Research outputs

We are pleased to announce the publication of a new article that explores the complex relationship between early environmental exposures and childhood obesity through the exposome framework.

Focusing on the critical "firs...

Achieving sustainability in the agrifood supply chain, in environmental, economic and social dimension, demands more than a static framework of rules; it calls for governance understood as a dynamic set of processes, institutions, and stakehold...

The production and consumption of plant-based products which resemble animal counterparts, among which cheese-analogues, is constantly increasing. For this reason, there is the need for assessing their nutritional composition and ingredients, w...

Purpose: Organizations are increasingly investing in corporate wellness programs to improve the overall health of their workforce. Among these, workplace diet-related interventions may play a key role in promoting employees’ we...

Valorization of minor crops in baked goods and the enhancement of their nutritional, technological, and sensory properties, as well as their shelf-life is a priority of the food industry. In this context, this study focused on the reformulation...

The interactions between food components and digestive tract enzymes can affect nutrient absorption and impact an individual's health. Certain components, particularly polyphenols, are reported to inhibit digestive enzymes and are commonly refe...

Increasing the use of minor crops, such as buckwheat, can enhance biodiversity. Thanks to its composition (e.g., protein, fiber, flavonoids), buckwheat is a valuable raw material for food production. However, its application is limited als...

Carob is a resilient plant with ecological and nutritional significance. A comprehensive study of Ceratonia siliqua leaves (CSL) was conducted to explore its chemical composition and health-promoting potential, aiming at improving the carob-cro...

In recent decades, the concept of food pairing has gained importance across various aspects of gastronomic science. Flavoured oils serve as an excellent case for exploring food pairing with specific culinary preparations. Simultaneously, as con...

Improving food safety practices among young adults is critical to public health, but effective communication strategies are under-researched. This study investigated the effectiveness of a 12-day message-based intervention to promote safe food ...

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is the second deadliest cancer in the Western world. Increased body weight, a diet rich in red meat and alcohol, as well as a sedentary lifestyle, are all involved in sporadic CRC pathogenesis. Since current CRC therapie...

This paper presents a new, open-access database of food policies, the European Food Policy Database (EU F-POD). It is a comprehensive and collaborative on-line resource, and goes beyond a mere list of food policies by offering a structured coll...

In vitro meat cultivation, a cutting-edge innovation in food science, may represent a more sustainable and ethical source of animal proteins compared with conventionally grown meat. An important challenge for meat cultivation lies in eliminatin...

Plant-based fish is developed to mimic the taste, texture, and appearance of fish. Despite being the fastest-growing segment in plant-based analogues sales, it remains a niche product due to several hindrances, including sensory and nutritional...

Pediatric obesity has been described by the World Health Organization as 1 of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century. Projections of increasing burdens of pediatric obesity and its related diseases on society highlight th...

Bitter taste is an aversive taste because it is unconsciously associated with toxic compounds. However, a considerable variability in bitter sensitivity exists in those who have the genetic polymorphism for bitter taste receptors (TAS2Rs

Neural tube defects (NTDs), well-known consequences of folate deficiency, are the second most common cause of serious birth defects, affecting approximately one in a thousand pregnancies in Europe. 

Maternal folate deficiency before ...

Cereals are rich in nutrients and bioactive compounds; however, many of these, such as polyphenols, are bound to the cell wall matrix, limiting their bioavailability. This study investigated the use of fermentation to enhance the bioavailabilit...

L’objectif de l’étude est de vérifier s’il y a une aptitude de genre à l’interprétation des symboles qui certifient les indications géographiques. Dans le contexte sociopolitique italien, les institutions compétentes érigent les indications géo...

In Italia parlare di novel food e insetti edibili suscita ancora molta preoccupazione sia da una parte del mondo politico sia da una parte del mondo della produzione agroalimentare e più in generale da una parte dell’opinione pubblica....

Le richieste di riconoscimento del diritto al cibo si stanno spostando dal campo del diritto internazionale a quello nazionale. Il diritto al cibo sta così entrando a far parte del linguaggio costituzionale di molti Stati, tra cui l’Italia. In ...

Coffee pulp is a by-product characterized by its richness in phenolic compounds. This study examined the catabolism of (poly)phenols in digested coffee pulp flour (CPF) and extract (CPE) during in vitro colonic fermentation. After a si...

Glucosinolates (GSLs) are nitrogen/sulfur-containing glycosides widely present in the order of Brassicales, particularly in the Brassicaceae family. Camelina (Camelina sativa (L.) Crantz) is an oilseed plant belonging to this family. I...

In recent years, research on taste perception has increasingly focused on its influence on food consumption, preferences, and long-term health. While bitter and sweet tastes have been well-studied, less is known about salty and umami tastes and...

Background

Oxidative stability and antioxidant properties significantly impact the quality, shelf-life, and nutritional value of food. However, current methods for studying lipid oxidation and antioxidan...

School canteens are crucial drivers for stimulating sustainable eating habits of children in line with global sustainability objectives. Using a participatory approach, we co-design a choice-architecture intervention to assess whether inverting...

Background and aims: Homocysteine (Hcy) levels are elevated in different conditions, including cardiovascular diseases (CVD), diabetes, and metabolic-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD). In this observational retrospecti...

Introduction Emerging evidence suggests an association between obesity and Functional Gastrointestinal Disorders (FGIDs). Childhood obesity and FGIDs share many common features, such as high prevalence in the pediatric population, risk factors ...

Background/Objectives: The water footprint (WF) provides information on the impact of individual foods on water consumption, but to better direct food production toward water saving, we need to understand how to reduce the WF o...

Childhood obesity remains a pressing concern in public health and nutrition research, with implications for children's health and well-being. Understanding parents’ food choice criteria is critical to designing interventions that promote health...

Steatotic liver disease (SLD) and Hepatocellular Carcinoma (HCC) are characterised by a substantial rewiring of lipid fluxes caused by systemic metabolic unbalances and/or disrupted intracellular metabolic pathways. SLD is a direct consequence ...

Zooplankton such as copepods and krill are currently used to produce marine oil supplements, with the aim of helping consumers achieve the recommended intake of n-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LC-PUFAs). Oils from lower trophic ...

Although it is common practice to use historically established ‘reference strains’ or ‘type strains’ for laboratory experiments, this approach often overlooks how effectively these strains represent the full ecological, genetic and functional d...

According to the innovative and sustainable perspective of the circular economy model, Olea europaea leaves, a solid byproduct generated every year in large amounts by the olive oil production chain, are considered a valuable source of...

Background: Childhood obesity is a critical public health challenge with a rising prevalence worldwide, contributing to numerous health risks and long-term societal burdens. Concurrently, climate change and environmental degradation demand sust...

Background: Disease-related malnutrition, with or without inflammation, in older adults is currently emerging as a public health priority. The use of Foods for Special Medical Purposes, including Oral Nutritional Supplements, and supplements is...

The genus Ruminococcus is dominant in the human gut, but higher levels of some species, such as R. gnavus, R. torques, and R. bromii, have been linked to health or disease. In this study, we analyzed >9,000 Ruminococcus metagenome-assembled ...

Background and aim: Cereals’ iron content is a major contributor to dietary iron intake in Europe and a potential for biofortification. A simulation of daily iron intake from wheat and rice over the next 20 years will be quanti...