AKST has led to improvements in food safety although microbiological and chemical hazards continue to cause a significant health problem.

The emphasis of current food safety is on reducing the transmission of food- and water-borne infectious disease related to production, processing, packaging and storage, and chemical and other non-infectious food contamination. The latter include environmental contaminants such as mercury in fish and mycotoxins, as well as food additives, agrochemicals and veterinary drugs, such as antibiotics and hormones (Brackett, 1999; Kitinoja and Gorny, 1999). To improve food safety and quality there has been increased attention to traceability, risk assessment, the provision of controls (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point [HACCP]) and the implementation of food safety standards, such as GAP, GMP like ISO 9000, EUREP GAP and HACCP. In addition, AKST has developed both simple and high-technology solutions to extend shelf life and make stored foods safer. Techniques include low-cost, simple technology treatment of wastewater for irrigation; cost-effective methods for reducing microbial load on intact and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables; improved efficacy of water purification, such as chlorination/ozonizations (Kader, 2003); refrigeration and deep freezing; food irradiation; modified atmosphere packaging, laboratory and production-line surveillance, and genetic engineering. However public concern about the potential risks associated with new technologies has led to calls for rigorous risk assessments based on international standards (WHO, 2002). These technologies, linked to better transport have increased year-round access to healthy, safe food for many, but these public health benefits are unequally distributed and favor high-income consumers.

Emerging human and animal infectious diseases are linked to poor or limited application of AKST.

Of 204 infectious diseases currently emerging in both high and low income countries, 75% are zoonotic (transmitted between animals and humans) (Taylor et al., 2001). They pose direct threats to human health and indirect socioeconomic impacts affecting rural livelihoods due to trade restrictions. Recent high-profile examples of these animal diseases infecting humans through the food chain include Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) in cows and avian influenza (H5N1) in poultry. In both cases transmission has been linked to low standards in the animal feed industry and the increase of antimicrobial resistance arising from the use of antibiotics in industrialized farming systems. As this resistance will limit prevention and treatment of these diseases, the World Health Organization recommended the elimination of subtherapeutic medical antibiotic use in livestock production in 1997, and called for strict regulation and phasing out of other subtherapeutic treatments, such as growth promotants (http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleases- Action.do?reference=IP/03/1058&format=HTML&aged=0 &language=EN&guiLanguage=en). Adequate surveillance

and control programs have not been introduced in many countries.

The health focus of industrial food processing and marketing has mainly been on adding value and increasing shelflife, and not on improving nutrition.

AKST has focused on adding value to basic foodstuffs (e.g., using potatoes to produce a wide range of snack foods). This has led to the development of cheap, processed food products with long shelf life but reduced nutritive value (Shewfelt and Bruckner, 2000). Postharvest treatments to extend shelf life of fruit and vegetables degrade provitamin A, such as ß-carotene, and reduce the bioavailability of nutrients (AVRDC, 1987; Zong et al., 1998). The benefits of this food processing technology tend to be unequally distributed between producer and retailer, with increasingly lower percentages of the final cost of processed food reaching the rural producers. In developed countries this has led to concerns that retailers may abuse their market power vis-à-vis other producers and consumers. The emphasis on "adding value" has also has also lowered the incentive to promote healthy fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables. Recent initiatives to develop processed "health foods" are predominantly aimed at rich consumers (Hasler, 2000). Food labeling and health claims on packaged foods are a major source of nutritional information for consumers (EHN, 2001), but voluntary labeling approaches (such as guideline daily amounts) are difficult for consumers to understand, reducing their ability to make informed choice about the nutritional value of the foods. As mentioned earlier, processed energy-dense foods (high in fat, salt and sugar) are contributing to increasing rates of obesity and associated chronic diseases (Nestle, 2003).

Agricultural production and trade policies have influenced negative trends in global nutrition and health.

Despite the clear links between diet, disease and health, agricultural policy has been dominated by production rather than diet objectives (Lang and Heasman, 2004). There is international agreement on the requirements of a healthy diet (WHO/FAO, 2003), and the ability of diets rich in fruits and vegetables to reduce diseases like heart disease, stroke, and many cancers (Ness and Powles, 1997; WCRF/AICR, 1997; Bazzano et al., 2001; Lock et al., 2005). Saturated fatty acids (naturally present in animal fats) lead to increased serum cholesterol levels and a higher risk of coronary heart disease. Trans-fatty acids, caused by industrial hydrogenation of vegetable or marine oils by the food industry, cause higher risks of heart disease (Mozaffarian et al., 2006; Willet et al., 2006). Agricultural policies and production methods influence what farmers grow, and what people consume, through their influence on food availability and price (Hawkes, 2007). The liberalization of agricultural markets and the rise of a global, industrialized food system have had