No abstract

Objective-To assess the food storage knowledge and practice of elderly people living at home. Methods-Three phase survey data collection: face to face interviews; dietary diaries with a food frequency questionnaire; and follow up interviews. Setting-Urban Nottingham. Participants-809 elderly people (aged 65+) randomly selected from general practitioner lists. Main outcome measures-Respondent's refrigerator temperature; knowledge of freezer star rating; understanding of "use by" and "sell by" dates; reported ability to read food product safety labels. Results-From a weighted total of 645 refrigerators measured, 451 (70%) were too warm for the safe storage of food (> 6°Celsius). Only 41% of respondents (n = 279) knew the star rating of their freezer. Within a smaller sub-sample knowledge of the "use by" and "sell by" dates was good, but 45% of these respondents reported diYculty reading food labels. The storage of foods at inappropriate temperatures was not independent of socioeconomic or demographic status, and tended to be more likely among the poorer and those not living alone. Conclusions-Food storage practices among the majority of elderly people interviewed in this study do not meet recommended safety standards to minimise the risk of food poisoning. (J Epidemiol Community Health 1998;52:745-748)

Young sporangiophores of the fungus, Pilobolus kleinii, respond to unilateral illumination by bending or by growing toward light of wavelengths between 312 and 530 m ,~, with peaks of sensitivity near 360 and 450 mp. Young sporangiophores exhibit a negative phototropic response to wavelengths shorter than 300 q , with a strong negative response at 280 mp. Since the action spectrum did not correspond to the absorption spectrum of the pigmented zone as measured in vivo, and since colorless sporangiophores formed on media containing diphenylamine were capable of phototropic response, it is unlikely that the conspicuous orange-yellow pigment in young sporangiophores is the photoreceptor for phototropism. The results of probing with small beams of light and the behavior of sporangiophores submerged in mineral oil, together with measurements of the refractive index of the tip and base indicate that the photosensitive region is located in the tip of the young sporangiophore.

most elderly people consume less than the recommended levels of fruit and vegetables. Health programmes promoting fruit and vegetable consumption may not be successfully reaching elderly people and need to target those particularly at risk of low consumption.