Mediterranean diet - promotion and dissemination of healthy eating: proceedings of an exploratory seminar at the Radcliffe institute for advanced study.

The traditional Mediterranean diet is considered the world's most evidence-based eating pattern for promoting health and longevity. However, institutional food environments and their busy consumers often sacrifice health benefits for the convenience of faster and cheaper foods that generally are of lower quality and are more processed, and thus, contribute to the current epidemics of obesity and diabetes. Expert consensus has even identified the Mediterranean diet as the easiest to follow among healthy eating patterns. Nonetheless, fewer American families cook at home and many food services have been slow to implement healthier food options compatible with the Mediterranean diet. In September 2019, we convened a group of thought leaders at an exploratory seminar entitled: "Mediterranean Diet: Promotion and Dissemination of Healthy Eating", hosted by the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies at Harvard University. The multidisciplinary faculty discussed best practices for translating traditional Mediterranean lifestyle principles to modern society.

Utilizing Mushrooms to Reduce Overall Sodium in Taco Filling Using Physical and Sensory Evaluation.

This project investigated the use of integrating mushrooms into beef taco filling as a means to reduce overall sodium for food service applications. Initial product development used physical characterization analysis (moisture, yield, color, and texture) to determine initial threshold of mushroom inclusion with minimal differences against an all-meat control. Increasing mushroom inclusion increased moisture and yield before draining but decreased yield after draining, lightness, redness, and texture. Results showed that inclusion under 50% by weight minimized physical attribute deviation from an all-meat control. Additional physical analysis investigated a variety of other factors (mushroom type, blanching, and particle size) to determine if other attributing mushroom characteristics would yield statistical similarity to the all-meat control. Results showed that a formulation containing up to 45% mushrooms can be integrated into beef fillings using un-blanched, white button mushrooms with small grind (1 to 5 mm), which maximized mushroom usage while minimizing differences from the all-meat control. Additional sodium analysis showed that varying salt level in formulations did not affect physical characteristics and mushroom inclusion could not significantly reduce overall sodium level. Optimized mushroom samples were then fielded in a hedonic sensory study to untrained consumers to evaluate product liking attributes (overall liking, aroma, color, flavor, juiciness, saltiness, and texture). Samples with overall liking scores that closely matched the control were then fielded in a paired-preference test to determine acceptance. Consumers preferred a 45% mushroom with reduced sodium taco filling compared to its full sodium counterpart in a food service fielded paired-preference sensory test. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Although diet can significantly reduce the risk of heart disease, American consumers continue to eat detrimental diets high in fat and sodium. Products need to be made that decrease fat and sodium intake while still delivering acceptable taste. Mushroom substitution into meat-based products can be a strategy to develop products that can decrease fat and sodium consumption while increasing vegetable intake without compromising the quality and taste consumers demand. This research shows how consumers can accept meat-based products containing mushrooms with potential for direct food service application.