Download Healthy food contain essential nutrients, such as

Healthy food contain essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or
minerals to provide nutritional support and it is very important for an organism to produce
energy, stimulate growth, and maintain life. Preserving the food quality and food safety is
priority at every stage of the food chain involving agricultural production, processes such as
cooking, packaging, marketing etc. Food additives play a key role in maintaining the food
quality and characteristics that consumers demand. On the other hand food may occasionally
become contaminated to a level which may be harmful. Contamination, which is a worldwide
public health concern, may occur through environmental pollution of the air, water and soil or
through the intentional use of various chemicals. Children consume more food and beverages per
kilogram of body weight than do adults, and their dietary patterns are different and often less
variable during different developmental stages. In case of focusing on children; food processing,
food contaminants, food ingredients, and nutritional factors are the pieces which are the most
under investigation by the national and international organizations to set up limit values
considering the susceptible individuals, preparing guidelines for preventing the adverse health
effects and promoting effective programs for healthy lifestyle, for preventing overweight and
surely for healthy adults of the future. Our main aim is to raise awareness of children on healthy
food and healthy eating habits. Chemical hazards in food can be classified as sensitizers which
cause specialized adverse effects (e.g. allergens) or toxic substances (food additives, residues,
contaminants or endogenous substances). The Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act presume that
traditionally consumed foods are safe if they are free of contaminants. The potential exposure to
chemicals is a serious threat for the children as the most vulnerable section of the population.
Children can be exposed to biological as well as chemical contaminants such as toxins, heavy
metals, pesticides, artificial fertilizers, persistent organic pollutants, food contact materials,
endocrine disrupting chemicals and toxic compounds introduced by industrial contamination or
food processing methods through the food-chain from raw materials to finished products. This
pathway includes the exposure to chemicals by means of drinking animal milk or eating animal
milk–based products which children consume a lot. Not only for pharmaceuticals, but for foodrelated substances, the acceptable daily intake (ADI) and tolerable daily intake (TDI) are often
set differently for adults and children.
Environmental contaminants include the potentially toxic metals such as lead, cadmium and
mercury; the chlorinated pesticides, mirex, toxaphene and hexachlorobenzene; chlorinated
dioxins and furans; polyaromatic hydrocarbons; and polychlorinated biphenyls. Human exposure
is predominantly through the ingestion of contaminated food. Until recently food contact
materials (FCM) were an underestimated source of chemical food contaminants and a potentially
relevant route of human exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Exposure to
bisphenol A (BPA), a common FCM substance is an important issue among children especially
through bottle feeding. Health-based exposure guidance values for BPA from Health Canada,
USEPA and EFSA are available. There is also a concern about the endocrine disrupting effects
of some parabens and preservatives which are used in a wide range of cosmetic products,
including products for children. Regarding emerging persistent organic pollutants, humans are
exposed to brominated flame retardants, being infants and children a vulnerable group. In
humans, serum concentrations of BDE-153 were positively associated with the prevalence of
metabolic syndrome. Food can also be contaminated with mycotoxins such as Ochratoxin A
which has been found to occur in foods of plant origin which may have some health risks in food
products. Drinking water contamination by microbiological and chemical agents can also lead to
adverse health effects on children.
Furthermore, there is a concern about the increasing prevalence of obesity in children worldwide.
Childhood obesity in the result of caloric imbalance and mediated by genetic, behavioral, and
environmental factors has both immediate and long-term health impacts: more likely young
people will have increased risk for cardiovascular disease development, high cholesterol or high
blood pressure, bone and joint problems, sleep apnea including social and psychological
problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem. While genetic factors play a role in the
development of obesity, its dramatic increase in prevalence over the past few years strongly
suggests an important environmental role. In addition, as a consequence of globalization,
increasing use of technology and changing work conditions, women shift to work force, eating
habits tend to change for all age people. As a result, children and young people tend to use new
and attractive food and ignore healthy and traditional food. This leads to change in eating
preferences and may create a risk factor for certain health problems such as obesity. Therefore,
there is a need for encouraging children to eat healthy foods (usually fruits and vegetables).
Since education is among the main tools to achieve success on prevention and control of
chemical hazards, there are many education programs on various subjects. Specifically a
program sample in health issues is called ‘Healthy Living Blueprint for Schools (UK Department
for Education)’ which is concentrated on encouraging children to make informed choices by
offering healthy food and drink options and using the full capacity and flexibility of the
curriculum to achieve a healthy lifestyle. In our project, one of the outcomes will be raising the
awareness of healthy food choice among children. Moreover, the educational tools developed in
this project may also help parents to create environments for children that may foster the
development of healthy eating behaviors and weight. In our project the target group will be at
early adolescence (ages 10-13) which generally covers 5th and 6th grade children. Children in
this age are known to be very critical in terms of cognitive functioning. Children thinking start to
change dramatically from concrete to abstract as proposed by Piaget’s cognitive developmental
theory. As a part of their cognitive development, children tend to view alternatives and be critical
with most of the issues. This age is also important in terms of acquisition of daily habits.
Children at this age tend to be more autonomous and create their own way which is quite
different than their previous experiences during childhood in which parental control is dominant.
Considering their developmental level, 5th and 6th grade children/adolescents are thought to be
the target group for raising awareness of healthy food and healthy eating. This age seem to be the
corner of adolescent development which has series of risky behaviors including eating and food
issues. Therefore this age is seen very much important for contributing the awareness on the
proposed subject.
On the basis of the above issues, there is a need to raise the awareness of children on healthy
food by the help of some educational tools. Therefore, we aim to educate children on some
chemicals in food (especially food additives, food contact materials and contaminants) and give
simple safety recommendations in this project.
Healthy food and healthy eating for children are among the priorities for many international or
national authorities such as EFSA (European Food Safety Authority), FDA (US Food and Drug
Administration) and WHO (World Health Organization) to improve the life style and to guide
with effective policies. Our main goal is to raise the awareness of food safety and promote
children’s personal eating habits. To achieve this, series of educational tools (DVD and its
teacher’s manual and posters) for 5th and 6th graders will be developed.
In the realization of this project, toxicologists, nutricionists and educators from 4 different
countries will be involved; Scientists from Gazi University, Baskent University and Ankara
University (Turkey), Elche University (Spain), Uppsala University (Sweden) University of
Zagreb (Croatia).
We hope that these educational tools will find their place in educational curriculum of all of the
countries involved in this project, and even more, we hope that we will manage to disseminate
these material in other countries.