The 2012 World Food Prize
The World Food Prize was created in 1986 by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Norman Borlaug and General Foods. It has international standing and recognises a person who has advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.
It is funded by a philanthropist from Iowa in the USA, and is presented annually around the same time as October’s World Food Day.
The prize is US$250 000 and the winner is also called a Laureate. Winners have come from many countries and all have made significant contributions to humankind.
The 2012 World Food Prize winner is a world-renowned Israeli environmental scientist and hydrologist, Dr Daniel Hillel.
Israel is a country full of very dry areas and yet it is able to sustain itself through clever use of micro irrigation techniques. Dr Hillel has been instrumental in the development of these techniques.
His work has significantly improved the water efficiency in many very dry countries, including; Pakistan, Sudan, Iran, Egypt, Jordan, Cyprus, and Australia. This has vastly improved agricultural outputs of these countries. The Middle East, in particular, has benefited enormously from his work in food production and micro-irrigation.
He has also been heavily involved recently in the production and publishing of the Handbook of Climate Change and Agroecosystems. The first Volume has already been published. This is the result of his work on the effect of climate change on water shortage.
Dr Hillel has also been an advisor to both the World Bank and the United Nations.
For more information about the World Food Prize.
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The 8700
Obesity is considered by many in the health industry as the biggest health problem in our society. The issue is that when people are heavily overweight it has an impact on many of the body’s systems. There are many diseases and conditions that are made significantly worse, or even brought on, by a person weighing more than they really should, including; diabetes and heart conditions.
I remember once being told by my Doctor that for every extra kilogram of body weight, the heart has to pump blood an extra kilometre. This obviously puts the heart and other organs under increased stress.
Western countries have a rapidly increasing diabetes rate and this is being attributed to the increase worldwide in obesity. Diabetes has two forms, Type 1 which requires insulin injections several times a day and Type 2 which can be diet controlled. People with diabetes can eventually lose limbs from the poor blood flow that is a symptom of the disease. It is having a serious impact on our society and is costing the economy a lot of money.
Governments everywhere are trying a whole variety of methods to try and reduce the increasing obesity rate around the world. New laws are being put in place across the world, including the requirement for large quick serve chains to display the energy content of each of their menu items.
In New South Wales, the state government has just introduced a brilliant new website which focusses on the key issue of controlling obesity, getting people to eat less and better, as well as do exercise.
It is a simple fact that if we eat more than our body needs, we put the excess on as fat and our weight increases. So there are two things we can do to prevent this fat being deposited, we eat less or we burn up the fat by exercising. Ideally we should do both to be healthy.
The new website is called 8700.com.au and is named after the average energy consumption by a healthy adult. It has some truly brilliant information and a great little guide to help you work out how much energy you do for your age, gender and activity level.
The website also talks about why many people actually put on more weight in winter than in summer and what they can do about reducing that.
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Food regulation review
Most in the food industry do not understand how food laws are developed, maintained and monitored in this country, as they are mainly concerned with simply running their business. It is worth having some idea as we all have the opportunity to contribute to the laws in our country through the reviews that happen with each proposed change to the law.
At the top of the food law tree in Australia is the Food Standards Code. This document contains all the requirements for food and it’s manufacture, handling, packaging and labelling. It has four chapters / standards; General, Specific Foods, Food Safety and Primary Production. Chapters One and Two also apply in New Zealand.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is responsible for the development, maintenance and review of the Code through Acts of the Australian and New Zealand Parliaments. The Code itself only becomes law when each State or Territory recognises it.
The process of developing a new standard or inclusion in a standard or adjustment to something already in the Code is not a quick process and involves many people and steps, in FSANZ and throughout the community. Fundamentally a new standard process involves the following steps; proposal by a recognised party, review by FSANZ, initial consultation by all stakeholders, Draft standard preparation, review by Ministerial Council, adjustments and further preparation by FZANZ, final consultation by general public and stakeholders, final standards preparation, final approval by Ministerial Council. It is then made law in each state and territory.
The above is a simplified version of what is currently happening and there are other steps and groups involved in the process as well.
There are always at least two opportunities for anyone in the community to have a say about the changes or new standard. The problem is that many people do not even know that laws are being changed. Everyone can sign up to be on the FSANZ database for free information and updates, and all business owners should do this.
As it is understood that the process to make and change food law is complicated, there is a review of the Food Regulation System currently underway in a process called the ‘Stakeholder Engagement Strategy’.
As both the New Zealand and Australian Governments want to ensure that there is good opportunity for stakeholders, like industry and consumer groups, to be involved in the food law process, the System Review is also open to all for comment.
Those that wish to have a say about how our food law is done and maintained should contact the Stakeholder Engagement Project officer by 26 July, 2012 – http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/publishing.nsf/Content/foodsecretariat-1
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Food allergies up in Europe
Food safety can basically be separated into two areas that must be controlled; food poisoning and food allergens.
According to Anaphylaxis Australia, around two percent of all Australian have a food allergy. In some of these people, the allergy can be so severe that it can cause anaphylaxis, which is a complete closing of the wind pipe and death can result with three to four minutes. It is particularly an issue with children, but can persist into adulthood.
Due to this the Australian and New Zealand Food Standards Code has a requirement for all food businesses that there be no unintentional allergens in any food. The recognised food allergens in Australia and New Zealand are; dairy, eggs, tree nuts peanuts, soy, seeds, gluten fish and shellfish. An unintentional food allergen is one of these that is not meant to be in the food.
Different countries recognise different food allergens, depending upon the foods and cases in the specific country.
A recent report released by the European Academy of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (EAACI) has shown that there is an increase in food allergies in Europe compared to previous years, with more than 17 milion people with a food allergy. According to EAACI, there has been a seven times increase in the number of food allergy related hospitalisations since 2002.
Although labelling is a key to food allergen, it is essential that everything be done within the business to prevent allergen cross contamination. The Australian Food and Grocery Council has a brilliant website, which provides some great methods for food businesses to use for allergen control, as well as a very useful allergen labelling system called VITAL.
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Is it the food’s fault or ours?
We all have foods that are our little indulgence; a packet of chips, an occasional donut or even a hot dog every so often.
Nutritionists are always telling us that we should have a balanced diet and that a little bit of everything is the way to go.
The problem with our little indulgences is that they are now becoming a big problem for our health generally. They are readily available and we are eating and drinking them way more than we used to or should be.
According to a recent blog on Babble, potato chips have single handedly contributed more to the increase in obesity worldwide than any other food or drink. This is interesting because they are not sweet, but it is very easy to eat more than the recommended serving size and this has created the problem.
To get the flavour and texture that we crave in these foods, some ingredients are included in the ingredient lists that are causing us problems. The amount of sugar and salt in many processed foods are major health issues when you consider how much of these foods are being consumed worldwide.
There are moves across the world to remove much of the salt and this will be helpful, but only if the size of the serves is also reduced.
The amount of huge serves that are now being offered in fast food chains is also part of the overall problem.
At the end of the day though, it is all about choice – our choice. It does not matter what laws the government sets, or what size serves businesses present or even what ingredients are in our food, it is ultimately our choice what and how much we put in our mouths.
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Coconut oil – good or bad?
Alzheimers is a disease that is increasing in our society. It is a form of dementia and rips families apart as the sufferer slowly loses the ability to remember people, events and other parts of their lives, and eventually loses even basic abilities. It is incredibly sad and at this stage there is no cure.
There is a huge amount of research happening worldwide to try and find a way to cure or even prevent this devastating disease.
Oxford University researchers have recently announced that coconut oil may have some short term and temporary relief from the symptoms of Alzheimers. They found that about 30 grams per day may be helpful temporarily to improving the memories of those with Alzheimers.
Professor Peter Clifton of Australia’s Baker IDI Institute in Adelaide, a specialist in Nutritional Medicine has commented that coconut fat contains short-chain fatty acids which can increase ketones and these improve lucidity in some Alzheimer’s sufferers temporarily. “The effect is real,” he said.
There are increasing numbers of food and drinks now available commercially that contain coconut oil and this trend is likely to escalate with this type of news.
Coconut oil is high in saturated fat and this makes food containing it unlikely to get really good nutrition ratings currently. However the type of saturated fat is lauric acid, a solid at room temperature, which studies have shown is linked to the “good” cholesterol (HDLs – high density lipoproteins) and so are actually good for us.
Some people get confused between coconut and palm oils, both are from palm trees but are of completely different species. The main fat in palm oil is palmitic acid and is linked to the LDLs (low density lipoproteins) or as they are known, “the bad cholesterol”. This oil is often used for frying and can be found as an ingredient in many foods, particularly those from overseas.
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