BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Food security is a multifaceted issue experienced by nations worldwide. A trend currently being explored in recent studies in measuring food security at the micro level is the Dietary Diversity Score (DDS). Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS), a type of DDS, obtains a snapshot of the economic ability of a household, making it an effective food insecurity indicator. The objective of this study was to assess the validity of the HDDS as a tool for measuring food insecurity.

METHODOLOGY: The study employed a cross-sectional analytic design with 368 study households in Lucena City, Quezon Philippines. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) and Household Mean Adequacy Ratio (HHMAR), being two of the most frequently used methods in measuring household food insecurity, were used as reference standards to assess the validity of the HDDS in identifying food insecure households. Receiver Operating Curve (ROC) Analysis was done to determine the appropriate HDDS cut-off for identifying food insecure households.

RESULTS: The areas under the curve (AUC) obtained (0.618, 0.70, 0.701, 0.743), classified HDDS as a "fair indicator" of food insecurity. HDDS of 6 was identified as the optimal score when evaluating food insecurity withconsideration of sensitivity and specificity.

CONCLUSION: In this study, HDDS was proven to be a valid measure of food insecurity. It shows the great potential of this quick assessment tool in identifying population-at-risk, which is crucial in the design of a timely and appropriate intervention to alleviate food insecurity and other nutrition and health-related problems whichmay arise.

Consumer Product Safety ; legislation & jurisprudence ; Food Supply ; legislation & jurisprudence

To understand the extent of food insecurity in Bangladesh emphasizing on the non cereal food availability and maternal and child nutritional outcome. We conducted systematic review in between 1985 to 2010 by using PubMed and Google Scholar databases as well as archives of relevant journals by hand. Contacting with the author was also performed in the case where original data needed. Results from the evidence it may be sated that despite the growth of cereal production and its availability Bangladesh is still problems with accessing of non cereal foods (e.g., vegetable, fruits, fish, milk, meat, egg etc) as well as the incidence of acute malnutrition in children and mothers were hardnosed in the rural area of Bangladesh.
Food Supply ; Body Mass Index ; Malnutrition ; Child ; Mothers ; Bangladesh

Objective: Based on data related to arsenic contents in paddy rice, as part of the food safety monitoring programs in 2017, to discuss and explore the application of spatial analysis used for food safety risk assessment. Methods: One province was chosen to study the spatial visualization, spatial point model estimation, and kernel density estimation. Moran's I statistic of spatial autocorrelation methods was used to analyze the spatial distribution at the county level. Results: Data concerning the spatial point model estimation showed that the spatial distribution of pollution appeared relatively dispersive. From the kernel density estimation, we found that the hot spots of pollution were mainly located in the central and eastern regions. The global Moran's I values appeared as 0.11 which presented low spatial aggregation to the rice arsenic contamination and with statistically significant differences. One "high-high" and two typical "low-low" clustering were seen in this study. Conclusion: Results from our study provided good visual demonstration, identification of pollution distribution rules, hot spots and aggregation areas for research on the distribution of food pollutants. Spatial statistics can provide technical support for the implementation of issue-based monitoring programs.
Arsenic/adverse effects* ; China ; Cluster Analysis ; Food Contamination ; Food Supply ; Humans ; Spatial Analysis

OBJECTIVES: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) adversely impacts food security in households of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Little research has focused on food insecurity among PLWHA in India. The purpose of this study was to identify the prevalence of and factors relating to food security in households of PLWHA in the Siliguri subdivision of Darjeeling, West Bengal, India. METHODS: A cross-sectional community-based study was carried out among 173 PLWHA residing in Siliguri and registered at the Anti-retroviral Therapy Centre of North Bengal Medical College & Hospital. Data was collected at the household level with interviews of PLWHA using a food security survey instrument. We analyzed the associations using logistic regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of household food security among the participants was 50.9% (88/173). Five years or more of schooling, higher socioeconomic class and males were found to be significantly associated with a higher likelihood of food security. A later stage of the disease and the presence of other family members with HIV/AIDS were significantly associated with a lower likelihood of food security. The major coping strategies to deal with food insecurity in the acute phase HIV infection included borrowing money (56.1%), followed by spousal support, loans from microfinance institutions, banks, or money lenders, borrowing food, or selling agricultural products. CONCLUSIONS: The present study revealed that only about half of households with PLWHA were food secure. Prior interventions relating to periods of food and economic crisis as well as strategies for sustaining food security and economic status are needed in this area.
Cross-Sectional Studies* ; Family Characteristics* ; Food Supply* ; HIV ; HIV Infections ; Humans* ; India ; Logistic Models ; Male ; Prevalence

OBJECTIVES: During the past two decades, food deprivation and hunger have been recognized to be not just the concerns of only underdeveloped or developing countries, but as problems for many affluent Western nations as well. Many countries have made numerous efforts to define and measure the extent of these problems. Based on these efforts, the theory and practice of food security studies has significantly evolved during the last decades. Thus, this study aims to provide a comprehensive review of the concept and measurement of food security. METHODS AND RESULTS: In this review, we introduce the definition and background of food security, we describe the impact of food insecurity on nutrition and health, we provide its measurements and operational instruments and we discuss its applications and implications. Some practical information for the use of the food security index in South Korea is also presented. CONCLUSIONS: Food security is an essential element in achieving a good nutritional and health status and it has an influence to reduce poverty. The information about the current understanding of food security can help scientists, policy makers and program practitioners conduct research and maintain outreach programs that address the issues of poverty and the promotion of food security.
Concept Formation ; Food Supply/*economics ; Humans ; Hunger ; Poverty ; Questionnaires ; Socioeconomic Factors

BACKGROUND: This study was conducted to analyze the influence of socioeconomic characteristics of community on the food insecurity under the control of personal socioeconomic factors which may be influence to the food security. METHODS: Food insecurity and individual socioeconomic characteristics were obtained from 2012 community health survey. Socioeconomic characteristics of communities were extracted from the data of Statistics Korea and local governments. Personal socioeconomic factors were sex, age, educational status, job, and monthly family income. Socioeconomic characteristics of communities were administrative district (urban vs. rural), senior population rate, degree of financial self reliance, degree of financial independence, portion of welfare budget, number of welfare facilities, and unemployment rate. We analysed the relationships between the food insecurity and socioeconomic characteristics of community using multi-level analysis under the control of personal characteristics. RESULTS: On personal level age, sex, education status, and monthly family income were related with food insecurity. On community level administrative district (urban vs. rural), degree of financial independence, unemployment rate, and proportion of welfare budget among local general government accounts were related to individual food insecurity. Rural area, district with low levels of financial independence, low portion of welfare budget, and greater unemployment rate showed a higher level of food insecurity. CONCLUSION: To reduce the level of food insecurity in a community it is necessary to decrease the unemployment rate, in addition to providing support from the central government by increasing the proportion of the welfare budget so that both factors contribute to raising the degree of financial independence.
Adult* ; Budgets ; Education ; Educational Status ; Food Supply* ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Korea ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Unemployment

This study examined the hygiene practices of contract foodservice employees and investigated the influence of education and work environment on these hygienes practices. A questionnaire was distributed to 250 contract foodservice employees and a total of 232 responses were received and analyzed. The overall score for hygiene practices of contract foodservice employees was 3.89 based on a 5-point scale. Cross-contamination was prominent (highest score at 4.46) and the heating temperature was less prominent (lowest score at 3.49). The factors most affecting contract foodservice employees were their work period, the size of the contract foodservice management company, the number of meals served daily, the frequency of meal service per day and the frequency of hygiene education. Compared to small and medium-sized contract foodservice management companies, the major contract foodservice management companies showed higher scores for refrigerator/freezer control (P<0.001), vegetable/fruit disinfection (P<0.001), thawing (P<0.001), heating temperature (P<0.001), cleaning/disinfection (P<0.01), and personal hygiene (P<0.05). The frequency of hygiene education had a significant effect on the performance levels for refrigerator/freezer control (P<0.001), vegetable/fruit disinfection (P<0.001), thawing (P<0.001), heating temperature (P<0.001), cleaning/disinfection control (P<0.001), food supply control (P<0.05), and personal hygiene (P<0.05). From these results, to increase the sanitation quality of contract foodservice operations, hygiene practice levels need to increase and hygiene education systematically should be enforced for foodservice employees.
Contracts ; Disinfection ; Food Supply ; Heating ; Hot Temperature ; Humans ; Hygiene ; Meals ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Sanitation

Recent economic changes throughout the world, either development or crises and recessions, have prompted a host of nutrition related problems, including a decreased prevalence of undernutrition, an increase in the prevalence of diet related diseases, widespread food insecurity as crop prices increase, and so on. In addition, evidence is mounting that suggests that exposure to poor nutrition early in life is a predisposing factor for chronic diseases in adulthood. Thus, the role of international or community nutrition professionals is vital to not only studying and understanding the interplay between economics, food policy, and health, but also to improving the ability to intervene and prevent many problems related to food insecurity in developed and developing countries. The purpose of this review is to outline and describe these issues as a means to open discussion on how to best alleviate major nutrition problems in the world.
Adult ; Chronic Disease ; Developing Countries ; Diet ; Food Supply ; Humans ; Malnutrition ; Nutrition Policy ; Prevalence

It is thought that the sanitary perception and hygienic food treatment of food suppliers as the first handlers of foodstuffs are extremely significant for the safe and sanitary management of food in group meal services. So in this study, a survey of 103 food suppliers who provide raw materials for 80 meal services in business places around Buasn area was conducted on general matters, participation in sanitation education, sanitary perception, sanitary treatment of foodstuffs, knowledge of sanitation, etc. The results of the survey are as follows: 1. 42.7% of the subjects have worked for the food supply companies for one to five years and the main job of 36.9% of them is delivery service. Food suppliers who handle over two foodstuffs are 6839%. 2. Concerning the participation in sanitation education, 43.7% of the subjects have not experienced any such education, The reason of 23.3% of them for not having the education is that there have been no opportunity for them at all. And 83.5% of them regard the education on hygiene as necessary. 3. In the sanitary perception, 93.1% of the subjects considered the temperature control of the food delivery vehicles as important and 82.5% of them replied on of the leading causes of food poisoning as foodstuffs. 64.0% thought of their knowledge of food sanitation as not very good, but moderate. 4. Concerning sanitary treatment of foodstuffs, 50.5% of delivery vehicles were wearing sanitary uniforms and 24.3% of them washed their hands while supplying food. 5. In the score of hygienic knowledge, the average score of all food suppliers was 60.6 point. In the score of hygienic knowledge on general matters, managing supervisors got 6.31+/-1.81, meat suppliers scored 7.08+/-1.37 and suppliers with 5 to 10 year careers recorded the highest point, 6.37+/-1.70. In the score of hygienic knowledge based on the perception of food sanitation, the food suppliers with the experience of sanitation education scored 6.42+/-1.93 point and the point was significant(p<0.01), compared with that of the food suppliers without the experience of sanitation education. The food suppliers who answered their knowledge was very good scored the highest point, 8.00+/-1.41. The food suppliers who replied that sanitation education was truly necessary recorded the hygienic knowledge score of 6.75+/-1.77, significantly(p<0.01) high. In the score of hygienic knowledge on the basis of the practical degree of sanitary handling of food materials, the food suppliers who answered they cleaned their delivery vehicles everyday scored 6.48+/-1.93, the food suppliers who answered they sterilized their delivery vehicles everyday scored 6.29+/-1.89, the food suppliers who answered they controlled the themperature of their delivery vehicles irregularly scored 6.58+/-1.79 and the food suppliers who answered they washed their hands every time when they were working scored 6.86+/-2.24, significantly(p<0.05) high in comparison with every item in other factors. And the food suppliers who answered they were wearing sanitary uniforms irregularly while suplying foodstuffs scored the highest point, 6.66+/-2.92.
Busan* ; Commerce* ; Education ; Food Supply ; Foodborne Diseases ; Hand ; Hygiene ; Meals ; Meat ; Sanitation