COVAX signs deal for 500M doses of Chinese vaccines



COVAX has distributed more than 100 million COVID-19 vaccines amid the pandemic. Photo by Luong Thai Linh/EPA-EFE

July 13 (UPI) -- COVAX, the World Health Organization-led initiative to provide equitable worldwide access to vaccines, said it has signed agreements with Chinese pharmaceutical companies for up to more than 500 million doses of their COVID-19 vaccines.

Gavi, the public-private entity co-leading the vaccine effort with the WHO, announced the deal with Sinopharm and Sinovac in a statement Monday, saying the agreements will immediately rush 110 million doses to COVAX Facility participants.

Dr. Seth Berkley, the chief executive at Gavi, said he welcomes the deal as it ensures that COVAX has options amid supply delays.

"Thanks to this deal, and because these vaccines have already received WHO Emergency Use Listing, we can move to start supplying doses to countries immediately," he said.

Under the agreements, Gavi committed to buying a total of 170 million doses of the Sinopharm vaccine, of which 60 million doses will be made available between now and October.

With Sinovac, Gavi committed to buying up to 380 million doses, with the first 50 million to be made available by September.

Weidong Yin, chairman, president and chief executive of Sinovac, said his company has delivered more than 1 billion vaccine doses worldwide as of June.

"We appreciate the efforts from international organizations, including WHO and COVAX partners, to accelerate the efforts of disease prevention," he said in a statement.

Gavi said the deals come at a time when the highly contagious Delta variant "is posing a rising risk to health systems."

The COVAX Facility is one pillar of the WHO's ACT Accelerator that aims to ramp up development, production and equitable access to COVID-19 tests, treatments and vaccines.

Since it was announced, the WHO has been asking countries to join while admonishing so-called vaccine nationalism, where wealthy governments rush to inoculate their entire populations at the expense of people in poorer nations.

The facility, with 135 participating countries, said it has shipped only 106 million vaccines so far.

According to Oxford University's Our World In Data project, more than 3.44 billion doses have been administered worldwide but only 1% of people in low-income countries have received at least one dose. In comparison, more than 65% of the populations of Canada, Britain and Israel have received at least one shot.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the chief of WHO, told reporters Monday that the Delta variant present in more than 104 countries was depleting resources and exhausting frontline workers in poor nations while those with high levels of vaccine coverage are also seeing it spread quickly.

"The global gap in vaccine supply is hugely uneven and inequitable," he said. "Some countries and regions are actually ordering millions of booster doses before other countries have had supplies to vaccinate their health workers and most vulnerable."

"I ask you," he said, "who would put firefighters on the frontline without protection?"

Tedros said tens of millions of vaccine dose donations are starting to come through but more is needed.

"Thousands of people are still dying every day and that deserves urgent action," he said.

Google fined almost $600M in France's second-largest antitrust penalty



A view of Google's first retail store in New York City on June 17. Google said Tuesday it's "disappointed" with the French regulator's decision. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI | License Photo

July 13 (UPI) -- A French antitrust watchdog on Tuesday fined tech giant Google almost $600 million, saying the company essentially ignored an order last year to work fairly with publishers to display news content on its platform.

The regulator, the Autorite de la concurrence, handed down the $593 million fine -- which is the second-largest antitrust penalty ever given in France to one company.

The watchdog ordered Google a year ago to stop evading the law and to negotiate in good faith with publishers that produce content. The issue was brought by outlets that grew frustrated with Google's use of their content without paying for it.

The regulator said Google "disregarded several injunctions" from its 2020 order, which said the company must negotiate with news outlets to display articles in search results and other services.

   RELATED Dozens of states file antitrust suit against Google

The fine comes after the watchdog found that the company stopped displaying snippets of content in Google News in France alone, circumventing neighboring news rights.

The agency noted major breaches in how Google negotiated with publishers to reuse their content.

In addition to the fine, the competition authority ordered Google to present an offer of remuneration for current uses of publishers' content within two months. If it fails to do that, Google could face penalties of up to $1 million per day of delay.

In February, the tech giant signed a deal to pay a group of 121 publishers more than $76 million over three years for content.

Google responded to the ruling with disappointment, saying that it has complied with the 2020 order. The company told BBC News that the decision "ignores our efforts to reach an agreement."

"We are very disappointed with this decision," it added. "We have acted in good faith throughout the entire process."

South Korea's Coupang faces boycott over working conditions
By Kim Ji-woo & Kwak Mi-ryung, UPI News Korea

Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk poses at the firm’s office in Seoul. Coupang faces a boycott campaign after the recent controversies surrounding working conditions and a massive fire at its warehouse near Seoul. 

File Photo courtesy of Coupang/UPI News Korea


SEOUL, July 13 (UPI) -- South Korea's e-commerce platform Coupang, which went public earlier this year on the New York Stock Exchange, is facing consumer boycotts and complaints over working conditions and hiring practices.

Over the past month, Twitter and Instagram users have shared hashtags about canceling Coupang membership and posted photos showing they had deleted their Coupang accounts.

The boycott started in mid-June when a firefighter was killed in a blaze at a Coupang warehouse south of Seoul.

The fire sparked criticism from politicians and the media that Coupang has lax safety standards and poor working conditions at its warehouses.

RELATED South Korea's Coupang faces accusations of deaths from overwork

Like giant online retailer Amazon in the United States, Coupang, which has about 15 million users, has faced a public outcry over how it treats workers.

At least nine Coupang workers, including two subcontractors, have died over the past year due to an "inhumane working environment," lawyer Kwon Young-gook, co-chairman of the Committee for Coupang Workers' Human Rights and Health, told international media in April.

Coupang founder Kim Bom-suk resigned from the company's chairmanship, which prompted criticism that he was trying to avoid responsibility for the fire.

RELATEDRetailers Shinsegae, Lotte bid to buy eBay Korea

Against this backdrop, the boycott started.

Coupang promised to provide lifelong support to the family of the firefighter who died. The company also said that founder Kim stepped down on May 31, although it wasn't announced until later.

Fresh controversies surround the company's hiring practices.

RELATED  Samsung heirs top Korea's stock-rich list

On Blind, an anonymous community application for the workplace, users have complained that Coupang dropped job offers after they had been confirmed via phone.

A Coupang representative denied those accusations to UPI News Korea: "We have never canceled our job offers after they are concluded."

Coupang's trade union for delivery workers complains that conditions have not improved.

"In fact, the working conditions are getting worse because demands for delivery keep rising due to the virus pandemic," Coupang courier union's Secretary-General Choi Se-wook said.

"In addition, it seems that Coupang is trying to cut costs to turn to profit and make many new tests, which add more workload on us," he said.

Coupang has not been profitable since its establishment in 2010, with accumulated losses of about $4 billion over the past 10 years.

The firm substantially reduced its net loss last year, but the figure still stood at $475 million. Its 2020 sales amounted to $12 billion.

"In consideration of Coupang's size, I don't think that the company does its best to take social responsibility in line with its scale," People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy official Kim Eun-jung said in a phone interview.

The outfit is one of the major civic groups in the country.

'Superbugs' detected in raw dog food, but danger unclear, study says

By Alan Mozes, HealthDay News



Researchers say that "superbugs" have been detected in various varieties of raw dog food, which they say has the potential to pose a health threat to both pets and humans. File Photo by Jaromir Chalabala/Shutterstock

People who feed their dogs raw pet food may find more on the menu than they bargained for, with a new study finding it may be a source of antibiotic-resistant bacteria that could ultimately threaten humans.

The European analysis looked at 55 wet, frozen, dry, semi-wet and treat-version dog food samples sourced from 25 different brands.

Some of the food was raw; some was not. Raw samples included duck, salmon, turkey, chicken, lamb, goose, beef and vegetable varieties.

More than half -- 54% -- of the raw samples contained a bacteria called Enterococci, and 4 in 10 of enterococci-laced samples contained a form of the bacteria that was determined to be multi-drug resistant.

RELATEDFDA: Salmonella in dog food a 'serious' threat to humans, pets

That means the bacteria did not respond to standard antibiotics.

Equally alarming, investigators said, is that nearly a quarter -- 23% -- of the enterococci-contaminated samples also didn't respond to the antibiotic linezolid, a last-resort antibiotic that is only used for very severe infections that prove untreatable with any other antibiotic.

And this may not be a problem solely for dogs, said study author Ana Freitas.

RELATED Feeding chicken necks to dogs may cause paralyzing condition


She's an investigator with UCIBIO, the Research Unit on Applied Molecular Biosciences, an organization is hosted by REQUIMTE, a collaboration between the University of Porto and the NOVA University of Lisbon, both in Portugal.

"Antibiotic-resistant bacteria threaten our lives because human infections, from common ones to more severe ones, are harder to treat, if treatable at all," Freitas explained.

In fact, an additional genetic analysis revealed that the resistant bacteria identified in raw dog food samples was virtually identical to resistant bacteria found in hospital patients across the Britain, Germany and the Netherlands.

RELATEDAmerica's obesity epidemic has spread to our dogs

That does not, however, mean that raw dog food inevitably puts human life at risk, said Freitas, but it's not good news either.

"The scenario is complex," she acknowledged, noting there no proof yet that resistant bacteria found in raw dog food has actually infected people.

"There has not been a record of a case actually showing transmission of these strains from dog food to their owners," Freitas stressed, adding that "even if it happens, healthy owners would not have a problem."Possible superbug source

But while such dog food-to-person transmission might be difficult to prove, she noted that her team's findings suggest that it must now be considered a possibility.

"The problem," said Freitas, "is that we identified an additional source of superbugs that can be spread by different routes to humans. And if by chance the person is not healthy, this may be a problem."

The analysis was conducted in Portugal between 2019 and 2020. While the study focused on dog food brands currently available in Europe, the researchers noted that some are also marketed internationally.

Freitas said she cannot speak to the popularity or availability of raw dog food in the United States.

However she noted that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plainly states on its website that it generally "does not recommend feeding raw diets to pet[s]," as the bacteria found in such raw food has the potential to make not only pets sick but also their owners.

"Your family also can get sick by handling the raw food or by taking care of your pet," the CDC stresses.

People who still choose to bring raw pet food into the home are advised to wash their hands with soap and water when handling such food, and to "clean and disinfect all surfaces that the raw food touched, like countertops, microwaves, refrigerators and objects like knives, forks, and bowls."

Freitas and her colleagues will report their findings this week at a virtual meeting of the European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases.

Such research is considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal

Gene link between dogs, owners

Freitas' study was not the only research presented at the meeting on the relationship between dogs, their owners and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

A gene that confers resistance to a last-resort antibiotic can be passed from dogs to their owners, another group of Portuguese researchers reported.

The mcr-1 gene -- first reported in China in 2015 -- provides resistance to colistin, an antibiotic of last resort. There are fears the gene could combine with drug-resistant bacteria to spawn an untreatable type of infection.

To find out if household pets may be acting as a reservoir of the gene and helping it spread, the researchers analyzed fecal samples from 126 healthy people living with 102 cats and dogs in 80 households in Lisbon.

They found the gene in four people and two pet dogs. In two cases, both the dog and its owner had the gene. No cats were carrying the gene.

While transmission in both directions is possible, it is thought that in at least one case, the gene passed from the dog to its owner.

The findings raise concerns that pets can act as reservoirs for the gene and help spread resistance to last-line antibiotics, the researchers noted.

"Colistin is used when all other antibiotics have failed -- it is a crucial treatment of last resort," study author Juliana Menezes said in an ECCMID news release.

"If bacteria resistant to all drugs acquire this resistance gene, they would become untreatable, and that's a scenario we must avoid at all costs," said Menezes, from the University of Lisbon's Centre of Interdisciplinary Research in Animal Health.

It's an issue that is definitely worth being concerned about, said Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar with the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security in Baltimore.

"Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are one of the most pressing public health challenges that exists," said Adalja. "It threatens to take us to a pre-penicillin world.

"This finding is not surprising," he said. "We can find similar resistant bacteria in raw human food as well, and [it] reflects the use of antibiotics in agriculture."

On that latter point, Freitas concurred, noting that "genetically identical [antibiotic-resistant] bacteria have also been found in farm animals and wastewater across the [Britain]."

That does not mean that raw pet food must be banned altogether, she said, "but it should be better controlled" via a periodic inspection regimen that screens for antibiotic resistance.

Meanwhile, Freitas echoed the CDC's advice, adding that "dog owners can always cook this food to guarantee its quality."More information

There's more on risks of raw dog food at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Copyright © 2021 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

New evidence of menopause in killer whales

UNIVERSITY OF EXETER

Research News

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IMAGE: A GROUP OF BIGG'S KILLER WHALES NEAR THE COAST OF WASHINGTON STATE, USA. TYPICALLY, GROUPS CONSIST OF A FEMALE AND 2-3 OF HER OFFSPRING. view more 

CREDIT: CENTER FOR WHALE RESEARCH

Scientists have found new evidence of menopause in killer whales - raising fascinating questions about how and why it evolved.

Most animals breed throughout their lives. Only humans and four whale species are known to experience menopause, and scientists have long been puzzled about why this occurs.

Killer whales are a diverse species made up of multiple separate ecotypes (different types within a species) across the world's oceans that differ in their prey specialisation and patterns of social behaviour.

Previous studies have found menopause in an ecotype called "resident" killer whales whose social structure appears to favour "grandmothering" (females using their energy and knowledge to help their offspring and grand-offspring, rather than competing to breed themselves).

The new study looked at an ecotype of killer whales with a different social structure, where offspring are more likely to leave their mother - and the evolutionary benefits of grandmothering are therefore reduced.

However, menopause was found to be strikingly similar in both killer whale ecotypes.

The research was carried out by the University of Exeter, DFO Canada, the Center for Whale Research, the University of Cambridge and the University of York.

"Previous research on the evolution of menopause has focussed on resident killer whales, where both males and females usually stay in the social group into which they were born," said lead author Mia Lybkær Kronborg Nielsen, of the University of Exeter.

"As a result, females become increasingly genetically related to the other members of the group as they age.

"At birth, their father is not in their family group and their relatedness to males in the group is comparatively low, but by later life, many of the group members are their children or grandchildren, increasing their average relatedness to the group.

"The new study looks at Bigg's killer whales, which may leave their birth group around the time of maturity.

"Some sons and daughters stay with their mother, but overall we predict a weaker pattern of increased relatedness to fellow group members as a whale ages.

"We expected this to be important in terms of menopause because weaker relatedness would appear to give females a weaker evolutionary reason to cease reproduction."

Using more than 40 years of data on Bigg's and resident whales, the researchers found a similar pattern of post-reproductive life for females - accounting for more than 30% of adult years.

"These different whale populations both show increased female relatedness with age, but - as this is stronger in resident than Bigg's killer whales - it's not immediately clear why the age at menopause and the length of the post-reproductive lifespan seems to be the same in both," said Professor Darren Croft, of the University of Exeter.

"Based on theory, we would expect the effect to be stronger in resident killer whales.

"Further research using drones to study how grandmother killer whales help their offspring and grand-offspring in the different populations will allow us to investigate this, and in doing so learn more about how menopause evolved in whales and humans."

Thomas Doniol-Valcroze and Jared Towers, of DFO Canada, said: "This study highlights the value of long-term population studies in which individuals are documented throughout their lives.

"Not only do the results contribute to a better understanding of animal evolution, they have significant implications for conservation by shedding light on the importance of social structure for the recovery of these populations."

Despite living in overlapping waters in the northeast Pacific, these whale populations do not inter-breed.

The differing social structures are probably caused by prey availability.

Resident whales feed on salmon, which have historically been plentiful (though human activities have changed this), allowing the whales to live in larger groups.

Bigg's whales hunt mammals such as seals, and generally disperse into smaller groups to reduce competition - there are only so many mouths that a seal kill will feed.

CAPTION

An adult Bigg's killer whale attacking a harbour seal. Bigg's killer whales work together in small family groups to catch marine mammals.

CREDIT

Center for Whale Research

The study was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council and the Leverhulme Trust.

The paper, published in the journal Ecology and Evolution, is entitled: "A long post-reproductive lifespan is a shared trait among genetically distinct killer whale populations."

CAPTION

Resident killer whales near the coast of Washington State, USA. Often the oldest female leads the group between hunting grounds.

CREDIT

Center for Whale Research

 

Cobalt-containing catalysts used to study super-viscous oil resins at Ashalcha oilfield

A paper saw light in Catalysts.

KAZAN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY

Research News

IMAGE: GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT view more 

CREDIT: KAZAN FEDERAL UNIVERSITY

Ashalcha oilfield in Tatarstan is one of the most popular locations to study the extraction of heavy oils. In particular, Kazan Federal University's In-Situ Combustion Lab has been working there for a few years.

Senior Research Associate Irek Mukhamatdinov explains, "On average, there are one sulfur and one nitrogen atom and five oxygen atoms per resin molecule. In the course of transformation under the action of a catalytic agent and a hydrogen donor, the content of heteroatoms (sulfur, nitrogen and oxygen) in a much larger number of structural blocks of resin molecules decreases. Resin molecules are mainly represented by mono- and two-block structures with a predominance of aromatic rings over naphthenic ones, with long paraffin chains."

His co-author, Head of the In-Situ Combustion Lab Alexey Vakhin adds, "As a result of thermal steam treatment with a catalyst and a hydrogen donor, the fraction of atoms in paraffinic and naphthenic fragments decreases, while in aromatic fragments it increases, which confirms the fact that an increase in the aromaticity and a decrease in the aliphaticity of oil take place during its hydrothermal transformations."

During the study, scientists were able to identify the distribution of resin fractions. These fractions were obtained by liquid-adsorption chromatography, extracted with individual solvents and their binary mixtures in various ratios. The results of MALDI spectroscopy revealed a decrease in the molecular weight of all resin fractions after catalytic treatment, mainly with a hydrogen donor.

"Elemental analysis data indicate a decrease in the H / C ratio for resin fractions as a result of the removal of alkyl substituents in resins and asphaltenes. The data of 1H NMR spectroscopy of resin fractions indicate an increase in the aliphatic hydrogen index during catalytic aquathermolysis in the high-molecular part of resins R3 and R4," says Mukhamatdinov.

One of the advantages of this particular technology is its relative cost effectiveness. New catalysts are planned for use in Ashalcha soon.

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Highlighting the effectiveness of the COVID-19 vaccines could hold key to converting doubters

UNIVERSITY OF BRISTOL

Research News

Informing people about how well the new COVID-19 vaccines work could boost uptake among doubters substantially, according to new research.

The study, led by the University of Bristol and published in the British Journal of Health Psychology, shows the importance of raising awareness of vaccine efficacy, especially if it compares very favourably to another well-established vaccine.

The research focused on adults who were unsure about being vaccinated against COVID-19. Those who were given information about the vaccine's efficacy scored 20 per cent higher on a measure of willingness to be vaccinated, compared to those who received no information. This improved receptivity increased by as much as double among survey respondents who were also given information about how COVID-19 vaccines perform in comparison to the annual flu vaccine.

Lead author Professor Colin Davis, Chair in Cognitive Psychology at the university's School of Psychological Science, said: "The general positive effect of providing key information is not surprising, as we knew already that people's perception of the effectiveness of a vaccine is an important factor in their vaccination intentions. But the extra benefit of providing comparative information is a novel finding which underscores the vital role of communication in improving vaccine uptake."

The findings come from two surveys of UK adults, aged between 18 and 85, last December. The first survey of 2,400 people revealed that 65 per cent agreed or strongly agreed they would have the COVID-19 vaccine, which at the time wasn't widely available. A further 12 per cent were equally sure that they would not take the vaccine. However, in the middle range were around a quarter (23 per cent) of respondents who expressed reservations and uncertainty about whether they would be vaccinated.

A second survey of 481 of those fence-sitters followed, which aimed to discover whether providing certain relevant information might nudge them to overcome their hesitancy and be more inclined to be vaccinated.

When no information was given, the majority of the participants were unsure about having the vaccine. Confidence levels grew by some 20 per cent when they were told of the overwhelming efficacy of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, 95 per cent and 94 per cent respectively at the time. Their likelihood of being vaccinated grew by a similar margin again, when the information about the COVID-19 vaccine also stated the effectiveness of the flu vaccine over the past 15 years, according to the US Centers for Disease Control, which stands at some 40 per cent.

"The findings show the positive potential of the contrast effect. Pointing out factual comparisons can be helpful when making a decision, particularly about something new. People value evidence-based information and this can provide affirmation and reassurance for cautious groups," Professor Davis said.

"It's also important to note the information we provided about the lower effectiveness of the flu jab did not change people's intention to have the flu vaccine. Perception of the flu vaccine benefits from its familiarity and an established sense of safety and efficacy. By positively associating the COVID-19 vaccine with the well-known flu jab, people are reminded that vaccines work and they are safe."

The latest figures show vaccine uptake is slowing. Over the last two months the average number of vaccine doses being administered daily has dropped from over half a million doses a day to just under a third of a million. This reflects a much lower rate of uptake among younger groups. In England while at least 95 per cent of 55 to 79-year-olds have had their first dose and at least 80 per cent of those aged 35 and above, the figure drops to some 76 per cent among 30 to 35-year-olds, 65 per cent for 25 to 29-year-olds, and just 57 per cent of 18 to 24-year-olds, according to latest NHS England data.

Professor Davis said: "Younger people perhaps perceive themselves to be less vulnerable to COVID-19 virus. While mortality rates are fortunately much lower in this age group, exposure to the virus carries the danger of long-COVID in people of all ages. By getting vaccinated young people can protect themselves and also reduce transmission levels in the population as a whole. The vaccination campaign is by no means over and this study shows the importance of informed and targeted communication."

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Paper

'Efficacy information influences intention to take COVID-19 vaccine' by Colin J. Davis et al in the British Journal of Health Psychology

Notes to editors

Professor Colin Davis is available for interview. To arrange this, please email Prof Davis: pscjd@bristol.ac.uk and Victoria Tagg, Media & PR Manager (Research), University of Bristol: victoria.tagg@bristol.ac.uk

 

Supermarket model to guide safer shopping amid pandemic

SKOLKOVO INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (SKOLTECH)

Research News

IMAGE: LEFT: SOCIAL FORCES EXERTED ON AN INDIVIDUAL SHOPPER. RIGHT: A FRAGMENT OF THE SUPERMARKET MODEL view more 

CREDIT: SKOLTECH

A Skoltech team has developed a model for assessing infection risks for supermarket customers. The researchers believe that their model will help formulate scientifically backed rules for safe shopping during the pandemic. The paper was published in PLOS One.

The team included professor Maxim Fedorov, who serves as Skoltech's Vice President for Artificial Intelligence and Mathematical Modeling, and a research group led by professor Nikolai Brilliantov -- the Director of the Skoltech Center for Computational and Data-Intensive Science and Engineering (CDISE).

The composite model presented in the paper incorporates a social forces model that describes customer motions and interactions with other shoppers or obstacles and is known to realistically reproduce waiting lines and congestions in confined spaces, such as stairs, and customers' behavior during emergency evacuation. The approach is based on calculating several "forces" (see image), each describing a customer's tendency to maintain a comfortable speed, approach a target, avoid obstacles, etc.

Other components describe the purchasing strategy and retail space layout. Customers are known to behave differently, depending on the place they visit: a small shop, a supermarket, or a cafe. The team used customer behavior scenarios specific to supermarkets and several layouts with varying numbers of intersections and bottleneck widths. Finally, the team proposed a model of infection transmission by virus-containing aerosol droplets.

The researchers used their composite model in multivariate numerical simulations to assess infection risks depending on several factors, such as average customer density, social distancing, behavior scenarios, use of masks, and retail space geometry. It turned out that the infection rate is primarily determined by social distancing, and to a much lesser extent, by the supermarket layout or customer strategy.

Curiously enough, the team discovered that increasing customer density has only a slight positive effect on sales, so filling the store to the limit makes little sense not just epidemiologically but economically, too.

"The functional version of our model, which we have made publicly available, can be used to assess the effects of various factors on the risk of infection. For example, you can optimize a store's operations in the pandemic environment by controlling customer flow, relocating specific items, and reconfiguring the retail area. Although our selection of layouts did not reveal a noticeable effect of space configuration on infection spread, geometry may be an important factor in other cases," Alexey Tsukanov, a co-author of the paper, comments.

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How well do US consumers understand their dairy purchases?

New research in the Journal of Dairy Science® examines consumer knowledge of dairy processing terms on product labels

ELSEVIER

Research News

Philadelphia, July 13, 2021 - Consumers may have less trust in food processes that they don't understand, and animal-based foods may be subject to more uninformed scrutiny than other foods due to consumers' perception of higher risk. Dairy producers can benefit from understanding how consumers interpret unfamiliar terms and claims on dairy product labels. In a new study appearing in the Journal of Dairy Science®, scientists from North Carolina State University conducted interviews and surveyed more than 1,200 consumers regarding their knowledge of and attitudes toward dairy processing terms that may appear on product labels.

Only about a third of respondents reported that they always or often read labels before purchasing dairy products; however, product labels are the primary source of information about food purchases used by consumers. This is reflected by the fact that only 24 percent of respondents were familiar with microfiltered milk, and no respondents could recall seeing the term on dairy product labels. Despite this, 20 percent expressed a negative opinion of it.

"Our survey data align with previous work that suggests the majority of dairy product consumers find both milk and cheese healthy and natural," said corresponding author MaryAnne Drake, PhD, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA. "However, adding processing-related terms to 'milk' lowered average agreement that the resulting product was natural or healthy." Overall, agreement responses suggest that although overall dairy product consumers have a positive view of milk, processing terms introduce uncertainty that may lead to questioning this evaluation.

Providing education about processing terms improves consumer understanding and perception of those terms on labels. Before reading a definition of ultrafiltration and microfiltration, 83 percent of respondents were unfamiliar with the terms. After reading the definition, 97 percent of participants indicated that their understanding had changed. The majority of participants viewed ultrafiltered and microfiltered milk more positively and were more likely to purchase these products.

"Processing-related descriptors in ingredient statements are likely to be overlooked, especially on the labels of products with which consumers already feel familiar. However, consumers may express caution when they are made aware of unfamiliar processing terms," added Drake.

The study suggests that explaining processing-related terms using simple terms may increase positive perception among consumers. On-package education and other marketing messaging should be investigated further.

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The impact of COVID-19 on food-shopping behavior for food-insecure populations

Differences in shopping behavior highlight another health disparity for lower-income individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic

UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT

Research News

The COVID-19 pandemic changed just about every aspect of normal life, including how we bought food.

While grocery stores remained open as an essential business and thrived financially throughout the pandemic, this prosperity did not translate to a consistent and sufficient food supply for many customers. Researchers have found that, on average, people went to the grocery store less frequently and spent more per trip during the pandemic.

Ran Xu, professor of allied health sciences in the College of Agriculture, Health, and Natural Resources, was interested in seeing if this trend applied to people who are food-insecure. COVID-19 exacerbated food insecurity for many. Pandemic-related job loss and other factors also led to an increase in overall rates of food insecurity.

"Because of how COVID-19 hit the economy, more people were suddenly food-insecure, and we needed more research on that," Xu says.

Xu and collaborators recently published a paper in Public Health that evaluated how perceived risk aversion, resource scarcity, and the consumers' food security status affected food procurement behaviors during this moment of national strife. They found that like food-secure individuals, food-insecure individuals made fewer grocery shopping trips due to concerns about contracting COVID-19. But, unlike food-secure individuals, they did not increase spending per trip.

"We think this is a serious issue that shows that COVID-19 impacts different populations differently," Xu says. "The findings we have are worrisome."

The researchers focused on food-insecure individuals who have considerable financial difficulty in procuring food.

They measured food insecurity according to two measures from the USDA's longer food insecurity survey. They asked respondents if they worried their food supply would run out before they had money to buy more, and if the food they bought just didn't last and they didn't have money to get more.

Then, the researchers evaluated participants' food shopping behaviors, such as types of stores they patronize, frequency of trips, and average food expense. They compared these measures with their shopping experience before the pandemic.

Their results showed that, of the 2,500 respondents from around the country, food-secure individuals tended to spend more per trip to stockpile food, reduce the potential for COVID-19 exposure, and prepare for food shortages. But food-insecure individuals could not prepare in the same way as they had much more constrained budgets and resources. Although food-insecure people made fewer grocery shopping trips due to concerns about contracting COVID-19, unlike food-secure people, they did not increase spending per trip.

The team conducted the study in May 2020, during the height of the pandemic in the U.S.

These findings show that the pandemic exacerbated the disparity between food-secure and insecure people.

Food insecurity has serious health consequences. Lack of access or lack of reliable access to nutritious foods contributes to a host of diseases including diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

"Food has everything to do with our health," Xu says. "Food insecurity adds another layer to that."

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