REGIONAL EXPERT CONSULTATION OF THE ASIA-PACIFIC NETWORK FOR FOOD AND NUTRITION ON FUNCTIONAL FOODS AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS IN THE DAILY DIET
FAO REGIONAL OFFICE FOR ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
16 to 19 November 2004
Address by
Dr Rukhsana Haider
Regional Adviser - Nutrition, WHO Southeast Asia Regional Office
Distinguished Participants, Dear Colleagues, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I have great pleasure in conveying to you greetings from Dr Samlee Plianbangchang, Regional Director, WHO South East Asia Regional Office. It is a great pleasure and privilege to be here and I express my deepest thanks to our colleagues from the FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific for inviting me to participate in this important Regional Consultation.
Given the fundamental importance of nutrition for health and development, WHO has regarded nutrition as central to its mandate since it was established in 1948. As you are aware, WHO is working closely with governments, UN agencies, international and nongovernment organizations and institutes, to improve the health and nutrition of the people in the Region. Unfortunately, 79 percent of the world’s malnourished children live in the South-East Asia Region. More than 60 percent of the pregnant women are anaemic, and nearly 600 million people are at risk of Iodine Deficiency Disorders - to mention just a few of the major public health problems.
So, while under-nutrition still remains a pervasive problem in the Region, rapid changes in diet and lifestyles resulting from urbanization, economic development and other factors, are leading to over-nutrition and its negative consequences. As a result, a profound shift in the balance of the major causes of death and disease has already occurred, not only in developed countries, but also in our Region. Diet-related diseases like cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, obesity and various forms of cancers are rapidly increasing. Thus, WHO initiated the process of technical reviews and regional consultations, leading to the development of a Global Strategy on Diet, Physical activity and Health. This strategy was adopted by the 57th World Health Assembly in May this year.
As time is limited, I will not go into details of WHO’s nutrition activities, but will briefly address the topic of this consultation. The term, "functional foods’, is not well understood, and it’s usage varies greatly among countries. Also known as dietary supplements or nutraceuticals, the generally accepted understanding is that functional foods provide health benefits beyond basic nutrition. Organisations and university departments in some of the developed countries (Sweden, USA) have been working in this area. In this Region, the International Life Sciences Institute (ILSI) has been active. Recently, an FAO/WHO workshop on the safety and regulatory aspects of functional foods: was held in September this year. I hope our FAO colleagues will share their experiences from that workshop.
Identification of functional foods is at very different stages in the Region and require a harmonized approached. With expanding and aggressive food industries and increasing public interest in such products, it is time for the Region to have an agreed technical definition for functional foods. Appropriate methodologies will be required for the scientific substantiation of health claims. And, of course, we would also need to establish an appropriate regulatory mechanism to ensure safety and efficacy of these products. Can they be covered appropriately by the Codex Alimentarius? These are issues that need to be discussed. Such mechanisms and regulations would be beneficial, not only for the industry, but also to instill greater consumer confidence in these products.
This consultation will provide an excellent opportunity to have a better understanding of the global status of functional foods and related issues. So, once again, I would like to congratulate and thank FAO for organising this timely consultation. Such initiatives are a positive step in advocating healthy diet as a whole, as well as providing added values to food items. We, in WHO look forward to the deliberations and outcome of this important meeting. We will be happy to work further with our partner agencies and Member countries for improving the health and nutrition status of the people of our Region.
Thank you.
