The food and culinary heritage with medicinal uses are a fascinating field that combines history, culture, and health through food. Over the centuries, various cultures have developed knowledge and practices related to the use of specific ingredients and culinary preparations with medicinal properties. In the Pungalá parish in Ecuador, these generational knowledge and traditions form a valuable biocultural heritage that helps us understand the close relationship between food and traditional medicine. Through qualitative and documentary research, interviews and community workshops are conducted to gather information using different techniques. Among the findings regarding the food and culinary heritage of Pungalá are extinct culinary traditions, as well as important culinary techniques and processes that play a role in nutrition and medicine, valuing traditional and ancestral knowledge as part of their culture. The inventory includes 22 plants used in Andean medicine and 38 preparations, including beverages, porridges, stews, soups, and wrapped dishes that become an integral part of everyday routines, dietary habits, and festive traditions. It is concluded that this knowledge constitutes a valuable food and culinary heritage, and its biocultural is based on ancestral knowledge of the healing properties of local plants and foods, contributing to the health and identity of the community. Measures should be taken to preserve and promote this heritage in the face of current challenges.

The aim of this study is the quantitative and qualitative characterization of food waste from the restaurant sector in Riobamba, Ecuador as part of circular economy efforts. A weekly analysis of waste generation data collected from 13 participating restaurants showed that the average daily food waste generated was 18.48 kg/restaurant/day. The highest percentage (55%) was produced by organic waste, which was primarily composed of waste from vegetables. Plastics represented most of the recyclable waste (21%), and 24% of the waste was disposable. With a low dry matter content of 24.33 ± 5.12% and an average moisture level of 75.68 ± 5.12%, the high organic content indicates its potential for value-adding through biological recycling processes like anaerobic digestion and composting. Fruit and vegetable waste had high moisture levels (80.3 ± 2.54% and 81.2 ± 2.75%, respectively), which made them perfect for composting and biogas production. However, the moisture and dry matter contents differed greatly amongst the waste categories. The increased dry matter concentration of animal protein waste (54.5 ± 4.30%) indicated that it may be converted into products with added value, such as animal meal and oils. Plant protein waste needs to be processed quickly to avoid spoiling because of its extraordinarily high moisture content (95.7 ± 3.20%) and low dry matter (4.3 ± 3.20%). The findings underscore the necessity for focused measures, such as composting, anaerobic digestion, and enhanced recycling, to optimize resource recovery and mitigate environmental consequences.

The increase in vegetable consumption has underlined the importance of minimizing the risks associated with microbiological contamination of fresh produce. The critical stage of the vegetable washing process has proven to be a key point for cross-contamination and the persistence of pathogens. In this context, the agri-food industry has widely adopted the use of disinfectants to reduce the bacterial load in the wash water. Therefore, we conducted laboratory-scale experiments in order to demonstrate the antimicrobial activity of disinfectants used in the wash tank of agro-food industries. Different wash water matrices of shredded lettuce, shredded cabbage, diced onion, and baby spinach were treated with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), chlorine dioxide (ClO₂), and per-oxyacetic acid (PAA) at recommended concentrations. To simulate the presence of pathogenic bacteria, a cocktail of E. coli O157:H7 was inoculated into the process water samples (PWW) to determine whether concentrations of disinfectants inhibit the pathogen or bring it to a viable non-culturable state (VBNC). Hereby, we used quantitative qPCR combined with different photo-reactive dyes such as ethidium monoazide (EMA) and propidium monoazide (PMA). The results indicated that concentrations superior to 20 ppm NaClO inhibit the pathogen E. coli O157:H7 artificially inoculated in the process water. Concentrations between 10–20 ppm ClO₂ fail to induce the pathogen to the VBNC state. At concentrations of 80 ppm PAA, levels of culturable bacteria and VBNC of E. coli O157:H7 were detected in all PWWs regardless of the matrix. Subsequently, this indicates that the recommended concentrations of ClO₂ and PAA for use in the fresh produce industry wash tank do not inhibit the levels of E. coli O157:H7 present in the wash water.

Biodiversity at the species and ecosystem level is an important basis for tourism, especially for tourism economies in landscapes optimal for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, which are addressed under the Convention on Biological Diversity. In the last two decades, the Podocnemis Unifilis turtle has presented problems represented in a decrease of individuals in their populations in the Ecuadorian Amazon. The objective of the study was to describe the characteristics and current situation of the charapa turtle (Podocnemis Unifilis), to analyze the perception of the community of the Indillama River towards this species and finally to establish a proposal for its conservation with a socio-economic contribution from the community tourism segment. The methodology used consisted of a bibliographic review, semi-structured interviews and expert judgment. The main results indicate that the charapa turtle has had population problems in the last 30 years due to various anthropogenic pressures. The inhabitants of the Río Indillama community perceive this species mainly as a source of economic income (sale of individuals and their eggs) and food by consuming their eggs and adult individuals. Finally, we present a proposal for conservation through tourism that provides experiential activities for the collection of P. unifilis eggs, nesting and release (sponsorship) of individuals, providing economic benefits to local communities. This will contribute to its conservation and local socioeconomic development.

Introducción: El acoso sexual es un problema prevalente en las instituciones de educación superior a nivel mundial con serias consecuencias en la salud mental de las víctimas por lo que es urgente un abordaje oportuno que permita su detección y su prevención. Objetivo: Proporcionar una síntesis actualizada sobre la prevalencia, principales factores de riesgo y las consecuencias del acoso sexual en estudiantes de educación superior a nivel regional y local. Métodos: Se realizó una revisión bibliográfica sistemática cualitativa de artículos científicos observacionales a nivel regional y local publicados en los últimos 5 años sobre la prevalencia de acoso sexual y en los últimos 15 años sobre las consecuencias del acoso sexual en estudiantes de educación superior disponibles en los motores de búsqueda: PubMed y Scielo. Resultados: Se obtuvieron 241 resultados asociados de los cuales únicamente 30 cumplieron con los criterios de inclusión para la elaboración de esta revisión. Discusión: El sexo femenino, las minorías de género (GLBTI), lugar de residencia rural y edad temprana son los principales factores de riesgo para sufrir acoso sexual en instituciones de educación superior con consecuencias graves en la salud mental de las víctimas, tales como: ansiedad, depresión, bajo rendimiento académico, trastornos alimentarios entre otros. Conclusiones: El acoso sexual en instituciones de educación superior en Ecuador requiere más estudios en nuestra localidad, con un enfoque multidisciplinario que permita un abordaje eficaz y modelos de prevención.

The journal has retracted the article “Exploring the Antimicrobial Efficacy of Low-Cost Commercial Disinfectants Utilized in the Agro-Food Industry Wash Tanks: Towards Enhanced Hygiene Practices”