The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is pursuing efforts to update scientific advice on food of food.
A meeting at the FAO headquarters in Rome in May brought together scientists to examine the latest data on protozoa parasites of food origin, such as cryptosporidium, giardia and toxoplasma gondii.
They examined data on the load of the disease, the allocation of food and detection strategies, to identify the most important parasites in food, their characteristics, their human and food exposure and their risk characteristics.
High -risk foods include fresh products, crustaceans, dairy products, juices and ready -to -eat items.
Scientists have said that the food transmission of parasites is complex. The delay in the appearance of symptoms and chronic consequences make the detection and attribution of the source difficult.
Key parasites
The parasites identified as the most important include Cryptosporidium, Cyclospora Cayetanensis, Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia Duodelisalis, Toxoplasma Gondii and Trypanosoma Cruzi. Other parasites will be mentioned in the full report.
The environmental life stages, called oocysts and cysts, are resistant to difficult environmental conditions and many disinfectants. Cryptosporidium, Entamoeba Histolytica and Giardia Duodelical are infectious to humans during excretion by a previously infected host but the oocysts of Cyclospora Cayetanensis require days for weeks to sporulate and become infectious.
Seasonal trends in cyclosporase and cryptosporidiosis rates can be due to environmental factors, consumer behavior and food availability.
Foods can become contaminated during irrigation, application of pesticides or treatment with water containing cysts and infectious oocysts, or by direct or indirect contact with animal or human excrement on the hands, surfaces or other materials.
Toxoplasma gondii food transmission paths include the consumption of raw or sub-coite meat, fresh products and non-pasteurized dairy products. The epidemics of Trypanosoma Cruzi from unpasteurized products, such as fruit juice and sugar cane syrup, were only reported in South America.
Recommendations include that education, training and capacity building on food of food should be a priority. It is also important to improve sanitation and hygiene.
Experts have said that detection remains incoherent, with few standardized test methods between the types of food. The progress of molecular tools is promising, but reliable viability tests are rare. They added that there must be a commitment from the national authorities and regulatory organizations to coherent and transparent reports of cases and epidemics.
Remain informed
An expert in parasitology and food security from the Charles Sturt University contributed to the debate.
Shokoofh Shamsi, professor of veterinary parasitology, said that parasites are responsible for a large part of foods of food.
“Emphasis is placed on vulnerable populations and global equity in food security solutions in order to support countries in the development of robust food control systems that protect consumers against food infections, especially those most at risk.”
Song Liang, from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, also participated in the meeting.
In other news, the FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) are organizing a social media talk show on July 7 on access to precise information on online food security.
The event will be between FAO channels such as Linkedin, YouTube and Facebook.
The Moderator Giuseppe Di Chiera, specialist in the development and communication of food standards with the Codex Alimentarius Secretariat, will be joined by Lourdes Orlando, a professional officer of the FAO Agrifood and Food Systems Division, and Irene Casado, a communications agent working on the social production of FAO social media.
Juliana de Oliveira Mota, a WHO scientist in the department of nutrition and food security, and Namjilsuren tunga, unit head, health information and advocacy, will also be available to answer questions about food security problems and how to remain informed.
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