Dataset Information

Variety, Price, and Consumer Desirability of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in 7 Cities around the World.

ABSTRACT: Few studies have attempted to quantify the variety, price, and consumer desirability of fruits and vegetables (F&Vs) across a diversity of cities. We implemented a market basket survey of F&Vs from December 2018 to February 2019 in middle-income neighborhoods of the following cities: Visakhapatnam, India; Kathmandu, Nepal; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Mexico City, Mexico; Bangkok, Thailand; and Brookline, United States. The total variety of fruits ranged from 4.1 in Visakhapatnam to 17.3 in Brookline, and of vegetables from 6.1 in Dar es Salaam to 20.3 in Brookline. Of the 3 fruits for which price data were collected, apples tended to be the most expensive, and bananas the least expensive. For vegetables, capsicum tended to be the most expensive and eggplants the least expensive. Tablet-based market basket surveys are a useful tool for evaluating food environments. These pilot data provide further evidence of the homogenization of global diets.

SUBMITTER: Kirk B

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6704388 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Variety, Price, and Consumer Desirability of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in 7 Cities around the World.

Kirk Brenna B Melloy Brittney B Iyer Visraant V Jaacks Lindsay M LM

Current developments in nutrition 20190725 9

Few studies have attempted to quantify the variety, price, and consumer desirability of fruits and vegetables (F&Vs) across a diversity of cities. We implemented a market basket survey of F&Vs from December 2018 to February 2019 in middle-income neighborhoods of the following cities: Visakhapatnam, India; Kathmandu, Nepal; Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Dar es Salaam, Tanzania; Mexico City, Mexico; Bangkok, Thailand; and Brookline, United States. The total variety of fruits ranged from 4.1 in Visakhapat ...[more]

PMID: 31463423

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Toxoplasma gondii is the third most important contributor to health burden caused by food-borne illness. Ingestion of tissue cysts from undercooked meat is an important source of horizontal transmission to humans. However, there is an increasing awareness of the consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables, as a possible source for oocyst transmission, since this stage of the parasite can persist and remain infective in soil and water for long time. Herein, we outline findings related with detection of T. gondii oocysts in vegetables and berry fruits, which are usually raw consumed. The procedure includes the estimation of the number of oocysts. METHODS:Food samples were collected from local producers and supermarket suppliers. Toxoplasma gondii oocysts were concentrated after washing the samples by applying high resolution water filtration and immunomagnetic separation (method 1623.1: EPA 816-R-12-001-Jan 2012), in order to (i) remove potential Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts and Giardia spp. cysts present in the samples; and (ii) select T. gondii oocysts. Toxoplasma gondii oocyst detection and an estimation of their numbers was performed by conventional PCR and real time qPCR, using specific primers for a 183-bp sequence of the T. gondii repetitive DNA region. All PCR-positive DNA samples were purified and sequenced. Restriction enzyme digestion with EcoRV endonuclease confirmed the presence of the T. gondii DNA fragment. In addition, the presence of the parasite was observed by fluorescent microscopy, taking advantage of the oocysts autofluorescence under UV light. RESULTS:Forty percent of the analysed samples (95% CI: 25.5-56.5%) presented the expected PCR and digested DNA fragments. These fragments were confirmed by sequencing. Microscopic autofluorescence supported the presence of T. gondii-like oocysts. The estimated mean (± SE) oocyst concentration was 23.5 ± 12.1 oocysts/g, with a range of 0.6-179.9 oocysts/g. CONCLUSIONS:Our findings provide relevant evidence of contamination of fresh vegetables and berry fruits with T. gondii oocysts.

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Dataset Information

Variety, Price, and Consumer Desirability of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in 7 Cities around the World.

Publications

Variety, Price, and Consumer Desirability of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables in 7 Cities around the World.

Similar Datasets

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