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VI.
NUTRITION
15 -
Food Control and Standards
71.
FAO continued its assistance to member countries in the Region in developing and strengthening integrated food control systems as well as the establishment of food contaminants control and monitoring programmes at the national and regional levels. During the biennium 1988-1989 technical assistance in food control, in the form of field projects, consultations, training or other advisory services has been provided to 17 countries of the Region.
72.
A Regional Cooperative Project commenced in 1987 for establishing a food control training network in Asia and extended until 1991, has developed the capabilities of five training centres in selected countries (China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand) and trained about 175 people involved in food control in the Region. The project has issued a newsletter which is receiving wide distribution in the Region.
73.
Special emphasis is being given to improve export food inspection. Control projects have been established which deal specifically with this matter in Indonesia and Thailand. A regional workshop on food export/import programmes was held in January 1988 in Denpasar, Indonesia which recommended strengthening of export programmes and the exchange of information based primarily on TCDC.
74.
Of special importance to the countries of Asia and the Pacific is the work being carried out to improve the safety and quality of street foods. Street foods have the potential to be a serious public health and nutrition problem; at the same time they can have a significant positive impact on the socio-economic aspects of the urban centres. Studies have been carried out in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal and the Philippines which identified problems of contamination and socio-economic factors related to these foods. An FAO Expert Consultation on Street Foods was held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia in December 1988 which provided recommendations on how to upgrade and improve the conditions under which these foods are sold. FAO is following up to implement the recommendations.
75.
Surveillance and monitoring of contaminants (chemical and biological) in foods are important, not only for public health but also because of their negative economic impact. Excessive levels of aflatoxins or pesticide residues are often a cause of food export/import rejection in international food trade. The Second FAO/WHO/UNEP International Conference on Mycotoxin was held in Bangkok, Thailand in 1987. As a follow-up a Joint FAO/UNEP/UNEPCOM mission visited various countries in Asia in 1989 and formulated a 3-year project proposal to establish a regional training network for mycotoxin control in the region using existing facilities. Also, in response to a large number of requests for assistance in the monitoring and control of radionuclide contamination of food an Asian regional training course was held in India in 1989 on "Methods of Analysis of Foods for Radionuclide Contamination".