Suchergebnisse

Despite increased political attention, foodborne diseases still cause a substantial public health, economic, and social burden worldwide. Children younger than 5 years, people living in developing regions, and in the poorest areas of the world are disproportionally affected, bearing a large proportion of the global burden of foodborne disease. Yet, food safety is a prerequisite to ensuring food security globally: Foods that are responsible for important food safety problems are also crucial to ensure food security in some regions and are essential sources of nutrition. Moreover, together with calls for action to meeting international sustainable development goals, global efforts to promote food security and healthy diets have now highlighted the need to modify food systems globally. This article therefore explores the food safety dimensions of transitions toward food systems that promote sustainable healthy diets. The current body of evidence points to the combined health and environmental benefits of shifting toward a more plant-based diet, including vegetables and fruits, nuts, pulses, and whole grains. As a shift toward more plant-based diets may also lead to higher exposures to chemicals or pathogens present in these foods, an evaluation of food safety implications of such transitions is now imperative. We conclude that several synergies between public health, environmental, and food safety strategies can be identified to support dietary transitions.

Climate change has been indicated as a driver for food safety issues worldwide, mainly due to the impact on the occurrence of food safety hazards at various stages of food chain. Mycotoxins, natural contaminants produced by fungi, are among the most important of such hazards. Aflatoxins, which have the highest acute and chronic toxicity of all mycotoxins, assume particular importance. A recent study predicted aflatoxin contamination in maize and wheat crops in Europe within the next 100 years and aflatoxin B1 is predicted to become a food safety issue in Europe, especially in the most probable scenario of climate change (+2 °C). This review discusses the potential influence of climate change on the health risk associated to aflatoxins dietary exposure of Portuguese population. We estimated the burden of disease associated to the current aflatoxin exposure for Portuguese population in terms of Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALYs). It is expected that in the future the number of DALYs and the associated cases of hepatocellular carcinoma due to aflatoxins exposure will increase due to climate change. The topics highlighted through this review, including the potential impact on health of the Portuguese population through the dietary exposure to aflatoxins, should represent an alert for the potential consequences of an incompletely explored perspective of climate change. Politics and decision-makers should be involved and committed to implement effective measures to deal with climate change issues and to reduce its possible consequences. This review constitutes a contribution for the prioritisation of strategies to face the unequal burden of effects of weather-related hazards in Portugal and across Europe.

Meal delivery apps (‎MDAs)‎ are a rapidly growing part of the digital food environment in the WHO European Region. The implications of this multibillion sector on health, nutrition, environment and society at large are not yet well understood. Past research has shown that meals purchased outside of the home can be less healthy than foods prepared at home and may lead to unhealthy dietary patterns, a risk factor for noncommunicable diseases. Emerging evidence also highlights the role of MDAs in extending the physical food environment and providing convenient access to unhealthy food and beverage options with the swipe of a finger. However, MDAs are a part of a wider food system and play a role in mediating between physical and digital food environments. Many existing government policies promoting healthy diets such as nutrition labelling and reformulation; however marketing restrictions may not yet apply to this novel sector. With this in mind, a food systems framework is used to assess the potential relationship between MDAs and health and nutrition outcomes. Recommendations are also made for methods to incentivize healthy and sustainable meals on MDAs.

Meal delivery apps (‎MDAs)‎ are a rapidly growing part of the digital food environment in the WHO European Region. The implications of this multibillion sector on health, nutrition, environment and society at large are not yet well understood. Past research has shown that meals purchased outside of the home can be less healthy than foods prepared at home and may lead to unhealthy dietary patterns, a risk factor for noncommunicable diseases. Emerging evidence also highlights the role of MDAs in extending the physical food environment and providing convenient access to unhealthy food and beverage options with the swipe of a finger. However, MDAs are a part of a wider food system and play a role in mediating between physical and digital food environments. Many existing government policies promoting healthy diets such as nutrition labelling and reformulation; however marketing restrictions may not yet apply to this novel sector. With this in mind, a food systems framework is used to assess the potential relationship between MDAs and health and nutrition outcomes. Recommendations are also made for methods to incentivize healthy and sustainable meals on MDAs.

Background: Evidence has emerged showing that elderly people and those with pre-existing chronic health conditions may be at higher risk of developing severe health consequences from COVID-19. In Europe, this is of particular relevance with ageing populations living with non-communicable diseases, multi-morbidity and frailty. Published estimates of Years Lived with Disability (YLD) from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study help to characterise the extent of these effects. Our aim was to identify the countries across Europe that have populations at highest risk from COVID-19 by using estimates of population age structure and YLD for health conditions linked to severe illness from COVID-19. Methods: Population and YLD estimates from GBD 2017 were extracted for 45 countries in Europe. YLD was restricted to a list of specific health conditions associated with being at risk of developing severe consequences from COVID-19 based on guidance from the United Kingdom Government. This guidance also identified individuals aged 70 years and above as being at higher risk of developing severe health consequences. Study outcomes were defined as: (i) proportion of population aged 70 years and above; and (ii) rate of YLD for COVID-19 vulnerable health conditions across all ages. Bivariate groupings were established for each outcome and combined to establish overall population-level vulnerability. Results: Countries with the highest proportions of elderly residents were Italy, Greece, Germany, Portugal and Finland. When assessments of population-level YLD rates for COVID-19 vulnerable health conditions were made, the highest rates were observed for Bulgaria, Czechia, Croatia, Hungary and Bosnia and Herzegovina. A bivariate analysis indicated that the countries at high-risk across both measures of vulnerability were: Bulgaria; Portugal; Latvia; Lithuania; Greece; Germany; Estonia; and Sweden. Conclusion: Routine estimates of population structures and non-fatal burden of disease measures can be usefully combined to create ...