We all get vitamin D in two ways – from our diet and from exposure to the sun.  A lack of this vitamin puts young children at risk of bone diseases like rickets and older children and adults at risk of bone softening .

Type-2 diabetes, which has dramatically spread in the last decade, is most often associated with being overweight and suffering from obesity.

Low-cost sensors and wireless communication technologies have enabled moves towards smart homes and smart cars. Using similar technologies, scientists involved in an EU-funded project called ALL-SMART-PIGS are now developing technologies that turn pigs’ farms into smart farms .

Internet Surveillance is often associated with names like Facebook, Google or the NSA, but now also pig farmers have started to use new tools to monitor every aspect of a pig’s life.

About 20 million Europeans are subject to food allergies. Now scientists are looking at these allergies in new ways. It involves the food industry in its work and pays special attention to the link between early diets and allergy in later life .

When on April 7 th World Health Day is celebrated, most experts will be blaming insects for the rising problem of vector-borne diseases. In some parts of the world, however, these little bugs are considered a healthy and tasty source of food .

Proteins fed to livestock are typically soya-based. But growing soya takes up valuable land that could be used for human food production. And it has a heavy carbon footprint, being imported mostly from South America.

Reducing the level of pesticide use in agriculture is a priority in Europe . A 2009 EU Directive states that the use of pesticide must be compatible with sustainable development.

Statistically, drinking water in Europe is the safest in the world. But according to the World Health Organisation every year more than 300.000 Europeans are falling ill due to contaminated tab water. ...

Each year, the European Union produces three billion tonnes of waste. This equates to six tonnes of solid waste for every EU citizen, according to Eurostat. A major challenge is findings ways to reduce and reuse a large amount of such waste .

Health claims and symbols on food products could improve public health. At least, that is according to consumer researchers. But how they can best do that as effectively as possible is still a mystery.

Holstein cattle - the black-and-white dairy cows you might see in a child’s picture book - have been bred in northern Europe for hundreds of years.

Scientists have long known that high levels of cholesterol around mid-life greatly increase the risk of developing dementia 30 years later.

Food scare make authorities uneasy. In previous cases, national food safety agencies have not always known how to react , making the public wary. For example, in 2011, the German health authorities incorrectly linked the deadly E.

After personalised medicine, we are entering the era of personalised nutrition. But this approach requires testing before being applicable. This is what a new EU-funded research project, called food4me , is attempting to do.

Food’s microstructure can explain many of its characteristics—be it cake’s sponginess, bread’s crispness, cracker’s crunchiness or fruits’ inner gas and water transport system and even colour.

Biochar and compost are of interest to agriculture. Particularly, when it comes to meet the goal of reducing mineral fertilisers and chemicals use.

You may think that climate change is being caused by burning oil, coal and gas. But not so fast! The emission of methane from cattle is a surprisingly important factor .

Fat, sugar and salt - these ingredients are often used by the food industry to enrich their products and provide us with the perfect sensual experience. Now, scientists in France are trying to reverse this trend.

Grass could be used to produce biofuels. The advantage of using grass crops is that they can be grown in marginal lands that would otherwise not be used .