Mycoprotein is an alternative, nutritious protein source with a meat-like texture made from Fusarium venenatum, a naturally occurring fungus. Its unique method of production yields a significantly reduced carbon and water footprint relative to beef and chicken. Mycoprotein, sold as Quorn, is consumed in 17 countries, including the United States. In line with current dietary guidelines, mycoprotein is high in protein and fiber, and low in fat, cholesterol, sodium, and sugar. Mycoprotein may help maintain healthy blood cholesterol levels, promote muscle synthesis, control glucose and insulin levels, and increase satiety. It is possible that some susceptible consumers will become sensitized, and subsequently develop a specific allergy. However, a systematic evidence review indicates that incidence of allergic reactions remains exceptionally low. Mycoprotein's nutritional, health, and environmental benefits affirms its role in a healthful diet. Future research that focuses on the long-term clinical benefits of consuming a diet containing mycoprotein is warranted.

To determine if after-school nutrition workshops conducted in public libraries were related to lasting changes in food choice. "Snack Smart" workshops, based on Social Cognitive Theory, were conducted in 8 branch libraries (49 ethnically diverse children, ages 9 to 14) to assess changes in consumption of targeted food items by pretest, posttest, and follow-up food frequency questionnaires. Results were analyzed using the Friedman test for repeated measures and Wilcoxon signed rank test. Intake of milk, vegetables, and water significantly increased at 3-week posttest (P < .05), but only water intake showed a significant change from pretest to follow-up 3 months later. This low-intensity program did not produce lasting behavior change, as measured by changes in food frequency at 3 months post- intervention. The study supports the need to critically evaluate out-of-school nutrition programs for lasting impact.

Changes in the U.S. food supply and food choices make examination of temporal changes in micronutrient intake and their effect on meeting nutrient recommendations necessary. Examine 15-year trends of the contribution of foods and beverages (FB) and dietary supplements (DS) to meeting nutrient recommendations among U.S. adults 19⁺ y, and compare usual mean intake distributions of FB alone and FB+DS to Dietary Reference Intakes [percent below the Estimated Average Requirement (%AI)]. This cross-sectional study used food, beverage and DS intake data from NHANES 2003-2018 (n = 39,925) to determine usual mean intakes for 21 micronutrients. Changes in intakes from FB and from FB+DS, by sex, were compared in a time-trend analysis of 2-y cycles. Changes in mean intake as %AI were determined. Over the time studied, U.S. adults underconsumed vitamins A, C, D, E, K; calcium; potassium; magnesium; and choline, even when DS intake was included. Sodium was overconsumed. In males, there were significant increases in percentage <EAR for thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin C, iron, copper and zinc for intakes from FB. When FB+DS were considered, there were significant increases in percentage <EAR for thiamin, riboflavin, vitamin B-12, vitamin C, copper and zinc and significant decreases in percentage <EAR for vitamins D and E. In females, there were significant increases in percentage <EAR for vitamin C and zinc for intakes from FB and from FB+DS; significant decreases in percentage <EAR for vitamins D and E, and magnesium for intakes from FB; and a significant decrease in percentage <EAR for vitamins A and E from FB+DS. Although some progress has been made, nutrient intake and percentage of the population meeting nutritional recommendations among U.S. adults has changed little over the 15 years studied.

Manuel Ciosici, Joe Cecil, Dong-Ho Lee, Alex Hedges, Marjorie Freedman, Ralph Weischedel. Proceedings of the 2021 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing. 2021.

Objective: To develop, evaluate, and validate 2 nutrition environment assessment tools (surveys), for specific use in combating overweight on college/university campuses. Participants and Methods: Invitations to complete surveys were e-mailed to food service and health center directors at 47 universities, Winter 2008. Overall response rate was 48%. Responses from the 39 individuals who completed tool evaluations at the end of each survey were analyzed. Follow-up interviews and site visits performed through Summer 2008 validated responses. Results: The majority of respondents (64%) indicated tools were effective at assessing their nutrition environments; 78% believed these types of assessment tools to be important to their school. Conclusion: Food service and health center directors support use of nutrition environment assessment tools and found them effective at clarifying existing nutrition programs, policies, and food offerings on their campuses. Conducting assessments using these tools could improve university nutrition environments by identifying areas needing improvement.

Manuel Ciosici, Joseph Cummings, Mitchell DeHaven, Alex Hedges, Yash Kankanampati, Dong-Ho Lee, Ralph Weischedel, Marjorie Freedman. Proceedings of the 2021 Conference of the North American Chapter of the Association for Computational Linguistics: Human Language Technologies: Demonstrations. 2021.