In July 1749, when visiting Scania, Carl Linnaeus, noted the snow-white fields of buck wheat (Linné, 1749/1999). In those days, the cultivation of buckwheat was widespread in the southern parts of Sweden. It was used for porridge and gruel, staple foods the common people (Olsson, u.å.) Buck wheat thrives on lean, calcareous soils and require very little input. During the 1930s, when industrial fertilizers were introduced, production and consumption fell sharply as buckwheat was outcompeted by more high-yielding crops like oats and potatoes.

The world is facing a number of challenges related to food consumption. Food conduces to far-reaching health effects as well as environmental impact. System changes are needed tomeet a sustainable, healthy food production and consumption. Public and institutional mealsplay a vital role in promoting health and sustainability. In many countries public meals, in this study defined as meals taking place in institutional settings, constitutes a substantial part offood consumption, and may exert a a normative influence on peoples’ food habits. The aimof this study was to exploratively review how, and if, health and sustainability are addressedin the European scientific literature dealing with public meals. Of >3000 papers, 20 werefound to satisfy the criteria and included in the review. The results showed that schools andhospitals are the most dominant arenas where both health and sustainability have beenaddressed. Three different approaches in combining health and sustainability. In the first“Health as embracing sustainability” health is the point of departure and sustainability isincluded as part of health. This is emphasized in relation to health promotion initiatives andhow these could also be more sustainable, claiming that health should embrace both aspects.In the second, “Sustainability as embracing health” sustainability is in focus and health is seenas part of sustainability. This was for example illustrated when focusing on sustainable foodprocurement which is then also motivated by better nutrition in terms of knowing where thefood comes from and how it is produced. Last, for “Health and sustainability as separateconcepts” the link between heath and sustainability was unspecified or undefined. This couldbe exemplified by the stated, but not inter linked or combined, role of the school meal totackle societal challenges related to health and sustainability. In general, a clear motivationfor addressing both health and sustainability is most often missing. This indicates a need formore research within all public meal arenas regarding issues of health and sustainability, forexample in order to provide a more comprehensive foundation for decision-making.

The world is facing a number of challenges related to food consumption. These are, on the one hand, health effects and, on the other hand, the environmental impact of food production. Radical changes are needed to achieve a sustainable and healthy food production and consumption. Public and institutional meals play a vital role in promoting health and sustainability, since they are responsible for a significant part of food consumption, as well as their “normative influence” on peoples’ food habits. The aim of this paper is to provide an explorative review of the scientific literature, focusing on European research including both concepts of health and sustainability in studies of public meals. Of >3000 papers, 20 were found to satisfy these criteria and were thus included in the review. The results showed that schools and hospitals are the most dominant arenas where both health and sustainability have been addressed. Three different approaches in combining health and sustainability have been found, these are: “Health as embracing sustainability”, “Sustainability as embracing health” and “Health and sustainability as separate concepts”. However, a clear motivation for addressing both health and sustainability is most often missing

Att äta insekter är egentligen inte något märkligt. I alla fall inte sett ur ett internationellt perspektiv. De flesta av världens olika kulturer har insekter i sin kost och det finns fler än 2000 ätbara insektsarter.

The use of insects as food is a sustainable alternative to meat and as a protein source is fullycomparable to meat, fish and soybeans. The next step is to make insects available for use in the morewidespread production of food and meals. Sensory attributes are of great importance in being able toincrease the understanding of insects as an ingredient in cooking and production. In this pilot study,mealworms were used as the main ingredient in a model system, where the aim was to evaluate theimpact on sensory properties of changing particle size, oil/water ratio and salt content of the insectsusing a factorial design. Twelve different samples were produced according to the factorial design.Further, the effect of adding an antioxidant agent was evaluated. Sensory analysis and instrumentalanalyses were performed on the samples. Particle size significantly influenced the sensory attributesappearance, odor, taste and texture, but not flavor, whereas salt content affected taste and flavor.The viscosity was affected by the particle size and instrumentally measured color was affected byparticle size and oil content. The addition of the antioxidant agent decreased the changes in color,rancidity and separation.

When studying perceptions of eating insects among new consumer groups, the focus is often on factors that make people avoid novel foods. In order to switch perspective and broaden the understanding of drivers for choosing insects as food, this pilot study aimed to explore the reasons for eating insects among Swedish adults with an interest in entomophagy. Data were collected via a questionnaire combined with workshop discussions. The study highlighted how concerns about “the environment” and “health”, and a willingness to try something “exciting” were the three main reasons for choosing insects as an alternative protein source.   

Under året som gått har mycket hänt och vi utvecklas vidare! Denna upplaga av Mat- och måltidsvetenskaps verksamhetsberättelse sammanfattar händelser och utveckling av ämnesområdet vid Högskolan Kristianstad under 2019. Ett år där alla medarbetare på avdelningen bidragit till att arbeta för visionen att vi ska ha en ledande position för framtidens mat och måltider genom attraktiva utbildningar, framgångsrik forskning och aktiv samverkan.

Interest in eating insects has increased in Western countries; however, substantial challenges exist regarding acceptability and cultural ideas. Researchers have widely studied the acceptance of eating insects, but few studies have focused on children's thoughts. The aim of this study is to explore young children's perceptions about eating insects and how this insight might help understanding of ways to increase the willingness to eat insects. Three focus group interviews were conducted with children aged 4–5 years in a public preschool in Sweden. Each focus group consisted of four to five children; in total 13 (eight girls and five boys) participated. In exploring their perceptions of eating insects, the children were balancing between fantasy and reality, and between curiosity and fear, showing many, sometimes contradictory, emotions and relationships to insects as food. The children expressed a clear normative picture of what was considered food, illustrated by ideas about insects being something that are not allowed to eat. They were also concerned about whether the insect was dead before being eaten. Using children's fantasy and curiosity for new things, experimenting with insect-based products and ingredients in well-known dishes and contexts, and discussing different ways of eating them, acceptance of eating insects might increase.