EDA held its Policy Conference in Brussels on 20 March. The conference focused on two topics which are currently high on the agenda in the EU: The Common Agriculture Policy towards 2020; and the need to adopt a holistic approach in European health policy making. It resulted in a lively debate on the dangers of supply management in times of crisis, and the need to regard dairy as a whole food from a health policy perspective.
The second session of the policy conference focused on health, and the need to view dairy as a whole food instead of singling out a few nutrients.
The third speaker spoke about whether and how this science is reflected in EU health policy and what changes might be needed to overcome current shortcomings. The panel discussed the need for a holistic approach in European health policy-making shifting from single nutrients to whole foods and diet when developing policy.
Professor Jean-Michel Lecerf, from the Institut Pasteur de Lille spoke about the importance of dairy in health across all ages, saying that ‘milk and dairy products are nearly a complete food with almost all macronutrients and all micronutrients essential for healthy life. Milk is a natural food that contains the most nutrient diversity among all available food to humans’.
Professor Lecerf strongly argued that milk should be regarded not only as the sum of its nutrients but that the matrix effects should be considered. This is specific to dairy products, which contain a lot of nutrients that are able to interact favourably. He confirmed that dairy products thus have positive effects on weight management, metabolic syndrome, colorectal cancer incidence, bone health and cardiovascular disease.
Prof Lecerf concluded that the incredible nutrient richness and the specific matrix effects make naturally nutritious dairy foods useful for health and nutrition at any age.
Dr Rosalie Dhonukshe-Rutten from Wageningen University then spoke about how dairy can improve the health of elderly people. She discussed the role of nutrition with regards to ageing and showed the nutrients that are of importance for the elderly.
Mr Jørgen Hald Christensen, director of the Danish Agriculture and Food Council and Chair of the EDA Food and Environment Policies Committee, then spoke about the discrepancy between the science showing that dairy is good for us and its insufficient reflection in European health policies.
He showed that dairy consumption is recommended in dietary guidelines all over Europe and that major scientific studies confirm the natural nutrient richness of dairy foods and the positive associations between dairy and health. In European policies, however, dairy is not getting the attention it deserves, as food regulation focuses on single negatively perceived nutrients (too much saturated fat, added sugar, salt etc) and items to avoid.
Comparing this to consumer needs, Mr Hald Christensen pointed out that consumers eat whole foods, not single nutrients, and focus on positives, such as taste, enjoyment and health. A negative approach towards foods and diet is confusing for consumers. Looking at the EU claims regulation, he mentioned the paradox that one can claim that calcium is good for bones, but not that milk is good for bones. Hald Christensen concluded that the focus of EU health policy should shift from single nutrients to whole foods, that positive messages should be delivered to the consumer, that consumer education is important and that new scientific results need to be taken into consideration.
All speakers were then joined by Dr Judith Bryans, chair of the EDA Nutrition Working Group, and Mr Eric Grande, chair of the EDA Claims & Labelling Working Group, during the panel discussion.
The panelists agreed that the focus should be on whole foods, not on single, negatively perceived nutrients. All nutrients are good when eaten in the recommended amounts and it is important to consider how they interact and function in the diet. Current public health policy is confusing for consumers who have difficulties to translate single nutrient information in a healthy and balanced diet. Consumers react best to positive messages.
In addition, when current EU legislation puts constraints on the dairy (and other food) industry, health care professionals and others to communicate good things about their products while advocacy groups and media have freedom of speech, there is something wrong in the system.
The panel considered that perhaps a service check of the whole system is needed. A holistic approach, looking into the total nutrient composition and matrix effects of foods is necessary, and it should be a priority for the dairy sector to convey this message to the public authorities. Finally, the panel suggested that the time is right for the dairy sector to join forces with other supporters of nutrient rich basic foods and communicate together.
Source: EDA
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