Post by account_disabled on Mar 6, 2024 8:41:54 GMT
The donation of food and beverages that companies have made during this COVID-19 emergency has been an immediate relief for vulnerable sectors of the population but has also shown the urgency of defining criteria that regulate this type of contributions, since in some cases they are delivered ultra-processed products or products of low nutritional quality, which, far from helping, exacerbate underlying problems such as food insecurity, malnutrition, overweight, obesity and diabetes.
In Mexico, the prevalence of overweight and obesity reaches 75.2% in the adult population and 35.2% in the child population. “It is necessary to systematically monitor the strategies used by the food industry to interact with health policies and promote their products,” said Mariel White, researcher at the Center for Research and Nutrition of the National Institute of Public Health.
During the panel “Obesity and COVID-19: the role Chile Mobile Number List of the ultra-processed industry”, organized by El Poder del Consumidor, it was recalled that it is proven that COVID-19 worsens in people with obesity and weak immune systems, which They weaken even more if there is no nutrient-rich diet.
Given this, the State was urged to take special care to regulate the criteria for food and beverages that reach vulnerable populations through donations, especially in cases of emergencies like the current one.
Ana Larrañaga, researcher at the ContraPESO Coalition, said that the authorities would have to be focused on protecting the right to health of vulnerable sectors, since some brands can take advantage of this time of crisis to position themselves through the donation of food products from poor nutritional intake.
As an example, it was pointed out that the Coca-Cola company has channeled donations, including drinks with high sugar content or ultra-processed products. Even donations are publicly appreciated by authorities and referred to as “liters of hydration.”
This problem particularly affects the child population, which is in an even more vulnerable situation when faced with donations of breast milk substitutes, which generates a preference among minors for formulas and complicates breastfeeding, when it should be prioritized as a source of food during the first stage of life, said Xaviera Cabana, member of the International Baby Food Action Network Mexico.
The forum panelists concluded that donations are useful and necessary as long as they are natural foods with high nutritional value.
They called on companies to be careful with what they donate and on authorities to promote adequate regulation that protects vulnerable populations who are most exposed to this pandemic and any subsequent emergency from junk products.
TAGSCOVID-19DonationCSRCSR-Covid19
ShareLinkedinFacebookTwitterWhatsApp
Previous article
UN warns that the pandemic can delay progress made in gender equality.
In Mexico, the prevalence of overweight and obesity reaches 75.2% in the adult population and 35.2% in the child population. “It is necessary to systematically monitor the strategies used by the food industry to interact with health policies and promote their products,” said Mariel White, researcher at the Center for Research and Nutrition of the National Institute of Public Health.
During the panel “Obesity and COVID-19: the role Chile Mobile Number List of the ultra-processed industry”, organized by El Poder del Consumidor, it was recalled that it is proven that COVID-19 worsens in people with obesity and weak immune systems, which They weaken even more if there is no nutrient-rich diet.
Given this, the State was urged to take special care to regulate the criteria for food and beverages that reach vulnerable populations through donations, especially in cases of emergencies like the current one.
Ana Larrañaga, researcher at the ContraPESO Coalition, said that the authorities would have to be focused on protecting the right to health of vulnerable sectors, since some brands can take advantage of this time of crisis to position themselves through the donation of food products from poor nutritional intake.
As an example, it was pointed out that the Coca-Cola company has channeled donations, including drinks with high sugar content or ultra-processed products. Even donations are publicly appreciated by authorities and referred to as “liters of hydration.”
This problem particularly affects the child population, which is in an even more vulnerable situation when faced with donations of breast milk substitutes, which generates a preference among minors for formulas and complicates breastfeeding, when it should be prioritized as a source of food during the first stage of life, said Xaviera Cabana, member of the International Baby Food Action Network Mexico.
The forum panelists concluded that donations are useful and necessary as long as they are natural foods with high nutritional value.
They called on companies to be careful with what they donate and on authorities to promote adequate regulation that protects vulnerable populations who are most exposed to this pandemic and any subsequent emergency from junk products.
TAGSCOVID-19DonationCSRCSR-Covid19
ShareLinkedinFacebookTwitterWhatsApp
Previous article
UN warns that the pandemic can delay progress made in gender equality.