Prevalence and factors associated with food insecurity in southern Mozambique

Abstract Background Food insecurity (FI) is one of the major causes of malnutrition in low- and middle-income countries. In Mozambique, the burden of FI and how it’s related to negative health outcomes is unknown. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of FI as well as the factors associated with FI in southern Mozambique. Methods Preliminary data from 301 household heads residing in suburb and peri-urban districts of Maputo were analysed in a cross-sectional design. Accordingly, FI was assessed using the 8-items of the United States Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Survey Module, and its association with various factors was determined through multiple regression models. Results The prevalence of FI was 62.8% (23.6% of households had mild FI, 16.6% had moderate FI, 22.6% had severe FI). Based on multiple regression models, 10 variables (out of 11) were relevant drivers of FI and reached statistical significance (p-value<0.05) with focus on food diversity, climate change, illnesses, household income, number of meals, type of work, household size. Conclusions These preliminary findings suggest the need for decent work and job creation. In addition, food diversity, climate change and some relevant diseases should be taken into account in the development of public health policies designed to alleviate household food insecurity in Mozambique. Key messages • Food insecurity in Mozambique calls for joint efforts from government, private sector, international institutions and communities. • The basic food basket for the most vulnerable groups is encouraged as a short-term solution.


Background:
In the last decades, a wide spread of dietary supplements (DSs) has been observed worldwide. However, DS use is not always motivated by real nutritional needs. In this context, commercial strategies and peers' suggestions seem to play an important role in determining this habit, with harmful effects on consumers' health. This cross-sectional study was aimed to evaluate the DS consumption patterns among a sample of undergraduate students attending 14 Italian universities. Methods: An anonymous web questionnaire was used to collect information about DS use and consumption habits, related motivations and possible adverse effects. The survey is still ongoing and its conclusion is expected to be on May 2022.

Results:
On a total of 2019 participants enrolled so far (69.7% female, mean age 22.8AE4.7), 72.6% reported the use of at least a DS in the last six months. Multivitamin and multimineral products were the most used, being reported by 35.8% of the participants, while caffeinated energy supplements were the less reported (2.0%). The main reason for DS use was to deal with a specific deficiency following a physician or nutritionist indication (47.8%). The 3.4% of participants reported the occurrence of negative outcomes, mainly gastrointestinal disorders (74%).

Conclusions:
These preliminary results evidenced a wide use of DSs in the studied population. Although the main motivation was a nutritional need with a medical recommendation, a notable proportion of the sample assumed DSs without any specific prescription. Thus, it is essential to increase the knowledge about DSs and related threats deriving from their inappropriate use in the population, especially among youths. Further analysis will allow to identify possible correlations with sociodemographic and behavioural variables.

Key messages:
It is essential to increase the knowledge about dietary supplements to avoid an inappropriate use in the population.
Youths are the most exposed to this consumption. Numerous pathogens are transmitted via food and according to recent surveys, there are millions of incidents recorded in Europe in the last decade. More specific, foodborne pathogens such as bacteria, fungi, parasites, and viruses can be detected in different stages of production or distribution of a food product. Examples of predominant symptoms caused by these foodborne pathogens are nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, cramps, fever, headache, cough etc. Therefore, it is essential need to detect, manage, and prevent of foodborne pathogens ''from farm to fork'' regarding consumers health risks. Europe has established and suggested management systems in food industry that control hazards in food products. However, outbreak incidents by foodborne pathogens existing until now. By using PRISMA guideline, we searched for the most recent publications referring microbiological risk assessments from online databases Scopus, PubMed and Science Direct. From 505 articles initially captured, data was extracted from 84 studies regarding microbiological risk factors in terms of food quality and safety, that are evidenced in European studies. Moreover, information about country of origin, food type, production phase and technology used for detection of pathogens, are also presented. Our results indicated that quality systems should be further developed to control all possible routes of contamination in the supply chain. This work provided information to managers in food industry and