Milk-and-Dairy-Products-in-Human-Nutrition-FAO

Chapter 9 – Human nutrition and dairy development: Trends and issues 361
particular risk from unsafe food. Chapter 6 discusses the risks that certain types
of dairy products may pose to vulnerable groups. These include Listeria species,
which may occur in soft cheeses and pose a risk to pregnant women, and the risk of
meningitis and enteritis in infants linked to presence of Cronobacter species in powdered
infant formula. Food is only one possible exposure route; women handling
infected dairy animals are at particular risk of contracting brucellosis, a potentially
debilitating illness.
Minimizing these risks requires actions pre- and post-harvest. For example,
transmission of Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis from dairy animals can be
kept to a minimum through regular vaccination of the animals. Many risks can be
reduced by ensuring hygiene during milking and thermal pasteurization of milk.
Dairy-industry programmes have a responsibility to promote food-safety practices
among producers and processors.
9.2.3 Growing cities: changing diets and new opportunities
More people now live in urban areas than in rural areas, and in growing economies
of the developing world cities are expanding as people move in from the countryside
in search of employment and new opportunities (Chapter 2). Increasing urbanization
and the associated lifestyle changes are probably the most important factors in
dietary change and subsequent changes in nutritional status. As people move from
rural areas and settle in cities their relationship with food changes; they produce
less of their own food and are distanced from the farm. Some city people still keep
livestock but for the most part livestock-keeping is restricted to the fringes of
residential areas (FAO, 2011b).
All urban consumers, rich and poor alike, must rely increasingly on the assurance
of others that their food is safe, since they can no longer see where it comes
from. The geographical distance between production and consumption and the
many links in food market chains leading into urban areas mean that food-safety
regulations and practices, including traceability of products, play a critical part in
urban nutrition. This problem is not unique to dairy products – it applies to all
foods. When milk is produced within city limits, it is important it is produced in
a clean environment and to ensure that those involved have access to information
about safe production, processing and supply. Integrating food-safety practices into
household and community food-production initiatives in urban areas has recently
been identified as an urgent area of research (Girard et al., 2012).
Malnutrition in growing cities has two faces, with underconsumption and
overconsumption found side by side. The urban poor face the challenge of finding
cheap, nutritious and safe food, including livestock products, in places where they
can easily access it. For those who can afford sufficient food, easy access to energydense,
nutrient-poor foods can lead to obesity and other chronic diseases. Since
urban populations in developing countries are on average richer than those in rural
areas, they have tended to increase their consumption of animal-source foods, edible
oils and sugar-sweetened food and beverages, including carbonated drinks.
Although dairy products are energy-dense and high in saturated fatty acids, they
have not been implicated in causing problems associated with overnutrition. Dairy
products have not been associated with obesity (Chapters 4 and 7), nor is consumption
of low-fat milk and dairy products associated with increased CVD risk; it may