PAHO News -- January 16, 2003

PAHO News is also available on the Web!
http://www.csih.org/synergy/synergy.html

In this issue:
-LATEST ISSUE OF PERSPECTIVES IN HEALTH MAGAZINE LOOKS AT SECRETS OF
LONGEVITY, WORLD OBESITY EPIDEMIC, AND TRADITIONAL MEDICINE
-PAHO FOOD SAFETY BULLETIN
-WHO 'INFILTRATED BY FOOD INDUSTRY'
-PUSH TO INCREASE GLOBAL FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION
-PAHO JOB OPPORTUNITY: DIRECTOR, PAHO CENTRE FOR SANITARY ENGINEERING
AND ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES IN LIMA, PERU
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LATEST ISSUE OF PERSPECTIVES IN HEALTH MAGAZINE LOOKS AT SECRETS OF
LONGEVITY, WORLD OBESITY EPIDEMIC, AND TRADITIONAL MEDICINE

What are the secrets to a long and healthy life? Who better to ask than
those who have themselves lived more than a century? Caribbean
journalist Tony Deyal traveled to the tiny island of Dominica to do just
that, and his article, "Living to 100," appears in the latest edition of
Perspectives in Health. The magazine of the Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO), Perspectives in Health is dedicated to exploring,
debating and analyzing trends in public health throughout the Americas.
Other subjects featured in this issue include the growing world epidemic
of obesity and the contributions of traditional medicine to modern
public health. The magazine is available online at:
http://newweb.www.paho.org/English/DPI/Number15_index.htm.
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PAHO FOOD SAFETY BULLETIN

Last December's issue of PAHO's bulletin on food safety included
articles on the epidemiological surveillance of food-borne diseases,
interviews with prominent leaders in the field, information and ideas
about various food safety resources, and much more!  The bulletin is
available free of charge from CSIH (please contact [log in to unmask])
or from PANALIMENTOS.  To subscribe, please send your name, occupation,
organization name and the delivery address to:

PANALIMENTOS
Talcahuano 1660 (B1640CZT)
Casilla de Correo 44 (B1640CZT)
Martinez, Prov. de Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA
Tel: (5411) 5789-4000
Fax: (5411) 5789-4013
E-mail: [log in to unmask]
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WHO 'INFILTRATED BY FOOD INDUSTRY'

According to a confidential report obtained by the U.K. Guardian
newspaper, the food industry has infiltrated the World Health
Organization, just as the tobacco industry did, and succeeded in
exerting "undue influence" over policies intended to safeguard public
health by limiting the amount of fat, sugar and salt we consume. The
report, by an independent consultant to the WHO, found, among other
things, that the food industry is considerably engaged in genetically
modified foods and the tobacco industry has studied the matter closely
with respect to its product; there is evidence the tobacco industry
planned also to influence the debate over biotechnology. The WHO and FAO
need the scientific input of the food industry, says the report, but
that input must be transparent and subject to open debate. For the
complete Guardian article, visit:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/food/Story/0,2763,871250,00.html. FYI, two
official reports have been published on genetically modified food:
-Royal Society (UK) report on GM plants (pdf):
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Guardian/documents/2002/02/04/docu
ment-165.pdf.
-Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (UK) report on GM food
labeling: http://www.parliament.uk/post/nfr/pn172.pdf
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PUSH TO INCREASE GLOBAL FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION

Health professionals and industry representatives from around the world
will meet this week at the 3rd Biennial 5-A-Day International Symposium
in Berlin, Germany, to exchange ideas on how to boost consumption of
fruit and vegetables for better health. They will also discuss how
increased consumption could impact global food production. In addition
to helping prevent diseases such as cancer, stroke and diabetes,
adequate fruit and vegetable intake also counters nutritional
deficiencies and increases resistance to infectious diseases. For the
full article, visit: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/releases/pr1/en/.
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PAHO JOB OPPORTUNITY: DIRECTOR, PAHO CENTRE FOR SANITARY ENGINEERING AND
ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES IN LIMA, PERU

PAHO is seeking a Director for its Centre for Sanitary Engineering and
Environmental Sciences in Lima, Peru.  Among other duties, the Director
will be responsible for: directing the overall administrative operations
of the Centre within established rules and regulations of the Pan
American Health Organization; providing the Member Countries with
technical cooperation in the field of environmental health; and
strengthening the position of CEPIS as a reference centre by
implementing a quality assurance program covering all its services and
products. For more information on this post, visit:
http://pahoapl.paho.org/pahoexternalenglish/ASEPage_JobDetail.ASP. The
application deadline is February 10, 2003.
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