Welcome
to the December edition of AFICNews.
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DATES
FOR YOUR DIARY
NEW
FROM AFIC
Food Facts Asia
Issue 19, November 2003, will be mailed out to the subscribers mid of
this month. For the text versions (English, Chinese and Thai languages)
are now available at
www.afic.org. The topics included in this issue are:
w
Beating Cardiovascular Disease and Enjoying Life (English,
Thai,
Chinese)
w
Science is Evolutionary, not Revolutionary! (English,
Thai,
Chinese)
w
Appetite Enigmas (English,
Thai,
Chinese)
Most
Frequently Reported Food Safety and Nutrition News in Asia
Note:
These figures are based on simple counting method of topic headings and
do not allow for differences in length or depth of feature articles.
COMMENTS
ON MOST POPULAR TOPICS
Foodborne
Illness
News reports on
foodborne illness have declined through the year 2003. The most
common trigger for reports on this topic remains mass foodborne illness
outbreaks, but regional press has also shown some interest in government
efforts to improve standards, with reports on launch of nationwide
food safety campaign in China (launched August); introduction of
improved food hygiene standard requirements, including compulsory
training for street hawkers in Malaysia; reporting in Philippines on
its first company to adopt HACCP. Measures by the World Trade
Organisation to raise sanitary and phytosanitary standards of
internationally traded food stuffs, and the introduction in November
by the US of compulsory registration for imported food products have
also stimulated some commentary and media discussion, but the focus of
this has been impact on trade, rather than impact on human health.
Healthy
Lifestyles
Healthy eating and
lifestyles also remains a topic of steady media interest, and the trend
for more issue-specific reports, in preference to generalized advice on
maintenance of good health wellbeing and the prevention of chronic
degenerative disease continues. There has been a noticeable increased
pickup of advice and research highlighting the benefits of breakfast and
to a lesser extent regular/frequent meals and snacks. This is an
encouraging reflection of the emerging evidence that regular eating is
more commonly associated with successful weight control than is meal
skipping/fasting.
Hydration/Beverages
Very sharp rise in
beverages /hydration coverage has been driven by media frenzy in India
on the issue of pesticide residues and the absence of regulatory
standards for packaged drinks in India. Press pick up of this issue in
other countries in the region has been very limited, which reflects the
geographic-specific nature of the issue.
Overweight/Obesity/Weight
Control
Overweight and
obesity remains one of the most popular health topics for media. High
protein diets maintain strong visibility, fuelled by reports and
features on Atkins, South Beach diets and CSIRO recommendation for
moderately high protein, low fat, moderate carbohydrate diet. Efforts to
raise awareness of significance of portion size in weight management are
achieving increased recognition.
Biotechnology
Biotechnology press
coverage remains strong, stimulated by a number of new developments,
including Australian approval for canola cultivation, ratification of
Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety (although this prompted less news
interest than might have been expected), shifting of moratoriums in NZ
and Europe on biotechnology trials and approval submissions, positive
comments from the Vatican on the potential contribution of biotechnology
to human health, comments from Sarawak Islamic Council Conference on the
compatibility of biotechnology and Muslim faith.
Children’s
Diet and Health
Children’s diet and
health stories continue to be dominated by reports on rising rates of
overweight and obesity. Much of tracked coverage is from the
Australasian press and has developed along a broad range of themes
including the role of food and advertising industries, lifestyle changes
and the role of families, education and physical activity, debate on
optimal prevention strategies and policies at state and national levels;
and bizarrely, to a lesser extent on the health risks associated with
childhood overweight. Asian press interest is more subdued but growing.
The
Asian Food information Centre is a not-for profit Singapore-registered
organization.
Its
mission is to effectively communicate sound science based information on
food safety, health and nutrition to the media and other key audiences
in
Asia
