Effective blood glucose management is essential for individuals with type 1 diabetes, particularly when dietary adjustments involve staple foods like rice. As a primary carbohydrate worldwide, rice significantly influences the glycemic index (GI) based on its type and cooking method. This study investigated the impact of rice type and boiling duration on the GI in healthy adults using an in vivo approach aligned with ISO 2010 standards. The glycemic response to four rice types (white round-grain, parboiled medium-grain, white long-grain, and whole-grain long-grain) was measured through postprandial blood glucose levels under both standard and extended boiling conditions to assess their implications for dietary glycemic control. Ten healthy participants (mean age 25 years, body mass index (BMI) 23.0 ± 1.6 kg/m²) consumed rice samples containing 50 g of available carbohydrates, prepared under controlled boiling conditions. Postprandial glycemic response was measured at regular intervals over 2 h following ingestion, with glucose solution as a reference food. The GI was calculated based on the incremental area under the glycemic response curve for each rice sample. Extended boiling significantly increased the GI across all rice types. White round-grain rice exhibited the highest relative increase (+15.8%) in the GI, while whole-grain long-grain rice, despite showing a greater percentage increase (+25.4%), maintained the lowest overall GI due to its high amylose and fiber content. Rice types with higher amylopectin content demonstrated faster glycemic responses and higher GI compared to high-amylose types. This study highlights rice type and cooking time as critical factors influencing postprandial glycemic response. Shorter boiling durations may benefit individuals requiring strict glycemic control, particularly those with diabetes, underscoring the importance of personalized dietary guidance for managing glycemic outcomes effectively.

Background: Food security and sustainability are interconnected, yet the integration of nutritional and environmental metrics into food security assessments remains insufficiently explored. Objectives: This scoping review maps the literature on the integration of nutritional and sustainability metrics in food security, investigating the methods used, existing findings, and research gaps. A special focus is placed on Eastern Europe, including the Republic of Moldova, due to shared challenges in food security and the potential for adapting validated methodologies from this region. Eligibility Criteria and Sources of Evidence: His study includes articles from Web of Science and Scopus (2015–2025), published in English and Romanian, that analyze food security alongside nutritional and sustainability factors, following the Population, Concept, Context (PCC) framework. Charting Methods: The extracted data were synthesized narratively and visualized thematically, analyzing temporal trends and the geographical distribution of studies. Results: Out of 247 identified publications, 115 were included. The use of sustainability indicators has increased since 2020; however, economic and social dimensions remain underexplored. Conclusions: Developing an integrated methodological framework is essential for correlating the nutritional, ecological, and economic impact of food consumption. Future research should prioritize the development of standardized methodologies and broaden the scope of analysis, particularly in underrepresented regions such as Eastern Europe.

Climate change, driven by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, poses a critical global challenge, with household energy use as a significant contributor. In the Republic of Moldova, stark urban–rural disparities in fuel consumption and emissions necessitate targeted research to inform effective energy policies. This study analyzes GHG emissions from household fuel consumption, focusing on the differences between urban and rural areas, using a quantitative approach guided by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) methodologies. The findings reveal that rural areas, heavily reliant on traditional fuels like firewood, contribute disproportionately to emissions compared to urban areas, where modern energy sources such as natural gas dominate. Nationally, the research provides critical data to shape energy transition strategies, promoting renewable energy adoption and energy efficiency in rural areas. Internationally, it offers a valuable case study on household emission dynamics in developing countries, contributing to the global understanding of energy use patterns and their environmental impacts. Recommendations include enhancing access to cleaner energy, modernizing infrastructure, and encouraging sustainable practices to align with Moldova’s commitment to GHG reduction goals and serve as a model for similar contexts worldwide.

Cooked rice, owing to its high moisture content and rich nutritional profile, is particularly prone to microbiological contamination, especially under suboptimal storage conditions. This study investigated the effects of three distinct storage regimes—room temperature, refrigeration, and freezing—on the microbiological and organoleptic quality of cooked rice, with the objective of identifying safe consumption windows and minimizing quality degradation. Microbiological assessments were carried out in accordance with relevant ISO standards, while sensory evaluation was performed using a descriptive scoring method by a trained panel. The findings revealed that rice stored at room temperature became microbiologically unsafe after 24 hours. In contrast, refrigeration maintained microbiological safety up to day five, and freezing preserved overall stability for up to three months. However, sensory quality deteriorated progressively under all conditions, with the most pronounced alterations observed in samples frozen for over 90 days. These results underscore the critical role of appropriate storage conditions in ensuring food safety and preserving sensory attributes. While the study does not propose technological innovations, it provides a practical framework by integrating microbiological and sensory evaluations into a reproducible model applicable in both educational and professional settings.

Post-cooking storage may modify the glycemic response of starchy foods; however, this effect is usually assessed only through the glycemic index (GI), without capturing the temporal dimension of the metabolic response. In this study, the effect of post-cooking storage on boiled rice was investigated using an integrated approach based on GI, resistant starch (RS) content, and the post-technological stability coefficient (PTSC). Storage significantly reduced GI, from 83.03 ± 15.02 (SD) in the freshly prepared sample to 43.55 ± 6.99 (SD) after prolonged freezing, while concurrently increasing RS from approximately 1.8% to nearly 4.0%. A strong inverse linear relationship was identified between RS and GI (r = −0.935, p < 0.001; R² = 0.8735). These changes are consistent with storage-induced starch retrogradation and reduced enzymatic accessibility of the starch matrix. PTSC analysis further suggested that GI reduction was not automatically equivalent to lower temporal variability in the glycemic response: refrigeration was associated with more negative and more dispersed PTSC values, whereas prolonged freezing was associated with lower GI, higher RS, and smaller temporal variations in the incremental area under the curve (iAUC). Overall, the results suggest that the isolated analysis of GI may not fully describe the effect of post-cooking storage on boiled rice. The combined interpretation of GI, RS, and PTSC may provide a more informative framework for evaluating the metabolic effect of storage and may help differentiate between regimes predominantly associated with a reduction in the amplitude of the glycemic response and those additionally characterized by lower temporal variability of that response.