Volume 1 Issue 8, August 2020

Barley grain can have high concentrations of the heavy metal cadmium. Identification of a gene controlling cadmium accumulation in barley offers a path to averting unsafe consumption by humans.

Genomic technologies offer opportunities to monitor microbial strains and their metabolic features to reconstruct the history of cheese.

By 2050, the majority of aquatic dietary protein will be produced by the aquaculture sector. A set of 15 metrics are presented here to guide the industry sustainably through the rapid growth and development it is experiencing.

Concerns are emerging around wheat-based foods made from refined white flour and human health. This Review summarizes the impact of the amount, composition and interactions of the major carbohydrate components within wheat food products on human health and strategies to manipulate these components.

Country-specific impacts of dietary transitions must be considered in climate change mitigation efforts. By modelling the trajectory of food, including international trade, this study reveals how greenhouse gas emissions of low-, middle- and high-income countries are expected to change with the adoption of the EAT–Lancet diet.

Placing vegetarian meals first on the counter has been proposed as a way of reducing meat consumption. Experimental studies involving 105,143 meal selections in two university cafeterias confirm this hypothesis, conditional on the physical distance between meal options.

The primary source of human exposure to the highly toxic heavy metal cadmium (Cd) is diet. This study identified a gene encoding a P-type heavy metal ATPase 3 (HvHMA3) that is responsible for Cd accumulation in barley grain. A Sukkula-like transposable element was found to play an important role in upregulating the expression of HvHMA3, thereby decreasing Cd accumulation in the grain.

High-resolution meta-analysis of cheese microbiomes and corresponding volatilomes provide technological and ecological insights for improving cheese production.

Industrial insect production is expanding, particularly in regions where insects are not traditionally consumed, but food safety standards remain to be established. Here, potential microbiological contaminants from unprocessed insects are investigated, demonstrating a high risk for foodborne illnesses originating from bacterial spores, but low risk from viruses.