DRIED FRUITS ON INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS

Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Healthcare has for the first time elaborated and enacted "Sanitary rules for the production of canned fruits and vegetables, dried fruits, vegetables and potatoes, sauerkraut and salted vegetables".

This became a logical continuation of the realization of a set of measures aimed at securing a dynamic growth in the production of agricultural products and domestic food products, as well as boosting the quality of nutrition of the population. It is noteworthy that international norms and rules of hygienic practice for low-acid and pickled canned food products were used for the development. This will provide that the quality of food products meets international standards and recommendations of authoritative international organizations in the field of health protection.

What is the need for these norms?

In recent years, the country has significantly enhanced the nutrition quality of the population; the structure of food consumption has changed. For example, consumption of meat and meat products per capita increased by 1.3 times, milk and dairy products - 1.6 times, eggs - 2.2 times, vegetables - 2.6 times, potatoes - 1.7 times, fruits - 4 times . Improving the structure and diet, along with other factors, positively affected the health indicators of the population. Over the past 10 years, the proportion of children with reduced body weight decreased more than twofold (from 4% to 1.8%), and the incidence of women with anemia reduced 2.5 times. The average life expectancy in Uzbekistan increased by 6.5 years (from 67 to 73.5 years), and the average life expectancy of women - up to 75.8 years.

At the same time, rapid urbanization accompanied by changes in lifestyle led to the growth in the level of diseases associated with unsustainable nutrition, unfortunately, characteristic for all economically developed countries. The World Health Organization identified these diseases as a separate group of non-communicable diseases. An increase in the level of these diseases along with inadequate nutrition is associated with inadequate physical activity, consumption of tobacco and alcohol, and excessive consumption of salt and sugar.

The results of the study conducted in 2014 showed that about 67.2% of the adult population of the republic use vegetables and fruits below the WHO recommended rate, 37% - food with excessive salt content, and 16.4% of the adult population has low physical activity. In 20.2% of the adult population are overweight, and 33.9% - with high blood pressure. In order to prevent food-related diseases and reduce the level of non-communicable diseases, through the resolutions the Cabinet of Ministers decreed to expand domestic production of basic types of food raw materials in accordance with modern requirements for quality and safety, and to advance the production of food products enriched with the necessary components, specialized products for children’s nutrition diet (therapeutic and prophylactic) of food products and dietary supplements to the food.

New sanitary rules will help to further enhance the nutritional and health status.

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