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Development of tools, databases included, for the assessment and circulation of available information in developing/emerging countries, with particular emphasis on the relationships between population health/nutritional status and exposure pathways to essential micronutrients and toxic xenobiotics.
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Spreading of informative materials, included complaints of non-epidemic emergencies in public health, i.e. food toxicology and relevant exposure scenarios.
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Empowerment of developing/emerging countries through support and promotion of education/training and publishing activities by on-the-job training.
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Promotion and development of research, cooperation and prevention programmes, including the support of developing/emerging countries networking with national and international partners.
For details on Noodles activities and projects, please visit our website http://www.preventionwithoutborders.com
Food sovereignty
Focus Theme. Food sovereignty is a critical topic worldwide. The increase in urban population means also increased dependency from external food supply. Local food production chains need to be supported by strategies integrating the analysis of specific risks with promotion of their health (nutritional), environmental and social benefits. Adequate communication to citizens, producers, traders and politicians is needed. Aspects as wholesomeness, organoleptic quality should be reinforced with the analysis of weaknesses and strengths of local productions, in terms of health, development and link with the territory.
Sustainable Food Safety (SFS) is "the complex of actions intended to minimize also adverse health impact on future generation associated to today's safety and nutritional quality of food" [C. Frazzoli, C. Petrini, Al. Mantovani, 2009].
In general, the term “sustainable” refers to the development that “meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. In spite of the potency of this statement, the irreversible damage to the natural capital in the long term in turn for short-term benefits has never included, so far, chronic diseases and impaired progeny health. The potential effect of the combined and repeated exposure to dietary toxicants is generally long-term and not readily discernible, thus entraining new aspects implicating health risks for future generations. A telling example of a food safety issue implicating sustainability is the parental dietary exposure to endocrine disrupters (EDs) and the triggering, during such vulnerable lifecycle as intrauterine life and breastfeeding, of long-term risk of progeny’s burden of endocrine, metabolic and reproductive diseases. In fact, noticeably, the “Weybridge definition” states that an ED can cause adverse health effects in an intact organism, or its progeny. Examples include “testicular dysgenesis syndrome” and related increased risk of infertility and testicular cancer in adults, as well as obesity, diabetes, and metabolic syndrome, related to prenatal exposure to different EDs. Thus, the Risk Assessment (RA) of EDs is a pivotal model for the broader concept of sustainable food safety that, in its turn, may have long-range bearings on food safety policies: i) potential for long-term effects, ii) multiple exposure throughout whole diet and bioaccumulation, and iii) concern for vulnerable lifecycle phases, affecting the continuum from the present through to the next generation.
Sustainable Food Safety considers food as one living environment factor shared by the whole general population and looks after the connection of food safety with environmental health, lifestyles and socio-economic status. Risk factor scenarios and patterns are changing worldwide, such as, e.g., the increasing obesity incidence and related diseases in developing areas. Therefore, the attention to food-borne chemical risks is not a “luxury” for industrialized countries; in countries living the turning point in development the sustainable food safety systems may be especially vulnerable to transgenerational risks due to rapid urbanization (and rapidly increasing per capita demand for animal products), industrialization, dumping phenomena and, in some areas, to insufficient exposure to dietary protective factors. The sustainable food safety framework requires that, when food scarcity is overcome, primary prevention of long-term risks is crucial, including the diffusion of science-based and sound awareness among the general public as well as policy makers also in developing/emerging Countries.
Read more: C. Frazzoli, C. Petrini and A. Mantovani (2009) Sustainable development and next generation’s health: a long-term perspective about the consequences of today’s activities for food safety. Noodles Documents
Focus Theme. Sustainable food safety implies also promoting food practices to protect and improve the health of generation to come. Special attention shall be posed onbreastfeeding, a beneficial public health practice that may be supported along these three lines: 1) monitoring the compliance with the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes in West Africa; 2) focus on risk to benefit parameters in highly contaminated areas; 3) how to improve the mother-child health, e.g., supplementation in iodine-deficient areas, etc.
Innovation and food safety
The new, enlarged concept of zoonosis. The demand for food of animal origin is rapidly increasing with growing urban settings. Much attention is rightly devoted to zoonoses caused by transmissible agents passing from animals to humans; the exposure to toxicants through foods of animal origin, and its health implications, broadens with novel issues the zoonosis concept, as the toxic exposures of food producing animals and related environment-feed-food chains contamination pathways.
Zoonoses is “any detriment to the health and/or quality of human life deriving from relationships with (other) vertebrate or edible or toxic invertebrate animals” [Adriano Mantovani, 2000]
Food security and nutrition security are not opposed by food safety when healthy choices are undertaken, basing on prevention-based strategies and early management of risks. In this field, innovation is pivotal to develop an efficient and up-to-date Risk Assessment (RA) system, especially in more vulnerable food supply systems. Toxicology in real-life scenarios foresees the development and transfer to the field of risk-to-benefit assessment approaches, biomarkers and diagnostic technology for toxicological HACCP, from hazard detection/monitoring through to risk management/reduction and bioremediation of polluted environmental media. Critical actions include:
• Development and promotion of rapid and low-cost approaches to screen toxicity indexes as practicable biomarkers to a) identify the hazard, b) monitor the exposure, c) assess the toxicological risk in environmental compartments, sensitive animals and staple foods, and d) develop early risk management approaches;
• Support early risk management approaches, such as HACCP, in different agro-zootechnical scenarios.
Focus Theme. Aquaculturerepresents a major source of protein and essential nutrients, (trace elements, vitamins, fatty acid) and in the meanwhile Ref doc page), with a comprehensive approach covering health (toxicological vs. AQUAMAX) and by increasing the nutritional quality of farmed fish; for instance feed may promote the role of fish as a source of essential or protective factors such asW3 in deficient areas. Iodine, Selenium and nutritional) as well as socioeconomic and environmental management aspects. One issue for innovation are aquaculture feeds, bothfor the optimization of risk-to-benefit balance, e.g. by developing novel ingredients less vulnerable to contamination (ongoing European project a food commodity highly exposed to environmental persistent pollutants, such as MethylHg, PCBs and brominated compounds. Risk to benefit assessment is needed (EFSA, risk-to-benefit assessment of wild and farmed fish
Relevant readings:
Mora C, Myers RA, Coll M, Libralato S, Pitcher TJ, et al. (2009) Management Effectiveness of the World's Marine Fisheries PLoS Biol 7(6): e1000131. A global analysis shows that fishery management worldwide is lagging far behind international standards, and that the conversion of scientific advice into policy, through a participatory and transparent process, holds promise for achieving sustainable fisheries Link.
Mantovani A, Frazzoli C, La Rocca C. (2008) Risk assessment of endocrine-active compounds in feeds. Vet J. Oct 1. [Epub ahead of print]. Feedstuffs can be a major vehicle for persistent EDs and potential risks include fish farming and ruminants grazing in polluted areas. In this review, available data are considered on adverse impact on farm animals and risk of carry-over to consumers. Link
Nutrition
With different exposure pathways to essential micronutrients and toxic contaminants experienced in different world areas, the understanding of the influence of natural (e.g. geological) and anthropic (e.g., cultural, economic) factors on their geographical distribution becomes crucial.
Focus Theme. Native cultures as sources of "nutraceuticals". Native medicine as well as local, traditional food commodities may be a good source of products with both nutritional and healing value. However, risk to benefit assessment is needed as regards the active principles, as well as promotion of quality (purity, absence of pollutants) of local products.
Support and promotion of education/training and publishing activities
Correspondents are members of the organization with the task of following, analyzing and updating aspects (public concerns, newspapers, scientific literature, actions undertaken by the First, Second and Third Sector bodies) related to food sovereignty, breastfeeding, nutraceuticals and aquaculture in an area or specific Country.
Freelances are members of the organization with the task of following, analyzing and updating aspects (public concerns, newspapers, scientific literature, actions undertaken by the First, Second and Third Sector bodies) related to a free theme they propose and that is recognized of interest by the Noodles.