Vitamin D remains high on the nutrition agenda as a confirmed by recent communication from the UK's Chief Medical Officer, Dame Sally Davies, raising awareness of the problems of vitamin D deficiency with health professionals and encouraging them to take appropriate action.
Patient Safety First, a campaign group which focuses on improving patient safety in the health service, has announced that on 23 January it will be partnering with the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) to launch a week focused on nutrition and hydration: 'A taste of patient safety'.
Gastrointestinal disorders, such as coeliac disease, are reported to account for around ten percent of NHS clinical work. However, despite being one of the most common long term chronic conditions, the prevalence of coeliac disease is still not formally recorded by the NHS. Consequently, it's not surprising that coeliac disease is not always well managed in general practice.
Sport nutrition is a growing area of expertise, highlighting the importance of accurate and up to date scientific information. In recognition of this, the UK's Nutrition Society, the professional association of nutritionists, has recently published a new book 'Sport and Exercise Nutrition'
The long awaited Food Information to Consumers Regulation was published in November 2011. This new Regulation will result in changes to most food and drink labels, including those of specialist nutrition products. The majority of these label changes will need to be made by December 2014 in accordance with the transition periods for the Regulation.
The European Commission's proposal to revise the current legislation for Foods for Particular Nutritional Uses (PARNUTs), known as the 'PARNUTs Framework Directive', has been under discussion by the European Council of Ministers since October 2011 and the Polish Presidency of the Council has issued a report on the progress to date as part of its handover to the new Danish Presidency which will take over from 1 January 2012.
The European Commission published a proposal to revise the current legislation for Foods for Particular Nutritional Uses (PARNUTs), known as the 'PARNUTs Framework Directive', in June 2011. The Commission proposal is now under discussion by the European Council of Ministers.
Representatives from the European Parliament, the Polish Presidency of the EU and other groups concerned about health and nutrition have come together to raise awareness of the problems of disease related malnutrition across the EU and subsequent consequences on healthcare. Disease related malnutrition affects around 20 million EU citizens per year at a cost of up to 120 billion Euros.
The Infant & Toddler Forum have recently published a new resource for health professionals providing guidance and suitable portion sizes for infants and young children.
Responding to the report on the Daily Mail about the findings of the Care Quality Commission's hospital spot-checks, Roger Clarke, Director General of BSNA says:
“Hospitals are still not getting the basics right and this is unacceptable. Nutritional care is not just a 'nice-to-have', it's essential for every patient. Without good nutrition, patients cannot be expected to recover well from illness or injury. We are deeply concerned that so many hospitals were identified by the CQC as needing to improve.