Beliefs, Evaluations, and use of commercial infant Food: A survey among German parents.

Complementary feeding is a critical milestone for parents, who must decide the extent to which they feed their infants with homemade foods (HMFs) or commercial infant foods (CIFs). The current study focused on how parents perceive and evaluate CIFs and what drives them to use these products. Understanding the wide variety of factors that influence parents' decisions to use CIFs as a food source is crucial to helping them make more balanced food choices for their infants.

Assessment of microplastics in human stool: A pilot study investigating the potential impact of diet-associated scenarios on oral microplastics exposure.

As emerging contaminants microplastic particles have become of particular relevance as they are widely present in the environment and of potential concern to human health. Humans are exposed through different routes, with oral intake and inhalation being the most significant. Dietary intake substantially contributes to oral exposure, although data is still lacking.

Exposure to bisphenol A in European women from 2007 to 2014 using human biomonitoring data - The European Joint Programme HBM4EU.

Background: Bisphenol A (BPA; or 4,4'-isopropylidenediphenol) is an endocrine disrupting chemical. It was widely used in a variety of plastic-based manufactured products for several years. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recently reduced the Tolerable Daily Intake (TDI) for BPA by 20,000 times due to concerns about immune-toxicity.

Persistent Organic Pollutants in Austrian Human Breast Milk Collected between 2013 and 2016.

Breast milk holds an immense nutritional value as it contains health-promoting substances in a unique, optimal form. Additionally, breast milk's significance extends to health and environmental protection, as it serves as an indicator of both maternal and infant exposure. In this study, breast milk samples collected in 2013 and in 2014-2016 from mothers in Vienna (Austria) were analysed for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDE) and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), as well as further substances which have been listed under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) due to their persistent, bioaccumulative and toxic properties.

Intuitive eating and its influence on self-reported weight and eating behaviors.

Intuitive eating (IE) is an adaptive eating behavior that involves paying attention to the body's physiological signals, including eating when hungry and stopping when feeling full. A growing body of literature has examined the effect of IE on the development of maladaptive eating behaviors and body weight, even though IE is not centered around the latter. However, longitudinal observation studies among the general population are still rare.

Food choices for weight loss: what dietary strategies would people use?

Previous observational research showed that one of the most common strategies used to lose weight is to avoid or restrict the consumption of specific food items. However, the question of how people behave and implement strategies in actual decision-making situations involving food choices for weight loss purposes remains inconclusive. This experimental study using a food buffet aimed to examine people's different dietary strategies and motives for selecting foods for an entire day for weight loss purposes compared with a normal-day (ND) food selection.

The Austrian children's biomonitoring survey 2020 Part B: Mycotoxins, phytotoxins, phytoestrogens and food processing contaminants.

This study assessed the levels of environment and food-related exposures in urine of Austrian school children aged six to ten (n = 85) focusing on mycotoxins, phytoestrogens, and food processing by-products using two multi-analyte LC-MS/MS methods. Out of the 55 biomarkers of exposure reported in this study, 22 were quantified in the first void urine samples. Mycotoxins frequently quantified included zearalenone (detection rate 100%; median 0.

Why alternative proteins will not disrupt the meat industry.

The production of food, especially meat, has a high environmental impact. Many believe that the introduction of alternative proteins could substantially reduce animal meat consumption, resulting in a more sustainable food system. In this review, we critically evaluate the challenges and barriers that need to be overcome to ensure that these alternative proteins have the desired effects.

Application of human biomonitoring data to support policy development, raise awareness and environmental public health protection among countries within the HBM4EU project.

Most countries have acknowledged the importance of assessing and quantifying their population's internal exposure from chemicals in air, water, soil, food and other consumer products due to the potential health and economic impact. Human biomonitoring (HBM) is a valuable tool which can be used to quantify such exposures and effects. Results from HBM studies can also contribute to improving public health by providing evidence of individuals' internal chemical exposure as well as data to understand the burden of disease and associated costs thereby stimulating the development and implementation of evidence-based policy.

Prenatal exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances and pregnancy outcome in Austria.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a large group of persistent industrial chemicals that can harm reproductive health. PFAS levels were analysed to determine the current sources of exposure and possible associations between prenatal PFAS exposure and adverse pregnancy outcome. Samples from 136 mother-newborn pairs recruited between 2017 and 2019 were analysed for the presence of 31 target PFAS in maternal serum, umbilical cord serum, and placental tissue by high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to a tandem mass spectrometer.

Exposure to Phthalates in European Children, Adolescents and Adults since 2005: A Harmonized Approach Based on Existing HBM Data in the HBM4EU Initiative.

Phthalates are mainly used as plasticizers and are associated inter alia with adverse effects on reproductive functions. While more and more national programs in Europe have started monitoring internal exposure to phthalates and its substitute 1,2-Cyclohexanedicarboxylic acid (DINCH), the comparability of results from such existing human biomonitoring (HBM) studies across Europe is challenging. They differ widely in time periods, study samples, degree of geographical coverage, design, analytical methodology, biomarker selection, and analytical quality assurance level.

Gradual behaviour change towards meat reduction: Development and validation of a novel decisional balance scale.

Meat reduction is gaining attention among consumers, marketers, policymakers and scientists. Yet little is known about decision-making processes and behaviour change towards meat reduction. This paper explores the applicability of the decisional balance (DB) framework to the field of meat reduction.

Consideration of pathways for immunotoxicity of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Background: Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are of public health concern, because of their ubiquitous and extremely persistent occurrence, and depending on their structure, their bio-accumulative, mobile and toxic properties. Human health effects associated with exposure to PFAS include adverse effects on the immune system. In 2020, EFSA (the European Food Safety Authority) defined adverse effects on the immune system as the most critical effect for human health risk assessment, based on reduced antibody responses to childhood vaccines and similar effects observed in experimental animal studies.

The Positive Eating Scale: Associations with eating behavior, food choice, and body mass index.

To further investigate the effects of positive eating on health, the present study focused on associations of the Positive Eating Scale (PES, the Pleasure when Eating and Satisfaction with Eating subscales) with eating behaviors, food intake, and body mass index (BMI) in a large sample of the general Swiss population. Participants (T1: n = 2795, 46.7 % men; T2: n = 1931, 46.

Results of the Austrian Children's Biomonitoring Survey 2020 part A: Per- and polyfluorinated alkylated substances, bisphenols, parabens and other xenobiotics.

In 85 Austrian school children aged 6-10 years, two multi-analyte LC-MS/MS methods were used to study the concentrations of 33 chemical substances in urine, including per- and polyfluorinated alkylated substances (PFAS), bisphenols, parabens, benzophenones, triclosan, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon metabolites, and cotinine. Each of the children was exposed to 14-21 substances simultaneously. Correlations were found between compounds of the same and of divergent substance groups supporting the strong need to consider multiple exposures and mixture effects.

Consumer Assessment of 3D-Printed Food Shape, Taste, and Fidelity Using Chocolate and Marzipan Materials.

Additive manufacturing enables the production of complex structures with emerging approaches showing great promise in the food industry for design customization. Three-dimensional food printing has benefits for providing personalized health and shape fabrication for consumers. Past studies have demonstrated positive consumer perceptions for 3D food printing, but there is still a need for consumer validation of the technology through consumption and rating of fabricated 3D-printed foods.

Associations between hydration status, body composition, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors in the general population: a cross-sectional study.

Background: Whole-body hydration status is associated with several health outcomes, such as dehydration, edema and hypertension, but little is known about the nonclinical determinants. Therefore, we studied the associations of sex, age, body composition, nutrition, and physical activity on several body hydration measures.

Methods: We assessed sociodemographic variables, dietary habits, and physical activity by questionnaire and body composition by bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA).

[The history of emerging substances in Austria].

Over time, many different groups of substances became the focus of interest, so their occurrence, behaviour and effects were studied. While in the 1990s, it was detergents and the formation of foam in water, later the causes of discolouration around tanneries were researched, as well as the presence of chemicals and pollutants near industrial plants. Organochlorine pesticides, brominated flame retardants, perfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, organotin compounds are some examples of such Emerging substances.

Drawings or 3D models: Do illustration methods matter when assessing perceived body size and body dissatisfaction?

Research has reported that both men and women experience body dissatisfaction. Among other instruments, a widely used method to assess perceived body size and body dissatisfaction are figure rating scales. Although a variety of illustration methods (e.

Different bisphenols induce non-monotonous changes in miRNA expression and LINE-1 methylation in two cell lines.

4,4'-Isopropylidenediphenol (bisphenol A, BPA), a chemical substance that is widely used mainly as a monomer in the production of polycarbonates, in epoxy resins, and in thermal papers, is suspected to cause epigenetic modifications with potentially toxic consequences. Due to its negative health effects, BPA is banned in several products and is replaced by other bisphenols such as bisphenol S and bisphenol F. The present study examined the effects of BPA, bisphenol S, bisphenol F, ,'-oxybisphenol, and the BPA metabolite BPA β-d-glucuronide on the expression of a set of microRNAs (miRNAs) as well as methylation in human lung fibroblast and Caco-2 cells.

Bisphenol A and its alternatives in Austrian thermal paper receipts, and the migration from reusable plastic drinking bottles into water and artificial saliva using UHPLC-MS/MS.

Bisphenol A (BPA) a synthetic, high production volume chemical identified as endocrine disruptor and toxic to reproduction is mainly used in the production of polycarbonate plastics, in epoxy resins, polyvinylchloride, thermal papers as color developer, and is present in a wide range of consumer goods such as food packaging materials, storage containers, and cash receipts. Due to its effects on health and legal restrictions, BPA is increasingly replaced by other bisphenols. In this study, BPA and 13 alternatives including BPS, Bisphenol F (BPF), Bisphenol B (BPB), Bisphenol C (BPC), Bisphenol Z (BPZ), Bisphenol M (BPM), Bisphenol P (BPP), Bisphenol AF (BPAF), Bisphenol FL (BPFL), Bisphenol C12 (BPC12), Tetramethylbisphenol A (tmBPA), 4,4-bisphenol (BP-4,4), and p,p-oxybisphenol were analyzed in thermal paper cash receipts (content) and migration studies were carried out in BPA-free labelled reusable plastic drinking bottles using a sensitive UHPLC-MS/MS method.

Measuring consumers' knowledge of the environmental impact of foods.

Our daily food choices have a huge impact on the environment. However, most consumers are not aware of the environmental impact of food production and consumption. Since there is no valid and reliable measure of knowledge regarding food's environmental impact, a 16-item multiple-choice knowledge questionnaire was developed.

Extractable Organofluorine Analysis in Pooled Human Serum and Placental Tissue Samples from an Austrian Subpopulation-A Mass Balance Analysis Approach.

Embryos and fetuses are of major concern due to their high vulnerability. Previous studies demonstrated that human exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) may be underestimated because only a limited number of known PFAS can be measured. This investigation studied the total PFAS exposure by measuring the extractable organofluorine (EOF) in pooled maternal serum, placental tissue, and cord serum samples (total number of pooled samples: = 45).