Background: Low-calorie sweeteners (LCSs) are increasingly being used worldwide, including in foods and beverages commonly consumed by children.
Objective: To examine the prevalence of LCSs in packaged foods and beverages sold in Brazil, whether LCSs are added to products with advertising directed to children, and whether foods and beverages with LCSs include front-of-package (FoP) LCS-related health and nutrition claims.
Design: Cross-sectional study.
Setting: A sample (n = 11,434) of packaged foods and beverages sold by the top 5 largest Brazilian food retailers was examined to identify LCSs and added sugars, and a subsample (n = 3491) was examined to determine the presence of advertising directed to children and FoP LCS-related claims in foods and beverages with LCSs.
Main Outcome And Measures: The prevalence of foods and beverages with different types of LCSs in the Brazilian food supply, among ultra-processed foods and beverages and among foods and beverages with added sugars, were measured. Foods and beverages with advertising directed to children were checked to see if these products had LCSs and how many products with LCSs had FoP labels with LCS-related claims.
Statistical Analyses: Mean and 95% CIs were used to determine the overall prevalence of foods and beverages with LCSs and in the different assessed stratifications.
Results: The prevalence of LCSs was 9.3% (95% CI 8.8-9.9) in Brazilian packaged foods and beverages, 14.6% (95% CI 13.8-15.4) in ultra-processed products alone, and 5.7% (95% CI 4.2-7.7) in foods and beverages with advertising directed to children. About 83% of food and beverage with LCSs were also sweetened with added sugars. LCSs were most frequently added to nonalcoholic sweetened beverages, breakfast cereals, and granola bars. Forty percent of foods and beverages with LCS did not present any FoP LCS-related claim.
Conclusion: This study shows that LCSs are present in 15% of ultra-processed foods and beverages in Brazil, largely used in combination with added sugars, and are found in foods and beverages with advertising directed to children. Clearer FoP information regarding the presence of LCSs, in particular in products with advertising directed to children, can help consumers make more informed choices regarding LCS consumption.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2021.12.009 | DOI Listing |
Nutr J
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École de nutrition, Faculté des sciences de l'agriculture et de l'alimentation (FSAA), Université Laval, 2440, boulevard Hochelaga, Québec, Québec, G1V 0A6, Canada.
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Lett Appl Microbiol
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Panxi Crops Research and Utilization Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, Xichang University, Liangshan, China.
Levilactobacillus brevis YT108, identified for its ability to metabolize prebiotic xylo-oligosaccharides (XOS), emerges as a candidate for probiotic use in synbiotic food formulations. This study aimed to investigate the metabolic and genomic traits associated with XOS metabolism in YT108 and to assess its probiotic attributes through whole genome sequencing and in vitro assays. Strain YT108 exhibited robust growth kinetics on XOS as the sole carbon source, with a growth profile comparable to that on glucose, achieving a pH reduction to 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Microbiol Methods
January 2025
National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark, Henrik Dams Allé, 2800 Kgs. Lyngby, Denmark. Electronic address:
In the food industry, time-to-result is crucial for faster release of products, minimising recalls, mitigation of microbial contamination problems and, ultimately, food safety. Carrageenan is isolated from red seaweed (Rhodophyta) and applied in various foods and beverages as a gelling, thickening, texturing, or stabilizing agent due to its hygroscopic properties. Currently, the standard industry plate count method entails a one-hundred-fold dilution of the sample before mixing with molten agar for assessment of the level of microbial contamination in carrageenan samples prior to business-to-business shipment.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFFront Immunol
January 2025
School of Biochemistry and Immunology, Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
Human milk oligosaccharides (HMOs) are abundant, diverse and complex sugars present in human breast milk. HMOs are well-characterized barriers to microbial infection and by modulating the human microbiome they are also thought to be nutritionally beneficial to the infant. The structural variety of over 200 HMOs, including neutral, fucosylated and sialylated forms, allows them to interact with the immune system in various ways.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVet Med Sci
March 2025
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Siirt University, Siirt, Turkey.
The aim of this study was to determine and compare the diagnostic accuracies of two commercial pregnancy-associated glycoprotein tests, Alertys OnFarm Pregnancy Test (AOPT) and Alertys Milk Pregnancy Test (AMPT), for early pregnancy diagnosis in dairy cattle. Holstein cows (n = 124) were used in the study. Whole blood samples were collected from the jugular vein 28 days after fixed-time artificial insemination (FTAI).
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