This study investigates genetic and environmental variation in starch content and characteristics of 14 French bread cultivars. Understanding the impact of these factors on wheat quality is important for processors and especially bakers to maintain and meet the requirements of industrial specifications. Different traits were evaluated: starch content, distribution of starch granules, percentage of amylose and amylopectin and their molecular characteristics (weight-average molar mass, number-average molar mass, polydispersity and gyration radius). Genetic, environment and their interaction had significant effects on all parameters. The relative magnitude of variance attributed to growth conditions, for most traits, was substantially higher (21% to 95%) than that attributed to either genotype (2% to 73%) or G × E interaction (2% to 17%). The largest environmental contribution (95%) to total variance was found for starch dispersity. The highest genetic influence was found for the percentage of A-type starch granules. G × E interaction had relatively little influence (≈7%) on total phenotypic variance. All molecular characteristics were much more influenced by environment than the respective percentages of amylose and amylopectin were. This huge difference in variance between factors obviously revealed the importance of the effect of growing conditions on characteristics of cultivars.

Food waste (FW) is seen as an obstacle to achieving food and nutrition security andfood systems sustainability. It is known in literature that households are significantcontributors to the total amount of FW. This paper reports on results of an onlinesurvey that was conducted from February to April 2015 with a random sample of281 Tunisian adults. The aim of the survey is to assess the knowledge and relativeimportance of FW; attitudes towards FW; impacts of behaviors regarding food andfood management; quantity and value of FW; as well as barriers and willingness tobehavioral change. The sample was not gender-balanced (71.2% female and 28.8%male). The majority of the respondents was young (70.8% aged between 18 and 34years) and has high education level (95.4% having university and PhD degrees).Food waste is prevalent in Tunisia as about the half of respondents declare thatthey throw food. The most wasted food products are fruits, vegetables, and cerealsand bakery products. Only 42.7% of respondents declared that the economic valueof food waste generated each month is more than 6US$. Most of Tunisianrespondents have a good understanding of food labels that is probably due to thehigh education level of the sample. About 37% of respondents throw weekly atleast 250 g of still consumable food. To reduce FW in Tunisia it is important to seta strategy at all food chain levels. There is also an urgent need to raise people’s andorganizations awareness towards this problem. This article provides a basis for thedevelopment of other more context specific investigations and interventions for theprevention of household FW in Tunisia.

The objective of this study is to characterize durum wheat clear flour (DWCF) and to determine its technological potential for the production of fresh pasta. The physico-chemical, technological and techno-functional characterization of the different DWCF samples revealed interesting properties, including a high protein content (16%), ash content (1.3%), damaged starch (26%), balanced alpha-amylase activity (355 s) and a high yellow index (b* = 18). A blending study was undertaken by replacing a control flour, usually used for fresh pasta dough (composed of durum semolina and soft wheat flour), with 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100% industrial DWCF, as well as 100% landrace (Mahmoudi) DWCF. The characterization of the blends confirmed that DWCF incorporation did not negatively affect quality parameters. DWCF appeared to increase the falling number, damaged starch content, and yellow index. These blends were then used in fresh pasta (FP) making tests. The characterization results of these fresh pastas showed interesting physico-chemical and culinary properties, especially at the 25% level of DWCF incorporation, where low cooking loss values were observed. These results could be of high interest from technological, nutritional, economic, and environmental perspectives, particularly when used to guide specific applications.