Focus Groups Provide Insight into Food Sector’s Sodium Reduction Efforts

Focus Groups Provide Insight into Food Sector’s Sodium Reduction Efforts

While providing valuable functions like preserving and leavening to the foods that make up the diet, overconsumption of sodium carries some health risks along with it.

Levels of consumption have led to its designation as a nutrient of public health concern. But the limited impact of public health campaigns to reduce sodium overconsumption has led many to conclude that the best strategy is to reduce sodium in the nation's food supply.

A new study supported by IAFNS uses interviews and focus groups with food professionals to explore the food sector’s sodium reduction efforts.

Common reasons sodium reduction strategies may not be implemented include a perception that ingredient labels with technical names may engender consumer distrust, increased costs, the presence of off-flavors, and a loss of preservative and other functions.

As a result, food industry professionals employ a variety of strategies including substitution and use of flavors. Some incorporate potassium chloride (KCI) in some form as a substitute. Flavor modification methods were prevalent, with particular focus on KCI and incorporating “umami” or savory tastes.

This most recent paper is one in a series on sodium reduction that IAFNS has supported, in addition to a key database of scientific articles on reduction strategies.

 

Reconciling Personalized Nutrition and the DGA: Should and Could Dietary Guidelines be Personalized?

Recorded June 22, 2022

IAFNS is a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) provider with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). CDR Credentialed Practitioners will receive 1.0 Continuing Professional Education Units (CPEUs) for completion of this recorded webinar until June 22, 2025.

Description:

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) are intended for the US population, which includes “people who are healthy, people at risk for diet-related chronic conditions and diseases…and some people who are living with one or more of these diet-related chronic illnesses.” Obesity in the U.S. is projected to reach 50%
by 2030 which will be accompanied by diet-related chronic diseases, despite consistent updating and implementation of food labels, MyPlate and the DGA. Food companies also modify products to align with the DGA, investing significantly in R & D - however, these products generally do not sell well. This session will explore the potential of a shift toward personalization, expanding the DGA beyond adaptation to fit individual preferences, and whether this shift is suited to federal policy vs. other purposes.

Webinar program:

Alison Steiber, Chief Science Officer, Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics                                                                              Personalized Nutrition from the Perspective of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics

Eve Stoody, Director, USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion                                                                              Personalized Nutrition and the DGA: Either or Both? Considerations for the Future of Dietary Guidance 

Angela Odoms-Young, Professor, Cornell University
Personalized Nutrition and Health Equity

Bruce Hamaker, Distinguished Professor, Purdue University
Precision Nutrition for Population Benefit: A Prebiotic Fiber Blend
Example

Commission on Dietetic Registration Performance Indicators:

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video link

If a CEU certificate is needed, please complete the survey

Logical Fallacies in the Food and Nutrition Conversation: How to Spot Them & Defuse Them

Recorded January 18, 2023

IAFNS is a Continuing Professional Education (CPE) provider with the Commission on Dietetic Registration (CDR). CDR Credentialed Practitioners will receive 1.5 Continuing Professional Education Units (CPEUs) for completion of this recorded webinar until January, 2026.

Description: Talking about food can get complicated. Discussions on nutrition can be even more complex. The way we think about food may be influenced by what we hear from family and friends, health care providers, and on the news and social media. With so many different sources to take in, it can be overwhelming and confusing to know what is fact and what is fiction. Thinking critically about food and nutrition is important. And recognizing logical fallacies related to food helps with identifying misinformation.

This webinar will feature Leah McGrath, RD, LDN (Buildup Dietitians) and Melanie Trecek-King (Thinking Is Power and Massasoit Community College).

Commission on Dietetic Registration Performance Indicators:

  • 2.1.5 Evaluates the effectiveness of communication methods used to ensure understanding of presented information.
  • 2.2.3 Delivers accurate and credible messaging.
  • 4.2.5 Analyzes and synthesizes information and identifies new information, patterns and findings.
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If a CEU certificate is needed, please complete the survey

Sample Collection, Preservation, and Data Analysis in Gut Microbiome Research: Current Methods and Potential Impact on Results

The development of dietary guidance relies upon the ability to synthesize a body of evidence and arrive at a reasonably well-supported conclusion. Although publications have purported to identify characteristics of a “healthy gut microbiome”, the one certainty at present is that gut microbiome is highly variable across individuals. In addition, the reality is that gut microbiome research still requires method advancement and refinement. Continuing to improve methods, and working toward alignment across laboratories will move all closer to understanding how diet can impact health at the point of the gut microbiome. In a virtual workshop held on October 13, 2022, the current state of knowledge related to sample collection, utility of standards, sequencing, and bioinformatic and biostatistical approaches was reviewed by experts working in the field. Speakers expanded on how selection among the various methodological options can impact study results. This project includes generating a summary of these discussions will be prepared for submission to a peer-reviewed journal.

Scientific Editor: Riley Hughes, PhD, Independent Scientist

Year: 2022

Read More: Methods In Nutrition & Gut Microbiome Research: An American Society For Nutrition Satellite Session

This work was supported by the IAFNS Gut Microbiome.

COVID-19 and Food: Challenges and Research Needs

Webinar: IAFNS Modeling and Monitoring of COVID-19

Guiding Principles for Sodium Reduction Strategies in Food: A Compendium

Significant knowledge exists about sodium reduction in foods, some of which is captured in Food & Drug Administration guidance documents. But progress made to date has not been captured in a publicly accessible format, and where it is available, it is not in a domain typically accessed by the public health community. Developing a compendium of available tools—including their possibilities, challenges and nuances—relevant to product development would be informative across stakeholders with an interest in addressing this persistent public health concern. This project will result in a publication that will provide evidence-based tools available for sodium reduction, organized by specific food categories to conjoin the wide range of resources into a compendium relevant to food industry applications.

Institution: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Principal Investigator: Soo-Yeun Lee, PhD
Amount: $80,000
Year Awarded: 2020

Read more:

View this project on the Center for Open Science's Open Science Framework.

Access the Sodium Reduction Science and Strategies Database here.

Learn more about the IAFNS Sodium in Foods and Health Implications Committee.

Sodium and Potassium in the Food Supply: A Model to Predict Intakes and Health Outcomes

The dietary sodium-to-potassium ratio is shown to be more strongly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and CVD-related mortality than either sodium or potassium intake alone. The aim was to estimate the sodium-to-potassium ratio in the diet of US adults.

Institution: USDA Agricultural Research Service
Principal Investigator: Alanna Moshfegh, MS, RD
Amount Awarded: $60,000
Year Awarded: 2014

Read more.

Learn more about the IAFNS Sodium Committee.