International Union of Food Science and Technology Newsletter, December 2005, No. 62

Editorial: Food For Disaster 

by Prof Malcolm Bourne, Cornell University and President of IAFoST 2003-2006

 

    During the last twelve months the world has been shocked by massive natural disasters that left many thousands of people without shelter, water, food, and other amenities of life that are normally taken for granted. The most prominent of recent natural disasters were the tsunami that wreaked havoc in Indonesia and nearby countries last December, the hurricanes Katrina and Rita that pummeled the Caribbean and southeastern United States in August-September and the great earthquake that caused immense damage in Pakistan and nearby countries in October. 

    After such disasters one of the highest priorities of government agencies and voluntary organizations is to bring food and water to those affected by the disaster as quickly as possible. This may be very difficult even when food stockpiles are nearby because power supplies, and transportation and communication systems are temporarily out of commission or totally destroyed. This tragic situation is exacerbated when adequate stockpiles of food are not nearby. The most frequent description of the people affected by these natural disasters is “hungry and homeless” (H&H). As Food Technologists I believe we can play an important role in alleviating the “hungry” part of these twin problems.

     The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is the branch of the US Government charged with organizing relief efforts when natural disasters occur in the USA. Some countries have a counterpart organization to FEMA while others have nothing. A number of charitable and religious organizations operate significant programs to bring help to the H&H, the Red Cross probably being the largest.

     Despite the good intentions and massive efforts of these donors, the recipients of the aid often feel more could be done to help them. One problem is that some of the food spoils because it is not adapted to the climate to which it is sent. Many foods become unsafe or inedible when conveyed to another region where the climate is different from its origin. As food technologists we can advise on the perishability of donated foods, and appropriate packaging to give adequate protection in what may be a hostile environment for food storage and preparation. In other cases there is no local equipment available to convert the raw materials into finished foods ready for consumption and the effectiveness of the gift is lost.

     Another problem is that the donated foods may not be the familiar foods of that region. Food choices and acceptance differ between regions. Relief agencies may send food that is readily available to them but is not familiar to the recipients and it does not provide the level of satisfaction and comfort that was intended. Food Technologists can guide donors to those foods that will satisfy both the nutritional, cultural, and emotional needs of that region.

    An example of a successful program is that of the Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) in Mysore, India who, under the supervision of their Director, Dr. V. Prakash, operated their pilot plant around the clock producing two tons of food rations per day and trucking it 400 to 600 Km to cities in Southern India that were affected by the tsunami last December. These rations included the hot spices and pickles that are highly relished by Indians but unlikely to be sent by foreign donors.

     People like to have freshly prepared hot foods at least once a day. After a disaster much of the equipment to prepare these foods may not be operational because electricity, cooking fuel, and potable water are not available.

    

I propose that donors consider using rice as a major component of their relief efforts because rice has a number of advantages:

• Half the world’s population use rice as their staple food. Most of the other half eat rice regularly and find it very acceptable.

• For preparation, rice only needs to be boiled in water. Boiling uses relatively little energy and eliminates most problems of microbiologically unsafe water. Boiling pots and cooking fuel can be improvised in many ways. This is in contrast to the high energy requirement, complex equipment, and technical skills to grind wheat into flour, make dough and bake it.

•  Even when prepared under primitive conditions, cooked rice makes a satisfying, hot meal that can be eaten day after day and retain a high level of acceptability. A hot meal of rice is more satisfying than cold meals and helps maintain morale under the stressful conditions that accompany any major disaster.

• Nutrition. 550 grams of rice provides 2000 calories, which is 75% of the recommended daily allowance for men and 100% for women; it also provides 75% and 95% of the recommended protein intake respectively. Brown rice would contribute significant amounts of many of the vitamins and minerals. White rice can be fortified to provide most of the minor nutrients.

• Cost. The price of rice is modest, and therefore more kilos of rice can be provided for a given sum of money than almost any other kind of food.

 

I conclude with two recommendations:

1. Food Technologists should offer their knowledge and experience to Donors so that their noble efforts maximize the benefits of the food donation and minimize spoilage and rejection.

2. Both Donors and Food Technologists should regard rice as a major component of most food aid programs.

 

 

 

Your Invitation to The XIIIth World Congress of Food Science and Technology

‘Food Is Life’

Nantes, France, September 17 - 21, 2006

 

CONFIRMED PLENARY SPEAKERS – 

2004 World Food Prize Recipient and Executive Secretary, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa, Sierra Leone, DR. MONTY JONES speaking on ‘Sustainable Development: Whole Food Chain Perspective’; DR CLARE MILLS, Institute of Food Research, UK, world-renowned expert on Food Allergins, speaking on ‘Hot Topics in Safety of Food Systems’ and DR ROGER BEACHY, President of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Centre, USA and internationally known for his groundbreaking research on developing virus-resistant plants through biotechnology will be speaking on ‘What Future for Genomics?’

    On behalf of the organizing committee, it is my great pleasure to invite you to attend the IUFoST XIIIth World Congress of Food Science and Technology “FOOD IS LIFE”, which will take place in Nantes, France, from September 17th to September 21st, 2006.

    Visit http://www.inra.fr/iufost2006 to find all relevant information on the congress. 

    If you have suggestions for symposium topics and/or if you want to organize symposia, please send ideas and proposals by e-mail iufost@nantes.inra.fr or using the on-line form http://www.inra.fr/iufost2006/introduction/proposal.html.

    Please send the questions or comments you may have to iufost@nantes.inra.fr.

    — Paul COLONNA Chairman of the Scientific Committee

 

 

 

Welcome ISOPOW

By Prof. Dr. Ing. Dr. h.c. Walter Spiess, IUFoST Past President

 

    During the 9th ISOPOW Symposium held last year in Mar del Plata, Argentina, ISOPOW President Peter Lillford and David Reid, President Elect signed a

 Memorandum of Understanding (MoA) with IUFoST. This MoA confirmed and strengthened the strong links between the two organisations, links that have existed since ISOPOW’s formation in the early 1970s. lUFoST will provide support to the Central Committee of ISOPOW to allow ISOPOW to pursue its goals, to gain new insights into various aspects of water science. Through ISOPOW, lUFoST is provided with an authoritative expert body on water relations in foods and biological materials that will strengthen IUFoST’s scientific reputation and profile.

    The Central Committee of ISOPOW will consider itself as a standing lUFoST committee operating on its own autonomous bylaws in which the affiliation with lUFoST is embedded. We in IUFoST extend our warmest regards to all who were and who are still active in ISOPOW: “Welcome ISOPOW“.

 

What is the International Symposium on Properties of Water (ISOPOW)?

     The concept of the ISOPOW Symposia was developed by the late Ron B. Duckworth and Dr. Lou Rockland to improve the understanding of water relations in food and related areas. The idea behind the symposia is that scientists and industry representatives involved in the study of the impact of water on food and scientists studying the properties of water from a more basic prospective should be engaged in a dialogue. It was at the ISOPOWs where the role of water on the structure and stability of food materials, where its properties as plasticizer and carrier of functions were discussed in depth. It was at the ISOPOWs where the concepts on water activity and glass transition were debated and proliferated. During the first ISOPOWS “Bound Water” and “Sorption Isotherms” were dominating issues and then gradually “Water Activity” and “Glass Transition” became the common thread through almost all the symposia.

    Other topics centered around “Supramolecular structures of bipolymer gels”; “Thermodynamic and kinetic features of vitrification and phase transformations of proteins“, “Characterizing function and stability of proteins in dependence of their aqueous environment“, “Thermodynamics of Supercooled and Glassy Water“ and so on. Through the many symposia a rich thesaurus of basic and applied knowledge on the small and modest looking molecule called water and on its complex interactions with the food matrix and the matrices of other materials of biological origin has been compiled.

    But it was not only the topics that made the ISOPOWs an outstanding institution in the world of Food and Water Science, it was the people who organised the meetings and who presented their latest research results and who listened to their colleagues, and it was the locations where the meetings were held with their rich cultural background that demonstrated the openness and the interest in new and exciting information around H2O.

    It was the many eminent and outstanding participants who with the dedicated organisers and presenters moved forward the science of water relations in food. It is an impressive list of names starting with B like Berk, continuing with Chirife, Duckworth, Karel, Labuza, Levine, Lillford, ........, Peleg, Reid, Rockland, Roos, Simatos, and not ending with Slade.

    It was the inspiring locations, it was Glasgow (UK), 1974 (ISOPOW 1); Osaka (Japan), 1978 (2); Beaune (France), 1983(3); Banff (Canada), 1987(4); Penang (Malaysia), 1987 (Practicum I); Peniscola (Spain), 1992 (5); Puebla (Mexico), 1994 (Practicum II); Santa Rosa (USA), 1996(6); Helsinki (Finland), 1998(7); Zichron Yaakov (Israel), 2000(8); and recently Mar del Plata (Argentina), 2004(9), which were the background for the inspiring discussions.

    The concept of the ISOPOW that has evolved over the years and is now established as a tradition, speakers and poster presenters are all invited to the symposia. Around 100 participants allow for an intimate atmosphere for discussion and debates in which all participants can take part and which also allows for a special feature of the symposia, the intensive panel discussions.

    Water in food is such an interesting subject that there is room for many more ISOPOWs, room and subjects for more heated debates. It is not difficult to predict that the science on water needs intensive and basic research in order to better illustrate the role water plays in our daily diet. The next IUFoST World Congress in Nantes, France in 2006 will offer ISOPOW supporters a first platform for discussions under the IUFoST umbrella, the next ISOPOW itself will be in held in Thailand in 2008.

 

 

FAO/WHO Regional Conference

on Food Safety for Africa

Harare International Conference Centre,

Sheraton Hotel, Harare, Zimbabwe

3 ñ 6 October 2005

Report by IUFoST Representative Morongwa Themba

Opening Ceremony

The conference was officially opened by President Robert Mugabe, who also gave a speech in which he said regional food security was negatively impacted by drought and unregulated informal food standards. Other people who spoke at the opening ceremony included representatives of FAO (Dr. H. de Haen) and WHO (Dr. C. Mwikisa), the Zimbabwean ministers of Health and Child Welfare (Dr. P. Parirenyatwa) and Agriculture and Rural Development (Mr. J. Made).

Introduction

The conference was convened jointly by two secretariats of the United Nations, namely, the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) and its main aim was to promote food safety in countries of Africa, by facilitating discussion on practical actions and recommendations. The objectives of the conference were: To facilitate dynamic and sustainable communication on continuing and emerging food safety issues important to all countries of the African region, and identify harmonised, practical and sustainable actions to address these issues; Identify opportunities for improving international and regional cooperation in promoting food safety in order to protect consumers and their health, and to develop positive food trade relations, taking into account the prevailing conditions in the entire food chain; Promote the strengthening and / or establishment of regional and sub-regional networks for the exchange of food safety-related information and experiences among all stakeholders; Encourage public / private partnerships for raising consumer awareness, building capacity, and food safety issues in general; and Identify strengths in specific subjects of food safety within the region and the means to utilise these strengths as part of an over-aching policy to continuously improve food safety. As outlined by Dr. H. de Haen of the FAO during his opening remarks, the conference had to come up with a plan, the aim of which was to improve the safety of food consumed by Africans, and to improve the quality of food so that Africans can export and meet the standard of target markets.

Attendance and Observer Organisations

The conference was attended by 185 delegates from 48 different countries. The breakdown was as follows:

ï 136 delegates from 46 different countries

ï 42 Observers (including 2 country observers

ñ thus the total of 48 countries)

ï 7 Representatives of the FAO / WHO Secretariat

IUFoST was one of 10 international organisations

that were represented as observers.

Language Policy

The conference was run in three languages, namely, English, French and Portuguese. There were some delays in the Portuguese language translations (overnight from Rome) due to the fact that Portuguese was not an official language of the United Nations, and therefore had to be outsourced in Rome.

Hosting

On the first day, the host country sponsored an elaborate lunch and later that evening, a cocktail party (with a traditional musical group and dancers). No lunch was provided for the remainder of the conference, and the Zimbabwean government provided a bus to take delegates down town for lunch. This inevitably led to late start-ups for the afternoon sessions. In the latter part of the conference, this had the unfortunate effect of some sessions having to go un-translated, due to the fact that the translators had to leave. On Wednesday 5 October (day 3), the Zimbabwean government had organised four (4) industry field trips to food processing plants, so that delegates could witness the country and economy ìfirst handî. Delegates had to choose one of the following companies to visit:

ï Schweppes (soft drink bottlers)

ï Cairns (canned food and snacks producer)

ï Makonde Industries (cereals / milling)

ï Dairibord (dairy)

    I elected to visit Cairns, which was unfortunately not in full production at the time of our visit, as most of the factory had shut down for the day. We managed to see some snack (e.g. potato crisps and corn chips) and breakfast cereal manufacturing and packing lines, and were also walked through the warehouse so that we could see the wide range of products the company made. The canning operation is done at a different site, a few hundred kilometres away. Being from the Packaging Industry, I was surprised and interested to learn (from those who had been) that Schweppes Zimbabwe blew their own PET bottles for use online!

Plenary Sessions

Following are a few of the issues that came up repeatedly throughout the conference, which I felt were worth mentioning:

Aflotoxins

The issue of aflotoxins came up repeatedly, with the keynote speaker noting that Africa needed to build capacity to deal with the problem, and pointing out that the incidence of liver cancer in Africa was linked to geographic areas of aflotoxin contamination. The lack of testing capacity and facilities was a major problem for most countries. The issue of mycotoxins was further discussed at one of two working groups that were scheduled. Dr Gordon Shephard of the Medical Research Council in South Africa gave a presentation on the Mycotoxin situation in Africa. This session was run in English only, due to the unavailability of translators. This unfortunately resulted in the non-English speaking delegates not participating in this important forum (which many had wanted to attend).

Dumping

Dumping (and falsification) of food that is substandard, expired and often unfit for human consumption by unscrupulous companies (importers and distributors) was repeatedly cited as a major problem, which actively threatens the ability of African countries to provide and ensure the safety of food. The problem seems biggest in countries that had been at war for protracted periods of time. Angola for instance, said this was a huge problem for them, as 90% of their food was imported. There were calls for unscrupulous companies to be severely punished by international agencies (such as the UN) to try and stem the problem. Some delegates suggested such sanctions to include the naming and shaming of culprits. The following are among the challenges the continent faces (to realising the goal of ensuring the safety and security of food in Africa):

ï The issue of porous borders that are underresourced was repeatedly mentioned as a major weakness and challenge. Strengthening monitoring and surveillance at borders was key to the success of provision of safe food. Dr. Peter Ben Embarek (of WHO) reminded the conference of the importance of making ones requirements known to the exporting country, and ensuring that systems exist at the port of entry to verify the quality of the food.

ï The problem with Training / Education in Food Safety was the fact that it was usually sporadic and not focused, and was also not established and ongoing. The need to educate the general public (who just do not understand what food safety was all about) is an important aspect to be considered if the goals are to be realised.

ï An assessment of science-based Risk Assessment of Food Safety issues showed that relevant data on food safety hazards was not collected due to a lack of expertise, and that intervention and prevention methods for food safety were usually not scientifically based.

ï Many delegates and speakers brought up the issue of capacity building. Member countries were encouraged to identify, prioritise and detail their capacity building needs as they specifically relate to the prevalent conditions in their countries. The need to improve cooperation and build alliances with other organisations was also emphasised.

Street Foods

The talk on street food highlighted the importance of the social, economic, nutritional and hygienic (both personal and environmental) aspects of these foods. Food safety and labelling issues were discussed, and illiteracy was again cited as a big problem ñ especially with regard to expired stock. It was suggested (by Uganda) that the definition of street food [i.e. food prepared on the street RTE or prepared at home and consumed on the street without further preparation] should be revisited to include raw/uncooked meat (including so-called ìbushmeatî ñ which is often sold on the side of streets and in markets.) as it is also a problem as far as food safety is concerned. The secretariat made delegates aware that a training manual for street vended foods would be available at the end of the year, and that it would be translated into vernacular languages.

Issues of Control, Monitoring and Surveillance

Dr. Patience Mensahís comment that: ìWe produce and export high quality food and leave the sub-standard food for our consumptionî put the whole issue of food safety and security in Africa in perspective, and gave us a lot to think about. In her talk she identified challenges of assuring and regulating food safety in Africa, and said they were exacerbated by:

ï Porous borders which are difficult to police

ï Outdated laws and regulations are difficult to enforce

ï Codex participation

ï Activities for monitoring food contaminants are limited

ï Foodborne disease surveillance systems are inadequate

 

She said opportunities for improving cooperation, collaboration and communication at national, regional and international levels lay in the pooling of resources, such as sharing of facilities for food control at regional level (e.g. SADC), and using existing, established and experienced testing laboratories for specialised tests (e.g. Zimbabwe Tobacco Research Board facilities for GMOs). There was suggestion that a regional ìFood Safety Deskî (e.g. for SADC, ECOWAS, etc.) be set up to flag rejected consignments at ports of entry and alert member countries accordingly.

GMOs

The emotive subject of GMOs was touched on, but not dealt with as it fell outside the scope of the conference. On the subject, Prof. Ayensu urged Africa to confront the issue in a pragmatic, rather than emotional manner, since ìtechnological advances are a reality that was here to stayî. He also warned African scientists that they could not remain passive on the issue of biodiversity. In order to be taken seriously, it is important for Africa to speak with one voice on this issue, and put its point forward.

Overall Impressions

I felt the conference was very well organised but I do feel that delegates should have been made aware that lunches would not be provided throughout the conference. An expensive venue such as the Sheraton meant that many of the delegates could not afford to eat at the hotel ñ particularly given the fact that the restaurant prices increased on a daily basis! It was therefore inevitable that the afternoon sessions would suffer as far as time was concerned. Time management by the session chairpersons was, on the whole, not too bad ñ with some chairpersons being better at it than others. When required, the delegates were very willing to stay late to complete the programme, unfortunately sometimes without the translators. The discussions and debates were robust, informed and insightful. Most of the delegates were experts in their fields, and displayed a keen understanding of the  issues and challenges facing the African continent with respect to food safety and security. I was particularly impressed by the commitment and professionalism of the participants in as far as the preparing for plenary sessions was concerned. It was clear that most of the people at the conference were keen for Africa to do things for itself. In only a few cases, I thought there were still some who wanted things to be done for them (e.g. by the UN and other donor organisations), but this I found to be the exception rather than the rule. Training, education, limited resources (e.g. testing laboratories) and political will are some of the challenges that would need to be overcome. Professor Edward Ayensuís keynote address was, in my view, therefore of critical importance as he spoke of the responsibilities of both Africa and African scientists regarding embracing technological advances which he pointed out were a reality that was here to stay; and the importance of equipping themselves scientifically in order to have justifiable means to be assertive in challenging the scourge of dumping. He also appealed to African governments to exercise their responsibility and not leave the delivery of good, wholesome and safe food to donor agencies. A lot of very useful literature (in the form of UN publications) was available on various subjects relevant to the provision of safe food. Topics included hygiene, HACCP, codex etc., and were in all three languages and free of charge. The conference was very educative for me in terms of the processes involved in drawing up and passing UN resolutions. It also offered excellent networking opportunities.

Conclusion

Overall, I think the conference was a success as it achieved its prime objective of coming up with a recommended five-year strategic plan of action for food safety in Africa. Due to time constraints, not all aspects of the plan (such as budgetary / financial) could be adequately dealt with by the conference. It was then decided that a follow-up committee be constituted to monitor the implementation and progress of the plan. The committee will initially work electronically (also to contain costs), and then meet physically as frequently as they possibly can. It was suggested that the first physical meeting take place in conjunction with the 29th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission to be held in Geneva on 3 - 8 July 2006. Updates on the activities of the committee, and dates for actual physical meetings would be posted on the conference website (http://www.foodsafetyforum.org/african/index.asp) for all to access and monitor progress.

 

Conference Outcomes

 

Resolution 

The conference resolved to:

1. Recommend the Five-year Strategic Plan for Food Safety in Africa

2. Request FAO and WHO to transmit the resolution and the recommended strategic plan for food safety in Africa to their relevant governing bodies for endorsement and to other specialised agencies of the United Nations and to other international institutions, and in particular the African Union, for their consideration;

3. Request donor governments, other specialised agencies, international and regional financial institutions to support the countries of the region in the implementation of the plan, in providing necessary funds, in-kind support (direct technical assistance, twinning projects, etc.) and in ensuring coordination and collaboration with other ongoing bi-lateral and multi-lateral projects in the region;

4. Urge governments of the region to give effect to the principles of the Plan of Action by according higher priority to food safety, to support and participate in the implementation of the Plan of Action and to make every effort to mobilise the necessary resources to implement the plan;

5. Urge FAO and WHO member countries to support, and actively participate as appropriate, the follow-up committee established through this plan.

 

Recommended Five-Year Strategic Plan for Food Safety in Africa

 The conference adopted a resolution recommending a five-year strategic plan of action for food safety in Africa. The plan has nine elements and makes numerous recommendations on practical actions that need to be taken, in order to strengthen food safety systems in Africa. The recommended plan is an attempt to begin to provide African solutions to the challenges of improving food safety, taking account of the international arena in which the countries of the region must operate. It was noted that the success of the plan lay in its implementations, thus the constitution of a follow up committee for monitor progress. The elements of the plan are as follows:

1. Food safety policies and programmes

2. Legislative and institutional aspects

3. Standards and regulations

4. Food inspection approaches and techniques

5. Food analysis and food safety testing laboratories

6. Monitoring food-borne diseases and the safety of foods on the market

7. Participation in Codex

8. Communication and stakeholder involvement (including industry officials and consumers)

9. National, regional and international cooperation

 

In each element, recommendations specific to governments of the region and to international organisations are given. The level at which specific actions need to take place (i.e. whether at the national or regional level) is also clearly outlined. See the official report on http://www.foodsafetyforum.org/african/index.asp. for the detailed recommendations. 

    For the implementation of the plan, countries of the region, international organisations, particularly FAO and WHO were called upon to collaborate and provide the necessary budgetary means and in-kind technical support required to carry out actions aimed at building national capacity to ensure a constant monitoring of the implementation process.

 

In addition, FAO and WHO were requested to:

• Lead a diagnostic study of the regional food safety situation in order to determine the most urgent regional needs and priority areas for improvement; and thus provide African countries with a good basis for the implementation of the strategic plan.

• Organise, as soon as possible, a seminar in order to establish the priorities of the strategic plan and identify potential financial resources to carry them out.

• Oversee the organisation, within the framework of the regular sessions of the Codex Coordinating Committee for Africa, of meetings to evaluate the degree of realisation of the strategic plan, discuss encountered difficulties and seek suitable solutions to solve them and establish future priorities.

• Strengthen and improve the coordination between the capacity building activities of the United Nations organisations, donors and other sources of support in helping to build the capacity of the national food safety systems of the regions.

• Develop training programmes on self-control and quality management systems in the food industry, intended for the personnel in the private sector.

• Work with donors and other financing organisations for the creation, in Africa, of the following centres:a. Sub-regional centres for training food control inspectors and laboratory personnel. The number of such centres will depend on availability of resources.b. A surveillance centre for tracking food-borne diseases and coordinating actions and programs employed in the field, both by the initiative of African countries and via projects financed within bilateral or multilateral frameworks.

 

 

 

Fi Asia-China/IUFoST 2006 Conference

“NATURAL, HEALTHY AND SAFE FOOD INGREDIENTS”

Shanghai New International Exhibition Centre, Shanghai Pudong, China, 15-16 Feb 2006

 

 

    This internationally prestigious Conference will be held in conjunction with the Fi Asia/China exhibition, and will be jointly organized by FiAsia/China and the International Union of Food Science and Technology (IUFoST), and be supported by the Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology (CIFST).

     The Conference will cover three themes that address some of the most significant developments of the global food industry today. These include Natural Ingredients, Health Ingredients, and Food Safety and Regulation.

    Mr Alan Mortimer, President of IUFoST, and Managing Director of Australian Blending Company, Limited, will open the Conference with a keynote presentation on International Trends in Natural Food Ingredient Development. Other presentations within the theme will include herbal ingredients, functional starches, and natural ingredients for product development and innovation.

    The Heath Ingredient theme will feature some of the most valued food ingredients with demonstrated health, physiological and functional properties. Senior technical representatives from a number of key international companies will present the latest developments in nutrient fortification, dairy derived health products, omega-3 fatty acids, and micro-encapsulation formulation technologies for maximizing the benefit of these health ingredients.

    In Food Safety and Regulations, health concerns associated with acrylamide and trans fatty acids are attracting a great attention by the World Health Organization and industrialized nations. International regulatory bodies and most industrialized countries have either established or in the process of establishing relevant food standards to limit the presence of these two compounds in the food chain. What impact will these new regulations have on the Chinese food industry for both its domestic and export markets? Come and talk to the keynote speaker on acrylamide, Dr David Lineback (President-elect, IUFoST and Past Director, FDA/UM Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, USA) and the keynote speaker on trans fatty acids, Prof Ken Buckle (Chairman of IUFoST Scientific Council and Professor of Food Science, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia), and hear from the Chinese health officials on China’s perspective on these emerging health hazards.

    The 2006 Conference will be another major international event in the Chinese food industry calendar organized by Fi Asia/China and IUFoST, following the success of the previous three conferences since 2003. For further information please contact J. Meech, IUFoST, jmeech@iufost.org and Fax: + 1 905 815 1574.

 

 

 

 

IN THE NEWS

 

 

 

ICSU Office in Africa (09.05)

 

IUFoST President Alan Mortimer was invited to the opening of the First Regional Office of ICSU, located in Pretoria, South Africa. This office will promote the development of all fields of science throughout Sub-Saharan Africa and facilitate capacity building, including quality science education, training and research. Assisting networks within Africa and increasing participation of African scientists in international programmes are the primary objectives. President Mortimer attended the opening, together with representatives of 16 African nations and several members of the Executive Committee of IUFoST’s Adhering Body in South Africa, SAAFoST. President Mortimer and IUFoST Governing Council member Dr Aubrey Parsons also gave a presentation to the new ICSU African Office Executive about IUFoST, SAAFoST, the 2010 congress in S. Africa, IUFoST’s ongoing work in Africa, food security and the role that food scientists could play.

 

SAAFoST Congress, (09.05)

 

Invited speaker Prof Ralph Blanchfield, IUFoST Governing Council member, gave The Ernest Newbury Memorial Lecture entitled ‘Can We Trust These Food Scientists’ at SAAFoST’s 18th Biennial congress. The congress was a great success with nearly 800 registrants and many young food scientists, the programme offering ‘something for everyone’.

 

Uruguay conference and meeting (10.05)

 

 INNOVA 2005, the conference organized by IUFoST Adhering Body in Uruguay, LATU, was outstanding, reported Prof Gustavo Barbosa-Canovas. “It was remarkable and very encouraging to witness the vivid participation of the audience in all the presentations and the great level of discussion”, said Prof. Barbosa-Canovas. LATU has invited the IUFoST Governing Council to hold its meeting in Montevideo in April in order to participate in the accompanying symposium on the general theme ‘Recent Advances in Food Science and Technology’.

 

General Assembly of ICSU, China (10.05)

 

 The need for better interaction and coordination between Unions on issues such as Acrylamide was raised by IUFoST representative, Prof Pingfan Rao of CIFST, China during the Members’ Forum of the ICSU General Assembly, The comments were well received and an electronic forum between relevant Unions will be formed. Prof Rao also reminded the national members of ICSU of their importance in assisting Unions to reach the scientists in their countries. The interaction between national and union members of ICSU is very valuable.A complete copy of the ICSU General Assembly report prepared by Prof Walter Spiess and Professor Pingfan Rao is available through the IUFoST Secretariat.

 

6th Latin American Congress, Campinas, Brazil (11.05)

 

Dr David Lineback, IUFoST President-elect was privileged to be invited to participate in the 6th SLACA in Brazil, November 7 – 10. Prof Delia Amaya Rodriguez (Academy Fellow) was the chair of the technical program committee and the Congress was a great success with over 2000 registered, including a large number of students. It was very good to see the students so involved and in such great attendance at such a congress. Abstracts were posted for one day, each of three days and over 2000 abstracts were involved. A very crowded opening session and reception were held on Monday evening, November 7 with comments from a number of dignitaries. Three concurrent sessions were run each of the three days of the meeting. Numerous international speakers from a number of countries were invited and participated in the symposium. The three major organizers were FEA, UNICAMP, and IUFoST Adhering Body SBCTA.

 

 

Global Harmonisation of Food Regulations and Legislation (GHI)

Hamburg, September 20, 2005

 

Minutes of the meeting by Prof Helmut F. Erbersdobler, IUFoST Representative. 15 participants were present. List of participants can be provided.

Introduction by Huub Lelieveld, Co Chair, GHI1.

25 Billion suffer from nutrient deficiency, 840 Million to a high degree. On the other hand, food is often destroyed too early because of zero tolerance prescriptions for several contaminants. Moreover, many food technologies such as heat treatment destroy nutrients that could be preserved by milder processes. Similar problems arise from Microbes and insufficient preservation methods.

    GHI intends to induce a consensus in the field of food regulations and legislation to ensure the global availability of enough safe food. The intention is not to change regulations but to provide tools for worldwide harmonized regulations. GHI will collect available data to reach this goal. The goal of this workshop is to identify relevant scientific organisations and their members and to invite them to collaborate.

     Financial involvement must remain impartial and unbiased. The GHI group is looking for support from some societies and from the European Community (within the framework of six projects in a specific support action). However, not all activities are EU-related. The activity is also global and some are national programs. It will not be easy to get the funds. About 1 Million Euros is needed for 50 projects.

Global Harmonization (lecture of Hans Schepers)

A scientific consensus will support harmonisation of legislation that will lead to fewer trade barriers, better availability of wholesome foods and more innovations to get healthy, convenient and tasty foods. (1. Methodology – Reviews of similar initiatives (e.g. Codex Alimentarius); 2. Preparation and Execution of workshops; 3. Definitions)

Group Discussions

The participants were divided into three groups for specific discussions:

Finances: A “foundation in between” is planned, in which multinational activities can be concentrated. An EU project is planned. Industrial and other companies can provide support money but this must take place anonymously and without any influencing.

Membership: About 10.000 individual members should be recruited by e-mail. Competence will be tested by using a questionnaire asking for educational details including not only scientific interests, expertise and the organisation in which one is involved but asking also for publications. Experts from industry, although possibly best qualified, without relevant publications cannot be accepted. 

Consensus: The most important goal is to establish a representative opinion from real and competent experts. This will be reached by recruitment of a large number of experts. Concerns were raised about how to ensure effectiveness (Each scientist will be biased in any way by his/her ideology; Different scientists are needed for different topics; There will be no experts in some fields; How to value opinions of “semi experts” compared to real experts; How to find the evidence to support specific information? How to prevent leading persons (groups) from dominating the proceedings? The opportunities of minority reports should be possible; How can the public be convinced that the consensus is not biased?)

     Subsequent heavy discussions arose within the subgroup about whether GHI is able to reach an “added value” compared to the activities and results of other organisations like Codex Alimentarius and EFSA who also already make use of experts. GHI may be able to help such organisations ensure they have access to the best experts but the subgroup was not certain if this would really be required. The main challenge these organisations are facing is how to get access to experts indeveloping countries and perhaps GHI could help here?

    It was furthermore questioned whether the reasons for trade barriers are really linked to lack of scientific consensus and/or access to scientists or whether instead this has a commercial/political origin. Other questions included: Who had the idea of setting up GHI and what is the rationale? What knowledge is available in developing countries? How should/could the results be published?

Presentations

A lecture was given by Prof. Dr. Dr. Hans Steinhart, Hamburg on “A global base for the application of food ingredients”. Prof. Dr. Bernd van der Meulen gave a lecture on: “Implementations of food safety regulations” All presentations will be placed on the GHI website (www.effost.org).

Follow up

Huub Lelieveld will take the questions/concerns that were raised during the workshop to the initiators of GHI to get consensus on its scope and strategy as well as the way forward.

 

 

 

Report on the 27th Session of the Codex Committee on Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses (CCNFSDU)

Bonn, Germany, 21-25 November 2005

By Prof John Lupien, FIAFoST

 

The CCNFSDU meeting was preceded by two days of related Working Group meetings.

    On 19 November a day-long working group session was held by the CCNFSDU Electronic Working Group that had worked since the 2004 CCNFSDU meeting to try to reach consensus on most parts of the draft revised standards for infant formula. More than 100 participants from country delegations and interested non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attended this working group session. Following the 2004 CCNFSDU session the European Society of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (ESGHAN) convened an expert consultation of pediatricians to discuss the draft infant formula standard and related infant feeding factors. The ESPGHAN meeting report, published in the Journal of Gastroenterology and Nutrition (Vol. 41:584-599, November 2005) provided recommendations that were the basis for most discussion.

     As with many previous CCNFSDU discussions, in the 19 November Working Group meeting most Codex member country delegation comments were based on moving the standard forward in the Codex step process, and included technical points for consideration of changes. At the same time, NGOs that have strong interests in promoting exclusive breast feeding of infants tended to raise non-technical or WHO Code of Conduct on Breast-milk Substitutes related comments that appeared to be intended to block any Codex progress on the draft revised standard for infant formula and formulas for special medical purposes intended for infants. This NGO interference with Codex progress continued throughout the main CCNFSDU meeting.

    On 20 November an informal meeting was held of the CCNFSDU Electronic Working Group on Risk Analysis and was attended by representatives of groups such as IUFoST that had made comments since the 2004 CCNFSDU meeting, and by other interested representatives of Codex Member delegations and NGOs. Discussions in this meeting showed that some representatives felt that CCNFSDU could carry out nutrient risk assessments and related risk analysis work. In addition, the focus of many participants seemed to be on any problems of exceeding recommended maximum values for micro-nutrients, especially in infant products, with little or no attention given to problems of under-nutrition in general, micro-nutrient deficiency diseases, adulteration of infant feeding products, all of which are major risk factors in many countries, especially developing countries. The 20 November and subsequent CCNFSDU discussions led to the conclusion that Australia, which chairs the Electronic Working Group should do more work before the next CCNFSDU meeting to further elaborate any needed special CCNFSDU risk analysis principles for consideration at the 2006 CCNFSDU meeting.

    In the 21-25 November CCNFSDU session there were extensive discussions on provision on dietary fiber, on the draft revised standards for processed cereal-based foods for infants and young children, for infant formula and formulas for special medical purposes intended for infants. These extensive discussions used most of the time available to the meeting, which was held with simultaneous interpretation in four languages, English, French, German and Spanish. Other agenda items on revised nutrient reference values, on nutrient compounds for use in foods for special dietary uses intended for the use by infants and young children, on the scientific basis of health claims, on gluten-free foods, and on CCNFSDU aspects of the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health were not discussed in adequate detail due to lack of time.

    The CCNFSDU meeting was hosted by the German Government, and was opened by a representative of the German Federal Minister of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture. An Agenda with 10 substantive issues was adopted, but several of the agenda items were not discussed thoroughly due to lack of time.

    A major discussion was held on a definition for dietary fiber in relation to the Codex Guidelines for the use of Nutrition claims. This topic has been contentious in several countries, and there is no uniform definition of dietary fiber internationally. Extensive discussion led to the adoption at Step 6 of the Codex procedure of a draft table for dietary fiber for the Codex Guidelines for the use of Nutrition Claims, and a definition for dietary fiber and a description of the properties such fiber. Step 6 of the Codex procedure means that all interested parties, including IUFoST can submit comments to the Codex Secretariat on this proposed Codex text if they so desire.

    An extensive discussion was held on the Draft Revised Standard for Processed Cereal-Based Foods for Infants and Young Children. This Draft Standard had been at Step 6 of the Codex procedure, and all aspects of the draft were discussed, including food additives. Consensus was reached on all of the text, and the revised raft text will be forwarded to the Codex Alimentarius Commission for adoption at Step 8 of the Codex procedure.

    Major discussions were held on the Draft Revised Standard for Infant Formula (at Step 6) and the Draft Standard on Formulas for Special Medical Purpose Intended for Infants (at Step 3). No progress was made in the discussions on Infant Formula, and it remains at Step 6 of the Codex Procedure. The standard proposals for formulas for special medical purposes were advanced from Step 3 to Step 5 for adoption a the next Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, meaning that another round of comments and discussions on this standard will also be needed.

    Discussion of a revised advisory list of nutrient compounds for use in foods for special dietary uses intended for infants and young children made no progress. The proposed draft list was kept at Step 3 of the 8 step Codex process, and will be sent out to Codex contact points for additional comment, and will be further discussed in the CCNFSDU meeting in 2006.

    Proposed draft recommendations on the scientific basis for health claims made no progress, and comments showed a wide range of opinions on the content and need for such recommendations. The draft will be kept at steps 2/3 of the Codex procedure for further comment and discussion.

    The WHO representatives attending the CCNFSDU meeting presented a proposal for comment on the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health that would bypass any direct input from CCNFSDU. Some delegations objected to the WHO proposal and pointed out that CCNFSDU had a particular Codex mandate on nutrition that would call for CCNFSDU work on this issues, including the creation of an electronic working group to seek comments on the WHO Strategy, and transmit them to WHO. This was rejected by WHO, and instead an WHOL Electronic Forum will be set up to receive comments, and a summary of these comments prepared by WHO will be presented to the next meeting of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, without any direct input from CCNFSDU.

 

 

 

President’s Letter

 

I am in France to attend Food Ingredients Europe, a major activity on the Food Ingredients Calendar and the highlight of the year for one of IUFoST’s commercial supporters, CMP. Just prior to flying out of Australia, I had a swim in the ocean. When I arrived in Paris, it was snowing. What an interesting and diverse world we live in.I am actually writing this from Nantes, a city of 850,000 inhabitants and the venue for IUFoST’s World Congress in September next year. The Congress Centre is opposite the railway station and the high speed train takes only two hours from Paris. The venue is world class and very modern, in contrast with the medieval remnants of the town. Nantes is a city studded with gardens and parks, castles and manor houses and the architectural heritage reflects the town’s wealth and importance over the centuries. Nantes is the centre of a major food growing and processing area and our French colleagues are putting together an exciting technical programme. All the ingredients are there to make Nantes one of the best congresses ever held.To those of you who look forward to December as a major religious celebration, I wish you a Merry Christmas. To those of you who worship and celebrate in other ways at other times, I wish you a happy and peaceful New Year.I hope to see you all in Nantes at next year’s 13th World Congress of Food Science and Technology.

— Alan Mortimer