Review of Experience of the Production of Salt Fortified with Iron and Iodine.

The double fortification of salt with iodine and iron has been proposed as a method for the mass prevention of iron deficiency anemia. This article reports on the technical and financial aspects of the production of such double fortified salt (DFS) based on the experiences of current and past producers. It draws contrasts with the established process of fortifying salt solely with iodine particularly examining the cost and complexity of the processes involved. Based on these factors it questions the commercial viability of existing DFS formulations and thus their sustainability as vehicles for the widespread distribution of iron outside a subsidized environment. It makes suggestions for the future development of DFS particularly relating to the development of less expensive iron formulations suitable for use with lower quality salts and identifies key technical and economic areas to be taken into account when considering the production of DFS.

Policies for healthy and sustainable edible oil consumption: a stakeholder analysis for Thailand.

OBJECTIVE: Palm oil is a cheap and versatile edible oil in widespread use as a food ingredient that has been linked to negative health and environmental outcomes. The current study aimed to understand the prospects for future health-focused policy development to limit food use of palm oil and promote a greater diversity of oils in Thailand's food system. DESIGN: Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of stakeholders. The interviews probed views on the economic, health and environmental dimensions of the issue, the prospects for health-focused policy development and the policy development process. Transcripts were analysed using a health policy analytical framework. SETTING: Thailand. SUBJECTS: Stakeholders from a range of ministries, regulatory agencies, the private sector, non-governmental organizations and academia. RESULTS: There are several impediments to the emergence of strong regulation, including the primacy of economic considerations in setting policy, doubt and misperception about health implications and a complex regulatory environment with little space for health-related considerations. At the same time, some sections of the food industry producing food for domestic consumption are substituting palm with other oils on the basis of consumer health perceptions. CONCLUSIONS: Strong regulation to curb the growth of palm oil is unlikely to emerge soon. However, a long-term strategy can be envisaged that relies on greater policy support for other indigenous oils, strategic rebalancing towards the use of palm oil for biofuels and oleochemicals, and harnessing Thailand's food technology capabilities to promote substitution in food production in favour of oils with healthier fatty acid composition.

Making traceability work across the entire food supply chain.

The Institute of Food Technologists held Traceability Research Summits on July 14, August 22, and November 1, 2011, to address how to meet the growing requirement for agriculture and food traceability. Each meeting had a group of about 50 individuals who came from food companies, trade associations, local, state, and federal governments, 3rd-party traceability solution providers, not-for-profit corporations, consultants, and consumer groups. They discussed and deliberated the objectives of traceability and the means to develop product tracing in the food system. A total of 70 people participated in the 3 summits. These individuals were invited to participate in a small workgroup responsible for considering the details related to product tracing and presenting draft concepts to the larger group on November 1, 2011, in Chicago. During this meeting, the larger assembly further refined the concepts and came to an agreement on the basic principles and overall design of the desired approach to traceability.

Proceedings of the November 2011 Traceability Research Summit: this report is the third in a series on Traceability Summits sponsored by IFT beginning in July 2011.

Fifty thought leaders in the area of food traceability met for a 3rd time to discuss methodologies and finalize the principles that define their vision for traceability. Participants in the summit included representatives from industry, trade associations, government, academia, consumer groups, and more. One main focus of this summit included a discussion on the current regulations and voluntary initiatives in place regarding traceability. Overall, it was recognized that the recommendations from this summit group would be more specific and stringent in comparison to these current regulations and initiatives. The participants sought to be leaders in the traceability arena, with their recommendations leading the industry to optimal traceability systems and methods. Participants agreed on many principles for their vision of traceability, emphasizing the importance of access to traceability data. They discussed having industry be asked for "basic" tracing data prior to the need for a large-scale investigation, having standards for sharing data, and having the data in electronic form. Participants foresaw the importance of capturing data electronically in the future, although they recognized that many firms do not currently do this. The group also saw a need for a transition period to implement changes, and to provide implementation training and resource aid to small businesses. Summit participants discussed specific definitions and examples for key data elements and critical tracking events that could be used by industry to capture tracing data at specific points within the supply chain. Overall, participants refined the goals of the summit group and started to identify specific ways to achieve those goals.

Proceedings of the July 2011 Traceability Research Summit.

At a discussion-based forum of 50 leaders in the area of food product tracing, participants recognized the need for the development of a common vision for a simple, low cost and implementable traceability approach. A key theme that emerged during the day's discussions revolved around not reinventing the wheel: there are many efforts underway, including numerous pilots, and these efforts should be collaborative. The group sought more information on current initiatives and felt that learning from the experiences of others could help form a realistic vision for the future. Although any forthcoming actions from the US FDA are unknown, industry fully expects that improvements in product tracing will be necessary, and expects that industry itself (through the "demand" side) will enact requirements that may surpass regulatory mandates. A chief concern is uniform adoption, which will require outreach to and support from the global community as well as small firms that may lack the resources and education to keep up. Ultimately, an approach that is global, economical, scalable, and inclusive of firms of all sizes who handles all types of food products, will have the greatest likelihood of success. While the ability to rapidly link products across the supply chain serves as an ideal goal, there are still substantial concerns to be addressed, particularly regarding confidentiality of data, and who will have access to what information under what circumstances, which was woven into virtually every discussion topic. Who will spearhead the development of the visions is a question, but there was general agreement that a joint partnership which includes all stakeholders is a necessity.

Proceedings of the August 2011 Traceability Research Summit.

IFT's Traceability Improvement Initiative aims to advance work in the area of food product tracing through several means including hosted events where thought leaders exchange knowledge and ideas. In August 2011, the Initiative, in collaboration with GS1 US, convened a group of 50 product tracing stakeholders, as a follow-on to a successful event the month prior. Representatives conducting pilots or implementation studies in produce, seafood, dairy, and other industries discussed the objectives, challenges and learnings. Some of the learnings from on-going initiatives included the sense that better information management provides a return of investment; data often exist but may not necessarily be appropriately linked through the supply chain; and enhanced product tracing enables better accountability and quality control. Challenges identified in enabling traceability throughout the supply chain were the distribution complexity; the need for training, communication, and collaboration; improving the reliability, quality and security of data captured, stored and shared as well as the importance of standards in data and interoperability of technology. Several approaches to overcoming these challenges were discussed. The first approach incrementally improves upon the current "one up/one down" system by requiring electronic records and tracking internal as well as external critical tracking events. The benefits of this approach are its similarity to existing regulatory requirements and low cost of implementation; resulting in a higher probability of adoption. The major disadvantage to this process is the longer response time required during a trace (back or forward). The second approach is similar to a "pedigree" approach where historical information about the food travels with it through the value chain. A major advantage of this approach is the quickest response time during a trace. Some of the disadvantages of this approach are potential for misuse of data, the volume of data required to be maintained at value chain end points, and data privacy concerns. The third approach requires individual nodes within the value chain to maintain electronic records for its own data and make them available for querying during a traceback for outbreak investigation. The major advantage of this approach is the protection of confidential information and the potential for quicker access during a trace. However, the primary disadvantage of this approach is the need for greater computational power and a more complex mechanism to linking the value chain through the data. As next steps, a subgroup will work on clarifying the approach to meeting the goals of traceability, better defining critical tracking events, and articulating the strategy and return on investment from a regulatory and industry perspective. This will result in improved alignment of on-going traceability pilots and initiatives as well as a more actionable guidance document for public review.

Production systems--an example from Brazil.

Important information about the Brazilian agribusiness, population and economy are presented in this paper, as well as details of beef production, market, industry and production system, to inform people involved in meat industry about details on demography, production, economy and production systems of a country that is the largest player in beef exports in the world and that uses, mostly, Bos indicus based bovine population, reared under pasture conditions, for meat production purposes. Herd size, genetic evaluation programs, quantity of beef produced and market is informed, with figures about the global and major players' production. Some discussion related to environmental concerns, methane emission and carbon fixation is also presented, as well as meat quality. Meat quality of fed animals is also compared with beef from animals that are raised in pasture conditions.

Integration of risk and benefit analysis-the window of benefit as a new tool?

Foods and food components can have positive and/or negative effects on our health, resulting in benefits and risks. At present these are evaluated in largely separated trajectories. In view of assessment, management, and communication, we here propose and argue for an integrated evaluation of risk and benefit of food components and foods. The window of benefit assessment concept is described as a framework to combine thresholds and scores. The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) and the tolerable upper intake level (UL) delimit the range of intakes that should be considered sufficient to prevent deficiency, while avoiding toxicity. Within these thresholds, two additional thresholds, the lower and upper level of additional benefit (LLAB and ULAB), define the range of intakes that constitute an additional benefit. Intake within these limits should thus be protective against a specified health or nutritional risk of public health relevance. To faithfully predict outcomes and to obtain the tools that are necessary to support scientific valid evaluations, a mechanism based systems biology understanding of the effects of foods and nutrients is seen as the way forward. Ultimately this should lead to an integrated risk-benefit assessment, which will allow better management and, especially, communication, to the benefit of the consumer.

Association of Food Premises Inspection and Disclosure Program with retail-acquired foodborne illness and operator noncompliance in Toronto.

In 2001, the city of Toronto was the only health unit in Canada to have implemented a multi-component disclosure system as part of its provincially mandated food safety program. To measure the impact on the ultimate goal of preventing foodborne illness, the authors of the study reported here assessed directly the association of Toronto Public Health's program with the specific incidence of retail-acquired foodborne illness by analyzing secondary data on reportable local enteric disease. In addition, the study indirectly measured prevention of retail-acquired foodborne illness by assessing existing data on regulatory compliance in Toronto food premises as an inherent performance indicator. Results of the statistical analysis show that although there has not been a significant difference in the overall incidence rate of retail foodborne illness (Chi-squared = 0.009, p = .93), certain key diseases, such as Campylobacter infection, have decreased significantly since the implementation of the disclosure program in Toronto. There has also been a significant trend in the reduction of operator noncompliance rates (Z = 32, p < .0001). Further analysis shows that the decrease in operator non-compliance is positively correlated with a decrease in retail foodborne illness (r = .73, p < .0001). These results suggest that the Food Premises Inspection and Disclosure Program is an effective intervention for reducing retail-acquired foodborne illness and decreasing operator noncompliance in the city of Toronto. Programs of this type may assist other local health units to achieve similar results.

Authenticity assessment of dairy products.

The authenticity of dairy products has become a focal point, attracting the attention of scientists, producers, consumers, and policymakers. Among many others, some of the practices not allowed in milk and milk products are the substitution of part of the fat or proteins, admixtures of milk of different species, additions of low-cost dairy products (mainly whey derivatives), or mislabeling of products protected by denomination of origin. A range of analytical methods to detect frauds have been developed, modified, and continually reassessed to be one step ahead of manufacturers who pursue these illegal activities. Traditional procedures to assess the authenticity of dairy products include chromatographic, electrophoretic, and immunoenzymatic methods. New approaches such as capillary electrophoresis, polymerase chain reaction, and isotope ratio mass spectrometry have also emerged alongside the latest developments in the former procedures. This work intends to provide an updated and extensive overview since 1991 on the principal applications of all these techniques together with their advantages and disadvantages for detecting the authenticity of dairy products. The scope and limits of different tools are also discussed.

Exploring the intersectoral partnerships guiding Australia's dietary advice.

In 1986, the Ottawa Charter alerted a new generation of health promotion practitioners to the benefits of working with the non-health sectors, including the commercial sector. Since then, the establishment of partnerships with government and non-government bodies has been advanced as a positive way of fostering policies that enhance health and well-being. The food and nutrition field has enthusiastically adopted partnerships between government, non-government and industry. In this article, we focus on the tactics employed by industry bodies to further their cause in a range of fields that are characterized by risk and contestation. We describe the nature of the alliances and interactions between commercial, scientific and government groups whose stated aim is to improve Australia's diet. Our analysis shows that these partnerships have been guided less by the ethos of the Ottawa Charter and more by the interests of the various parties: namely the food industry's need for credibility in making health claims, the financial imperatives of professional bodies and scientists whose public funding is inadequate, and government endorsement of public-private partnerships as the preferred mechanism for service delivery. The symbiotic relationship that is emerging between segments of the food industry and the nutrition professions raises questions about the independence of the dietary advice being given to consumers. We conclude by arguing for a research programme to investigate the consequences of intersectoral partnerships on the nutritional status of the population.