Thesis (MBA) -- Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The role of the Global Environment Monitoring System / Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment Programme (GEMS/Food) is to assess and inform governments, the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other relevant institutions, as well as the public, on levels and trends of contaminants in food, their contribution to total human exposure, and their significance with regard to public health and trade. The primary objective of this study is to generate a reference list of “most commonly” consumed food items and average intakes of these items in the diet of South Africans, using GEMS/Food specifications. The list is required to be representative of foods eaten by children and adults from all age and ethnic groups in South Africa. The list will serve as a reference for the Department of Health who will undertake analyses of (a) toxic chemicals, such as pesticides, heavy metals and environmental contaminants; (b) naturally occurring toxins; and (c) food additives in the commonly consumed food items, as required by the Codex Alimentarius Commission. A secondary objective of the study is to derive average (mean) weights of South Africans in different age groups in order for the calculation of dietary exposure of selected contaminants. Secondary data-analysis was conducted on existing dietary databases (raw data) obtained from surveys undertaken in South Africa between 1983 and 2000. The National Food Consumption Survey (NFCS) served as a framework for compiling data on children since this was a national representative survey of 1 to 9 year-old children in South Africa. However there has never been a national dietary survey on adults in South Africa. Consequently the data had to be extrapolated from existing isolated surveys on adults. The dietary intake for the groups 1 to 5 years and 6 to 9 years was calculated only from the NFCS, and was not supplemented by other databases. The substantiation for treating age 10+ as a unit (and calling it an adult group), was the finding that average consumption of adolescents (10 – 15 years) did not differ significantly from that of adults when comparing mean energy intakes and mean quantities consumed, of age groups in the studies analysed. Data were analysed in terms of the percentage of the group consuming specific food main groups / subgroups / food items and on average per capita portion size. Factor analyses were done to analyse the inter-relationships among the food consumption patterns of NFCS 6-9 year-olds in 9 provinces, urban and rural separately, and the inter-relationships among food consumption patterns of these children and other children and adults in other independent food consumption studies. Two methods of estimating adult consumption were derived. The results from Method 1 corresponded with results from the NFCS, which was over-sampled for lower socio-economic areas, whereas the results from Method 2 ignored relationships with NFCS data and were based on the ethnic proportions of the population in South Africa. A final list, validated against international data, is included, which provides the per capita consumption per food item, average amount consumed (consumers only), the 97,5th percentile of the consumption figures (consumers only), as well as the corresponding gram per kilogram body weight consumed. These figures represent food items consumed by 3% or more of the South African population, for the following age groups: 1-5 years, 6-9 years and age 10+ (adults). Also, average weights of South Africans for the corresponding age groups are provided, which is calculated similarly to the methods used to calculate dietary intake. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die rol van die “Global Environment Monitoring System / Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment Programme”, of (GEMS/Food), is om regerings, die “Codex Alimentarius”, ander relevante instellings en die publiek, op hoogte te hou (en selfs te monitor), ten opsigte van vlakke en neigings van kontaminasie in voedsel, die omvang van blootstelling aan die mens, en die beduidendheid hiervan vir openbare gesondheid en handel. Die doel van hierdie studie is om ‘n lys van voedselitems wat meestal deur die Suid- Afrikaanse bevolking geëet word, op te stel. Die lys moet hoeveelhede wat ingeneem word reflekteer, en moet aan die GEMS/Food spesifikasies voldoen. Dit moet verteenwoordigend wees van kos wat kinders en grootmense, van alle ouderdomsgroepe en rassegroepe in Suid- Afrika eet. Hierdie lys sal as verwysing vir die Departement van Gesondheid dien, om sodoende dan die berekenings van (a) toksiese chemikalië, soos plaagbeheermiddels, swaar metale en omgewingsbesoedelingsagente; (b) toksine wat natuurlik voorkom; en (c) voedselaanvullings in kossoorte, soos voorgeskryf deur die “Codex Alimentarius Commission”, te bereken. ‘n Sekondêre doel van hierdie studie is om die gemiddelde gewig van Suid-Afrikaners vir verskillende ouderdomsgroepe te bereken, om gebruik te word vir die berekenings van blootstelling aan geselekteerde toksine en besoedelingsagente. Sekondêre data-analise is op bestaande diëetkundige databasisse (oorspronklike data), wat opnames in Suid-Afrika vir die tydperk 1983 tot 2000 verteenwoordig, uitgevoer. Die Nasionale Voedselverbruikersopname, “National Food Consumption Survey” (NFCS), dien as raamwerk om die verbruik van kinders saam te stel, want hierdie opname was ‘n nasionaalverteenwoordigende opname van kinders van die ouderdom 1-9 jaar in Suid-Afrika. Daar was egter tot nou toe nog nie ‘n nasionaal-verteenwoordigende opname van voedselverbruik vir volwassenes in Suid-Afrika nie. Gevolglik moet hierdie data vanuit geïsoleerde opnames op volwassenes onttrek word. Voedselinname van kinders van ouderdomsgroepe 1-5 jaar en 6-9 jaar is dus bereken deur van die NFCS data gebruik te maak sonder aanvulling van enige ander databasisse. Die motivering om kinders van die ouderdomsgroep 10+ te hanteer in dieselfde groep as volwassenes, was die bevinding dat gemiddelde verbruik van adolessente (10 – 15 jaar) nie beduidend verskil het van die van volwassenes nie, veral as daar na die kilojoule inname en die hoeveelheid (gemeet in gram) inname, gekyk word. Die data van die verskeie opnames is ge-analiseer in terme van die persentasie verbruikers en die per kapita inname per voedselsoort, gegroepeerd en ongegroepeerd. Verbande tussen NFCS 6-9 jaar data in die 9 provinsies, landelike en stedelike gebiede afsonderlik beskou, asook verbande tussen hierdie kinders en kinders en volwassenes in onafhanklike ander opnames is met behulp van faktorontledings vasgestel. Twee metodes waarmee die voedselinnames van volwassenes voorspel kan word, is afgelei. Die resultate van Metode 1 stem met die resultate van die NFCS ooreen, waar die aanname is dat daar in die steekproefneming meer op kinders van laer sosio-ekonomiese areas gekonsentreer is. Metode 2 se resultate is gebaseer op die etniese verspreiding van die rassegroepe in Suid-Afrika, en voedselinnames van die blankes, byvoorbeeld, word meer in ag geneem. Die finale lys van voedselsoorte, wat gevalideer is teenoor ander internasionale studies, sluit die volgende veranderlikes in: die per kapita verbruik van die items, die gemiddelde verbruik per item (deur net die verbruikers van die spesifieke item in ag te neem), die 97,5de persentiel van voedselitems wat bereken is vir die groep wat die voedselitem verbruik, en ook die gram (gebaseer op die 97,5de persentiel verbruikers) per kilogram ligaamsgewig verbruik vir hierdie items. Hierdie syfers is vir voedselitems wat deur 3% of meer van die verbruikers in Suid-Afrika geneem word, en vir die volgende ouderdomsgroepe: 1-5 jaar, 6-9 jaar vir die ouderdom 10+ . Die gemiddelde gewig van Suid-Afrikaners vir die ooreenstemmende ouderdomsgroepe is ook bereken deur van dieselfde tegnieke gebruik te maak as die waarmee die voedselinnames bereken is.

From Introduction: South Africa has experienced an almost revolutionary change in her food position in the last 10 years, what was previously a "farm problem" of assisting the primary producer has now become a "food problem" and this is a study of the development of those factors leading up to such a change. It is an empirical study attempting to measure the production and consumption of certain selected foodstuffs and to compare them with changes observed in the population and the National Income.

Thesis (MNutr (Human Nutrition))--Stellenbosch University, 2007. / INTRODUCTION: Epidemiologic research strongly supports the importance of adequate fruit and vegetable intake for the promotion of human health and the prevention of chronic disease. Data suggest that fruit and vegetable consumption in children may protect against an array of childhood illnesses. Low fruit and vegetable intake has been recognized as a key contributor to micronutrient deficiencies in developing countries. Evidence indicates that fruit and vegetable consumption is inadequate in both developed and developing nations. A paucity of data on fruit and vegetable consumption exists in South Africa. Quantification of fruit and vegetable consumption is important for the worldwide drive to increase consumption and for strategy development to address inadequate consumption. METHODS: A secondary analysis of the dietary intake data (24 hour recall questionnaire (24-H-RQ) and quantified food frequency questionnaire (QFFQ)), collected during the 1999 National Food Consumption Survey (NFCS) in 12 – 108 month old children in South Africa, was conducted to ...

South Africa ranks high among the developing countries with income inequality and household food insecurity is a major concern in the country. The overall objective of the study was to investigate access and practices, which lead to increasing household access to nutritious food by households. The students registered for the one-year course identified households in the Dysselsdorp settlement in the Western Cape, South Africa which they worked closely with in food gardening. Descriptive research methods were used to assess food access and identify the socio-economic and demographic variables for this study. Qualitative and quantitative methods were used to gather data, following the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences of the University of South Africa’s ethical protocol and guidelines. Data were collected in the middle and at the end of the coursework (mid-term and end-term). A semi-structured baseline questionnaire was used to interview households and to conduct focus group discussions with the students. The baseline questionnaire consisted of five sections, namely the socio-demographic information, food utilization, food availability, food accessibility and the living standards measurement scores. A stratified random sampling strategy was used to select 30 students to participate in the focus group discussions. The students identified three or four households, which they worked closely with and those households were purposively selected for the baseline interviews. vi Data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences programme (IBM SPSS 24). Descriptive statistics (mean, frequencies and standard deviation) were used to compare the data. The 24-hour recall and 7 days food frequency recall was used to assess the household food consumption patterns. Qualitative data were recorded, transcribed, then themes and connections were used to explain the data and correlated with the objectives of the study. The socio-demographic data showed that most of the respondents were above 50 years old and they had an average number of 5.2 members. Thirty-one percent (31%) of the household heads had reached grade 8 to 12 in school, while 69% were those who had not gone to school and completed up to grade 7. Majority of the households relied on social grants as a source of income. The amount of money spent on food by the households in a month was between 0-R500 (63%) and 37% spent above R500 on food. Women participated more in food-related activities than men and the gardening activities were shared by the members of the households. The HDDS is a qualitative method for food consumption, which reflects household access to a variety of foods. The HDDS consists of food groups that the household has consumed over the past 24-hours and it is calculated based on the 12 food groups from the food consumed which are summed up; the mean score is used to determine diet diversity (Swindale & Bilinsky, 2006). The findings in this study is that the average HDDS increased from 5.6 to 6.4, which is above the recommended cut-off point for dietary quality (Steyn et al., 2006). Both the 24-hour recall and 7 days food frequency reported a high consumption of carbohydrates and meat, and less consumption of other food groups such as milk, vii eggs, fruits and vegetables were noted. The households relied on a variety of coping strategies such as asking for food from family or neighbours, depending on charity/grants, finding other sources of food and collecting wild food. All the households grew their own fruits, vegetables and crops. However, livestock production was practiced by 10% of the participating households. The households used preservation methods such as keeping food in a dry place (26), sun drying (38), canning (6), freezing (53) and refrigeration (11) to keep and store vegetables. The Living Standard Measurement (LSM) is a tool which focuses on household access to services and facilities (Faber et al., 2017). Household characteristics range from level 1 up to level 10, and a score from 1 to 4 are considered to be poor and lack access to services, while scores above 5 have improved access to resources and services. The LSM results of the households indicates that they have improved access to services as all the households scored above five. All the households, had access to land with water, electricity and toilet facilities in the yard. The major constraints experienced by the households were insufficient water, theft, pests, plant diseases and livestock which destroyed the crops. It is recommended that the government provide programmes aimed at developing communities, promoting healthy eating and food production. Workshops on nutrition education should be continuous and focus on basic sanitation, food hygiene. Income generation small-scale businesses, crop production, and livestock rearing will assist in alleviating hunger and unemployment. These initiatives could be extended to other areas of the country as a way to improve food security. / Life and Consumer Sciences / M.C.S.

Urban agriculture is a strategy poor urban, informal settlement residents adopt to reduce poverty and improve food security and child nutrition. It is widely asserted in the literature and development circles that household vegetable gardens can provide a significant percentage of recommended dietary allowances of macro- and micro-nutrients in the diets of pre-school children. These children are vulnerable in terms of food access and nutrition. The first five years of a child’s life are crucial to psychological well-being. This study set out to determine the impact of home gardens on access to food, dietary diversity and nutrient intake of pre-school children in an informal settlement in Eatonside, in the Vaal Region, Johannesburg, South Africa. The home gardening project was undertaken in five phases, namely the planning phase; a baseline survey (including quantitative food intake frequencies, 24-hour recall, individual dietary diversity questionnaires and anthropometric measurements); a training programme on home gardens; planting and tending the gardens and evaluating the impact of home gardens on access to food, dietary diversity and nutrient intake of pre-school children. Children aged two to five years (n=40) were selected to participate in the study. The sample population consisted of 22 boys and 18 girls. The children were categorised into three groups at the start of the project: children of 24-35 months (four boys and one girl), 36-47 months (four boys and five girls) and 48-60 months (14 boys and 12 girls). All but 10 per cent of the children’s consumption of foods in the food groups increased. At the start of the project, low consumption rates were observed for white tubers and roots, vitamin A-rich fruit, other fruit and fish. After the gardening project, the number of children consuming vegetables increased considerably. There was an increase in the intake of food groups over the period of the project. The number of children consuming vitamin A-rich increased the most, with all children (45 per cent improvement) consuming vitamin A-rich vegetables at the end of the project, compared with just over half at the start of the project. The consumption of vegetables increased with 78 per cent of the children consuming beans and 33 per cent beetroot. Most children (95 per cent) consumed cabbage, carrots and spinach post-home gardening. Seventy eight percent of children consumed beans by the end of the project, but only a third of the children had consumed beetroot during the post-project survey period. Intakes of all nutrients considered in the study improved by the end of the project, except for energy and calcium, which dropped marginally, but both remained at around 50 per cent below requirements. Twenty five percent of boys (24-35 months) were underweight and below the 50th percentile at the pre- and post-project stages. The same boys were severely stunted (on average -4.41 standard deviations below the third percentile). Of the boys aged 36-47 months, 25 per cent were stunted pre-project, but by the end of the project, this number had decreased to 50 per cent. Twenty one per cent of the older boys (48-60 months) were within their normal height for age. Twenty five per cent of girls were underweight (36-47 months). A slight change was observed in the 36-47 month group, where the mean changed from -0.14 standard deviations (below 50th percentile) pre-project to -0.5 (below 50th percentile) post-project. All girls aged 24-35 months were below -2 standard deviations pre-project. After the home gardening project, the figure dropped to 50 per cent. For girls aged 36-47 months, 25 per cent were below -3 standard deviations after the project, compared with 20 per cent pre-project. Height-for- age for girls aged 36-47 months dropped by 10 per cent below -2 standard deviation post-home gardening. Girls from 24 to 35 months were severely stunted [-3.02 (below 3rd percentile) pre- and -2.31 (below 5th percentile) post-project]. Stunting was observed in 36-47 months girls who had means of -2.39 (below 3rd percentile) and 1.86 (below 25th percentile) both pre-and post-gardening respectively and were at risk of malnutrition. The older girls were well nourished with means of height-for-age at -0.88 (below 50th percentile) pre-project and -0.92 (below 50th percentile) post-project. Home-gardening improved food access, dietary diversity, energy, protein, carbohydrate, fat, fibre, vitamin A and iron intakes, but did not make a significant impact on the malnutrition of the children in the project or ensure adequate intakes. Home gardens had a positive impact on height-for-age scores; but had no significant impact on mean weight-for-age and height-for-weight z-scores of the pre-school children. Increases in carbohydrate and fat intakes were shown to have the only significant impact on the children’s nutritional status and only with regard to improving height-for-age scores. The results show that the gardens did not have the expected impact on children’s nutrition, but confirm that increases in incomes from gardening are likely to have a greater impact through savings from consuming produce grown and selling produce to buy energy-dense foods for the children. This needs to be considered in nutrition interventions. / Thesis (Ph.D.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2010.

Information on the present situation of household food insecurity in South Africa is fragmented. There is no comprehensive study comparing different indicators of household food security. Better information on the household food security situation in South Africa would permit relevant policy formulation and better decision-making on the allocation of limited resources. The availability of a national dataset, the first South African National Food Consumption Survey data (1999) , provided the opportunity to investigate some of the issues raised above, and to contribute to knowledge on the measurement of household food security. The aim of this study was to use the data from the 1999 National Food Consumption Survey (NFCS) to : • Determine and compare the prevalence of household food insecurity using different indicators of household food security ; • Determine the overlap of households identified as food insecure by the different indicators (i.e. how many of the same households are identified as food insecure); and to • Investigate whether there was any correlation between the indicators selected . The indicators of household food security selected were: household income, household hunger experienced, and using the index child: energy and vitamin A intake (from 24 Hour Recall (24HR) and Quantified Food Frequency data), dietary diversity (from 24HR data) and anthropometric indicators stunting and underweight. The cut offs to determine food insecure household were those used in the NFCS and the cut off for dietary diversity was exploratory. The main results of the study were as follows : • The prevalence estimates of household food insecurity ranged from 10% (underweight indicator) to 70% (low income indicator). Rural areas consistently had a higher prevalence of household food insecurity than urban areas . The Free State and Northern Cape provinces had higher levels of household food insecurity, with the Western Cape and Gauteng the lower levels of household food insecurity . • Quantified Food Frequency (QFF) data yielded lower prevalence of household food insecurity estimates than 24 hour recall (24HR) data. Household food insecurity as determined by low vitamin A intakes was higher than that determined by low energy intakes for both the 24HR and QFF data . • There was little overlap with the indicators (9-52%), indicating that the same households were not being identified by the different indicators. Low dietary diversity, low income, 24HR low vitamin A intake and hunger had higher overlaps with the other indicators. Only 12 of 2826 households (0.4%) were classified by all nine indicators as food insecure. • The dataset revealed a number of statistically significant correlations. Overall , low dietary diversity, low income, 24HR low energy intake and hunger had the stronger correlations with the other indicators. Food security is a complex, multi-dimensional concept, and from the findings of this study there was clearly no single best indicator of household food insecurity status. Overall , the five better performing indicators (higher overlaps and correlations) were : low income, 24 hour recall low energy intake, 24 hour recall low vitamin A intake, low dietary diversity and hunger; this merits their use over the other selected indicators in this study. The indicator selected should be appropriate for the purpose it is being used for, e.g. estimating prevalence of food insecurity versus monitoring the long term impact of an intervention. There are other important criteria in the selection of an indicator. Income data on a national scale has the advantage of being available annually in South Africa, and this saves time and money. The 24HR vitamin A intake and 24HR energy intake indicators has as its main draw back the skill and time needed to collect and analyse the information, which increases cost and decreases sustainability. Dietary diversity and hunger have the advantage of being simple to understand, and quicker and easier to administer and analyse. It is suggested that a national food security monitoring system in South Africa uses more than one indicator, namely : 1) household income from already existing national data, 2) the potential for including a hunger questionnaire in the census should be explored, and 3) when further researched and validated, dietary diversity could also be used in national surveys. / Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.

MRDV / Instutute for Rural Development / Health and wellbeing of humans is affected by their eating habits, patterns and choice of meals. This research discusses food consumption patterns of selected households of Mbilwi and Matavhela villages in Thulamela Municipality, Limpopo Province of South Africa. The study identified types of food consumed and the nutritional knowledge of households living in the study area. In addition, the study assessed the knowledge of households on how food choices affect their health. Lastly an analysis of socio-economic factors that influence food consumption patterns in households living in Mbilwi and Matavhela villages was investigated. Using purposive sampling, qualitative and quantitative inquiry were used to explore the research objectives. A sample size of 50 and 47 households from each village were selected respectively and the heads of each household were interviewed. Thematic content analysis was used to categorise data into themes, to address and interpret qualitative data. Themes were generated as the units for analysis based on the objectives of the study to enable interpretation of qualitative information. The quantitative data was analysed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. The findings indicated that there was no variety in foods consumed by households in both the weekly food consumption pattern and 24-hour food recall. There was also limited nutrition knowledge of the foods consumed in households of both villages. Households usually consumed energy giving foods such as carbohydrates and body building foods such as proteins. There was low consumption of milk and milk products, fruit and vegetable food groups. Various socio-economic factors such as income, living conditions, health, nutrition knowledge, culture, religion and lack of time to prepare food, affected eating habits. Some foods were recommended or condoned based on religious and cultural factors. Most households were unemployed and relied on government grants and remittances from family members working in the metropolitan centres. The findings in this study provide a better understanding of food access, availability and consumption in rural areas which can also assist in the formulation of policies that would improve quality of food consumption in rural areas. This study presented an opportunity that can be filled by institutions working in rural areas to support and strengthen their activities. Information sharing with households on the benefits of balanced diets can contribute to the health and the well-being of the society. The emphasis must be on strengthening backyard vegetable/fruit gardens and community food gardening programmes for household consumption v and sale, to generate income. These programmes can also offer fruit/vegetable preservation skills to households in order to help improve the shelf life of the produce. Policy makers must encourage provision of nutritional knowledge to households through different media and channels such as television, clinics, hospitals, schools, and newspapers.