Food and water security issues in Russia I : Food security in the general population of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and the Far East

• Background. Problems related to food security in Russian Arctic (dietary imbalance, predominance ofcarbohydrates, shortage of milk products, vegetables and fruits, deficit of vitamins and microelements,chemical, infectious and parasitic food contamination) have been defined in the literature. But no standardprotocol of food security assessment has been used in the majority of studies.Objectives. Our aim was to obtain food security indicators, identified within an Arctic collaboration,for selected regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and the Far East, and to compare food safety in theseterritories.Study design and methods. In 18 regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and the Far East, the followingindicators of food security were analyzed: food costs, food consumption, and chemical and biological foodcontamination for the period 2000-2011.Results. Food costs in the regions are high, comprising 2343% of household income. Only 4 out of 10 foodgroups (fish products, cereals, sugar, plant oil) are consumed in sufficient amounts. The consumption of milkproducts, eggs, vegetables, potatoes, fruits (and berries) is severely low in a majority of the selected regions.There are high levels of biological contamination of food in many regions. The biological and chemicalcontamination situation is alarming, especially in Chukotka. Only 7 food pollutants are under regularcontrol; among pesticides, only DDT. Evenki AO and Magadan Oblast have reached peak values in foodcontaminants compared with other regions. Mercury in local fish has not been analyzed in the majority of theregions. In 3 regions, no monitoring of DDToccurs. Aflatoxins have not been analyzed in 5 regions. Nitrateshad the highest percentage in excess of the hygienic threshold in all regions. Excesses of other pollutants indifferent regions were episodic and as a rule not high.Conclusion. Improvement of the food supply and food accessibility in the regions of the Russian Arctic,Siberia and the Far East is of utmost importance. Both quantitative and qualitative control of chemical andbiological contaminants in food is insufficient and demands radical enhancement aimed at improving foodsecurity.

Ämnesord

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

food security

chemical; biological contamination

Russian Arctic

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)