PHM-Exch> Brazilian Food Guide attacked: now, overwhelming support for the Guide in Brazil and worldwide

[Claudio Schuftan]

By Carlos Monteiro and Patrícia Jaime

World Nutrition 2020;11(4):94-99



Abstract

The present commentary summarizes the attacks to the Dietary Guidelines for
the Brazilian Population from ultra-processed food manufacturers and the
Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply (MAPA). After MAPA
issued a technical note calling on the Ministry of Health urgently to
review the Guide by cutting

out its recommendation to avoid consumption of ultra-processed food
products, without citing scientific evidence, a wide group of scholars
confirmed that the note had no valid foundation.



Background

Defining healthy diets is relatively simple. But confusion and
controversies in the media can suggest otherwise. A lot of commotion is
caused by sources motivated by profit and not by personal and public
health, as this commentary will show. Making the scientific knowledge on
healthy diets accessible to everybody is one of the purposes of the
world-leading Dietary Guidelines for the Brazilian Population (the Food
Guide) published by the Ministry of Health



The Guide was produced with the technical support of the Center for
Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health of the University of São
Paulo, as directed by the Brazilian Ministry of Health, in consultation
with the Pan American Health Organization of the World Health Organization.
It is the product of a thorough national consultation. In draft it was
circulated for review and comment by nutrition professionals from all
Brazilian states, by non-governmental organizations, and by the

food industry. It has been acknowledged in reports from the United Nations
Food and Agriculture Organization and by the Pan American Health
Organization.



The Guide is for absolutely everybody. Its central message can be summed up
as “unpack less, and peel and cook more.” The concept of peeling and
cooking more, refers to unprocessed foods, such as varieties of fruits and
vegetables, and all sorts of minimally processed foods, such as the
Brazilian staples beans and rice and modest

amounts of animal foods.



The Guide states that eating such foods in the form of dishes and meals
helps ensure consuming in a balanced way the nutrients and other bioactive
compounds that we need to maintain our health and well-being. It also
stimulates and supports businesses, farmers and workers who make, produce,
distribute and market these foods. Further, it sustains biodiversity,
protects natural resources and the environment, and affirms an important
part of national and regional culture.



The concept of unpacking is related to consumption of those food products
made by manufacturers that are ultra-

processed. The Guide states that the more that ultra-

processed foods are eaten or drunk, the greater the risk of consuming
excessive sugar and unhealthy fats, and insufficient protein, dietary
fiber, vitamins, minerals

and other bioactive compounds. Ultra-processed foods also contain many
additives which, while used legally, have unknown or uncertain effects on
health. Their consumption

discourages family farming, decreases biodiversity, threatens natural
resources, increases solid waste, and replaces genuine food crops.



The food industry as a whole is of course essential for all societies and
civilizations. Indeed, the Guide emphasizes that only some industrially
manufactured food is ultra-processed. Foods can be minimally processed
(such as rice and beans), can be processed culinary ingredients (such as
oils, olive oils and butter) and can be processed foods (such as freshly-made
breads and cheeses).



The Guide states that unprocessed or minimally processed foods are the
basis of healthy eating. Processed culinary ingredients, in small
quantities, turn those foods into

delicious and nourishing dishes and meals. Processed foods, also in small
quantities, can make meals more delicious while retaining their nutritive
value.



The only foods that the Guide recommends avoiding, are those that are
ultra-processed.



These are not exactly foods, but formulations of various ingredients, many
of them manufactured for exclusive industrial use, very often containing
little or no whole food. Examples are cola and soft and sweetened drinks;
candies and confectionery; packaged fatty, salty or sugary snacks, cakes
and biscuits; “instant” noodles and soups; products made from reconstituted
meat; and pre-prepared chilled or frozen pizzas, pastas and other dishes.



The Guide includes a practical way to recognize when foods are
ultra-processed. This is by consulting the list of ingredients that, by
law, must appear on all packaged foods.



Attacks from ultra-processed food manufacturers



The manufacturers of ultra-processed food in Brazil are now trying to
discredit the Guide. In mid-September this year, a “Technical Note”
prepared by two officials in the

Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Supply  leaked to the
media. The Note called on the Ministry of Health urgently to review the
Guide, claiming that it was   “one of the worst on the planet” and in part
recommends

to cut out its recommendation to avoid consumption of ultra-processed food
products, without citing any relevant

supporting evidence.



It is known that in mid-year Brazilian Food Industry Association (ABIA)
staff met with the Agriculture Minister to press for changes in the Guide.





See https://worldnutritionjournal.org/index.php/wn/article/view/757/642
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