Bee Vectoring Technologies International (BVT) has secured its first revenue commitments with US sunflower growers and has successfully expanded into other activities within this crop, including demonstration and research trials. This marks significant progress in penetrating the US$470 million sunflower market, the company said in a recent press statement.

Eighteen months after creating the world’s first cell cultured human milk, 108Labs is now focused on accelerating the field from lab to factory by building and programming the world’s first autonomous ‘Cellufacturing’ facility and artificial intelligence platform for production of cell cultured human milk in the birthplace of biosynthetic human milk, Hillsborough, North Carolina.

Food systems are interconnected with regards to global challenges such as hunger, climate change, poverty, and inequality. The response from food systems actors globally must be equally connected. This is the message in an article published in the Lancet online, where leaders from the Johns Hopkins University, the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), have joined forces in expressing a strong call to action for food and health communities to work together.

Jessica Fanzo, Director, Johns Hopkins Global Food Ethics and Policy Program says: “It is imperative that our health sectors and health partners join us in transforming the food systems for those that are undernourished, particularly older, vulnerable and marginalized people.” She continues: “To have a healthy planet, we need everyone to have a healthy diet.”

Talking about how health systems and food systems are interconnected, Lawrence Haddad, Executive Director of GAIN and 2018 World Food Prize Laureate, says: “We already know that good nutrition is the foundation for a healthy life, which in turn leads to healthy and thriving communities. By working together and combining our knowledge there is a real opportunity now to support the transformation of food systems, securing healthy and nutritious diets for all.”

José Rosero Moncayo, Director of FAO Statistics Division, FAO says: “Without the actors in global health we cannot achieve healthy diets on our plates and nor can we achieve sustainable agricultural practices.” He adds: “It is crucial that we work together with health system actors in shaping healthy communities.”

With the UN Food Systems Summit starting on 23 September, the joint statement points to a real opportunity to advance cooperation between the global health sectors and stakeholders and increase research and innovation for safe, nutritious, affordable, and accessible food for all.

As stated in the Lancet article: “An interconnected systems approach with equity and human rights at the core is essential to achieve health, food, and environmental goals simultaneously. The health community has a vested stake in this approach, and what happens during and after the Summit.”

Haddad adds: “Transforming food systems requires all hands on deck from all the stakeholders to achieve both safe, nutritious and healthy food for all. The Food Systems Summit and its related events such as the ‘Youth is the Future’ event and ‘Zero Hunger Private Sector Pledge’ are key to achieving this.”

Spoilage of yogurt by yeast poses a problem for the dairy industry that includes economic losses from wasted product. Understanding the effects of factors such as storage conditions, yeast species, and bioprotective cultures on yeast spoilage can help yogurt producers make decisions that improve quality and minimize loss. In an article appearing in the Journal of Dairy Science, scientists from the University of Copenhagen, Chr. Hansen A/S, and Cornell University developed predictive models that evaluate the effects of a bioprotective culture on yogurt spoilage.

Between 11% and 25% of dairy products are wasted globally, in part due to fungal spoilage. One method to reduce fungal spoilage is to add food cultures known to have bioprotective effects that delay growth of unwanted microorganisms during shelf life. The authors of this study were the first to develop Monte Carlo simulation models to estimate yogurt spoilage caused by yeast that included the initial contamination level, different yeast species, storage conditions, and the addition of food cultures with bioprotective effects.

“These predictive models allowed for prediction of yogurt spoilage caused by different yeast species, as well as the effect of including bioprotective culture in a yogurt product to reduce yeast spoilage,” said first author Line Nielsen, PhD, Department of Food Science, University of Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Denmark. “Such models can help yogurt producers understand how different parameters influence product quality and use these results to support decision making in yogurt quality management.”

Four common spoilage yeast strains

The models from this study are able to predict the amount of spoiled product when four common spoilage yeast strains are present in a production (Debaryomyces hansenii, Yarrowia lipolytica, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Kluyveromyces) at different storage temperatures, with or without a bioprotective culture containing Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus over a 30-day storage period. Although the researchers found the effect of the bioprotective culture was most pronounced at 7 degrees Celsius for all yeasts compared to 16 degrees Celsius, the yeast strain had the largest effect of the efficacy of the bioprotective culture. The Monte Carlo models were validated with actual data from a European dairy.

Nielsen added: “If a dairy has a problem with a yeast strain known to have a similar growth-inhibition pattern in the presence of a bioprotective culture as one of the yeast strains tested in this study, the data from this strain can be used in the model to predict an expected spoilage level relevant for the specific dairy; therefore, the predictive model can be used as a tool that allows the industry to better evaluate the potential of improving control of fungal soilage by using bioprotective cultures at specific production settings.”

Valuable tool

The study presents a valuable tool to assist in management decisions that can help to reduce economic losses due to food waste.

Additionally, the methods used for model development can be used further for creating new and improved models.

Dunkin’ Donuts, the Massachusetts-based coffee and breakfast chain with more than 11,300 locations worldwide, has won praise from animal protection non-profit Lever Foundation for committing to use only cage-free eggs at all locations globally.

The move was announced in an updated sustainability policy released by Inspire Brands, the Georgia-based holding company that acquired Dunkin’ in December 2020. “Globally, Inspire has committed to 100% sourcing of cage-free eggs across all brands by the end of 2025…Dunkin’ [is] continuing to make positive progress in their sourcing of cage-free eggs,” reads the new statement in part. Inspire had previously issued cage-free commitments for its other QSR brands that use eggs, Arby’s and Sonic, but not for Dunkin’.

“We applaud Dunkin’s commitment on this important animal welfare issue,” said Kirsty Tuxford, corporate engagement specialist at Lever Foundation, a global animal protection non-profit that worked with Dunkin’s teams in the US and Asia over the past year and a half on the commitment. “Ten of the world’s 25 largest fast food chains have now pledged that they will not source caged eggs anywhere in their global supply chains, including throughout Asia.”

Nearly 30% of Dunkin’s restaurants are located outside of the U.S., including 1,600 locations in Asia. The company’s announcement comes on the heels of similar pledges made over the past six weeks by rival donut brand Krispy Kreme as well as upscale coffee chains Caribou Coffee and Au Bon Pain, each of which also worked with Lever Foundation on setting global cage-free egg commitments.

Lever Foundation is an international animal protection non-profit with staff operating across Asia, Europe, North America, and Latin America.