The 2011-2021 National Policy on Food Security and Nutrition and the 2011-2015 National Plan for Food Security and Nutrition are the official documents guiding interventions in food and nutrition in the country. The country’s government for 2014-2018 has included the nutrition component as a priority in the health section of the National Development Plan. Goals established include a two per cent reduction in obesity for five to 12 year-olds, as well as specific goals relating to the reduction of chronic noncommunicable diseases, the risk factors for which first appear in childhood.
This year, the National Agreement of the Council of Ministers for a comprehensive approach to dealing with chronic noncommunicable diseases and obesity was signed by the President, 16 Ministers and high-level officials of government institutions as well as the Costa Rican Office of the Pan American Health Organization acting as witness.
Costa Rica has a strong regulatory framework of food fortification using micronutrients which are deficient in the population. This framework is the fruit of tough negotiations and advocacy between the Ministry of Health and the food industry on the basis of scientific evidence and the findings of national nutrition surveys. Current executive decrees regulate the production of salt, rice, sugar, wheat and, maize flour and milk.
Last updated: October 2015
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