ID :
46985
Mon, 02/23/2009 - 08:21
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/46985
The shortlink copeid
TRADITIONAL FOOD SHOULD NOT BE DEEMED UNHEALTHY By Nur Adika Bujang
KOTA KINABALU (Malaysia), Feb 23 (Bernama) -- What if nasi lemak (a platter of rice with cucumber slices, small dried anchovies, roasted peanuts, stir fried water convolvulus, hard boiled egg, pickled vegetables and hot spicy sauce.
will not have that coconut milky taste and its sambal not as spicy?
Due to rising health concerns, some people have changed the way they prepare
the nasi lemak -- Malaysia's favourite breakfast meal and a national heritage
-- including opting for "healthier" ingredients.
But village folks and many others will still prefer to have the rice mixed
with coconut milk instead of evaporated milk and to add a bit of sugar to bring
out the sweet taste of the sambal instead of omitting it altogether because that
has been the way nasi lemak is traditionally prepared.
European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Consumers, Jerome
Lepeintre, believed that traditional food is not necessarily unsafe to eat even
though some of the ingredients used in the preparation are considered unhealthy.
"We really believe that the Codex Alimentarius Commission or Codex should
take into account traditional food and protect the food that has become typical
in our lives.
"If you have too much standardised food, you will lose historical and cultural
inheritance," he told Bernama on the sidelines of a dialogue on the EU-Asean
Cooperation on Codex Matters here.
Codex, established by the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation
and the World Health Organisation, is the body responsible for developing food
safety standards.
Lepeintre said many traditional foods lost their authenticity because of the
change in the way they were prepared either to make them healthier or that some
of the ingredients, such as agricultural products, no longer had the authentic
taste because of the effects of climate change or chemicals used to grow them.
"In Europe, we are very attached to what we call geographical indications.
For example, in France we have specific cheese made from non-pasteurised milk
which is certainly an unhealthy ingredient.
"But we want to keep this food as it is because there is a long traditional
story which has kept the people together," he explained.
Lepeintre said the EU was trying to push the Codex to look into protecting
traditional foods which had become the staple diet of many people around the
world.
This could include hygienic food preparation, safe and healthy ways of
managing crops as well as providing guidelines on daily intakes of traditional
food, he added.
Meanwhile, Lepeintre hoped Asean would become a full member of the Codex.
A full membership, he said, would improve coherence between Asean and other
countries as well as giving the 10-member grouping the power to defend their
interests.
It would also help the region to promote important products in the
international food trade, he added.
-- BERNAMA
will not have that coconut milky taste and its sambal not as spicy?
Due to rising health concerns, some people have changed the way they prepare
the nasi lemak -- Malaysia's favourite breakfast meal and a national heritage
-- including opting for "healthier" ingredients.
But village folks and many others will still prefer to have the rice mixed
with coconut milk instead of evaporated milk and to add a bit of sugar to bring
out the sweet taste of the sambal instead of omitting it altogether because that
has been the way nasi lemak is traditionally prepared.
European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Consumers, Jerome
Lepeintre, believed that traditional food is not necessarily unsafe to eat even
though some of the ingredients used in the preparation are considered unhealthy.
"We really believe that the Codex Alimentarius Commission or Codex should
take into account traditional food and protect the food that has become typical
in our lives.
"If you have too much standardised food, you will lose historical and cultural
inheritance," he told Bernama on the sidelines of a dialogue on the EU-Asean
Cooperation on Codex Matters here.
Codex, established by the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organisation
and the World Health Organisation, is the body responsible for developing food
safety standards.
Lepeintre said many traditional foods lost their authenticity because of the
change in the way they were prepared either to make them healthier or that some
of the ingredients, such as agricultural products, no longer had the authentic
taste because of the effects of climate change or chemicals used to grow them.
"In Europe, we are very attached to what we call geographical indications.
For example, in France we have specific cheese made from non-pasteurised milk
which is certainly an unhealthy ingredient.
"But we want to keep this food as it is because there is a long traditional
story which has kept the people together," he explained.
Lepeintre said the EU was trying to push the Codex to look into protecting
traditional foods which had become the staple diet of many people around the
world.
This could include hygienic food preparation, safe and healthy ways of
managing crops as well as providing guidelines on daily intakes of traditional
food, he added.
Meanwhile, Lepeintre hoped Asean would become a full member of the Codex.
A full membership, he said, would improve coherence between Asean and other
countries as well as giving the 10-member grouping the power to defend their
interests.
It would also help the region to promote important products in the
international food trade, he added.
-- BERNAMA
