Beijing Academy of Food Sciences

Environmental regulations can trigger unintended pollution externalities if they lack well-designed economic incentives or fail to account for the responses of polluters. This paper examines the effectiveness and unintended consequences of the Universal Prohibition on Straw Burning (UPSB) policy in China. By exploiting a generalized difference-in-differences design, we find that the UPSB policy significantly reduces agricultural fires and air pollution through top-down campaign-style enforcement. However, as straw burning is commonly used to kill pests and fertilize the soil, the UPSB policy also increases the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, leading to magnified water pollution. Cost-benefit analysis suggests that much of the health benefit from improved air quality is offset by the health cost from degraded water quality. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the potential responses of individuals subject to the regulation when conducting policy evaluation. • This paper examines the effectiveness and unintended consequences of the straw burning regulation in China. • We find that the policy significantly reduces agricultural fires and thereby air pollution through top-down campaign-style enforcement. • However, as straw burning is commonly used to kill pests and fertilize the soil, the straw burning regulation policy also increases the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. • Unintendedly, the policy leads to increased water pollution. • Cost-benefit analysis suggests that, when taking the potential consequences of water pollution into account, the cost of the policy exceeds its benefit.

This study investigated the effects of boiling, roasting, and frying on the quality and flavor characteristics of Shiqi pigeon (Columba livia domestica) meat. Changes in color, texture, microstructure, and volatile profiles were systematically evaluated using colorimetry, texture profile analysis, scanning electron microscopy, electronic nose analysis, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Thermal processing significantly influenced physicochemical properties and flavor profiles. Fried samples exhibited the highest hardness (27.79 N), chewiness (33.13 mJ), and maximum shear force (30.23 N), while boiled samples showed the lowest hardness (22.12 N) and puncture hardness (12.20 N), indicating improved tenderness. Electronic nose PCA explained 85.4% of total variance (PC1: 59.5%; PC2: 25.9%), clearly discriminating the three treatments. Color measurements showed that frying induced the greatest total color difference (ΔE > 1, p < 0.05), followed by roasting and boiling. FTIR analysis revealed pronounced shifts in amide I bands in fried samples, indicating stronger protein secondary structure alterations. Overall, different thermal processing methods produced distinct quality and flavor characteristics in pigeon meat, providing scientific guidance for process optimization and product development.

Simulating carbohydrate digestion in physiologically relevant ways remains a challenge for in vitro models. In this study, the Dynamic In vitro Human Stomach (DIVHS) system was applied to investigate cereal digestion and subsequent intestinal cellular responses. Rice, millet, and corn were digested under dynamic and static conditions. Compared with the static model, the dynamic system generated smaller grain fragments, a larger chyme-enzyme contact area (451.2 ± 4.4 cm2 vs. 160.4 ± 6.0 cm2), and higher average intragastric pressure (25.0 ± 1.2 kPa vs. 7.2 ± 0.7 kPa). Salivary amylase activity also declined more gradually in the dynamic system. An empirical approach for predicting the glycemic index (eGI) was proposed, which showed improved agreement with reported human GI values compared with earlier in vitro methods. Exposure of Caco-2 cells to digested products significantly altered transcriptional profiles, including protein binding, ATP binding, and glucose transporter activity. Notably, products from the dynamic model induced stronger transcriptional responses than those from the static model, including 421 genes up-regulated and 138 down-regulated. Functional enrichment highlighted pathways related to glucose transport, energy metabolism, and cellular regulation. Overall, this study demonstrates the advantages of dynamic digestion models in replicating gastrointestinal conditions, improving GI prediction, and providing mechanistic insights into intestinal cellular responses to digested carbohydrates.

Milk fat globule membrane (MFGM) supplementation of infant formula demonstrates potential efficacy in modulating gut microbiota and metabolic profiles. However, the associated site-specific effects on intestinal microbial composition remain unclear. In this study, we used a neonatal piglet model to investigate the mechanisms associated with the metabolic regulation of supplemental MFGM and characterized the compartment-specific modulatory effects on intestinal microbial communities. A total of 20 piglets were randomly allotted to one of the following three groups: breastfed (BF), standard formula (SF), and MFGM-supplemented formula (EF). These diets were administered until weaning, with subsequent provision of commercial feed until euthanasia. Morphometric, microbial, and serum metabolomic analyses revealed that compared to piglets in the SF group, those in the EF group were characterized by significantly enhanced jejunal villus height (p < 0.05) and reduced cecal Oxalobacter (p < 0.05) and Pasteurella abundances, which were comparable to the levels detected in the BF group. Metabolically, piglets in the SF group demonstrated significantly lower levels of tyrosine, phenylalanine, and β-alanine (p < 0.05) and higher levels of 3-methyl-2-oxovalerate (p < 0.05) than those in BF piglets. In contrast, compared to the SF piglets, EF piglets exhibited significantly elevated levels of betaine (p < 0.05) and lysine. Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed significant positive associations between Oxalobacter abundance and creatinine, dimethyl sulfone, phenylalanine, tyrosine, and β-alanine concentrations, with inverse correlations observed for 3-methyl-2-oxovalerate and lysine levels. In conclusion, these findings revealed that MFGM supplementation contributes to maintaining a normal intestinal architecture, modulates site-specific microbiota, and mitigates metabolic disparities between formula-fed and breastfed neonates. Notably, these effects are primarily mediated via choline pathway regulation and competitive inhibition of pathogenic bacteria.

Global food security is significantly threatened by food wastage, especially post-harvest losses in the fruit and vegetable supply chain, which place considerable pressure on natural resources and the environment. While existing studies has largely focused on behavioral interventions targeting individual stakeholders, quantitative assessments of the efficacy of government-level policies remain scarce. This study addresses this gap by assessing the impact of China's policy promoting the establishment of cold storage facilities at production sites, drawing on data from a large-scale 2022 survey. The results show that the implementation of on-site cold storage reduces post-harvest handling and storage losses by a notable 13.2 %, with corresponding improvements in farmer incomes and reductions in water resource stress and carbon emissions. Nonetheless, approximately 40 % of avoidable losses persist at this stage even after post-intervention. These findings provide a robust empirical evidence to guide policymakers in developing nations to formulate effective interventions and prioritize investment in cold chain infrastructure to combat food wastage.

Obesity is a globally prevalent metabolic disease, and high-calorie diets are major contributors to its development. Probiotic interventions can modulate the gut flora and alleviate systemic and low-grade inflammation, making them potential in-terventions for alleviating metabolic syndrome. This study explored the beneficial effects of the Limosilactobacillus reuteri HM108 strain derived from breast milk on obesity in high-fat diet-induced rats using a multi-gradient concentration in-tervention. Serum biochemical markers and inflammatory mediators were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay after 6-week intervention. Gut microbiota was assessed using 16S rRNA sequencing. The levels of short-chain fatty acid were detected using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, fecal metabolites were ana-lysed using untargeted metabolomics, and the liver tissue was subjected to tran-scriptomics analysis. The findings indicated that L. reuteri HM108 mitigated obesity, reduced blood lipids levels and immune factors, as well as altered the gut mi-crobiota composition, including reducing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio. L. reuteri HM108 also inhibited the JAK-STAT signalling pathway. L. reuteri HM108 alleviates obesity caused by a high-fat diet in rats, offering a theoretical foun-dation and practical insights for utilizing this strain in obesity management.

Background: Rapeseed oil is the most widely consumed vegetable oil globally. However, the key aroma‐active compounds of rapeseed oil and their changes during storage are unclear. In this study, the flavor of rapeseed oil during storage was characterized by physicochemical analysis, sensory evaluation, electronic nose (E‐nose), and gas chromatography–olfactometry (GC–O).Results: Peroxide value, acid value, and anisidine value gradually increased, while polyphenol content, tocopherol content, and sterol content showed a downward trend during storage. The E‐nose combined with the linear discriminate analysis (LDA) method could discriminate rapeseed oil with different storage times. The sensory attributes changed significantly from distinctive pickled aroma to rancid, green, and fried aromas during storage. This work provides the aroma‐active markers based on GC–O–MS for the quality evaluation of rapeseed oil during storage. A total of 136 volatile compounds were detected by GC–MS, and 16 odorants were identified by GC–O combined with aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). Finally, seven aroma‐active volatile compounds (3‐butenyl isothiocyanate, 2(5H)‐furanone, 2‐methoxy‐4‐vinylphenol, (E)‐2‐octenal, (E,E)‐2,4‐heptadienal, (E,E)‐2,4‐decadienal, and 3‐methyl‐pentanoic acid) with the odor activity values (OAVs) greater than 1 were identified as potential key aroma volatiles that contributed significantly to the overall aroma of rapeseed oil.Conclusion: This study provided a comprehensive method to monitor the flavor quality change of rapeseed oil during storage. The identified volatile compounds could be the markers to characterize the quality changes of rapeseed oil during storage.