| Seafood consumption survey underway |
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| Friday, 21 May 2010 07:24 | |||
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The Ministry of Health and Human Services has begun a survey of local residents to determine consumption of seafood to help prevent seafood poisoning. Marine and coastal resources, in particular the fishing industry, is a mainstay of the Turks and Caicos Islands’ economy. Fish, conch and lobster are the main local protein source as most foods are imported. The last dietary survey in 1983-84 reported that fish was consumed three or more times each week by a large part of the population on some islands. Since then the TCI population has increased more than five-fold to an estimated 36,605 in 2008, and the demographic profile has also changed markedly. The survey is being conducted in Grand Turk and South Caicos this month, and in Providenciales in the near future. Interviewers from the ministry’s National Epidemiology and Research Unit will be visiting randomly selected homes on these three islands to collect information. “The participation of each selected household is extremely important as it contributes to a more successful survey outcome,” the ministry said. “Any information provided will be held in the strictest confidence as specified in the protocol for the survey, which has been approved by the TCI Research Ethics Committee.” In collaboration with the International Development Research Center of Canada, the ministry will collect important information on the dietary patterns, especially seafood consumption, and level of food poisoning, especially fish poisoning such as ciguatera, experienced by the people of the TCI. “This would enhance our ability to provide appropriate oversight to ensure seafood safety and optimal public health for the people of TCI,” the ministry said. Ciguatera poisoning is the most common food-borne illness of public health importance. It is acquired from eating some species of tropical fish that feed on smaller fish that eat reef-dwelling algae, mainly in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. This happens during periods called harmful algal blooms and has implications for areas such as Florida and the Caribbean, including the TCI, with reef ecosystems that supply fish for local consumption and export. “The National Epidemiology and Research Unit extends a warm invitation to interviewees and looks forward to the full cooperation of the people of TCI as it embarks on this important endeavour in the national interest,” the ministry said.
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