What’s Cooking is an update on all things related to SHUFood: Sheffield Hallam University’s food research cluster, comprising, CHEFS (exploring the socio-cultural dimensions of food and drink), SWEFS (exploring drivers and interventions to address food waste), and SHARe (exploring appetite regulation and modulation). What’s been cooking since our last edition?
A big thank you to Jordan Beaumont, co-lead of our SHARe sub-cluster, who coordinates and hosts the SHUFood chats: a series of informal, online meetings for sharing research stories, updates, and queries. We marked the start of July with our final SHUFood chat for 2023/24, and it was a bumper hybrid meeting with new faces and (as always) lots of exciting updates (see below). Looking back over 23/24, Jordan summed up a few of the many highlights for the SHUFood community, including funding applications for more than £7.5 million, publication of 18 articles, recruitment of hundreds of participants to our ongoing research, and welcoming on board of many RAs, GTA/PhDs and new collaborators. Well done, all! The SHUFood Research Chats will return in September, so keep an eye out for details.
Below, we have:
- updates on recent outputs and activities from our clusters and members;
- resources and calls for papers, including a call for session proposals for the Spain Gastronomy Conference, and recruitment materials for three live projects;
- the usual call for contributions and content for the mid-September 2024 edition of What’s Cooking. The deadline for submissions (research news and updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) to Google Form by Monday 16 September.
Cheers,
The SHUFood Team!
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Cluster Updates
Anna Sorsby and Caroline Millman have recently recruited a research assistant – Nell Greenough – to work on their RIPEN-funded project looking at satiating effect of chickpea flour (participants will be provided with crackers containing chickpea flour) and the glycaemic response and satiety. They are looking to start recruiting participants soon, in the meantime they are testing Sussex Ingestion Pattern Monitor (SIPM) software, making chickpea flour crackers, and getting all the paperwork in order.
Anna also has MSc students exploring the influence of labelling on acceptability of chocolate chip muffins made with chickpea flour (whether the same muffin labelled differently affects acceptability and willingness to pay) and Caroline is working on another RIPEN bid around salt reduction in bread, which will include elements of palatability, functionality and an E-Tongue to explore chemical interactions.
Ruth Whiteside and Susie Jones are working on a project exploring student experience, following on from the Food and Nutrition Consultancy Challenge module. They are currently getting feedback from AG Barr, who worked with students on the module, and potentially including Insights reports. They’ve received very positive feedback from students who feel they get a lot out of working with external clients.
Claire Wall and Jo Pearce have had their third paper from the fieldwork-funded work around food in school nurseries accepted for publication in Journal of Human Nutritics and Dietetics: “Greenhouse gas emissions of school lunches provided for children attending school nurseries: A cross-sectional study” (see publication list, below). They are also in the middle of fieldwork for a follow-on study exploring packed lunches and lunches provided in nurseries. In addition, along with Jordan Beaumont, they have submitted a stage 1 application to NIHR to evaluate the National Milk Scheme, and will find out in September if moving onto stage 2.
Jenny Paxman, Meg Flint, Simon Bowles and Tony Lynn are working on bench analysis comparing composition of meat-based products and plant-based meat alternative comparators. Meg is still working hard on the PhD, exploring sensory analysis of meat-based products and plant-based meat alternatives (with Jenny, Simon and Tony) and will soon be submitting a revised manuscript to Food Quality and Preference. In the background, she is working on the first phase of research (survey of consumer perceptions and driver/barriers to engaging with plant-based meat alternatives).
Jenny and Jordan have recently welcomed a research assistant – Rosie Simpson – to the team, who will be working on a systematic review around food addiction. They’ve also recently interviewed for a GTA post; lots of amazing candidates and super-duper presentations with the successful applicant joining in October!
Jordan Beaumont has recently had an article published (along with Lucie Nield and Elysa Ioannou) in Frontiers in Public Health on the evaluation of short-term funding in tier two weight management services in Yorkshire and the Humber, and a second manuscript accepted for publication in Nursing Standard around disordered eating. Jordan is also working on a number of studies including studies exploring the experience of living with obesity in minority group and the use of non-invasive brain stimulation to modulate eating behaviour.
Steph Beecroft is right at the start of the PhD, looking at weight management approaches (e.g., whole systems approach, compassionate approach) used by different local authorities across the region. She has just received ethics for part one of the PhD (mapping services across Yorkshire and the Humber). This will be followed by a realist review, and then a series of case studies and workshops to further explore approaches and synthesise findings.
Thouseena Ajmal has also just started their GTA in October, working with Alex Shenfield, Caroline Millman and Helen Martin, to explore “AI-Enabled Hyperspectral Imaging for Quality and Microbiological Safety of Salmon Fish.” This work aims to develop an in line- AI-based hyperspectral imaging technology to evaluate the quality and microbiological content of perishable salmon in real-time without destructive testing. The goal is to develop AI algorithm for accurately identifying and quantifying microbiological and quality components of salmon, addressing a critical gap in the fish supply chain by ensuring the technology’s adaptability and effectiveness across diverse environmental and operational conditions. Thouseena is also working as an AKT associate under Alex in partnership with Faraday Scientific Limited, exploring AI-HSI applications in the meat industry, particularly focusing on colour profiling of steak and addressing physical contamination.
Jennifer Smith Maguire presented research on natural wine makers and intermediaries at the 2024 Consumer Culture Theory Conference at University of San Diego (program here). Jen and co-editors John Lever and Adrianna Kapek-Goodridge recently completed the collection Towards an Eliasian Understanding of Food in the 21st Century: Established Foundations and New Directions. The book is due out in October (publisher page here) and includes a chapter from Jen on natural wine (see info in the publications list below). Jen has also recently been appointed to the International Advisory Board for the Spain Gastronomy Conference, organized by the Royal Academy of Gastronomy of Spain in collaboration with the CEU University Institute of Food and Society. See information for the conference’s call for abstracts, below!
PUBLICATIONS
Beaumont, J., Ioannou, E., Harish, K., Elewendu, N., Corrigan, N., & Nield, L. (2024). “We’re one small piece of the puzzle”: Evaluating the impact of short-term funding for tier two weight management services. Frontiers in Public Health, 12. http://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2024.1381079
Beaumont, J. (In Press). Eating behaviour: from “normal” to disordered eating. Nursing Standard.
Smith Maguire, J. (In press). Vina aperta and the quest for interconnectedness: Wine and an Eliasian sociology of food. In J. Lever, J. Smith Maguire, A. Kapek-Goodridge (Eds). Towards an Eliasian Understanding of Food in the 21st Century: Established Foundations and New Directions. Palgrave.
Wall, CJ & Pearce, J. (2024). Greenhouse gas emissions of school lunches provided for children attending school nurseries: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Human Nutritics and Dietetics. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.13345
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Resources and Calls for Papers
SHUFood Research Chats are monthly online meetings that offer a space to talk all things research: showcase work, provide updates, discuss plans, explore collaborations… You can bring along updates to share, or just come along to see what everyone else is up to—all are welcome. Please email Dr Jordan Beaumont (j.beaumont@shu.ac.uk) if you need more information. The next SHUFood chat will be in September (date TBC). Open to all Hallam staff and PGR students who are members of the SHUFood clusters. Join the Teams meeting here.
Spain Gastronomy Conference, 21-23 November
The theme of the Spain Gastronomy Conference is “Reframing Gastronomy.” The event, organized by the Royal Academy of Gastronomy of Spain in collaboration with the CEU University Institute of Food and Society, will take place on 21-23 November 2024, in the facilities of the CEU San Pablo University, Madrid. The deadline for submission of proposals for conference tracks is 20 July; deadline for abstract submissions is 20 September. Full details here: https://spaingastronomyconference.com/conference-organization/
Publication opportunity for food, food history, cookery, cookery books.
Petits Propos Culinaires (PPC) is an international journal on food, food history, cookery and cookery books published three times per year by Equinox. It accepts book reviews (and is actively looking for book reviewers), essays, commentary pieces (and research articles). They also have a short news section at the start of each printed issue; if you’re looking to publicize an event or conference etc. please contact Sam Bilton, the editor.
More info from the journal: PPC welcomes original submissions on all aspects of culinary history, cookery/cookbooks and food cultures and is international in scope. The readership (and authorship) includes scholars, professionals in the food industry as well as serious general readers with a keen interest in food. Regular are approximately 5000-6000 words (although longer and shorter articles will also be considered) and will be peer-reviewed where appropriate. PPC also includes material such as photo-essays, field reports, food memoirs, and bibliographic, lexiographic or other documentary notes which will be published on an invited basis after discussion with the editor, Sam Bilton. Submissions should be made through the submissions portal on the journal website where you can find author guidelines https://journal.equinoxpub.com/ppc/about/submissions or email the editor if you have questions at sjfbilton@gmail.com.
Research Participants Needed!
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Call for content for the next edition of What’s Cooking
The next edition of What’s Cooking will be mid-September. Please send content (research updates, calls for expression of interest, relevant calls for papers/conference/event announcements) by Monday 16 September via this Google Form.
SHUFood blog
Interested in writing a blog post? These are usually 800-1200 words and written for a general audience in an informal style. Blogs can revisit work you’ve already done (e.g., highlighting a recent output/publication); discuss research or research-related activities (teaching, public engagement, etc.) that you are working on; offer your informed take on contemporary food/drink issues or policy; provide a profile on your research. If you’d like to contribute a piece, please get in touch with Jen (j.smith1@shu.ac.uk).
Want to stay updated? Follow us on X: @SHUFood. You can also subscribe to the blog and/or join our Jisc email list: see information on the very bottom of each SHUFood blog page.