Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Funded under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP), Mission 4 Component 2 Investment 1.3, Theme 10.
Role of tuna consumption in healthy and sustainable dietary models
Enhancement of food quality and shelf life within the catering system (public canteens and fast-food chains) as well as the distribution system (e.g., retails) to improve products and consumption models offered also taking advantage from smart sensor-based procedures and new strategies targeting "inclusion and awareness” of the consumer (in connection with Spoke 2 and 7) and nutritional information. Activities start from analysis of overall food quality of mass food catering (e.g., public canteens), main fast-food chains and the large-scale distribution to redirect towards sustainable diet/menus/products and personalised/ precision nutrition (in connection with Spoke 1, 2 and 5).
Development and validation of sustainable models of personalised/precision nutrition based on anthropometric, demographic, nutritional status, lifestyle habits, perceptive characteristics, psychosocial, metabolic response, genetic and metagenetic characteristics, also developing predictive tools for the identification of specific phenotypes and appropriate intervention strategies. Tasks include the definition and validation of improved dietary patterns to cover individual nutritional needs through sustainable and affordable foods/preparations (in connection with Spoke 1, 5 and 7) and the development of tools for the prediction at individual level of the metabolic, psychosocial, and physiological response to food intake (in connection with Spoke 6).
Implemented dietary programmes redirecting menus and dietary offers with lower environmental impact, implemented nutritional quality and safety, and increased affordability of national collective catering (M24)
Identification and mapping of specific target groups (M12)
Definition of personalised/precision sustainable dietary patterns based on measurable factors (M24)
The role of animal-source foods (ASFs) in healthy and environmentally sustainable diets is currently source of debate. Indeed, on one hand, ASF are generally characterized by a higher environmental impact compared to plant-based foods. On the other hand, ASF are sources of important and bioavailable nutrients, which can be critical nutrients especially in vulnerable groups of the population. For this reason, it is crucial to investigate the role of ASF in the context of sustainable healthy diets taking into consideration also the nutritional needs of target population/vulnerable groups, also in real-life settings such as canteens.
Among animal ASF, fish among which tuna is an important source of nutrients, such as protein with high biological value, long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (W3) and several essential vitamins and minerals. In addition, canned tuna is a relatively cheap and convenient ASF and thus can play a role in sustainable healthy diets, which should be not only nutritious and environmental-friendly but also safe, desirable and affordable.
Currently, there is a limited knowledge about the nutritional and environmental impact of sustainable healthy diets including canned tuna, especially through studies developed and performed in real-life settings. This could allow to identify the possible role of tuna in healthy and sustainable dietary models.
The research will involve different activities as reported below.
