Nutrition & Dietetics

2006;

63

: 59–62 DOI: 10.1111/j.1747-0080.2006.00036.x

59

Blackwell Publishing Asia

Melbourne, Australia

NDINutrition & Dietetics

1446-6368Journal of the Dieticians Association of Australia, including the Journal of the New Zealand Dietetic Association

xxx 2005

63

15962

Book Review

BOOK REVIEWS

Safe Food

Nestle M,

University of California Press

, Berkeley,2004, 350 pages, $37.95, ISBN 0-520-24223-8

If you have ever wondered what went on behind thescenes in developing and amending food regulations orwhy decisions are made that are not in keeping withprotecting public health and safety, then this is the bookfor you!

In this follow up to

Food Politics

, Nestle exposes thegoings-on and really does illustrate why food safety ishighly political. This current book extends the argu-ments set out in

Food Politics

and brings to light themany themes that underpin the political nature of foodsafety, such as:

•

Increasing concentration of food producers into largerunits

•

Overproduction and overabundance of food in theUSA

•

Competitiveness between companies to get consum-ers to eat more food

•

Relentless pressures exerted by food companies ongovernment agencies to make favourable regulatorydecisions

•

Invocation of science as a means to achieve commer-cial goals

•

Clash in values among stakeholders in the foodsystemThis last theme is one that carries throughout the

book and Nestle refers to the different ways in whichpeople assess risk—‘science based’, which balances riskagainst benefit and cost, versus ‘values based’, whichbalances risk against dread and outrage. She notes thatthe estimation of risk is a scientific question, but theacceptability of risk is a political question.

As the title suggests, the three main themes of thisbook relate to foodborne illness, food biotechnologyand bioterrorism, although there is less emphasis on thelatter. In Part 1: Resisting Food Safety, Nestle detailsthe eventual introduction of Hazard Analysis and Criti-cal Control Points (HACCP) into segments of the meatindustry. Along the way she identifies the main protag-onists and antagonists and the (sometimes) dirty tricksand tactics used to defeat each attempt. One of myfavourite parts in these chapters is when the UnitedStates Department of Agriculture meat inspectors, tryingto discredit the HACCP approach to food safety, decidedthat the acronym was more apt as ‘Have a Cup of Coffeeand Pray’!

In a similar vein, Part 2 details the behind-the-sceneslobbying around the issues of genetically modifiedfoods, in particular the issue of substantial equivalenceand the need for premarket testing and labelling.

In each part, Nestle provides very detailed case studiesand uses an extensive range of references to support herassertions, including journal articles, texts, governmentreports, notes from congress, newspaper articles etc.

The conclusion deals with issues relating to bioterror-ism, which has obviously become a more pronouncedthreat particularly in the USA. She suggests that thisthreat has necessitated a broader definition of food secu-rity and that additional efforts will need to be made todeal with it.

She concludes by stating that a number of politicalactions are necessary to ensure safe food and to engen-der trust in our food supply—introduce HACCP to allfood production, disclose production processes onlabels, create a single food agency to overcome the frag-mented, overlapping and confusing distribution ofauthority for food safety, and for consumers to becomemore active in advocating and electing officials commit-ted to food safety.

This was a very illuminating read, but one that wasquite detailed and required a lot of concentration—definitely not bedtime reading. There are some tablesand figures to illustrate points, but more could havebeen provided to enhance the readability of the book.

There is the old adage—there is always someoneworse off—and certainly this did ring true when com-paring the USA and the Australian situation, especiallyin relation to introduction of HACCP programs, label-ling of genetically modified foods and the number ofagencies responsible for food safety.

This book is highly recommended for health profes-sionals involved in the food safety field, health policyofficials, consumer advocates and students of nutrition,dietetics, public health and policy.

Julie Woods

LecturerMonash University, Melbourne

© 2006 The AuthorJournal compilation © 2006 Dietitians Association

of Australia

Book Reviews

60

ssociation of Australia,

Nutrition and Stroke

Gariballa S,

Blackwell Publishing

, Oxford, 2004, 178pages, $125.00, ISBN 1-4051-1120-8

Stroke is the third most common cause of death (behindheart disease and cancer) and a major cause of disabilityamong adults in Australia. More than 48 000 strokesoccur in Australia every year, with one stroke occurringon average every 11 minutes. With the ageing popula-tion this number will rise to 74 000 by the year 2017 atcurrent rates. Stroke claimed 12 533 lives in 2002,accounting for approximately 10% of all deaths inAustralia.

Research indicates that lifestyle factors, includingdiet, may be important in stroke prevention. SalahGariballa’s book

Nutrition and Stroke—Prevention andTreatment

examines how poor nutrition and diet notonly influence the prevalence of stroke, but also affectthe course and outcome, post stroke.

Salah Gariballa is a consultant at Barnsley GeneralHospital and Senior Clinical Lecturer at the SheffieldInstitute for Studies on Ageing, University of Sheffield,UK. His MD and principal research interests are in nutri-tional aspects of ageing and age-related diseases. He iswidely published in the area of nutrition and age-relateddiseases such as stroke, most recently protein–energyundernutrition and outcome after acute stroke—invitedcommentary on the International Multicentre FOODTrial (

Stroke

).The book comprises three sections: ‘Nutrition and

Ageing’, ‘Nutritional Risk Factors and Risk of Stroke’and ‘Nutrition Factors Following Stroke’.

‘Nutrition and Ageing’ provides a thorough ground-ing in areas that would be familiar to many dietitians,especially those with experience in gerontology. Topicsinclude ageing changes relevant to nutrition in elderlypeople, macro- and micronutrients in elderly peopleand diagnosing undernutrition in elderly people.

This general information brings together a largeamount of well-referenced information in an easilyreadable format and sets the scene for section II—‘Nutritional Factors and Risk of Stroke’. This sectionexplores dietary factors in stroke prevention, includingfruit and vegetable consumption, dietary sodium, cal-cium, magnesium, potassium, fibre, as well as fish andmilk consumption, obesity, alcohol use, hyperhomocys-teinaemia and maternal and foetal nutrition. Antioxi-dants and risk of ischaemic stroke, homocysteine andstroke and endothelial dysfunction and stroke roundthis section off.

Stroke patients are highly dependent on others fortheir nutritional requirements being met. Many areundernourished prior to admission and their nutritional

status declines further while in hospital, with a subse-quent increase in morbidity and mortality. Section IIIprovides practitioners, whether they be dietitians,nurses, speech therapists or rehabilitation specialists,with valuable insights into potentially modifiable factorsthat influence undernutrition.

This section, ‘Nutritional Factors Following Stroke’,visits areas such as protein–energy undernutrition fol-lowing stroke, nutritional status of special strokegroups, including patients with urinary incontinenceand patients with swallowing difficulties. Urinary incon-tinence is associated with poor outcomes post strokeand may be at least partly due to modifiable risk factorssuch as undernutrition, dehydration and infections, andmay be used as one criterion for selecting stroke patientsfor intensive treatment, according to Gariballa. This sec-tion also deals with nutritional support of elderly strokepatients and makes recommendations for future direc-tions in stroke prevention and treatment.

With more than 500 references (31 pages) and a use-ful index, as well as informative subheadings and sum-maries at the end of each chapter, the book providesvaluable information for those just beginning to work inthe area of stroke as well as those with much experience.The book with its balance of public health and clinicalnutrition would be a most welcome asset in any nutri-tion department, or for those with an interest in dealingwith the epidemiology, prevention and treatment ofcerebrovascular disease and stroke.

Rudi Bartl

Public Health/Community NutritionistNorthern Sydney Central Cost Area Health, Gosford

© 2006 Dietitians Association of Australia

Blackwell Publishin

including the Journa

BOOK REVIEWS

Food Composition Data. Second Edition

Greenfield H, Southgate DAT,

FAO

, Rome, 2003, 288pages, $59.50, ISBN 92-5-104949-1

Food Composition Data—Production Management and Use

is designed for individuals or organisations concernedwith compiling food composition databases. The pur-pose is to provide a systematic approach in ensuring thatdata are comprehensive and accurate, yet compatiblewith systems that have already been developedworldwide.

The initial impetus for the book came from the Inter-national Network of Food Data Systems (INFOODS),which was established in 1984 to help improve thequality and availability of food analysis data worldwide;it now coordinates more than 20 data centres. The first

Book Reviews

61

edition of the book, published in 1992, was designed tocomplement the INFOODS effort and was used exten-sively during training courses for food composition ana-lysts and compilers in developed and developingregions. This second edition arose from feedback inthese courses; it includes changes to update the text andfigures, incorporate improved methods of analysis andmake the book more user-friendly on an internationalbasis.

The guidelines presented in the book are based on thewisdom and experiences of two international experts inthe field of food composition. Dr Heather Greenfield ini-tiated work on the composition of Australian foods andwas involved in the national food composition program,and Dr David Southgate collaborated in compiling thethird and fourth editions of the UK food tables; bothauthors have been involved in the INFOODS trainingprograms in many countries. The information has beenmeticulously compiled, with extensive peer review ofrelevant sections and careful consultation with originalsources where possible.

The structure follows stages in an idealised pro-gramme for preparing a comprehensive food composi-tion database. There are 12 chapters. Chapters 1 and 2discuss overall guidelines for the design of a database.Chapters 3–9 provide specific guidelines on differentaspects of this process, including selection of foods andnutrients (or other bioactive constituents), samplingprocedures, selection of analytical methods, quality con-trol and modes of data expression. Chapters 10–12address the final compilation of the database, limitationsof databases that constrain their use, and future needs inthe area of food composition.

The guidelines in the book are not prescriptive anddo not set out detailed sampling or analytical proto-cols. Instead, the authors discuss the basic principlesand provide examples of approaches that have beenused successfully, based on their own experiences inpreparing databases over many years and in differentcountries. The bibliography is comprehensive withmore than 800 listed references dating from the1940s to the present; there is also a shortened list of‘essential’ references cited in an appendix. The bookis readable and well organised, with the main textdivided by headings and subheadings for easy refer-ence, and interspersed with useful summary tablesand figures. The reviewer noted a small typographi-cal error on the contents page where chapters 10 and11 are listed in the reverse order and therefore pagenumbers in the contents do not correspond to thosein the text; however, the index at the end of the bookappears to be correctly referenced to subject matter inthe main text.

Data on composition of foods are essential for a diver-sity of purposes. Although designed as a guide for foodcomposition analysts and compilers, the book hasbroader applications in that it provides the key to under-standing the derivation, consistency and limitations ofcurrent food composition data. In this regard, the bookwould be an invaluable guide for professionals in healthresearch, epidemiology and clinical practice, food regu-lation and product development, and other fields wherefood composition data provide a fundamental yet chal-lenging resource.

Dr Philippa Lyons-Wall

Lecturer in Nutrition and DieteticsSchool of Public Health, Queensland University of

Technology, Brisbane

© 2006 The AuthorJournal compilation © 2006 Dietitians Association

of Australia

Blackwell Publishing

including the Journal o

BOOK REVIEWS

Handbook of Pediatric Nutrition. Third Edition

Samour PQ, King K,

Jones and Bartlett Publishers

,Sudbury, 2005, 722 pages, $142.95, ISBN 0-7637-8356-0

This substantial text is in its third edition, intended foruse by serious students of paediatrics; the authorsdescribe the book as ‘the last word’ in paediatric nutri-tion. It is written by dietitians and specialists in theirrespective areas of childhood dietetics; and covers allaspects of children’s nutrition from normal growth andfeeding the well child to specialised subjects, andembraces ages from prematurity to adolescence (evenincluding relevant aspects of intrauterine influences onnutrition). The book is current, with references includ-ing publications from 2004; each chapter includes rel-evant references and the index is extensive and useful.

Specialist topics include cystic fibrosis, broncho-pulmonary dysplasia, chylothorax, burns and sportsnutrition in children. Differences in medical practicefrom that in Australia are reflected in the text; the dis-cussion of diagnosis of cystic fibrosis makes passingmention only of screening programs—standard practicein Australia. Some of the commercial names of feeds andenteral products mentioned in the text will be recogn-ised and some are unfamiliar, but descriptions are stillapplicable; there is some discussion of ‘home-made’enteral feeds, generated by the need for families who donot have insurance to meet costs. Areas that are rarelycovered in other texts include chapters on the use of

Book Reviews

62

alternative therapies (botanicals or phytomedicine) andvegetarianism in childhood. There is an extensive con-sideration of obesity, with a directory to details of formalprograms, and discussions of complications includingpolycystic ovary syndrome. Along with this there is auseful discussion of eating disorders.

A perennial issue in paediatrics is the choice of amodel for calculation of energy requirements, for nor-mal growth and in differing clinical situations. This textincludes a review of the options for estimation of energyrequirements, and an annotated review of clinical situ-ations and the impact on energy needs.

A large section of the book is devoted to appendi-ces, including growth charts, a list of references toavailable special growth charts, and considerable spaceto current anthropometric and Tanner developmentalstandards, with differentiation for US subculturalgroups.

Information is practical as well as theoretically based;comprehensive attention is given to nutritional anddietary assessment for each of the conditions discussed,and for monitoring of nutrition management. There is avery detailed chart outlining care of metabolic disease,but it is useful to keep in mind that metabolic disease isan area where a very different approach may be taken inAustralia. Reference to commercial products in this sec-

tion is generally not useful. Useful information in thebook, which is often hard to find, includes discussionand calculation of renal solute load, discussion ofosmolality in paediatric feeds, and design of modularfeeds.

Although most Australian dietetic libraries wouldinclude the standard British text on paediatric nutrition,this book would provide an alternative view and a usefuladdition to a specialist library, or that of a sole practi-tioner needing ready access to advice.

Kay Gibbons, FDAA

ManagerNutrition Services, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne

© 2006 The AuthorJournal compilation © 2006 Dietitians Association

of Australia

Blackwell Publishing Asia

Melbourne, Australia

NDINutrition & Dietetics

1446-6368© 2006 Dietitians Association of Australia

xxx 2006

63

1

63

Miscellaneous

BOOK RECEIVED

Book Received

Fast Food and No Play Make Jack a Fat Boy

Andy Griffiths, Jim Thomson, Sophie Blackmore.Pan Macmillan, Sydney, 2005, 300 pages, $14.95.ISBN 0-330-42180-8