What does the "Flood Disaster Nutrition and Food Hygiene Technical Guidelines" issued by my country suggest?
How to ensure nutrition and food safety under the flood disaster?
In recent days, Henan and other places have continued to experience heavy rainfall, and serious floods have occurred in cities such as Zhengzhou. News and deeds related to the floods have always affected the hearts of the people across the country.
From July to August, the precipitation in our country is obviously too much. In this special period, food has become the top priority. Today, I would like to give you some reminders of diet and water during floods to prevent intestinal infectious diseases or food poisoning.
Flood disasters include two types of flood disasters and rain and waterlogging disasters. The victims are exposed to a variety of high-level food-borne hazards in a short period of time, which seriously threaten the health of the victims.
Therefore, doing a good job of nutrition and food sanitation in the disaster area is an important part of the entire disaster relief and disease prevention work, and it is also an important prerequisite for ensuring that there is no major epidemic after a major disaster.
The 2017 edition of the "Flood Disaster Nutrition and Food Hygiene Technical Guide" (hereinafter referred to as the "Guide") issued by the National Health Commission's Disease Prevention and Control Bureau (hereinafter referred to as the "Guide") provides people with methods and precautions to prevent food-borne diseases after floods.
The main contents include:
1. Do not eat moldy and rotten food, do not eat food of unknown origin, do not eat dead poultry and livestock.
2. Do not eat raw or cold foods, and processed foods should be cooked thoroughly.
3. Do not drink raw water. Drink the raw water after boiling.
4. Wash your hands before eating and after going to the toilet, and before processing food.
5. Raw and cooked food should be placed and processed separately.
6. Food containers and tableware should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected.
7. Make sure that the leftovers are not spoiled, and eat them after heating them thoroughly.
8. Drink plenty of water, at least 1000ml of drinking water per day.
When the weather is hot or when there is a lot of activity, you should increase the amount of water you drink.
9. Eat three meals well, take in plenty of food, and be diversified.
10. Prioritize selection of nutrient-fortified foods.
In the case of a single type of food, you can choose compound nutrient supplements.
The "Guide" points out that the knowledge of food hygiene, nutrition and health should be widely and in-depth carried out in the disaster-stricken areas to improve the self-protection awareness and ability of disaster victims.
The following propaganda methods can be adopted: conference propaganda, radio and television propaganda, hygienic propaganda team touring propaganda, distributing hygienic knowledge brochures, posting posters, establishing hygienic propaganda columns, organizing hygienic knowledge lectures, and sending mass messages on mobile phones.
During a disaster, due to lack of food resources, it is easy to cause malnutrition and nutritional deficiencies.
In order to ensure the basic balance of body nutrition, the following points should be noted:
1. At the initial stage of the disaster, ensure sufficient cereals, and give priority to convenient foods and nutrient-fortified foods that are easy to store, easy to eat, and have high energy density.
2. At least 1000ml of drinking water per day.
3. The longest food supply that meets the minimum energy requirement should not exceed seven days, and provide a variety of nutritious food as soon as possible.
4. During the disaster transition period, provide fresh vegetables, fruits, meat and eggs in time.
5. In the case of a single type of food, compound nutrient supplements can be provided.
6. In the process of food distribution and rationing, priority should be given to satisfying the nutritional needs of specific populations such as children, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and the elderly.
Infants aged 7.0 to 6 months, protect, support and promote exclusive breastfeeding.
In the case of inability to breastfeed or insufficient breast milk, the appropriate infant formula should be selected.
For babies over 6 months old, nutritious complementary foods should be added timely and reasonably.
8. Provide infant food supplements (nutrition packs).
9. Children and adolescents should ensure adequate energy and protein intake, and give priority to foods with high nutrient density.
10. Pregnant women and lactating mothers provide fortified foods and compound nutrient supplements to ensure adequate intake of micronutrients.
The "Guide" pointed out that although my country's current disaster relief and disaster response mechanisms and capabilities are constantly being improved and enhanced, sudden disasters will still paralyze the normal food security system in the disaster area and the transportation connection between the disaster area and the outside world, resulting in an emergency lack of food resources. .
Urgently mobilize all possible means of transportation to deliver rescue food to the disaster-stricken area, and immediately set about restoring transportation links between the disaster-stricken area and the outside world, and establishing food delivery channels.
Immediately organize personnel to investigate the existing food resources and food conditions in the disaster area, and make use of them as much as possible on the premise of ensuring basic health and safety to meet the needs of the victims.
Text/Reporter Lei Ruotong
(Data source/China Nutrition and Health, National Health Commission official website)