Abstract
To make a tentative assessment of the consumption of cassava in three countries in South-east Asia and the cyanogenic potential (CNp) of the crop as a possible food safety issue. We used data from the Ministry of Health in Vietnam and Statistics Authorities in Indonesia and Philippines (mean household consumption per province) to assess cassava consumption. Conversions of units were needed to facilitate the comparison of cassava consumption between countries. The most up-to-date data available regarding both cassava consumption and the CNp of cassava grown in the respective countries were assessed. Vietnam, Indonesia and Philippines. Respondents from provinces in Vietnam (nineteen), Indonesia (thirty-three) and Philippines (eighty-one) were asked to complete a recall questionnaire detailing either the previous 24-h' or the 7-d' cassava consumption. Among the three countries, available data indicated that the highest median cassava-consumption figures percapita were from Indonesia and the Philippines (9·01 and 7·28 g/capita per d, respectively), with Vietnam having the least (1·14 g/capita per d). Published information regarding the CNp of cassava in the three countries was limited. While the findings of the present study are somewhat limited by a lack of available information regarding both the extent of cassava consumption and the CNp of cassava consumed in the three countries, it appears likely that cyanogen intake arising from cassava consumption among the three countries exceeds the FAO/WHO Provisional Maximum Tolerable Daily Intake, although any risk to public health appears limited to a minority of provinces in each country.
Highlights
MethodsLiterature search Published reports were searched using the terms ‘«cassava intake»’, ‘«cassava consumption»’ AND ‘«Vietnam»’, OR ‘«Indonesia»’, OR ‘«Philippines»’, ‘«cyanide»’, ‘«cyanogenic potential»’, ‘«hydrocyanic acid»’, ‘«hydrogen cyanide»’, ‘«cyanogenic glucosides»’ AND ‘«cassava roots»’, ‘«sweet cassava»’, ‘«bitter cassava»’, ‘«fresh cassava»’ using electronic databases (Medline, EMBASE, PUBMED and Google Scholar)
Reported cassava consumption in Vietnam From our calculations using the data obtained from the Vietnamese National Institute of Nutrition[19], the overall median daily consumption of fresh cassava amounted to 1·14 g/capita per d in the nineteen cassava-consuming provinces of Vietnam
This appears to contradict findings, within the National Institute of Nutrition Vietnam[19] data set that was used in this paper, which indicated higher per capita consumption of cassava in the Mekong River Delta than in the Central Highlands region
Summary
Literature search Published reports were searched using the terms ‘«cassava intake»’, ‘«cassava consumption»’ AND ‘«Vietnam»’, OR ‘«Indonesia»’, OR ‘«Philippines»’, ‘«cyanide»’, ‘«cyanogenic potential»’, ‘«hydrocyanic acid»’, ‘«hydrogen cyanide»’, ‘«cyanogenic glucosides»’ AND ‘«cassava roots»’, ‘«sweet cassava»’, ‘«bitter cassava»’, ‘«fresh cassava»’ using electronic databases (Medline, EMBASE, PUBMED and Google Scholar). Relevant national databases were consulted for cassava-consumption data arising from food consumption surveys. While the focus was mainly on fresh cassava, information relating to consumption of dried cassava (cassava flour and gaplek) was included. Published scientific literature was the source from which information regarding reported levels of cassava cyanogens from Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines was obtained
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