To understand more about the relationship between economic deprivation, types of premises, food hygiene scores and rates of gastrointestinal illness in the UK.

Data were extracted from the UK Food Standards Agency for about 300 000 UK premises which had hygiene scores based on visits from local authority food safety officers. These scores were analysed by type of premises, deprivation and local authority. Local authority-level average scores were mapped and compared with rates of laboratory-detected gastrointestinal illness from the Health Protection Agency.

UK.

UK premises (n 311 458) from 341 local authority areas that sell or produce food.

There was a modest but statistically significant relationship between average food hygiene score and deprivation, which was caused by deprived areas having more of the categories of premises with significantly lower hygiene scores; these were pub/club (n 40 525), restaurant/café/canteen (n 73 052), small retailer (n 42 932) and takeaway (n 36 708). No relationship was established between local authority average food hygiene scores and rates of laboratory-detected gastrointestinal illness; however, this result does not preclude a relationship between food hygiene and rates of gastrointestinal illnesses, as laboratory-detected illness rates make up only a small proportion of actual rates of illness in the community.

Certain types of UK premises are more likely to have low hygiene scores, which means that they should be targeted more for enforcement. These types of premises are more prevalent in the most economically deprived areas.

To explore the perceptions of educators from the Western Cape Province about the feasibility of implementing South African food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) in the national curriculum of primary schools.

Combined quantitative and qualitative methods. We report on the quantitative component.

Twelve public primary schools of different socio-economic status in three education districts of the Western Cape: Metro Central, Metro East and Cape Winelands.

Educators (n 256) participated in the self-completed questionnaire survey.

Educators assessed that FBDG were appropriate to South African schoolchildren (94%), could be used as an education tool (97%) and fill gaps in the current curriculum about healthy dietary habits (91%). Besides Life Orientation, FBDG could be taught in other learning areas from grades 3 to 7 (9–13 years old). Important barriers to implementing FBDG in the curriculum were educators’ workload (61%), insufficient time (46%), learners’ disadvantaged background (43%) and educators’ lack of knowledge (33%). Other approaches to teach children about FBDG included linking these to the National School Nutrition Programme (82%), school tuck shops (79%), parent meetings (75%), school nutrition policy (73%) and school assembly (57%). Educators in high-income schools perceived that learners’ lifestyle was significantly worse (P < 0·001) and that tuck shops and the school assembly were the best means to teach pupils about FBDG (P < 0·001 and P < 0·05).

Implementing FBDG in the national school curriculum is seen as important together with optimizing the school physical environment. Key factors required for successful implementation in the curriculum are sufficient educational materials, adequate time allocation and appropriate educator training.

To investigate the differences in acculturation experiences between parent and adolescent refugees from the Horn of Africa in Melbourne, Australia and to explore food beliefs and perceived health risks from an intergenerational perspective.

Qualitative cross-sectional study involving a combination of semi-structured one-on-one interviews and focus group discussions.

North-West suburbs of Melbourne, Australia.

Eritrean, Ethiopian, Somali and Sudanese refugees.

Using a purposeful sampling technique, twelve semi-structured face-to-face interviews (nine adults and three adolescents) and four in-depth focus groups (two with adolescents each containing six participants and two with adults one containing six participants and the other ten participants) were carried out. Thus overall data were obtained on fifteen adolescents and twenty-five parents. Qualitative analysis identified differences between parents and adolescents in relation to lifestyle, diet and physical activity. Views regarding health consequences of their changed diets also differed. Parental feeding practices encompassed a variety of methods and were enforced in an attempt by parents to control their children's dietary behaviours and prevent their drift away from traditional eating habits.

These findings call for more research to contextualise dietary acculturation among refugee youth and the impact of migration on parenting styles and feeding practices in communities from the Horn of Africa. Preventive health programmes with Horn of Africa refugees need to acknowledge the effect of acculturation on diet and physical activity levels and a socio-cultural framework needs to be developed with respect to the importance and influence of the family environment.