and coconut drinks, and compared these with cow's milk from arable-land-based, pasture-raised, grass-fed systems.We combined literature (based on a keyword search in Web of Science) and database (eg, ecoinvent) data to estimate environmental effects from production to packaging, and we measured the nutrient contents of all drinks in a laboratory setting. In accordance with a points-of-differentiation framework, we developed a novel metric to rank food items-the Food Substitute Index-which takes into account national (in this study, Switzerland's) nutrient deficiencies across various dietary patterns. Environmental and scenario analyses were also done to ascertain the influence of product formulation.Our results suggest a high risk of nutrient deficiencies with the introduction of plant-based beverages into the food supply, unless these beverages are fortified with additional nutrients. Regarding combined environmental-nutritional sustainability scores, cow's milk has moderate scores (when compared with plant-based beverages) because its high nutrient density partly compensates for its high environmental impact. Among plant-based beverages, soy drink has high combined scores when produced in France, but not in Brazil. Coconut-based and cashew-based drinks have low average sustainability scores. Hemp-based drinks show promise as a suitable alternative to cow's milk due to its favourable fatty acid profile. On average, spelt-based drinks have moderate sustainability scores; rice-based and almond-based drinks are characterised by low to moderate scores, whereas oat-based drinks have moderate to high scores.The nutrient density and environmental impact of beverages varies greatly even for a single beverage type. This high variation suggests that recommendations of optimal beverages to cover nutritional deficiencies in an environmentally friendly manner are complex to produce. Continual development of nutrient profiling systems will be needed as the health burden of nutrient deficiencies becomes more apparent.None.

The high decline in liquid milk consumption in Western countries has been compensated by the increased consumption of processed dairy products and the rapidly increasing number of new plant-based beverages constantly introduced in the market, advertised as milk substitutes and placed on shelves near milk products. To provide better understanding about the nutritional value of these drinks compared with cow's milk, 27 plant-based drinks of 8 different species and two milk samples were purchased from two big retailers in Switzerland, and their composition regarding protein, carbohydrate, fat, vitamin, and mineral contents and residue load [glyphosate, aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA), and arsenic] was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. Energy and nutrient intakes were calculated and compared with the dietary reference values for Germany, Austria and Switzerland (D-A-CH). In addition, the digestible indispensable amino acid score (DIAAS) was calculated to estimate the quality of the proteins. Milk contained more energy; fat; carbohydrate; vitamins C, B2, B12, and A; biotin; pantothenic acid; calcium; phosphorus; and iodine than most plant-based drinks. Soy drinks provided slightly more protein and markedly more vitamins B1 and B6, folic acid, and vitamins E and D2 (with supplemented vitamin D2) and K1, magnesium, manganese, iron, and copper than milk and the other plant-based drinks. However, with the exception of cow's milk and soy drinks, which had > 3% protein, most milk alternatives contained ≤ 1% protein; therefore, they cannot be considered good protein sources. In regard to protein quality, milk was outstanding compared with all plant-based drinks and exhibited higher calculated DIAASs. Our results show that the analyzed plant-based drinks are not real alternatives to milk in terms of nutrient composition, even if the actual fortification is taken into account. Improved fortification is still an issue and can be optimized using the most bioavailable and soluble derivatives. Complete replacement of milk with plant-based drinks without adjusting the overall diet can lead to deficiencies of certain important nutrients in the long term.

Although the composition of the human blood metabolome is influenced both by the health status of the organism and its dietary behavior, the interaction between these two factors has been poorly characterized. This study makes use of a previously published randomized controlled crossover acute intervention to investigate whether the blood metabolome of 15 healthy normal weight (NW) and 17 obese (OB) men having ingested three doses (500, 1000, 1500 kcal) of a high-fat (HF) meal can be used to identify metabolites differentiating these two groups. Among the 1024 features showing a postprandial response, measured between 0 h and 6 h, in the NW group, 135 were dose-dependent. Among these 135 features, 52 had fasting values that were significantly different between NW and OB men, and, strikingly, they were all significantly higher in OB men. A subset of the 52 features was identified as amino acids (e.g., branched-chain amino acids) and amino acid derivatives. As the fasting concentration of most of these metabolites has already been associated with metabolic dysfunction, we propose that challenging normal weight healthy subjects with increasing caloric doses of test meals might allow for the identification of new fasting markers associated with obesity.

Recent discoveries in the "omics" field and the growing focus on preventive health have opened new avenues for personalized nutrition (PN), which is becoming an important theme in the strategic plans of organizations that are active in healthcare, food, and nutrition research. PN holds great potential for individual health optimization, disease management, public health interventions, and product innovation. However, there are still multiple challenges to overcome before PN can be truly embraced by the public and healthcare stakeholders. The diagnosis and management of lactose intolerance (LI), a common condition with a strong inter-individual component, is explored as an interesting example for the potential role of these technologies and the challenges of PN. From the development of genetic and metabolomic LI diagnostic tests that can be carried out in the home, to advances in the understanding of LI pathology and individualized treatment optimization, PN in LI care has shown substantial progress. However, there are still many research gaps to address, including the understanding of epigenetic regulation of lactase expression and how lactose is metabolized by the gut microbiota, in order to achieve better LI detection and effective therapeutic interventions to reverse the potential health consequences of LI.

Vitamin K-2 (MKn) has been assessed in some varieties of cheese, but data are limited and do not account for factors like seasonality that affect MKn. To investigate variation of MKn content in cheese, we assayed 121 cheese samples from 10 cheese varieties made from cows', goats', and ewes' milk throughout an entire production year. The concentrations of menaquinone (MK) species MK-4 to MK-10 were determined using high performance liquid chromatography. MKn in the cheese ranged from 23 to 1312 mu g kg(-1). An important determinant of MKn content was the bacterial strains used in the starter cultures. Scalding temperature also influenced MKn content by affecting the survival of MKn-producing strains. Seasonal variability was observed for some cheese varieties, while fat content negatively correlated with total MKn. Based on our results, in Switzerland 13-17% of the recommended daily intake for MKn is met by cheese consumption. (C) 2020 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Abstract Introduction Validation of biomarkers reporting on the intake or bioactivity of foods requests that the dose-response behaviour of relevant nutrients be known. Establishing this relationship is, however, challenging because of the complex composition of foods. In addition, humans respond differently to caloric intake depending on their metabolic health. By allowing the measure of multi-molecular profiles, omics technologies provide better insights into these issues. We have previously measured the response of the blood cell transcriptome of normal weight (NW) and obese (OB) men to increasing caloric doses of a high-fat meal (HFM). We now describe the dose-response of the serum metabolome of these subjects and discuss the results in light of the transcriptomic response. Material and Methods In a randomized crossover study, we challenged 19 NW and 18 OB men with 500, 1’000, and 1’500 kcal HFM. The blood cell transcriptome was measured before and 2, 4, and 6 h after meal ingestion. The untargeted serum metabolome was assessed at the same time points. The genes and metabolites responding postprandially in a dose-dependant manner were identified. Results Among the 1’385 features with a postprandial response, 178 showed a significant dose-response between meals. A majority of them increased (amino acids, bile salt conjugates, metabolites in urea cycle), whereas circa one fifth, indicative of an endogenous response, decreased (e.g. carnitine esters). Overall, the postprandial metabolome showed caloric saturation, the metabolome after 1’500 kcal HFM being quantitatively only marginally different than after 1’000 kcal. Although a subset of metabolites responded differently to the caloric increase, the postprandial metabolomes of NW and OB subjects were, overall, mostly characterized by their similarity. This finding contrasted with the blood cell transcriptome, which identified a subset of OB subjects whose expression of genes of the oxidative phosphorylation pathway was, compared to the NW subjects, more increased after ingestion of 1’500 kcal HFM. Discussion We report, for the first time, the response of the human serum metabolome to increasing caloric doses of a meal. The saturation observed between 1’000 and 1’500 kcal reflects on the control mechanisms regulating the metabolites entering the blood circulation. Interestingly, combining the analysis of the serum metabolome with the blood cell transcriptome indicated that the elevated cellular oxidative response to 1’500 kcal HFM in a subset of OB subjects results from a dysregulation of systemic cellular mechanisms in response to food intake, rather than from changes in gastrointestinal processing.

Headspace in-tube extraction (HS-ITEX) and solid phase microextraction (HS-SPME) sampling, followed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), are widely used to analyze volatile compounds in various food matrices. While the extraction efficiency of volatile compounds from foodstuffs is crucial for obtaining relevant results, these efficiency of these extraction methods limited by their long extraction times and requirements for large sample quantity. This study reports on the development and application of a new extraction technique based on HS-ITEX hardware, which improves the extraction rate and capacity by operating under reduced pressure, called Dynamic Headspace Vacuum Transfer In-Trap Extraction (DHS-VTT). The results of the study indicate that DHS-VTT improves the extraction of the target compounds. The area of the mass spectrometer signal for each compound can be up to 450 times more intense than the HS-SPME and HS-ITEX techniques performed in the same experimental conditions of extraction temperature and time. DHS-VTT runs in automated mode, making it possible to work with smaller sample quantity and also favors the HS extraction of all volatile compounds. In addition, the necessary modifications to the installation were cheap and the life of an ITEX trap is up to 10 times longer than an SPME fibre.

Iodised salt (supplemented with potassium iodide) is the primary source of iodine in Switzerland, but it is rarely used in the manufacture of cheese. In the present study, the diffusion of iodide and chloride in experimentally produced soft, semi-hard and hard cheeses was investigated after brine-salting and subsequent ripening with iodised or non-iodised salt. Diffusion of iodide (I-) and chloride (Cl-) into the cheeses was monitored by zonal analyses at different times of ripening. The concurrent diffusion of the two ions in the aqueous phase of cheeses was modelled using Fick's law and the apparent diffusion coefficients (D-app) were determined. The results showed that iodide diffuses more slowly into the interior of the cheeses than chloride. Although the ripened cheeses still showed a concentration gradient between rind and centre, an average increase of 402 +/- 30 mu g kg(-1) iodine was achieved in the edible part of the cheeses treated with iodised salt. Based on a national food survey, the hypothetical contribution of cheese to the dietary iodine intake was estimated. If cheese was produced with iodised salt, it would cover approximately 10% of the recommended daily iodine intake (150 mu g d(-1)). Therefore, the use of iodised salt in cheese production would make an important contribution to a iodine supply for population groupswith borderline iodine deficiency.

Nutritional research is currently entering the field of personalized nutrition, to a large extent driven by major technological breakthroughs in analytical sciences and biocomputing. An efficient launching of the personalized approach depends on the ability of researchers to comprehensively monitor and characterize interindividual variability in the activity of the human gastrointestinal tract. This information is currently not available in such a form. This review therefore aims at identifying and discussing published data, providing evidence on interindividual variability in the processing of the major nutrients, i.e., protein, fat, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, along the gastrointestinal tract, including oral processing, intestinal digestion, and absorption. Although interindividual variability is not a primary endpoint of most studies identified, a significant number of publications provides a wealth of information on this topic for each category of nutrients. This knowledge remains fragmented, however, and understanding the clinical relevance of most of the interindividual responses to food ingestion described in this review remains unclear. In that regard, this review has identified a gap and sets the base for future research addressing the issue of the interindividual variability in the response of the human organism to the ingestion of foods.

Fermented foods represent a significant fraction of human diets. Although their impact on health is positively perceived, an objective evaluation is still missing. We have, therefore, reviewed meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials (RCT) investigating the relationship between fermented foods and non-transmissible chronic diseases. Overall, after summarizing 25 prospective studies on dairy products, the association of fermented dairy with cancer was found to be neutral, whereas it was weakly beneficial, though inconsistent, for specific aspects of cardio-metabolic health, in particular stroke and cheese intake. The strongest evidence for a beneficial effect was for yoghurt on risk factors of type 2 diabetes. Although mechanisms explaining this association have not been validated, an increased bioavailability of insulinotropic amino acids and peptides as well as the bacterial biosynthesis of vitamins, in particular vitamin K2, might contribute to this beneficial effect. However, the heterogeneity in the design of the studies and the investigated foods impedes a definitive assessment of these associations. The literature on fermented plants is characterized by a wealth of in vitro data, whose positive results are not corroborated in humans due to the absence of RCTs. Finally, none of the RCTs were specifically designed to address the impact of food fermentation on health. This question should be addressed in future human studies.