Vol 41 # 3 September 2009 - Kma.org.kw

September 2009
KUWAIT MEDICAL JOURNAL 273
comprehensive diarrhoeal disease control strategy,
including improvement of water quality, hygiene,
and sanitation; provision of oral rehydration solution
and zinc supplements; and overall improved case
management.
WHO, UNICEF and other GAVI partners
are working together in a new accelerated and
integrated approach to combat rotavirus diarrhoea
and pneumonia, the two biggest vaccine-preventable
diseases which together account for more than 35% of
all child deaths every year, the majority of which are in
the developing world.
For more information contact:
Melinda Henry, World Health Organization. Telephone:
+41 227912535; Mobile: +41 794771738.
E-mail: henrym@who.int
Hayatee Hasan, World Health Organization. Telephone:
+41 22 791 2103; Mobile: +41 79 351 6330.
E-mail: hasanh@who.int
2. FOOD STANDARDS COMMISSION TARGETS
DANGEROUS BACTERIA, CHEMICALS
Measures to Make Food Safer Dominate Agenda of
Codex Alimentarius Commission
The Codex Alimentarius Commission, (CAC)
concluded a week-long meeting and adopted more
than 30 new international standards, codes of practice
and guidelines to improve worldwide food safety and
protect the health of consumers.
New standards adopted by the Commission include:
Reduction of acrylamide in foods
The Commission approved measures for reducing
the formation of acrylamide in foods. The Code of
Practice will provide national and local authorities,
manufacturers and others with guidance to prevent
and reduce formation of acrylamide in potato
products during all phases of the production process.
The guidance includes strategies for raw materials,
the addition of other ingredients; and food processing
and heating. The chemical acrylamide, first identified
in food in 2002, is produced during frying, roasting
and baking of carbohydrate-rich foods, such as French
fries, potato crisps, coffee, biscuits, pastries and
breads. Acrylamide is considered a possible human
carcinogen.
Reduction of contamination with Polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons
The Commission adopted the first guidelines for
reducing Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH)
intake through final food preparation. Because
smoking and direct drying processes are used both in
industry and in private households, the guidance can
also form the basis of consumer education programs.
Parts of PAH are possible human carcinogens formed
during the combustion of fuel both in the smoking
and in the direct drying processes involved in the
preparation of foods.
Prevention of Ochratoxin A contamination in coffee
The Commission adopted guidance to enable
coffee producing countries to develop and implement
their own national programmes for the prevention and
reduction of Ochratoxin A (OTA) contamination. OTA
is a fungal toxin also considered a possible human
carcinogen.
Powdered follow-up formulae
The Commission adopted criteria for salmonella
and other bacteria in powdered follow-up formulae
for children six months of age or older and for special
medical purposes for young children. A bacterium of
special concern is E. sakazakii, for which Codex adopted
specific criteria for powdered formula for infants (0
to 6 months) in 2008. The Commission decided that
in countries with particular risk for E. sakazakii from
consumption of follow-up formulae (i.e., countries
with substantial populations of immunocompromised
babies) similar criteria for E. sakazakii could be
introduced for follow-up formula as for powdered
formula for infants.
Follow-up formulae should only be used for the
intended target population. Unfortunately, they are
often consumed by babies younger than six months
of age. The standard stresses the need to address such
product misuse issues through education campaigns
and training.
Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods
The Commission adopted parameters for
microbiological testing and environmental monitoring
for Listeria monocytogenes in ready-to-eat foods. A
maximum level was set for certain foods where the
bacteria cannot grow, while in ready-to-eat products
where growth is possible, no Listeria monocytogenes
will be allowed. The parameters will help producers
control and prevent contamination of ready-to-eat
foods with this bacterium that can result in listeriosis,
a potentially fatal disease. While healthy people
rarely contract listeriosis, it can cause miscarriages
and stillbirths, as well as serious and sometimes fatal
infections in those with weakened immune systems,
such as infants, the elderly and persons with HIV
infection or undergoing chemotherapy.
The Commission also adopted regional standards
for ginseng products, fermented soybean paste and
gochujang.
Ezzeddine Boutrif, FAO Director, Nutrition and
Consumer Protection Division, noted that Codex