Читать книгу Hidden Hunger: Strategies to Improve Nutrition Quality - Группа авторов - Страница 25

However, the task of public partners goes beyond that, as the process has a goal. An individual person takes a responsible decision regarding the kind of nutrition that is appropriate for his or her needs. So we are talking about empowering and protecting people [7]. Only when people know more about their needs can they decide which quality of nutrition suits them. People must also be protected against misleading advertising and baseless product disclosures. Only then will they be less dependent on claims and will rely more on their knowledge and their capacity to take decisions. Only then can they assess the effects of their nutritional habits on the food chain as well as on the environment, health, and social structures.

Therefore, public partners need to ensure legislation, where needed, especially on labelling to ensure transparency and to avoid that consumers are being misled. They need to ensure that nutrition education and nutrition information [8, 9] start in the family, continue in childcare facilities at school, and accompany an individual throughout his/her lifetime [10] in order to help take the “right” decision under different circumstances. Eventually and depending on the specific situation in a country or region, preventive actions or emergency measures in order to fight malnutrition or micronutrient deficiencies and to improve or stabilize the nutritional status of people or specific vulnerable groups, such as small children and their mothers, adolescent girls, elderly people, minority groups, may also be necessary. The role of public partners in this aspect is to steer the process, set priorities, take the final decisions, establish the framework of action, and supervise the implementation of steps to be taken by different actors.