Experts in health and diet gathered last week at an academic conference entitled "Bridging Knowledge In Nutrition And Foods For Health To Support Sustainable Development". Organised by Mahidol University's Institute of Nutrition, the conference addressed Asia's major public-health concerns, especially with regard to food security and health hazards.
The Asia-Pacific region is home to around nearly two-thirds of the roughly 800 million hungry people in the world. According to Dr Vinod Ahuja of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, since 1990, fortunately, the region has successfully managed to reduce hunger by half. Even so, an estimated 12%, mostly in South Asia and some parts of Oceania, remain undernourished. Put another way, around 490 million people are not getting enough food.
"South Asia is worst when it comes to food insecurity, followed by Southeast Asia," said Dr Ahuja, citing the 2015 FAO's statistics. "People in urban areas are more worried about food-insecurity than those in rural areas because for them no cash means no food."
Thailand has significantly reduced hunger. Emeritus Prof Dr Kraisid Tontisirin, senior adviser and former director of the Institute of Nutrition, said the country has successfully reduced maternal and child malnutrition since the 1980s.
"Hunger fell from 35% in 1990 to 7% in 2015, for around a 79% decline. The number of hungry people in the country also fell from 20 million to only 5 million," added Dr Kraisid.
Even so, Thailand is facing remnants of under-nutrition and a rising prevalence of obesity, a so-called double burden of malnutrition and non-communicable diseases. To deal with the issues, president of the Thai Society of Toxicology and senior adviser to the Institute of Nutrition Assoc Prof Dr Songsak Srianujata is of the opinion that the understanding of healthy diets, food safety and lifestyle change is paramount.
"You are what you eat, of course," he said. "If you under-eat, you will fall prey to malnutrition. But if you overdo it, it's over-nutrition which in turn results in non-communicable diseases. If you eat food that is not clean enough, you will suffer diseases caused by food hazards."
Urban lifestyle is one of the factors to blame when it comes to diet-related illnesses such as obesity and diabetes, he added.
"'How Asia got fat' is a big issue created by eating habits, which are influenced by other countries."
Dr Songsak also underlined potential food hazards throughout the manufacturing process -- starting from farms all the way to tables. Primary production at farms can be full of chemicals such as from fertilisers, and toxic chemicals to treat livestock and fish. Contamination can come right here at the beginning of the food chain.
Then during food processing, manufacturers might add other chemicals, especially preservatives and other contaminants. Food trade is also likely to bring about contamination along the way -- from transporting products to the market. Food-preparation methods either at home or restaurants can also produce chemicals such as the process of grilling. Food services such as street food are no exception.
"They say we should consume around 400g of fruits and vegetables per day. But the question is, 'Is food sold in the market safe enough for us to eat and reach that healthy threshold?'," Dr Songsak said.
He added that for the country to promote food safety, efforts need to come from all parties concerned along the food chain. For primary production, the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) is needed to be strengthened and should be stepped up from a voluntary to a mandatory basis, especially when it comes to the use of agricultural chemicals and hygiene. The control of pesticides should be strengthened countrywide and the practice of organic farming should be promoted where applicable to offer more food alternatives for health-conscious consumers.
