Publications by authors named "Carla Mejia"

During adolescence, many young people gain greater food choice agency but also become increasingly exposed and susceptible to environmental pressures that influence their food choices. This coincides with increased nutritional needs, especially for girls. In urban Colombia, adolescent diets are often high in undesirable foods and low in nutritious foods, contributing to overweight and micronutrient deficiencies.

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The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the global economy and modified lifestyles. The aim of our study was to identify factors associated with dietary quality, and their frequency, in Mexican adults at the initial and later stages of the pandemic. Two online surveys were conducted between June and July 2020 ( = 3,131) and between November and December 2020 ( = 1,703 including non-participants from 1st round).

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Background: In humanitarian contexts, ensuring access to safe, nutritious, good quality and culturally appropriate food in the right quantity at the right time and place during an emergency or a protracted crisis is an enormous challenge, which is likely to increase given uncertainties such as climate change, global political and economic instability and emerging pandemics like COVID-19. Several international organizations and non-government organizations have well established systems to respond to food security emergencies. However, the role of food science and technology in humanitarian response is not well understood and is seldom considered in humanitarian circles.

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Background: Cystic echinococcosis (CE) is present in all continents, except for the Antarctica. Characteristically, CE lesions are found in the liver and the lungs, but virtually any part of the body may be affected (the spleen, kidneys, heart, central nervous system, bones, among others). It is estimated that the incidence of bone involvement in CE is 0.

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Color additives are applied to many food, drug, and cosmetic products. With up to 85% of consumer buying decisions potentially influenced by color, appropriate application of color additives and their safety is critical. Color additives are defined by the U.

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Wheat gluten proteins are considered to have the unique ability to form viscoelastic matrices that are essential for breadmaking. This study shows that maize seed storage protein (zein), if properly treated, can be made to function similarly to gluten at the protein secondary structure level with concomitant improved viscoelasticity. Here, we propose the concept of a small amount of coprotein (high molecular weight glutenin or casein) acting to stabilize a build-up of β-sheet structure in a zein-based dough, thus creating a viscoelastic matrix that is retained over time.

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