Thesis ( MPH.) --University of Limpopo,2014. / Introduction: To evaluate the food safety legislation (FSL) implementation in the red meat abattoirs of Mopani district in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Method: A cross sectional survey was conducted. Sampling: A questionnaire was distributed to abattoir managers of various red meat abattoirs. From 16 abattoirs with a population 169, a sample of 22 was selected. Results: The study revealed that 77% managers were male. Majority of managers were aged 40 and 59 years. Work experience was between 20 to 25 years. Educational background: thirty seven percent (37%) of managers hold certificates on various disciplines, mostly not food safety related. Fifty-four percent (54%) managers did not have food safety knowledge. Fifty-nine percent (59%) abattoirs did not comply with food safety practices. Twenty seven percent (27%) of the structures did not comply with R.1072. The pieces of FSL were less implemented by DoH&SD and DTI. Hygiene Management Systems showed slow progress. Sixty-four percent (64%) abattoirs did not receive training on HMS and PRPs. Very few abattoirs had multi-disciplinary skilled personnel to implement FSL. Abattoirs were reluctant to financial commitment to implement FSL. Eighty two percent (82%) of abattoirs did not involve all stakeholder during planning and decision making process. Conclusion: The red meat abattoirs of Mopani district did not comply with all standards and requirements of food safety legislation. Factors such as educational background in basics of food safety principles, involvement of role players during implementation process, prevented successful implementation of food safety legislation in the red meat abattoirs of Mopani district. Food safety knowledge and practices of management and malpractice of FSL were determined, results showed that majority lack adequate food safety knowledge and poor food safety practices were identified. One of the recommendation was to establish FSL enforcement forum to develop a FSL strategy.

Bakgrund: Vi äter allt mer kött. Tidigare forskning har visat på samband mellan högt köttintag och bland annat hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar och cancer. Information om skyddsfaktorer som minskar risken för folksjukdom är begränsad. Forskning om hälsa och sjukdom hos kvinnor är begränsad och därför behövs kvinnors hälsa lyftas fram. Syfte: Litteraturstudiens syfte var att undersöka huruvida ett högt köttintag kan påverka risken för folksjukdomar hos kvinnor. Resultat: Resultatet tyder på en koppling mellan ett högt intag av rött och bearbetat kött och folksjukdomar hos kvinnor. Samband har funnits mellan högt köttintag och bröstcancer, diabetes och hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar. Riskerna har visat sig kunna minska vid ett utbyte från det röda och bearbetade köttet till andra animaliska proteinkällor eller vegetabilier. Diskussion: Kosten bör vara en viktig förebyggande insats när det gäller folksjukdomar. Kostråd för kvinnor bör innefatta ett lågt intag av rött och bearbetat kött och en kost rik på frukt, grönsaker och protein från andra källor än rött och bearbetat kött. Slutsats: Tydliga och enhetliga kostråd bör tas fram för att minska folksjukdomarna hos den kvinnliga befolkningen. / Background:Our meat intake increases. Previous research has shown the connection between high meat intake, including cardiovascular disease and cancer. Information on appropriate diet to reduce the risk of endemic disease is limited. Research on health and disease in women is limited and, therefore, women's health must be taken seriously. Objective: The aim of the literature study was to investigate whether a high meat intake may influence risk of endemic diseases in women. Results: The results suggest a link between a high intake of red and processed meat and endemic diseases in women. Correlations have been found between high meat intake and breast cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Exchanges from the red and processed meat to other sources of animal protein and vegetables have been shown to reduce the risk of endemic diseases. Discussion: Advice on diet should be an important prevention strategy on endemic diseases. Advice on diet for women should include a low intake of red and processed meat and a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and protein from sources other than red and processed meat. Conclusion: Clear and consistent dietary guidelines should be developed to help reduce the endemic diseases of the female population.

For any food systems to be sustainable, it needs to contribute to society and economic growth, in addition to being environmentally conscious. Sustainable eating is defined as choosing and consuming “food to meet current dietary needs while maintaining ecosystems that can also provide food for generations to come with minimal negative impact to the environment”. Livestock production and the consumption of the red meat produced are often criticised as being unsustainable due to the large carbon footprint attributed to this food commodity. However, what is often excluded from these arguments and debates is the potential beneficial role which animal source foods can play in meeting the dietary requirements of human populations, both in developed and developing countries and communities. The recent Global Nutrition Report (2014) emphasizes nutrition as being central to sustainable development. Within the post-2015 development agenda, improvements in nutritional status could make large contributions to the draft Sustainable Development Goals on poverty, hunger, health, education, gender and employment. This thesis presents the sustainability of red meat consumption from a nutrition perspective. Forming the scientific foundation for this argument was the analytical determination of the updated nutritional profile of South African beef as currently consumed, as well as a review of the composition of South African lamb and mutton as published in 2007 and 2010 (Chapter 3). The data obtained reflects the impact of South Africa’s unique classification and production systems on the composition of locally produced red meat. These animal source foods can be considered good sources of high quantity and quality nutrients, including protein, minerals and essential fatty acids. Trimming of the visible subcutaneous and intermuscular fat deposits from the meat has an even greater impact on nutritional profile (Chapter 4). Fat generally dilutes other essential nutrients, while the beneficial fatty acids (omega 3s and conjugated linoleic acids) are found in the intramuscular fat deposits between muscle cells which are not removed through trimming (Chapter 5). Consequently, red meat products can play a positive role in human nutrition and health. Sustainable food-based interventions to combat under nutrition require the accessibility and availability of nutrient dense foods, and adding even small amounts of red meat could play a significant role in improving the nutritional quality of the starch based staple diets of these individuals. Over nutrition, or the excessive consumption of nutrients and energy, has resulted in a significant rise in the incidence of overweight and obesity globally. In South Africa, more than 65% of women are considered to be overweight or obese, with the incidence in children increasing. Many of these overweight individuals are also suffering from a deficiency of other essential nutrients such as iron. This co-existence of under and over nutrition in the same individual justifies the necessity to promote the consumption of foods higher in nutrients, and lower in energy. Trimmed red meat thus has the potential to play a beneficial role as part of a food-based intervention (Chapter 6). To increase the impact of the findings of the research beyond scientific publications, the results of the analytical study were incorporated into influential outputs, including forming part of the scientific background paper to the Department of Health’s revision of the national Food-Based Dietary Guidelines (Chapter 7). The arguments of this thesis also feed into the consumer education campaign of Lamb and Mutton South Africa which endeavours to influence social perceptions surrounding the sustainability of red meat consumption (Chapter 8). A short communication of the findings was also selected as one of only 28 science writing pieces which was published in the Mail & Guardian newspaper, entitled “Meatless Mondays might be harmful in South Africa” (Addendum 1). The South African policy landscape promotes and supports the sustainable production of livestock (Chapter 2). Numerous research projects are exploring ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by livestock to improve the environmental impact of the industry. However, as the concerns of sustainable development include economic and social aspects in addition to environmental concerns, the data and arguments generated through this thesis could be used as tools when social concerns within sustainability in particular are voiced. Red meat can play a beneficial role in the nutrition and health of humans by providing high quality nutrients per portion, without necessarily contributing to excessive amounts of fat (and thus energy intake). The updated nutritional profile of South African beef provides evidence for the industry to present the sustainability of red meat consumption from a nutrition perspective. Recommendations for future research include the extrapolation of the findings into quantitative models to depict the nutrient density of specific food products compared to their carbon footprints. Research on the degree of food waste in the context of sustainable diets could also contribute notably to related arguments in the future, keeping in mind that as meat is the most expensive item in the food basket, waste in this food category is less than in the other food groups. / Thesis (PhD)--University of Pretoria, 2015. / gm2015 / Animal and Wildlife Sciences / PhD / Unrestricted

The emission of green house gases from animal agriculture has grown in recent years and is contributing to climate change and increased risk for chronic diseases. Red and processed meat can have positive health effects, such as getting enough nutrients as vitamins and protein to your diet, but can also increase the risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease and diabetes type 2. The objective of this study was to determine the meat consumption in adults and the factors that may affect this consumption. A secondary objective of this study was to find out if consumer’s are informed about the health risks regarding meat consumption. A questionnaire was sent out on Facebook where anyone could answer and later these answers where analyzed and compiled. The results show that men had a more positive attitude to meat consumption and health effects than women. Individuals who consume more meat is likely to think it effects them positively, this may be due to either ignorance or lack of information. Individuals avoiding or consuming less meat, did it in concern for the animals and to diminish the negative effects on their health and the environment. The conclusion of this study is that there are still people who think meat consumption has only positive health effects and therefore information needs to be uniformed so there can be no misunderstandings or doubts about the health effects from meat consumption.

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<p>  To improve cardiometabolic health, omnivores are often recommended to simultaneously adopt a healthy dietary pattern with an emphasis on increasing intakes of plant-based proteins and decreasing intakes of red and processed meats. However, the totality of observational and experimental results inconsistently supports relations between red meat intake and risks of cardiometabolic diseases such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Red meat is often not clearly or consistently defined within nutrition and health research and is consumed within healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns. These issues contribute to the conflicting findings. Observational data, which assess red meat (both unprocessed and processed) within an unrestricted Western-style dietary pattern, typically support positive associations with cardiometabolic disease incidence and mortality outcomes. Whereas experimental randomized controlled trial data consistently show that consuming healthy dietary patterns with or without the inclusion of lean unprocessed red meat, improve cardiometabolic disease risk factors. These discordant findings have left laymen, researchers,and policymakers alike to question whether a high intake of red meat is causally related to cardiometabolic disease outcomes. The results of the single blinded crossover randomized controlled feeding trial (Study 1, Chapter 3) support that consuming a U.S.-style healthy dietary pattern that included two 3oz servings/day of lean unprocessed beef did not adversely affect cardiometabolic disease risk factors. Based on observational and experimental research, the umbrella systematic review described in Chapter4, led to the inference that red and processed meats are not causally related with cardiovascular disease. However, relations between processed meat and mixed unprocessed and processed meat and type 2 diabetes were inferred to be potentially causal. Overall, the results described in this dissertation support that lean and unprocessed red meats consumed within healthy dietary patterns do not adversely affect cardiometabolic health</p>

<p>Accumulating evidence from randomized-controlled, full-feeding trials suggests neutral to beneficial effects of consuming lean and unprocessed red meat within a healthy dietary pattern on cardiovascular health. It is unclear how red meat interacts with the dietary pattern and the host in mediating its health effects. The gut microbiome provides a novel perspective in understanding the diet-host relationship for its abilities to metabolize dietary components including those within red meat and influence cardiovascular health. Prior to starting our study, we identified a lack of evidence in the English literature for the effects of consuming lean red meat, in unprocessed or processed forms, on gut microbiota in the context of a controlled healthy dietary pattern. Our findings presented in this dissertation demonstrate differential effects of consuming unprocessed versus processed red meat on gut microbiota. Consistent with previous research, we observed cardiovascular improvements induced by the healthy dietary pattern independent of lean red meat intakes among young adults with apparently healthy cardiovascular profiles. Importantly, with three intervention periods, we found consistent and reproducible changes in both gut microbiota and cardiovascular risk factors when repeatedly adopting and abandoning a healthy dietary pattern. Collectively, findings in this dissertation highlight the importance of gut microbiota in potentially mediating or responding to diet-induced cardiovascular improvements. Future research should investigate the changes in the function of gut microbiota induced by healthy dietary patterns containing red meat. Studies assessing the unique food matrix of processed versus unprocessed animal- or plant-based protein-rich foods are also warranted. Additionally, dietary strategies should focus on promoting healthy dietary modifications and enhancing dietary adherence for long-term cardiovascular benefits. </p>