Food and water security issues in Russia I: food security in the general population of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and the Far East, 2000-2011.
BACKGROUND
Problems related to food security in Russian Arctic (dietary imbalance, predominance of carbohydrates, shortage of milk products, vegetables and fruits, deficit of vitamins and microelements, chemical, infectious and parasitic food contamination) have been defined in the literature. But no standard protocol of food security assessment has been used in the majority of studies.


OBJECTIVE
Our aim was to obtain food security indicators, identified within an Arctic collaboration, for selected regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and the Far East, and to compare food safety in these territories.


METHODS
In 18 regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and the Far East, the following indicators of food security were analyzed: food costs, food consumption, and chemical and biological food contamination for the period 2000-2011.


RESULTS
Food costs in the regions are high, comprising 23-43% of household income. Only 4 out of 10 food groups (fish products, cereals, sugar, plant oil) are consumed in sufficient amounts. The consumption of milk products, eggs, vegetables, potatoes, fruits (and berries) is severely low in a majority of the selected regions. There are high levels of biological contamination of food in many regions. The biological and chemical contamination situation is alarming, especially in Chukotka. Only 7 food pollutants are under regular control; among pesticides, only DDT. Evenki AO and Magadan Oblast have reached peak values in food contaminants compared with other regions. Mercury in local fish has not been analyzed in the majority of the regions. In 3 regions, no monitoring of DDT occurs. Aflatoxins have not been analyzed in 5 regions. Nitrates had the highest percentage in excess of the hygienic threshold in all regions. Excesses of other pollutants in different regions were episodic and as a rule not high.


CONCLUSIONS
Improvement of the food supply and food accessibility in the regions of the Russian Arctic, Siberia and the Far East is of utmost importance. Both quantitative and qualitative control of chemical and biological contaminants in food is insufficient and demands radical enhancement aimed at improving food security.
Northwest Public Health Research Center, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Alexey A
AA
Dudarev
Northwest Public Health Research Center, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Pavel R
PR
Alloyarov
Northwest Public Health Research Center, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Valery S
VS
Chupakhin
Northwest Public Health Research Center, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Eugenia V
EV
Dushkina
Northwest Public Health Research Center, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Yuliya N
YN
Sladkova
Dubna City Hospital, Moscow oblast, Russia.
Vitaliy M
VM
Dorofeyev
Northwest Public Health Research Center, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Tatijana A
TA
Kolesnikova
Northwest Public Health Research Center, St. Petersburg, Russia.
Kirill B
KB
Fridman
Division of Nutritional Research, Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden ; Arcum - Arctic Research Centre, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Lena Maria
LM
Nilsson
Arcum - Arctic Research Centre, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden ; Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Clinical Microbiology, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden.
Birgitta
B
Evengård
D001110:Arctic Regions / Q000453:epidemiology; D003365:Costs and Cost Analysis; D004032:Diet / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005202:Asia, Eastern / Q000453:epidemiology; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D059022:Food Safety; D005523:Food Supply / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009751:Nutritional Requirements / Q000502:physiology*; D012426:Russia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012800:Siberia / Q000453:epidemiology
Russian Arctic; biological contamination; chemical; food security