Food Production News and Research

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The role of agriculture in health

A new study explores the changing dynamics of agriculture in the context of increasing demands for food and major alterations in the type of foods commonly consumed.

5 Apr 2022

Malaria more common in Africa’s rice-farming villages

Malaria has become more common in African villages with irrigated rice fields in the last 20 years, highlighting the need for improved cultivation methods to keep mosquito numbers low, a study suggests.

30 Mar 2022

Ultra-processed foods in diets are damaging human and planetary health

A global diet that increasingly includes ultra-processed foods is having a negative impact on the diversity of plant species available for human consumption while also damaging human and planetary health, according to a commentary published in the journal BMJ Global Health.

29 Mar 2022

Using AI to detect antibiotic resistance

In this interview, we speak to Professor Karsten Borgwardt and Professor Adrian Egli about their latest research that used AI to predict antibiotic resistance.

1 Mar 2022

Food science experts characterize the properties of protein in several insect powders

As the human population grows to a predicted 10 billion by 2050 and overall land mass remains constant, traditional animal farming may become a less viable method for food production.

12 Jan 2022

New biodegradable smart food packaging material helps kill harmful microbes

A team of scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, US, has developed a 'smart' food packaging material that is biodegradable, sustainable and kills microbes that are harmful to humans. It could also extend the shelf-life of fresh fruit by two to three days.

29 Dec 2021

New models needed to radically shift the food system

According to the paper titled Enacting theories of change for food systems transformation under climate change, published in Global Food Security, food systems are responsible for a third of global greenhouse gas emissions from human activity, and agricultural yields are at risk due to climate change impacts.

23 Dec 2021

Fast food giant focuses on kids in lower middle income countries with child friendly marketing

Fast food giant McDonald's seems to be focusing on kids in lower middle income countries, with more Instagram posts, price promotions, and child friendly marketing than is evident for wealthier nations, reveals an analysis of the company's social media marketing across 15 countries and published in the open access journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health.

22 Dec 2021

Cheap and accessible methods for genome sequencing will help tackle future pandemics

A worldwide consortium of scientists, led by the Earlham Institute and the University of Liverpool in the UK, mark a significant milestone in equipping researchers in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) with cheap and accessible methods for sequencing large collections of bacterial pathogens - at a cost of less than $10USD per genome.

21 Dec 2021

Sustainable dietary habits are linked to health benefits, shows study

A large population study from Lund University in Sweden has shown that more sustainable dietary habits are linked to health benefits, such as a reduced risk of premature death from cardiovascular disease and cancer. The study is published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

9 Dec 2021

Non-vegetarian diets associated with higher greenhouse gas emissions, analysis finds

A new analysis adds to evidence that nutritious diets are often more environmentally sustainable, while also demonstrating the feasibility of evaluating diet sustainability at the scale of specific foods-;rather than broader food-group categories.

22 Nov 2021

World Antimicrobial Awareness Week: An Interview with the World Health Organization

For World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) 2021, we spoke to Dr. Liz Tayler from the World Health Organization about antimicrobial resistance.

18 Nov 2021

Scientists discover the genes used by bacteria to live within complex communities

Scientists from the Quadram Institute at the Norwich Research Park have made an important discovery into the workings of bacterial communities.

18 Nov 2021

Mitigating SARS-CoV-2 infection risks among essential food workers

Researchers employ a stochastic quantitative microbial risk assessment model to assess risk reduction measures for controlling SARS-CoV-2 transmission.

2 Nov 2021

Cornell researchers develop a “digital twin” to help the food industry stop Listeria outbreaks

Researchers from Cornell University are blending food science expertise and computer programming savvy to help the food industry stop Listeria outbreaks.

18 Oct 2021

Climate change action could significantly benefit human health in the future

Measures to tackle climate change could significantly benefit human health in the next few years, as well as in the long-term, says a new report from the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Royal Society.

15 Oct 2021

WHO’s new report highlights 10 priorities for safeguarding the health of people and the planet

Countries must set ambitious national climate commitments if they are to sustain a healthy and green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

12 Oct 2021

New model can help determine the origin of food in an efficient and low-cost manner

Fraudulent practices in food production, especially false claims of geographical origin, cause billions of dollars in economic damage every year. Botanists at the University of Basel have now developed a model that can be used to determine the origin of food in an efficient and low-cost manner.

11 Oct 2021

Growing wheat varieties with biological nitrification inhibition trait could increase yields

An international collaboration has discovered and transferred to elite wheat varieties a wild-grass chromosome segment that causes roots to secrete natural inhibitors of nitrification, offering a way to dial back on heavy fertilizer use for wheat and to reduce the crop's nitrogen leakage into waterways and air, while maintaining or raising its productivity and grain quality, says a new report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

2 Sep 2021

Can SARS-CoV-2 be transmitted in the food cold chain?

A new study reports that the risk of transmitting SARS-CoV-2 through such fomites is very low.

30 Aug 2021