Since its foundation in 1945, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has led international efforts in fighting hunger. As member countries—including the United States—strive to meet the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015, FAO ensures that the goals related to promoting good health and nutrition are met by providing technical expertise and disseminating information on food security, food production, and supply, as well as on current food safety and nutrition issues. The eight MDGs provide countries around the world a framework for development of efforts to address the goals within a specified period of time. The first goal is to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger. Among the other goals are improvements in maternal health and reductions in the rates of mortality among children. The MDGs thus have implications for food security and the health and well-being of people around the world. FAO also brings together nations to discuss and shape policies in the areas of promoting good health and nutrition. The International Congress of Nutrition (ICN) is the quadrennial gathering of the International Union on Nutritional Sciences, whose mission is to promote advancements in nutrition science, research, and development through international cooperation. In its upcoming 19th quadrennial conference, the theme will be Nutrition Security for All.
FAO, ICN, and member nations address nutrition-related topics relevant to consumer protection in the United States and abroad. Dr. Kraisid Tontisirin, FAO’s former director of the Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division and president of the 2009 ICN Organizing Committee, shares his perspectives on the broad-based food and nutrition issues affecting global consumer health.
Q: What is your scientific background, and what led you to join FAO’s Food and Nutrition Division [ESN], now called Nutrition and Consumer Protection Division [AGN]?
A: After obtaining my M.D. from Mahidol University in Bangkok, I was trained as a pediatrician in the U.S. and received my Ph.D. in nutrition from MIT [Massachusetts Institute of Technology] in 1973. I subsequently taught nutrition and conducted research at Mahidol. Eventually, I became the director of the Institute of Nutrition, Mahidol University, and chairman of Thailand’s Food and Nutrition Planning Committee, where I promoted the concept of using nutrition as a social indicator in the context of the Thai government’s Poverty Alleviation Plan. My collaborative work with the different ministries, as well as my involvement with several regional nutrition projects in Asia led me to become a technical advisor in expert missions and meetings organized by various U.N. agencies. By mid-1999, I was invited to submit my CV for the directorship of FAO’s Food and Nutrition Division. I accepted the post in April 2000.
Q: How has renaming the “Food and Nutrition Division” to “Nutrition and Consumer Protection” changed FAO’s food priorities, if at all?
A: Under the FAO reforms, the Food and Nutrition Division was renamed when it transferred from the Economics and Social Department [ES] to the Agriculture, Biosecurity, Nutrition, and Consumer Protection Department [AG] in January 2006. In the face of limited resources, the idea at that time was to improve efficiency from “farm to table.” It was a good opportunity to work more closely with the supply side—plant and animal production, land, and water development—and emphasize nutrition, quality, and safety up to the consumer end of the food chain.
Q: What were the issues that shaped the agricultural, food, and nutrition environment during your tenure as director of ESN/AGN?
A: The first issue I worked on was updating scientific knowledge on protein and energy requirements in human nutrition. Of course, such normative work involved a long-time partner, the World Health Organization [WHO]. One of the subsequent collaborations was the Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation on Diet, Health, Nutrition, and the Prevention of Chronic Diseases. I tried to put nutrition at the center of development, working with other U.N. agencies and its partners. Part of the issues environment was strengthening FAO’s role as a key player in food safety and quality for consumer protection through capacity building, setting food standards through Codex Alimentarius, [a collection of internationally recognized standards, codes of practice, guidelines and other recommendations relating to foods, food production and food safety under the auspices of consumer protection] and the expansion of scientific advice to benefit member countries.
Q: Talk about what has been accomplished and what remains to be done to protect consumers.
A: In the past, FAO emphasized food energy supply because one of its key mandates was to deal with food security and fighting hunger. During my term, we highlighted the nutrition quality (i.e., micronutrient content) of diets. Now, FAO has crossed the “new frontier” of working on the dietary factors of chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain types of cancer. However, FAO’s shift to this issue has been gradual. In order to meet the U.N.’s MDGs, much still needs to be done to promote healthful diets among families and populations. People are looking for nutritious and safe food. With guidelines for ensuring the quality of the food supply, FAO can play a very important role in meeting the demand for healthful foods not only for the prevention of undernutrition but also the prevention and control of chronic diseases.
Q: How would you describe the adequacy and state of safety of the global food supply today?
A: The overall food safety situation has apparently improved over time because of the increased awareness and commitment of each nation. However, foodborne disease and hazards are still major problems. Undernutrition remains to be solved since more than 850 million people worldwide suffer from energy and nutrient deficiencies. The high prevalence of chronic disease and overnutrition adds complexity to the issue. The challenge of working with nutrition and consumer protection is to implement food safety and quality standards that promote healthful diets.
Q: What steps in biosecurity have been undertaken to protect the global food supply?
A: One has to be careful about using the term “biosecurity” because it is interpreted differently across countries. It is not to be associated with the limited concept of “bioterrorism.” FAO promotes an integrated approach to “biosecurity” in dealing with food safety, plant [health], and animal health. It involves good agricultural practices, good hygienic practices, good manufacturing practices, and quality assurance measures along the food chain. With these concepts and strategies, one can ensure high quality and safe food for consumers.
Q: Where does consumer education fit in ESN/AGN’s priorities?
A: The core functions of ESN/AGN include nutrition information, communication, consumer education, and the promotion of nutrition labeling and food-based dietary guidelines [FBDG] as educational tools for the general public while working through public health institutions, community-based programs, and families. Before I left FAO, we focused on nutrition education in schools—developing curriculum and school gardening planning guides—to instill the principle of “learning by doing” in formal education settings.
Q: Where does consumer research on perceptions, attitudes, and understanding of dietary guidance and food labeling fit into the AGN’s mission and priorities?
A: Consumer research is quite essential. For tools such as the FBDG to be effective, consumers need to be part of the dietary guideline development process. Consumer testing of key nutritional messages . . . [and the] concepts of portion size and serving size through focus groups, interviews, and other methods will help improve the communication of qualitative and quantitative dietary guidance.
Q: How can the gap between science and communication be bridged to improve consumers’ understanding of current agricultural and nutrition research?
A: In communicating scientific knowledge to consumers, one has to take into account the health status, culture, traditions, and local food practices of each country. Using FBDG as an example, keep in mind that the science behind the dietary guidance continues to evolve and necessitates periodic updates every five to ten years.
Q: How can member countries of FAO address the obesity epidemic, which, in some places, coexists with undernutrition?
A: Member countries need to have a nutrition-oriented policy on food production and supply. It requires thinking about what constitutes a “healthful diet.” I believe in the near future, the demand will increase for more healthful diets that include more fresh vegetables, fruits, and fish not only in developed countries but also in the developing world. Agriculture plays an important role not only in generating income but also in supplying nutritious and safe foods that prevent both under- and overnutrition.
Q: What should consumers know about foods derived from biotechnology?
A: Biotechnology can be a powerful tool to enhance food production, because it can increase yield and improve the physical and nutritional quality of food. The Joint FAO/WHO’s Food Standards Programme executed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission has developed risk analysis principles and guidelines for conducting safety assessments of food products derived from recombinant DNA technology. New food products produced by modern biotechnology need to be evaluated on a case-to-case basis. Currently, there is no evidence that such foods carry higher risks than those produced through conventional methods. However, monitoring for long-term consequences is necessary.
Q: How important are foods and dietary components that may provide a benefit beyond basic nutrition?
A: This is a new area that needs to be explored more in the future. There are many non-nutrient substances in food—antioxidants and dietary fiber, for example—that may support good health. That’s why we have to promote a food-based approach to dietary guidance. Food provides not only energy and “classical” nutrients but also non-nutrient components that may have complementary functions important to nutritional well-being.
Q: What role do the broad-based food, beverage, and agricultural industries play in ensuring consumers’ protection?
A: Food production and supply have to be linked to nutritional requirements, health, and development. All these stakeholders can play a vital role in promoting healthful diets among consumers if they have nutritional well-being as a common objective.
Q: Who should participate in the 19th ICN to be held in Bangkok on October 4-9, 2009?
A: Nutrition is a broad field, covering disciplines from molecular biology to global health. Therefore, the 19th ICN should be attended by nutritionists; researchers; educators; graduate students; public health and development officials; representatives from the private sector, including the food, agriculture, and beverage industries; and members of civil society.
Q: What food safety and nutrition issues will likely shape the agenda of the 2009 ICN?
A: The theme of the Congress is Nutrition Security for All. This encompasses the meaning of nutritional well-being in the human life cycle. The goal of the conference is to share and discuss various ways and means of achieving nutrition security which, in one dimension, can be viewed as a continuum of food production, availability, access, consumption, utilization, and sustainability. Other dimensions include health protection and promotion, education, and “people participation.” Topics such as current developmental issues, i.e., the MDGs, food biotechnology, biofortification, food safety, health promotion, nutrition communication, public health, and clinical nutrition, may be explored. The efficacy of gender-, family-, and community-based approaches will also be examined. In case no direct links can be established, perhaps a cluster of issues from emerging scientific research can be identified now and reexamined in the near future.
