The palm oil industry and noncommunicable diseases

Metabolic consequences of interesterified palm oil and PCB-126 co-exposure in C57BL/6 mice

Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is defined as morphofunctional changes in the liver. Studies have shown that Westernized eating patterns and environmental pollutants can directly induce the development of MASLD. This study evaluates the effect of co-exposure to interesterified palm oil (IPO) and 3,3',4,4',5-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB-126) on the progression of MASLD in an animal model. C57BL/6 mice were fed IPO and co-exposed to PCB-126 for ten weeks. The co-exposure led to an imbalance in carbohydrate metabolism, increased systemic inflammation markers, and morphofunctional changes in the liver. These liver changes included the presence of inflammatory cells, fibrosis, alterations in aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT) enzymes, and imbalance in gene expression related to fatty acid β-oxidation, de novo lipogenesis, mitochondrial dynamics, and endoplasmic reticulum stress. Separate exposures to IPO and PCB-126 affected metabolism and MASLD progression. Nutritional and lifestyle factors may potentiate the onset and severity of MASLD.

Palm oil as part of a high-fat diet: advances and challenges, or possible risks of pathology?

Nutritional status disorders have the most significant impact on the development of cardiovascular and oncologic diseases; therefore, the interest in the study of palm oil as among the leading components of nutrition has been increasing. The data examined in this review were sourced from the Scopus, SCIE (Web of Science), PubMed and PubMed Central, MEDLINE, CAPlus/SciFinder, and Embase databases; experts in the field; bibliographies; and abstracts from review analyses from the past 15 years. This review summarizes recent research data focusing on the quantitative and qualitative composition of nutrition of modern humans; concepts of the relationship between high-fat diets and disorders of insulin functioning and transport and metabolism of fatty acids; analyses of data regarding the palmitic acid (16:0) to oleic acid (18:1) ratio; and the effect of diet based on palm oil consumption on cardiovascular risk factors and lipid and lipoprotein levels. Several studies suggest a potential vector contributing to the transmission of maternal, high-fat-diet-induced, addictive-like behaviors and obesogenic phenotypes across generations. The relationship between cholesterol accumulation in lysosomes that may lead to lysosome dysfunction and inhibition of the autophagy process is analyzed, as is the progression of inflammatory diseases, atherosclerosis, nonalcoholic liver inflammation, and obesity with associated complications. Data are discussed from analyses of differences between rodent models and human population studies in the investigated different effects of palm oil consumption as a high-fat diet component. A conclusion is reached that the results cannot be generalized in human population studies because no similar effects were observed. Although there are numerous published reports, more studies are necessary to elucidate the complex regulatory mechanisms in digestive and nutrition processes, because there are great differences in lipoprotein profiles between rodents and humans, which makes it difficult to reproduce the pathology of many diseases caused by different types of the high-fat diet.

Water and sediment pesticide contamination on indigenous lands surrounded by oil palm plantations in the Brazilian Amazon

Large-scale oil palm cultivation with intensive pesticide use has been growing worldwide and reached the Brazilian Amazon. The rapid expansion of this crop over the last decade has reached vast areas, including the boundaries of different indigenous lands. This study aimed at assessing the occurrence of pesticide residues in surface and ground waters as well as drainage sediments in the Turé-Mariquita Indigenous Territory, in addition to other nearby indigenous villages in the northeastern state of Pará. Thirty-three (33) water samples were collected from streams, springs and from active and abandoned wells at 19 sampling points, as well as 16 sediment samples at 9 sampling sites both during dry and rainy seasons. In total, 49 environmental samples were taken during fieldworks and subsequently analyzed by means of liquid chromatography and mass-mass spectrometry. The analytical determination of pesticide residues showed the occurrence of three pesticides in the water both from streams and from wells, two of them knowingly used by the oil palm company: glyphosate-based herbicides (GBHs) and endosulfan insecticides. Although the highest glyphosate and endosulfan levels as well as the maximum concentration of glyphosate found in ground water are within the Brazilian environmental regulatory guidelines, all the values for human consumption found in the glyphosate-containing samples are well above the European Union regulatory standards. Our results draw the attention to the risks of biota contamination and human exposure to multiple-pesticide residues.

Commercial determinants of health: future directions

This paper is about the future role of the commercial sector in global health and health equity. The discussion is not about the overthrow of capitalism nor a full-throated embrace of corporate partnerships. No single solution can eradicate the harms from the commercial determinants of health-the business models, practices, and products of market actors that damage health equity and human and planetary health and wellbeing. But evidence shows that progressive economic models, international frameworks, government regulation, compliance mechanisms for commercial entities, regenerative business types and models that incorporate health, social, and environmental goals, and strategic civil society mobilisation together offer possibilities of systemic, transformative change, reduce those harms arising from commercial forces, and foster human and planetary wellbeing. In our view, the most basic public health question is not whether the world has the resources or will to take such actions, but whether humanity can survive if society fails to make this effort.

Differential analysis of transcriptomic and metabolomic of free fatty acid rancidity process in oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) fruits of different husk types

INTRODUCTION

Oil palm is the world's highest yielding oil crop and its palm oil has high nutritional value, making it an oilseed plant with important economic value and application prospects. After picking, oil palm fruits exposed to air will gradually become soft and accelerate the process of fatty acid rancidity, which will not only affect their flavor and nutritional value, but also produce substances harmful to the human body. As a result, studying the dynamic change pattern of free fatty acids and important fatty acid metabolism-related regulatory genes during oil palm fatty acid rancidity can provide a theoretical basis for improving palm oil quality and extending its shelf life.

METHODS

The fruit of two shell types of oil palm, Pisifera (MP) and Tenera (MT), were used to study the changes of fruit souring at different times points of postharvesting, combined with LC-MS/MS metabolomics and RNA-seq transcriptomics techniques to analyze the dynamic changes of free fatty acids during fruit rancidity, and to find out the key enzyme genes and proteins in the process of free fatty acid synthesis and degradation according to metabolic pathways.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Metabolomic study revealed that there were 9 different types of free fatty acids at 0 hours of postharvest, 12 different types of free fatty acids at 24 hours of postharvest, and 8 different types of free fatty acids at 36 hours of postharvest. Transcriptomic research revealed substantial changes in gene expression between the three harvest phases of MT and MP. Combined metabolomics and transcriptomics analysis results show that the expression of SDR, FATA, FATB and MFP four key enzyme genes and enzyme proteins in the rancidity of free fatty acids are significantly correlated with Palmitic acid, Stearic acid, Myristic acid and Palmitoleic acid in oil palm fruit. In terms of binding gene expression, the expression of FATA gene and MFP protein in MT and MP was consistent, and both were expressed higher in MP. FATB fluctuates unevenly in MT and MP, with the level of expression growing steadily in MT and decreasing in MP before increasing. The amount of SDR gene expression varies in opposite directions in both shell types. The above findings suggest that these four enzyme genes and enzyme proteins may play an important role in regulating fatty acid rancidity and are the key enzyme genes and enzyme proteins that cause differences in fatty acid rancidity between MT and MP and other fruit shell types. Additionally, differential metabolite and differentially expressed genes were present in the three postharvest times of MT and MP fruits, with the difference occurring 24 hours postharvest being the most notable. As a result, 24 hours postharvest revealed the most obvious difference in fatty acid tranquility between MT and MP shell types of oil palm. The results from this study offer a theoretical underpinning for the gene mining of fatty acid rancidity of various oil palm fruit shell types and the enhancement of oilseed palm acid-resistant germplasm cultivation using molecular biology methods.

Effects of commercial non-dairy tea whitener consumption in comparison to milk on lipid profile, histopathology, and liver enzymes in animal model

The pandemic of obesity and other diet-related non-communicable diseases are serious threats to the wellbeing and financial prosperity around the globe. It has been documented that the consumption of processed foods with high levels of refined sugars and fats are the main cause contributing to this phenomenon. The present work was therefore conducted to assess the effects of the consumption of non-dairy tea whiteners (NDTW’s) on lipid profile, histopathology, and liver enzymes of rats for a period of three months. To this end, 30 albino Wister rats (7 weeks old, 130 ± 5 g) was divided into five groups namely control (G1), fed with whole milk (G2), and groups fed with defined dose of commercial NDTW’s (G3, G4, and G5). All rats were provided feed and water ad libitum during the experimental period. At trial completion, the rats were decapitated, and samples (blood, liver) were collected and subjected to blood chemistry (lipid profile) and liver histopathological analyses. Results indicated that as compared to milk, powder NDTW consumption increased the level of cholesterol (69%), triglycerides (98%), and LDL (84%), whereas HDL was non-significantly affected. On the other hand, liquid NDTW consumption led to the increase in triglyceride levels for all NDTW, and yielded 130% increase as compared to milk, which might have been attributed to composition of NDTW. Additionally, liver and renal functional tests yielded non-significant results. The present work concluded that the consumption of NDTW contributed towards derangement and elevation in lipid profile parameters as compared to milk, particularly if consumed for longer period of time.

Balancing functional and health benefits of food products formulated with palm oil as oil sources

Palm oil (PO) is widely utilised in the food industry and consumed in large quantities by humans. Owing to its bioactive components, such as fatty acids, carotenoids, vitamin E, and phenolic compounds, PO has been utilised for generations. However, public concern about their adverse effects on human health is growing. A literature search was conducted to identify fractionated palm oil processing techniques, proof of their health advantages, and potential food applications. Refined palm oil (RPO) is made from crude palm oil (CPO) and can be fractionated into palm olein (POl) and palm stearin (PS). Fractional crystallisation, dry fractionation, and solvent fractionation are the three basic fractionation procedures used in the PO industry. The composition of triacylglycerols and fatty acids in refined and fractionated palm oil and other vegetable oils is compared to elucidate the triacylglycerols and fatty acids that may be important in product development. It is well proven that RPO, POl, and PS extends the oil's shelf life in the food business. These oils have a more significant saturated fat content and antioxidant compounds than some vegetable oils, such as olive and coconut oils, making them more stable. Palm olein and stearin are also superior shortening agents and frying mediums for baking goods and meals. Furthermore, when ingested modestly daily, palm oils, especially RPO and POl, provide health benefits such as cardioprotective, antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory, and antithrombotic effects. Opportunities exist for fractionated palm oil to become a fat substitute; however, nutrition aspects need to be considered in further developing the market.

Linoleate-Rich Safflower Oil Diet Increases Linoleate-Derived Bioactive Lipid Mediators in Plasma, and Brown and White Adipose Depots of Healthy Mice

Polyunsaturated fats are energy substrates and precursors to the biosynthesis of lipid mediators of cellular processes. Adipose tissue not only provides energy storage, but influences whole-body energy metabolism through endocrine functions. How diet influences adipose-lipid mediator balance may have broad impacts on energy metabolism. To determine how dietary lipid sources modulate brown and white adipose tissue and plasma lipid mediators, mice were fed low-fat (15% kcal fat) isocaloric diets, containing either palm oil (POLF) or linoleate-rich safflower oil (SOLF). Baseline and post body weight, adiposity, and 2-week and post fasting blood glucose were measured and lipid mediators were profiled in plasma, and inguinal white and interscapular brown adipose tissues. We identified over 30 species of altered lipid mediators between diets and found that these changes were unique to each tissue. We identified changes to lipid mediators with known functional roles in the regulation of adipose tissue expansion and function, and found that there was a relationship between the average fold difference in lipid mediators between brown adipose tissue and plasma in mice consuming the SOLF diet. Our findings emphasize that even with a low-fat diet, dietary fat quality has a profound effect on lipid mediator profiles in adipose tissues and plasma.

Tracing the connections between international business and communicable diseases

We posit that international business and the emergence and spread of communicable diseases are intrinsically connected. To support our arguments, we first start with a historical timeline that traces the connections between international business and communicable diseases back to the sixth century. Second, following the epidemiology of communicable diseases, we identify two crucial transitions related to international business: the emergence of epidemics within a host country and the shift from epidemics to global pandemics. Third, we highlight international business contextual factors (host country regulatory quality, urbanization, trade barriers, global migration) and multinationals' activities (foreign direct investment, corporate political activity, global supply chain management, international travel) that could accelerate each transition. Finally, building on public health insights, we suggest research implications for business scholars on how to integrate human health challenges into their studies and practical implications for global managers on how to help prevent the emergence and spread of communicable diseases.

Growth performance, fatty acid composition, and lipid metabolism are altered in groupers (Epinephelus coioides) by dietary fish oil replacement with palm oil

In this study, we conducted a 56-d feeding trial to investigate the effects of replacing the fish oil (FO) with palm oil (PO) on the performance, tissue fatty acid (FA) composition, and mRNA levels of genes related to hepatic lipid metabolism in grouper (Epinephelus coioides). Five isolipidic (13% crude lipid) and isonitrogenous (48% CP) diets were formulated by incrementally adding PO to the control diet (25% fish meal and 9% added FO) to replace FO in the control diets. Triplicate groups of 30 groupers (initial weight: 12.6 ± 0.1 g) were fed one of the diets twice daily, to apparent satiety. The replacement of FO with 50% PO revealed maximum growth without affecting the performance and whole-body proximate compositions, and replacing FO with 100% PO revealed a comparable (P > 0.05) growth with that of the control diet, suggesting PO as a suitable alternative to FO. The analysis of FA profiles in the dorsal muscle and liver though reflected the FA profile of the diet, PO substitutions above 50% could compromise (P < 0.05) the FA profile in the liver and flesh of the fish species in comparison with the control diet. Furthermore, the mRNA levels of FAS, G6PD, LPL, PPARΑ, and Δ6FAD genes in the liver had positive linear and/or quadratic responses, but the SCD, HSL, ATGL, FABP, SREBP-1C and ELOVL5 had the opposite trend, with increasing dietary PO inclusion levels, whereas the mRNA level of ACC was not affected by dietary treatments. The optimal level of PO substitution for FO was estimated to be 47.1% of the feed, based on the regression analysis of percent weight gains against dietary PO inclusion levels; however, it might affect the FA profile in the liver and flesh of the fish species, and further study is required to investigate whether the changes in tissue FA composition will affect the welfare and market value over a production cycle of grouper.

COVID-19 and Its Implications to the Assessment of Sustainable Palm Oil Supply Chain Management: An Indonesian Perspective

Motivated by the low sustainability index and pressure to meet the global demand for eco-friendly crude palm oil (CPO) in the pandemic-ridden environment, this research aims to investigate the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic to assess the drivers of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) of the Indonesian CPO sector to tackle supply chain disruptions. To achieve this aim, the study seeks to determine the sustainability drivers to accommodate the pandemic-ridden environment and if sustainability indicators can help improve the supply chain management of the CPO sector. A methodology is divided into two interrelated parts: first, based on a careful review of extant literature of the CPO sector and sustainable supply chain in the light of pandemic. The proposed methodology is then tested using the response data of 108 oil mills' representatives collected through survey questionnaires and analyzed using statistical tools of reliability, distribution, Kaiser–Meyer–Olkin (KMO), Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA), and diagnostic tests of CFA. The findings designate the environmental costs, rapidity, and adaptability as core economic indicators; the social and workforce development, health, and safety workforce development and consumer issues as crucial social indicators; while energy and material efficiency, management of waste and emissions, and sustainable suppliers as the best environmental indicators. This study provides a holistic platform on the implications of the pandemic to assess the SSCM of the CPO sector. These findings are expected to aid the industrial managers in employee skills and health protocols, customer service, and environmental management. The study is also anticipated to guide the supply-chain partners and government policymakers to take initiatives on SSCM in the context of the pandemic.

Impact of Malaysian palm oil on sustainable development goals: co-benefits and trade-offs across mitigation strategies

Palm oil (PO) is an important source of livelihood, but unsustainable practices and widespread consumption may threaten human and planetary health. We reviewed 234 articles and summarized evidence on the impact of PO on health, social and economic aspects, environment, and biodiversity in the Malaysian context, and discuss mitigation strategies based on the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The evidence on health impact of PO is equivocal, with knowledge gaps on whether moderate consumption elevates risk for chronic diseases, but the benefits of phytonutrients (SDG2) and sensory characteristics of PO seem offset by its high proportion of saturated fat (SDG3). While PO contributes to economic growth (SDG9, 12), poverty alleviation (SDG1, 8, 10), enhanced food security (SDG2), alternative energy (SDG9), and long-term employment opportunities (SDG1), human rights issues and inequities attributed to PO production persist (SDG8). Environmental impacts arise through large-scale expansion of monoculture plantations associated with increased greenhouse gas emissions (SDG13), especially from converted carbon-rich peat lands, which can cause forest fires and annual trans-boundary haze; changes in microclimate properties and soil nutrient content (SDG6, 13); increased sedimentation and change of hydrological properties of streams near slopes (SDG6); and increased human wildlife conflicts, increase of invasive species occurrence, and reduced biodiversity (SDG14, 15). Practices such as biological pest control, circular waste management, multi-cropping and certification may mitigate negative impacts on environmental SDGs, without hampering progress of socioeconomic SDGs. While strategies focusing on improving practices within and surrounding plantations offer co-benefits for socioeconomic, environment and biodiversity-related SDGs, several challenges in achieving scalable solutions must be addressed to ensure holistic sustainability of PO in Malaysia for various stakeholders.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11625-021-01052-4.

Palm Oil Processing and Controversies over Its Health Effect: Overview of Positive and Negative Consequences

Palm oil is the world's most commonly used vegetable oil and extracted both from fruit and seed of palm tree. However, its high saturated fatty acid content raised controversies over consumption of the oil. Few scientific findings suggest it as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease and increased consumer's awareness over healthy diet raised claim over it. So that, this article aimed to review literatures on palm oil extraction process and its positive and negative health consequences and besides suggest strategies for healthy diet. Literature search of relevant articles was conducted by using Google scholar, PubMed, Web of science, MEDLINE, World Health Organization library online catalogue, UNICEF library, Open access thesis and dissertations published between 2009 and 2021 explored. Study reports recommend that palmitic acid from vegetable source has less effect on blood total cholesterol and low density lipoprotein cholesterol level as compared to palmitic acid from animal source. In contrary tocotrienols of palm oil lowers blood bad cholesterol level by 7-38%. Moreover, palm oil triacylglycerol arrangement does not have a cardiovascular risk and evidences from available in vitro and in vivo studies are not sufficient enough to conclude palm oil as a causative agent for cardiovascular disease. For healthy diet consumers should avoid trans fatty acids, solid and semi solid oils. Finally, further studies recommended on mitigation strategies to minimize process induced toxicants of palm oil to acceptable level.

Examining the trade-offs of palm oil production and consumption from a sustainable diets perspective: lessons learned from Myanmar

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to examine the trade-offs related to the production and consumption of palm oil in Myanmar from a sustainable diets perspective.

DESIGN

We used an enhanced value chain analysis approach that included semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders; market analyses to assess edible oils in markets and focus groups as well as surveys with consumers to ascertain their perceptions and practices related to edible oils.

SETTING

Four settings in Myanmar (upper income urban; lower income urban; middle-income urban; lower income rural).

PARTICIPANTS

Key stakeholders (n 12) from government, trade bodies and civil society organisations were included in the interviews. Women from each of the regions participated in four focus groups (n 32), and a convenience sample of male and female consumers participated in the surveys (n 362).

RESULTS

We found mistrust of the oil sector overall. Poor production practices, leading to low yields, limit the economic viability of oil palm production in Myanmar and contribute to negative environmental (e.g. deforestation) and social outcomes (e.g. land conflicts). Consumers demonstrated low preferences for palm oil as compared with traditional oils from a taste, health and transparency perspective; however, they indicated that its relative low cost led to its purchase over other oils.

CONCLUSIONS

The Burmese example suggests that there may be limited benefits, and significant costs, of investing in palm oil production in regions where there are coordinating disincentives from a sustainable diets perspective. However, if oil palm cultivation is to continue, there are opportunities to improve its economic viability and environmental sustainability.

Oil palm in the 2020s and beyond: challenges and solutions

BACKGROUND

Oil palm, Elaeis guineensis, is by far the most important global oil crop, supplying about 40% of all traded vegetable oil. Palm oils are key dietary components consumed daily by over three billion people, mostly in Asia, and also have a wide range of important non-food uses including in cleansing and sanitizing products.

MAIN BODY

Oil palm is a perennial crop with a > 25-year life cycle and an exceptionally low land footprint compared to annual oilseed crops. Oil palm crops globally produce an annual 81 million tonnes (Mt) of oil from about 19 million hectares (Mha). In contrast, the second and third largest vegetable oil crops, soybean and rapeseed, yield a combined 84 Mt oil but occupy over 163 Mha of increasingly scarce arable land. The oil palm crop system faces many challenges in the 2020s. These include increasing incidence of new and existing pests/diseases and a general lack of climatic resilience, especially relating to elevated temperatures and increasingly erratic rainfall patterns, plus downstream issues relating to supply chains and consumer sentiment. This review surveys the oil palm sector in the 2020s and beyond, its major challenges and options for future progress.

CONCLUSIONS

Oil palm crop production faces many future challenges, including emerging threats from climate change and pests and diseases. The inevitability of climate change requires more effective international collaboration for its reduction. New breeding and management approaches are providing the promise of improvements, such as much higher yielding varieties, improved oil profiles, enhanced disease resistance, and greater climatic resilience.

Dry eye disease: an (in)convenient truth

The salient rise of chronic disease from the mid-twentieth century threatens to overwhelm public health systems in an increasing number of countries and is now considered an epidemic. Dry eye disease is an underappreciated disorder that bears all the hallmarks of chronic disease. Preventative health care seeks improved and sustainable patient engagement in the self-management of health to limit the progress and extent of chronic disease. Anthropogenic environments engendering lifestyles and behaviours that can be detrimental to human health, can be considered as direct or indirect threats to successful preventative health strategies. Chronic disease can be viewed as the result of physiological responses of the human body to the modern environment. The quest for an increasingly convenient, global, and disease-free lifestyle is ironically threatening to undo the gains in health and quality of life made over the last one hundred years. Considering dry eye disease as an anthropogenic chronic disease, contributions of diet (food and beverages consumed) and nutrition (extending to relationships with self, community, and nature) to development of dry eye disease are explored in this review. Evidence of environmental and behavioural instigators of chronic disease with an emphasis on production, disbursement, and preservation of food, is presented. Furthermore, evidence of traditional food practices that offer resistance to the development of chronic systemic inflammatory disorders are reviewed as an exemplar of potential strategies that can be put into practice by individuals and communities to reinstate a balanced life, community and planet.

Big food and the World Health Organization: a qualitative study of industry attempts to influence global-level non-communicable disease policy

INTRODUCTION

There is an urgent need for effective action to address the over 10 million annual deaths attributable to unhealthy diets. Food industry interference with policies aimed at reducing non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is widely documented at the national level but remains under-researched at the global level. Thus, this study explores how ultra-processed food industry actors have attempted to influence NCD policy at WHO.

METHODS

A combination of inductive and deductive thematic coding of internal industry documents, academic literature and interviews with key informants from international organisations and global civil society was used to identify action-based strategies ultra-processed food industry actors employ to influence global-level policy.

RESULTS

Ultra-processed food industry actors have attempted to influence WHO and its policies through three main action-based strategies: coalition management, involvement in policy formulation, and information management. Coalition management includes the creation and use of overt alliances between corporations-business associations-and more covert science-focused and policy-focused intermediaries, the hiring of former WHO staff and attempted co-option of civil society organisations. Industry involvement in policy formulation is operationalised largely through the lobbying of Member States to support industry positions, and business associations gaining access to WHO through formal consultations and hearings. Information management involves funding and disseminating research favourable to commercial interests, and challenging unfavourable evidence.

CONCLUSION

We provide novel insights into how ultra-processed food industry actors shape global-level NCD policy and identify a clear need to guard against commercial interference to advance NCD policy. In their approach, the political behaviour of multinational food corporations bears similarities to that of the tobacco industry. Increased awareness of, and safeguarding against, commercial interference at the national as well as the global level have the potential to strengthen the crucial work of WHO.

Longitudinal trends of future climate change and oil palm growth: empirical evidence for tropical Africa

Palms are highly significant tropical plants. Oil palms produce palm oil, the basic commodity of a highly important industry. Climate change from greenhouse gasses is likely to decrease the ability of palms to survive, irrespective of them providing ecosystem services to communities. Little information about species survival in tropical regions under climate change is available and data on species migration under climate change is important. Palms are particularly significant in Africa: a palm oil industry already exists with Nigeria being the largest producer. Previous work using CLIMEX modelling indicated that Africa will have reduced suitable climate for oil palm in Africa. The current paper employs this modelling to assess how suitable climate for growing oil palm changed in Africa from current time to 2100. An increasing trend in suitable climate from west to east was observed indicating that refuges could be obtained along the African tropical belt. Most countries had reduced suitable climates but others had increased, with Uganda being particularly high. There may be a case for developing future oil palm plantations towards the east of Africa. The information may be usefully applied to other palms. However, it is crucial that any developments will fully adhere to environmental regulations. Future climate change will have severe consequences to oil palm cultivation but there may be scope for eastwards mitigation in Africa.

Continuous acid-catalyzed esterification using a 3D printed rotor-stator hydrodynamic cavitation reactor reduces free fatty acid content in mixed crude palm oil

Free fatty acid (FFA) content in FFA-rich mixed crude palm oil (MCPO) was reduced through a continuous esterification process. The reaction conditions were optimized, the yield purified esterified oil was determined, and the average total electricity consumption of the entire process was evaluated. The key component of this study was the cost-effective, 3D-printed rotor that was installed in a continuous rotor-stator hydrodynamic reactor. The surface of the rotor was designed with spherical holes where the center-to-center distance between them was fixed. Response surface methodology (RSM) using central composite design (CCD) was employed to analyze the design of experiments (DOE) and optimize FFA-content reduction. The optimized conditions were 17.7 vol% methanol, 2.9 vol% sulfuric acid, a 3000 rpm rotor speed, and surface holes measuring 4 mm in diameter and 6 mm in depth. The experimental results showed that the FFA content in MCPO was reduced from 11.456 to 1.028 wt% upon esterification under these optimal conditions. The maximum yield of esterified oil from the phase separation step was 96.07 vol%, and that of the purified esterified oil was 91.27 vol%. The average total energy consumed by this hydrodynamic cavitation reactor to produce this esterified oil was 0.0264 kW h/L. This 3D printed rotor-stator reactor is a promising, novel reactor technology for producing biodiesel from FFA-rich oils.

Is nutrition science ready for the twenty-first century? Moving towards transdisciplinary impacts in a changing world

Malnutrition in an obese world was the fitting title of the 13th Federation of European Nutrition Societies (FENS) conference held in October 2019. Many individuals do not eat a healthy, well-balanced diet, and this is now understood to be a major driver of increased disease risk and illness. Moreover, both our current eating patterns and the food system as a whole are environmentally unsustainable, threatening the planetary systems we depend on for survival. As we attempt to feed a growing global population, food systems will increasingly be confronted with their environmental impacts, with the added challenge of climate change-induced threats to food production. As we move into the third decade of the twenty-first century, these challenges demand that the nutrition research community reconsider its scope, concepts, methods, and societal role. At a pre-meeting workshop held at the FENS conference, over 70 researchers active in the field explored ways to advance the discipline’s capacity to address cross-cutting issues of personal, public and planetary health. Using the world cafe method, four themed discussion tables explored (a) the breadth of scientific domains needed to meet the current challenges, (b) the nature and definition of the shifting concepts in nutrition sciences, (c) the next-generation methods required and (d) communication and organisational challenges and opportunities. As a follow-up to earlier work [1], here we report the highlights of the discussions, and propose the next steps to advance responsible research and innovation in the domain of nutritional science.

Oreos Versus Orangutans: The Need for Sustainability Transformations and Nonhierarchical Polycentric Governance in the Global Palm Oil Industry

While the myriad benefits of palm oil as a food, makeup, and cleaning product additive drive its demand, globally, the palm oil industry remains largely unsustainable and unregulated. The negative externalities of palm oil production are diverse and devastating to tropical ecosystem integrity and human livelihoods in palm oil nations. Given the current trend in increasing sustainability and transparency in global supply chains, we suggest that sustainability policy reforms are feasible and have the potential to promote 21st century U.S. and international sustainability standards. Polycentric governance may improve the attainment of sustainable global palm oil standards with a set of rules that interact across linear and nonlinear hierarchies and structures, thereby improving collaboration efforts, and increasing connectivity and learning across scales and cultures. Transformations towards sustainability in international palm oil governance has the potential to make valuable contributions to global sustainable development and improve the prosperity of poor rural communities in the tropics by providing a framework for achieving palm oil trade transparency and aligning the sustainability goals across a range of actors.

Nutritional Components in Western Diet Versus Mediterranean Diet at the Gut Microbiota-Immune System Interplay. Implications for Health and Disease

The most prevalent diseases of our time, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (including obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and some types of cancer) are rising worldwide. All of them share the condition of an "inflammatory disorder", with impaired immune functions frequently caused or accompanied by alterations in gut microbiota. These multifactorial maladies also have in common malnutrition related to physiopathology. In this context, diet is the greatest modulator of immune system-microbiota crosstalk, and much interest, and new challenges, are arising in the area of precision nutrition as a way towards treatment and prevention. It is a fact that the westernized diet (WD) is partly responsible for the increased prevalence of NCDs, negatively affecting both gut microbiota and the immune system. Conversely, other nutritional approaches, such as Mediterranean diet (MD), positively influence immune system and gut microbiota, and is proposed not only as a potential tool in the clinical management of different disease conditions, but also for prevention and health promotion globally. Thus, the purpose of this review is to determine the regulatory role of nutritional components of WD and MD in the gut microbiota and immune system interplay, in order to understand, and create awareness of, the influence of diet over both key components.

Implementation of a sugar-sweetened beverage tax in low- and middle-income countries: recommendations for policymakers

Longitudinal and observational studies have found a link between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including obesity and diabetes. Following World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations, SSB taxes have been implemented in over 40 countries and cities to reduce sugar consumption. Despite continuing battles with communicable diseases in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), an epidemiological transition towards NCDs warrants SSB tax implementation. However, LMICs face challenges when implementing SSB taxes including a lack of resources and opposing arguments from industry. Sharing experiences among countries can help to improve the likelihood of successful SSB tax implementation. We review experiences of tobacco, alcohol, and SSB tax implementation in LMICs. We discuss potential pitfalls for policymakers and how they might be overcome. We provide recommendations based on implementation experiences in LMICs to help governments improve implementation capacity and advance public health.

Non-communicable disease governance in the era of the sustainable development goals: a qualitative analysis of food industry framing in WHO consultations

BACKGROUND

The UN system's shift towards multistakeholder governance, now embedded in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), invites a broad range of actors, including the private sector, to the policymaking table. Although the tobacco industry is formally excluded from engagement, this approach provides opportunities for other unhealthy commodity industries to influence the World Health Organization's (WHO's) non-communicable disease (NCD) agenda. Focusing on the food industry, this research maps which actors engaged with WHO consultations, and critically examines actors' policy and governance preferences as well as the framing they employ to promote these preferences in the global context.

METHODS

All written responses from food industry actors to publicly available NCD-relevant WHO consultations held between September 2015 and September 2018 were identified, totalling forty-five responses across five consultations. A qualitative frame analysis was conducted to identify policy positions expressed by respondents, as well as arguments and frames used to do so.

RESULTS

Though no individual companies responded to the consultations, the majority of participating business associations had some of the largest multinational food corporations as members. Respondents overarchingly promoted non-statutory approaches and opposed statutory regulation and conflict of interest safeguards. To this purpose, they framed the food industry as a legitimate and necessary partner in policymaking, differentiating themselves from the tobacco industry and referencing a history of successful collaboration, while also invoking multistakeholder norms and good governance principles to portray collaboration as required. Respondents contrasted this with the limits of WHO's mandate, portraying it as out of step with the SDGs and framing NCD decision-making as a matter of national sovereignty.

CONCLUSION

We observed that the UN's call for partnerships to support the SDGs is invoked to defend corporate access to NCD policy. This highlights the need for more cautious approaches which are mindful of the commercial determinants of health. Systematic opposition to regulation and to governance approaches which may compromise commercial actors' insider role in global health by food industry actors shown here, and the strategic use of the Sustainable Development agenda to this purpose, raises questions about the value of collaboration from the perspective of international health agencies such as WHO.

Defining the commercial determinants of health: a systematic review

Background

Despite increasing attention to the social determinants of health in recent decades, globally there is an unprecedented burden from non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Recently, the corporate and commercial conditions associated with these, commercial determinants of health (CDoH), have also begun to receive attention. This research aims to articulate the CDoH as described in the literature, summarize substantive findings, and assess strengths and limitations of current literature.

Methods

Systematic review of formal (Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Global Health) and grey literature (database, Google Advanced, targeted website, citation searching). Searching identified 125 texts for full-text review, with 33 included for final review. Data extracted were analyzed thematically.

Results

The dynamics constituting CDoH include broad facilitators such as globalization of trade, corporate structures, and regulatory systems, articulation of social and economic power, neoliberal and capitalist ideologies; additional elements include corporate activities such as marketing, corporate political activities, corporate social responsibility, extensive supply chains, harmful products and production, and issues of accessibility. These contribute significantly to worsened global health outcomes.

Conclusions

Literature describing effects of macro conditions and corporate activities on health could usefully utilize CDoH terminology. Facilitation via revised, consistent and operational definition of CDoH would assist. Social, political, commercial and economic structures and relations of CDoH are under-theorized. Systematic approaches to identifying, describing, and disrupting these are required to improve global health.