Improving the quality of foods available in a rural kibbutz cafeteria in Israel to align with a freshly prepared Mediterranean-style diet through a community culinary coaching programme.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the impact of a community culinary coaching programme (CCCP) on cafeteria food alignment with a freshly prepared Mediterranean-style diet, and diners' consumption habits and satisfaction. DESIGN: A non-randomized, controlled, community-based participatory research programme. CCCP included eight 90 min coaching sessions with a community steering committee, 22 h of kitchen staff training, 12 h of pre-school staff training and 30 h of education for diners; control communities received no intervention. Outcomes, measured before and 12 months after programme initiation, included cafeteria food alignment with a freshly prepared Mediterranean-style diet through a food items list derived from the cafeteria food purchasing software, and adult diners' consumption habits and satisfaction through questionnaires. SETTING: Communal cafeterias of rural kibbutzim. PARTICIPANTS: Intervention: kibbutz with 493 adults and 214 children. Control: Two kibbutzim with a total of 487 adults and 206 children. RESULTS: Intervention cafeteria food improved significantly in all Mediterranean index categories except nuts (legumes, wholegrain products, fish, MUFA/SFA P < 0·0001; fruits, vegetables P < 0·001; processed meats P = 0·004), and in the proportion of ultra-processed and unprocessed or minimally processed foods categories of the NOVA classification (-22 %, P < 0·001 and +7 %, P < 0·001, respectively), compared with the control community. The intervention group's satisfaction was significantly improved in twenty-five (83 %) out of the thirty satisfaction items, compared with twelve (40 %) in the control group. No changes were identified in diners' consumption habits in either intervention or control communities. CONCLUSIONS: CCCP might be useful in improving alignment of cafeteria food with a freshly prepared Mediterranean-style diet.

Improving Adherence to Mediterranean-Style Diet With a Community Culinary Coaching Program: Methodology Development and Process Evaluation.

The Community Culinary Coaching Program is a community-based participatory program aimed at improving communal settlement residents' nutrition. The residents, central kitchens, preschools, and communal dining rooms were identified as areas for intervention. Evaluation included goals accomplishment assessed by food purchases by the central kitchens, and residents' feedback through focus groups. Purchasing included more vegetables (mean (standard error) percent change), (+7% (4); P = .32), fish (+115% (11); P < .001), whole grains, and legumes (+77% (9); P < .001); and less soup powders (-40% (9); P < .05), processed beef (-55% (8); P < .001), and margarine (-100% (4); P < .001). Residents recommended continuing the program beyond the project duration. This model might be useful in organizations with communal dining facilities.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis caused by Leishmania infantum in Southern Israel.

Cutaneous leishmaniasis (CL) caused by Leishmania major is common in southern Israel, while Leishmania infantum (sub-strain of L. donovani, causing zoonotic visceral leishmaniasis) infections were rarely reported in Israel and only in other regions. We report the first case of L. infantum infection in southern Israel, presented atypically as CL in an immunosuppressed 47-year old male. The patient was treated with liposomal amphotericin-B and recovered, without extra-cutaneous complications. Diagnosis of L. infantum CL was confirmed by microscopic identification of amastigotes in Gimsa-stained smear of skin lesion, positive blood serology and a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the internal transcribed spacer 1 genes (ITS1) and restriction fragment length polymorphism (ITS1 PCR-RFLP). We also review the medical literature on old-world CL caused by L. infantum. Multiple L. donovani/infantum CL cases were identified in the literature search. These can be divided schematically to two: 1) In several endemic countries, L. infantum strains are the main causative agents of CL; 2) In other regions, CL is almost exclusively caused by L. major or L. tropica, while L. donovani strains CL cases were reported sporadically or as imported disease.