Book Reviews

128

Food at Work. Workplace Solutions for Malnutrition and Chronic Diseases

Wanjek C.

International Labour Office (ILO)

, Geneva,2005, 448 pages, $60.00 Swiss Francs, ISBN 92-2-117015-2

Food at work has not I think been a special interest ofnutritionists and dietitians in Australasia. The 1979 edi-tion of

Human Nutrition and Dietetics

(the 600-pageBritish textbook) had one-third of a page on industrialcanteens, but contemporary nutrition books do notseem to mention them.

So arrival of this book for reviews was a pleasant sur-prise. The dust cover has an amazing photograph ofbuilding workers sitting on a bare steel beam, hundredsof feet above New York eating their lunch. The singleauthor (who writes on health and science for theWashington Post) has written introductory chapters onhistory and economics of work place nutrition (and thecost to employers if their workers are poorly nourished)and an admirable overview of nutrition, written toinform managers and based on WHO sources.

The large middle section contains examples of goodor interesting practice from 49 different countries. Somedescribe canteens or cafeterias, others are about mealvouchers, mess rooms, local vendors, solutions for fam-ilies and clean drinking water. Each example gets four orfive pages, some with pictures. All are presented in a sys-tematic way: description of the company, food solution,possible disadvantages, costs and benefits to the enter-prise, government incentives, practical, aspects, union/employee perspective. Australia is represented by Phos-phate Hill at Duchess (140 km south of Mt Isa) said tobe the most remote chemical plant in the world. All themeals of the 380–600 workers are provided for them,breakfast and dinner at the canteen and a packed lunchin clean rooms near the mine. Work shifts are 12 hours,day and night, starting at 6 a.m. and 6 p.m. Some of theworkers are of Aboriginal descent. Management are con-cerned about their susceptibility to diabetes and kidneydisease and about the increasing body mass index inAustralian men. They provide low-fat and vegetarianoptions. Researchers from James Cook University havebeen assessing and advising on health and nutritionalwellbeing of the workers.

There is a full-time nutritionist and two lifestyle coor-dinators who organise recreational exercise. The work-ers health and safety committee said that the companydoes an excellent job, providing a variety of healthy andtasty food while keeping freedom of choice. Some jokedabout eating more healthily at work than at home. Thisis just one of the 49 examples of food at work. Mostworkers are not as confined to the workplace as Phos-

phate Hill but throughout in these examples manage-ment have been striving, often with professional advice,for nutritious and hygienic food for their workers—andoften their families too.

The third section has checklists and sets out interna-tional standards, policies and programmes, then thereare Conclusions, summing up what has emerged fromall the examples. An appendix briefly describes thenutrients at the level, as in the rest of the book, of theeducated general reader.

This is a beautifully designed, written and printedbook and would have to be consulted by anyone advis-ing on food at work anywhere in the world. The Inter-national Labour Office deserves congratulations forpublishing such a unique and reader-friendly contribu-tion to good nutrition.

A. Stewart Truswell

Emeritus Professor of Human NutritionUniversity of Sydney

© 2006 The AuthorJournal compilation

© 2006 Dietitians Association of Australia

Au: ‘an excellent ob’—please spell out: ob. gleyne@daa.asn.au

Blackwell Publishing A

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Book Review

BOOK REVIEWS

Safe Food. Third Edition

Duncan P, Fitchett L.

Pearson Education NewZealand

, Auckland, 2005, 80 pages, $NZ29.95,ISBN 1-877258-57-1

The by-line to the title of this book is ‘a food safetycourse for the food worker’, and its stated aims are tosatisfy the learning outcomes of the NZQA (NewZealand Qualifications Authority) unit standards 20666(demonstrate a basic knowledge of food contaminationhazards and control methods used in a food business),167 (practise safe food methods in a food business) and168 (demonstrate a knowledge of food contaminationhazards and control methods in a food business).

The first and second editions of this book were pub-lished in 1992 and 1996, and it has well and truly stoodthe test of time. The authors, both highly respected NewZealand registered dietitians who work as practitionersand teachers in food safety, have updated this edition toreflect the changing approach to food safety both inNew Zealand and internationally. Food businesses, insti-tutional foodservices and catering operations are devel-oping Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points(HACCP)-based food control plans, and this book pro-vides a clear readable text that will help students under-stand the causes, controls and prevention of food-borneillnesses.

Book Reviews

129

The food safety course is presented as six major top-ics—food-borne illness, pathogenic bacteria, hazardsother than pathogenic bacteria, personal hygiene, high-risk foods and kitchen hygiene. Each section is pre-sented clearly, with iconic bug graphics. Large tracts oftext are absent, and spot colour, highlighted charts, keypoints and application exercises make it easy to identifythe important issues. The language used is simple andunaffected, and suited to an audience with a lower read-ability score.

The content is accurate, reliable and appropriatelyspecific. Wherever possible, times and temperatures arestated, and particular actions recommended to ensurefood safety. However, it was surprising to see the refer-ence to aluminium saucepans and the possibility of largeamounts of aluminium in acid foods cooked in alumin-ium pans. Although this may be true, people need to beassured that absorption of aluminium via the gas-trointestinal tract is extremely small, and dietary alumin-ium has never been associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

Practising safe food handling is learned behaviour.The authors acknowledge that what people say they doand what they actually do are often two different things,and they emphasise the importance of training forunderstanding, followed by practice and input by man-agement to ensure that procedures are followed. The lastthree topics—the practical components on personalhygiene, high-risk foods and kitchen hygiene—haveexcellent checklists that can be used in the workplace toensure that the theory is followed up in practice.

This book not only is a must for students studyingpractical food safety, but also should be in the book-shelves of any food or catering business. It is a usefulresource for anyone running staff in-service training, oreven bringing themselves up-to-date on the practicalapplication of this important issue. Its realistic recom-mended retail price makes it affordable for all.

Julian Jensen

Consultant DietitianJulian Jensen Associates

Christchurch, New Zealand

© 2006 The AuthorJournal compilation

© 2006 Dietitians Association of Australia

Au: Please spell out: HACCP. julian@jja.co.nz

ustralia

xxx 2006

63

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Infant Nutrition

Lucas A, Zlotkin S.

Health Press Limited

, Oxford,2003, 108 pages, £15.00, ISBN 1-899541-93-4

Optimal nutrition during the early life of infants isessential for growth and development throughout life.

Nutritional management of hospitalised infants andchildren, or training of health professionals is often lim-ited. This book aims to fulfil that need by offering com-prehensive coverage with guides to clinical practice onpaediatric nutrition propensity for disease and theproper nutrition management for infants.

Topics of the book include physiology, nutritionalrequirements, growth, breastfeeding, infant formulasand other milks, other fluids in infant feeding, transitionto solid foods, food safety and general health issues, apractical approach to feeding problems and futuretrends. The end of the book also provides usefuladdresses of nutrition organisations and nutrition foun-dations. Every chapter is of excellent scientific quality.Each chapter clearly and briefly provides the key issuesof nutritional problems, requirements, management andrecommendations. The table and figures highlighted insoft colours throughout the book allow navigation tokey points quickly and easily. The use of colours fromthe start of the cover is an attractive way to presentinformation. This book not only addresses currentissues in infant nutrition, but also addresses food safetyand future directions. The future trends provide a clearmessage that nutritional programming and the biologi-cal effects of nutrition on short- and long-term healthare one of science’s most challenging frontiers. Overall,this book systematically sets out a practical approachfor the management of problems with feeding, infantnutritional requirements, food safety and general healthissues.

The book provides excellent updated knowledge onlong-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, particularlyarachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid in humanmilk, which are essential components of the brain andretina, and are important for normal neurological func-tion. Learning behaviour is listed as an important clin-ical and research discipline. However, as human milk iskey to early mental development, then there are manymicronutrients in human milk that may contribute tobrain growth. These include iron, vitamins, someenzyme hormones, and particularly sialic acid, whichare found as one of nature’s richest sources in humanmilk oligosaccharides and across central nervous systemstructures.

My only real criticism of the book is that in chapter 2,

Nutritional requirements

, there should be more informa-tion on the oligosaccharides in human milk. Oligosac-charides represent over 12 g/L of mature milk andapproximately 22 g/L of colostrum. These fractions areof widely recognised importance for biological functionsin infant nutrition.

The authors of this book are well-recognised leadersin the fields of infant nutrition. The book is clearly tar-