298 Introduction to Human Nutrition
as a mark of nutritional quality. The huge advantage
of this system is that the standards are not universal.
One is judging packet soups against packet soups as
an example but not against mayonnaise or chocolate
or breakfast cereals. At present, the area of nutrition
profi ling is very much at the development stage and
it remains to be seen how exactly this progresses.
Besides the use of nutrient profi ling for permitting
claims, there is interest in its use in deciding signifi -
cant nutrition policy issues about individual foods.
Advertising of foods is one critically important area
where this approach may be applied.
12.6 Global players in food and
nutrition regulation
Food and nutrition regulation spans the entire food
chain – from processing of seeds, to planting seeds, to
tilling crops, storage and harvest of crops, and sale of
crops. Animal and fi sh farming are equally complex.
Where these primary products enter the realm of the
food processor, another range of regulations apply,
for example what is permitted to be added to the food,
what must be in a food (nutrition), what must not be
in a food (pesticides), the physical and biological
environment in which the food is processed, in addi-
tion to packaging, labeling, transport, storage, sales,
and advertising.
Globalization is one of the driving forces shaping
the world economy and the pace of globalization of
the food trade has accelerated in the past decades.
New methods and technologies in food production
and processing have contributed to this acceleration.
Productivity of animals and crops has risen to unprec-
edented levels. Globalization of the food trade bene-
fi ts consumers in terms of quality, affordability, and
guaranteed supply. It also offers diversity of products,
which can contribute to improved nutrition and
health. Globalization has been accompanied by evolv-
ing governance issues that have produced regulation
at a national and global level in an attempt not only
to facilitate trade but also to establish and retain the
confi dence of the consumer in the food supply chain.
The distances that food and feed are now transported
potentially create conditions more conducive to con-
tamination of the supply chain, where even a single
source can have serious consequences.
Modern food and nutrition regulation must deal
with this range of activity on a global scale and must
be reviewed continuously to take account of issues
such as food sources from new areas with differing
climates, growing and harvesting techniques, and
public health infrastructure. In addition, there are
very many national approaches to food regulation
refl ecting different perceptions about the value of
new technology, different degrees of protection given
by governments to food producers, and even different
interpretations of the science involved in the regula-
tory process. The implication of globalization for
food regulation therefore requires both international
cooperation among national food regulators and the
effective balancing of gains from trade with regula-
tory differences.
UN and UN agencies
Globally, a range of agencies plays a role in food and
nutrition regulation. The UN was established in 1945
as was the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
which was established as a specialized UN agency. The
principal role of the FAO is the provision of food
security for all. Coupled with this is its mandate to
raise nutrition levels and agricultural productivity in
order to raise the standard of living for rural com-
munities and thereby contribute to the growth of the
global economy.
The World Health Organization (WHO) is another
agency of the UN and is a sister organization of the
FAO. Established in 1948, its objective is the attain-
ment by all peoples of the highest possible levels of
health. The WHO is the directing and coordinating
authority for health within the UN system. The WHO
is governed by its member states through the World
Health Assembly (WHA), which is composed of rep-
resentatives from each member state. The WHO con-
siders that freedom from hunger and malnutrition is
a basic human right and alleviation of these global
problems is fundamental for human and national
development. While the WHO has traditionally
focused on nutritional defi ciency and associated mor-
bidity and mortality, the issue of malnutrition char-
acterized by obesity and the long-term implications
of unbalanced dietary and lifestyle practices that
result in chronic diseases such as cardiovascular
disease, cancer, and diabetes has assumed increasing
importance in recent years. Countries, particularly
developing countries where both under- and over-
nutrition coexist, are of particular concern. In light of
these challenges and trends the WHO aims to build