The aim of this paper was to review existing research and policies related to food environments so as to identify research gaps towards a research agenda for the new Centre of Excellence in Food Security. Food environments influence food choices and nutritional status. Significant changes have taken place in the South African consumer food environments since the mid-1990s accompanied by increased consumption of processed and fast foods. Overweight, obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) have increased while micronutrient deficiencies remain highly prevalent. This raises concerns regarding the impact of current food environments on health and nutrition. A review was conducted identifying existing conceptual frameworks for food environments, as well as South African research and policy documents, all addressing the association between environmental factors and eating behaviour/food choices amid increasing obesity and NCDs rates. South African research does not address food environments comprehensively, tending to focus on aspects such as the situation in home, school, community and retail settings. The associations between food environments, the role of the food industry, the food choices and behaviour of consumers remain under-researched. Nutrition research focuses on nutrient intakes without interrogating foods being consumed. While a progressive policy environment exists it remains largely unevaluated and the high prevalence of obesity, related NCDs and micronutrient deficiencies question its effectiveness. There is a need to conduct comprehensive food environment research that can inform policies and programmes to effectively address the high prevalence of over and undernutrition.
The effect of extrusion cooking and simulated in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on proanthocyanidins in type II and III tannin sorghums was studied. Extrusion cooking was performed at different feed moisture levels (2 L h−1, 3 L h−1, 5 L h−1 and 8 L h−1), with a barrel temperature of 150 °C followed by in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. Extrusion cooked samples had lower total phenols, tannin content and radical scavenging properties than unprocessed tannin sorghum flour. For extrudates, there was progressive increase in total phenols and tannin content with increase in feed moisture. Extrusion cooked samples had increased proportion of dimers and decreased oligomers in the two tannin sorghums. Gastric and duodenal digests of the extrudates contained high proportions of monomers and dimers and some oligomeric proanthocyanidin species. Undigested porridges, gastric and duodenal digests inhibited radical‐induced oxidative DNA damage. Extruded tannin sorghum may have health‐promoting potential in relation to combating chronic diseases associated with oxidative stress
Food security remains a persistent global challenge. Inequality means that food insecurity is disproportionately experienced. Despite positive shifts in the state of food security at a global scale, recent reports from the Food and Agricultural Organisation suggest that in Africa the total number of undernourished people continues to increase. The paper argues that there is a certain “stuckness” in food security responses. The mutually converging transitions of the urban transition, food regime shifts and the nutrition transition demand different ways of understanding the food system, food security and the components thereof, including value chains. The paper reviews efforts designed to respond to these mutually reinforcing challenges but argues that generalisations are problematic. Borrowing concepts from the North is equally problematic. Using the concept of Alternative Food Networks (AFNs), the paper interrogates these networks and asks how such alternative networks manifest in the context of food insecurity in South African cities. AFNs evident in Northern cities and regions are generally privileged and present a perspective of the food system that prioritises sustainability and a deep green and often local ethic, embodying aspirations of food system change. In Southern cities, food system engagement is less about engagement for change, but rather, engagement to enable food access. Traditional value chain parlance sees a value chain extending from producer to consumer. The food access value chain present within poor urban communities in South Africa reflects more than just financial transactions. Transactions of reciprocity and social exchange are embedded within food security strategies, and are often informed by the enactment of agency. Using the term “the food access continuum” this paper calls for a far more expansive view of food access strategies and networks. Understanding these networks is essential to effective food and nutrition security policy and programming
Dietary fat is highlighted as one of the critical risk factors that contribute to a number of chronic diseases. In this study, the sensory profile, tribological, and rheological properties of starch–lipid complexes, as a potential fat replacer, is investigated. Starch–lipid complexes are formulated by incorporating food friendly chemicals (stearic acid and monoglyceride) into maize starch by wet‐heat processing and compared with a commercial fat replacer. The starch–lipid complexes have good lubricating properties and are described by the panelists as being glossy, smooth, creamy, and easy‐to‐swallow. All the complexes exhibited a shear thinning behavior and had lower firmness, due to their non‐gelling ability compared to the commercial fat replacer. The properties of starch–lipid complexes for non‐gelling, good lubricating, smooth, and creamy can be related to the formation of amylose–lipid complexes and other properties. The complexes have the potential to produce non‐gelling emulsions having a creamy and smooth texture with no adverse effect on the overall aroma and flavor.
This report maps the extent of corporate power in the South African agro-food system using a value chain approach. It identifies major corporate actors in the various nodes of the agro-food system as of 2014. Some nodes tend to be dominated by corporations, for example input supply, grain storage and handling, and feedlots for commercial livestock. Other nodes have a strong corporate core but there is also a wide periphery, for example agricultural production, food manufacturing, wholesale and retail and consumer food service. The large periphery of marginalised actors in some parts of the system point to possible areas of intervention to boost livelihoods by supporting economic activity in the periphery. Although there are pockets of concentrated power in the system as a whole, there is also some distribution of power across nodes as well as between commodities. Vertical integration is less prevalent than in the past. The report looks at governance in the food system, the expansion of corporate self-regulation, and the implications for food security and nutrition. Corporations have immense power in structuring consumer perceptions on food quality and health, from input into apparently neutral dietary-based guidelines to advertising. Financialisation in the food system, including the institutionalisation of share ownership and the rise of agri-investment companies, and the multi-nationalisation of South African agro-food capital especially into Africa, have implications for the ability of the nation state to regulate activities in the agro-food system.
Starch from marama (Tylosema esculentum) storage roots were isolated and characterized for physicochemical, micro‐ and molecular structure, pasting, and thermal properties, and were compared to commercial cassava, maize, and potato starches. The amylose content of marama root starch was 192 g/kg starch; and was close to cassava (196 g/kg), but lower in comparison to maize (250 g/kg) and higher than potato (161 g/kg). Marama root starch granules were found to be simple; spherical, lenticular, and oval in shape with granule size range of about 5–38 µm. The peak viscosity (5350–5475 mPa · s) of marama root starch paste is about twice as high as those of cassava and maize. Marama root starch has higher gel firmness than cassava but half that of potato and maize starches. Gelatinization temperature range (67.5–79.0°C) of marama root starch was close to commercial cassava and maize starches. Marama root starch exhibited type A molecular arrangement (X‐ray diffraction) pattern similar to the cassava and maize starches, but different to type B exhibited by the potato starch. Granule size, amylose:amylopectin ratio and molecular arrangement pattern seem to account for the differences and or similarities between marama root starch and the commercial starches. Marama starch has potential as thickeners in food compared to maize and cassava due to the high viscosity.
Ascorbyl palmitate can interact with amylose to form amylose-lipid complexes. This study determined the effects of ascorbyl palmitate (0, 15 and 50 mg/g starch) on the pasting properties of maize starch, amount of ascorbyl palmitate bound in the starch paste, release of ascorbyl palmitate after enzymatic hydrolysis and its antioxidant activity. Pasting of starch with ascorbyl palmitate at 91 °C for 120 min resulted in the formation of type II amylose-lipid complexes as shown by DSC melting enthalpies. About 93% and 66% of ascorbyl palmitate were encapsulated when 15 mg and 50 mg was respectively added to maize starch during pasting. Less than 50% of the bound ascorbyl palmitate was released during pancreatic α-amylase hydrolysis suggesting that some of the complexes were not hydrolysed to release the ligand. The antioxidant activities of the ascorbyl palmitate correlated (R = 0.937) to the amount released during enzymatic hydrolysis. It can be concluded that pasting of maize starch can be used to encapsulate ascorbyl palmitate by possibly forming amylose-lipid complexes.
It is well established that household food security is a complex phenomenon with numerous indicators and outcomes, the measurement of which is yet to be adequately captured by a single measure. We propose the adoption of the methodology of multidimensional poverty measurement in calculating an index of multidimensional food insecurity. This framework has gained increasing popularity, particularly with the introduction of the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).
The assertion is that, like poverty, food insecurity is a multidimensional phenomenon, requiring the inclusion of multiple aspects of deprivation in its measurement. Nationally representative data from South Africa is used to construct a Multidimensional Food Insecurity Index (MFII), based on the methodology of the MPI. The MFII is used to develop a detailed profile of individual food insecurity in South Africa.
Nationally, close to half of the population are considered multidimensionally food insecure, with the greatest contributors to food insecurity being dietary diversity and subjective food consumption adequacy. The Western Cape and Gauteng enjoy the lowest levels of multidimensional food insecurity, while Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal suffer the highest levels. How food security is measured can have an important impact on how policies and interventions are developed and implemented. As such, measurement methodologies can be very practically relevant to research.