Editorial

Citation

Blades, M. (2008), "Editorial", Nutrition & Food Science, Vol. 38 No. 4. https://doi.org/10.1108/nfs.2008.01738daa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Nutrition & Food Science, Volume 38, Issue 4.

Recently, I have visited one of the very large exhibitions on food, production and processing equipment in the national Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. This exhibition included “Foodex” which covered all types of foods both specialist products from the different parts of England plus foods from different areas of the world.

There was also an exhibition of all aspects of the baking and meat industry with state of the art production equipment.

The convenience food industry was well represented with products for convenience stores including a focus on those for garage forecourt provision.

It was all complemented by an exhibition on all aspects of food safety including equipment, products and training.

The exhibition is held every three years and is worth attending by those with an interest in food, marketing, food science, food safety and food production.

Prior to this, I attended Hotel Olympia at the Excel Centre in London. This also was a large exhibition including all types of different foods from all over the country and the world. There were also several competitions for chefs who produced both dishes and meals for different occasions and target diners as well as including specific ingredients in the meals.

It was interesting to see all of the different food stands from around the world providing specialist foods at both exhibitions. Therefore, with this in mind, I have tried to put together Nutrition and Food Science with a reflection of different foods available and their impact on health.

Papers are included on:

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  Popped pearl millet, which is commonly used in India but could be of interest here for those with an intolerance to wheat. Intolerances to wheat and gluten are increasingly seen.

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  Legume dietary fibre which appears to have an effect on disaccharidase enzyme activity and hence the Glycaemic Index of foods. This is an area, which is of particular interest as I have written books on the topic and it is good to see updates on the topic.

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  Effect of sour cherry juice on blood glucose levels could be of interest for those with diabetes. It could also provide an alternative fruit flavoured drink.

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  Production of dialyzable iron by in vitro digestion of whey (which is a by product from cheese making), which may be a valuable source of iron. With iron deficiency anaemia being common alternative sources of bio-available iron can be helpful.

Two papers on different aspects of infant nutrition have been included and these have been balanced up with one on the diet of elderly people.

Mabel Blades