Compatibility of Whole Wheat-Based Composite Flour in the Development of Functional Foods.

Over the last decades, eating habits have shifted towards convenient foods with shorter preparation times due to people's busy lifestyles and higher living standards. Rapid changes in dietary patterns and lifestyles with the industrialization and globalisation have led to the escalating incidence of chronic diseases, which has paved the way to greater interest in dietary changes regarding nutritional status and health benefits. Composite flour is a combination of wheat and non-wheat flours or exclusively non-wheat flour with improved nutritional value, therapeutic properties and functional characteristics.

Progressive Freeze Concentration of Coconut Water and Use of Partial Ice Melting Method for Yield Improvement.

Coconut water is a highly nutritious liquid food which is a by-product of the desiccated coconut industry. Freeze concentration is the most suitable concentration method for coconut water since the low-temperature operation for concentration does not deteriorate the original quality of coconut water. Suspension freeze concentration (SFC) and progressive freeze concentration (PFC) are the available FC methods, and SFC is a complex and expensive method compared with PFC.

A quantitative analysis of chronic exposure of selected heavy metals in a model diet in a CKD hotspot in Sri Lanka.

Background: Evidence of chronic low levels of exposure to heavy metals in Sri Lanka has emerged in a number of studies carried out in the recent past. The source and magnitude of such exposures have to be understood in order to assess the risk of adverse health effects of this exposure and to propose suitable public health interventions.

Methods: An assessment was carried out to quantify chronic exposure to cadmium, lead and arsenic through food in people living in an area in Sri Lanka, where prevalence of Chronic Kidney Disease of unknown origin (CKDu) is highest.