Evaluation of Current Trends in Food Security

Kormishkin Evgenii Danilovich Doctor of Economics Professor, National Research Ogarev Mordovia State University 430000, Russia, Republic of Mordovia, Saransk, Bolshevistskaya str., 68/1 kormishkin.ed@mail.ru

Sausheva Oksana Sergeevna ORCID: 0000-0003-2901-9584 PhD in Economics Associate professor, National Research Ogarev Mordovia State University 68/1 Bolshevistskaya str., Saransk, Republic of Mordovia, 430032, Russia savox@mail.ru

IntroductionIn the process of evolution of the food security system at the global level, a modern understanding of this problem has gradually formed, putting equal access of all people to high-quality and safe food at the forefront.

At the same time, the "green" agenda has been updated in the last decade, and as a result, the issues of ensuring food security have become inextricably linked with climate change and CO2 emissions.

Regardless of which aspect of the food problem is being considered – production, related to the formation of sustainable agri-food systems, logistics (effective distribution of food, including reduction of food losses), socio-economic (economic availability of food, pricing in agri-food markets), medical or environmental, it can be confidently stated that this problem is one of the most relevant. By the request "food security" in Google Scholar, we receive 94,400 relevant results in the form of scientific publications only in 2022; by the request "food safety" - already 126 thousand results. It is obvious that in 2022 the food problem has significantly worsened due to significant rates of inflation, including food, disruption of supply chains, and a decline in the standard and quality of life even in developed countries.

The goal set by the authors of this article is to identify new trends in ensuring food security at its various levels, associated with increasing requirements for the quality and safety of food in conditions of increasing environmental threats.

 Food security: category contentThe modern concept of food security dates back to the 1970s, when concern about the global food supply attracted the attention of scientists from various disciplines (although the first international conference on food security met back in 1943 in Hot Springs (USA)) ^[1].

The main focus at this stage was on the sufficiency of world food supplies, especially grain. However, as our understanding of food production, distribution and consumption has expanded, so has the concept of food security. Today, FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO define food security as having four aspects: physical accessibility, economic accessibility, consumption and stability (Figure 1).

 Figure 1. The content of the category "food security"Research on the aspect of physical accessibility mainly focuses on food markets and, thus, is related to food production, food stocks and trade on a global and national scale.

The economic accessibility of food implies that although food may be available, it may not be available to all people, especially the poor, as Amartya Sen convincingly demonstrated back in 1981 ^[2]. Food consumption (the third aspect) includes food choices, cooking methods, and food distribution within the household. This aspect also includes food safety and the biological value of the food consumed in terms of its impact on human health. Thus, consumption directly affects the state of economic security of the individual. The last dimension, stability, adds an element of time to the other three dimensions and can refer to the persistence of food availability at the global, national, local and household levels.

All components of food security can be represented as having a hierarchical relationship (Figure 1). For example, the physical availability of food is a prerequisite for the economic availability of food. The physical and economic availability of food determines the characteristics and scale of its consumption. In turn, physical, economic availability and consumption depend on changing conditions, that is, stability, which can be associated with events on various scales.

 Assessment of the current situation in the field of food security Thus, food security is a complex, multifaceted concept that represents (according to one of the most commonly used definitions) a condition under which "... all people at any time have physical, social and economic access to a sufficient amount of safe and nutritious food that meets safety requirements, their nutritional preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life" (FAO, 1996) ^[3].

By default, food insecurity is non–compliance with these conditions, and it can range from mild to severe. Food insecurity, closely related to poverty, is a global problem, and since 2014, the prevalence of moderate to severe food insecurity has been steadily increasing (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP, WHO, 2022) ^[4].

As of 2021, approximately 2.3 billion people – 30% of the world's population – were considered to suffer from moderate or severe food shortages. While the majority (96%) of people suffering from food insecurity live in low- and middle-income countries, food insecurity is also a reality for citizens of the richest countries in the world. In the USA, for example, experts estimate that 14.8% of children live in homes where there is no food security ^[5]. Note that the risk of food insecurity is unevenly distributed. Women, children, the elderly and representatives of ethnic minorities are more likely to suffer from food insecurity ^{[6, 7, 8]}.

Differences in the geographical distribution of food insecurity can be partly explained by geopolitical factors. According to FAO et al. (2021), at the moment the main factors of food insecurity in the world are military conflicts, extreme climatic phenomena and economic downturn, which often exacerbate the existing geopolitical dynamics. Currently, the countries that are most negatively affected by one or more of these factors, especially as a result of conflicts, include Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen ^{[9, 10]}. In all four countries, humanitarian aid organizations report cases of severe food insecurity, in some cases on the verge of starvation.

The COVID-19 pandemic and related mitigation measures, which began in spring 2020, have also exacerbated food insecurity by disrupting global food chains and regional markets, contributing to income loss and undermining the health of those who produce food. According to FAO estimates, the pandemic has added 161 million people to the ranks of people suffering from food insecurity. Data in low- and middle-income countries show that the pandemic has negatively affected the quality of nutrition, especially for women, low-income people and informal sector workers ^{[4, 11, 12]}. Similarly, low-income groups and minorities in high-income countries were more affected ^{[13, 14]}.

For Russia, the first aspect of measuring food security related to food production does not cause concerns. According to the operational data of the Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation, in 2022 our country retained the status of a net exporter of food, increasing exports by 13% compared to 2021 (according to other experts, the growth ranged from 16% to 18.8%) ^[15]. The indicators of food independence of the Food Security Doctrine of the Russian Federation are mostly fulfilled (the Ministry of Agriculture expects, among other things, self-sufficiency in vegetables and fruits), self-sufficiency in milk and dairy products is carried out within the framework of the single market of the Union State with Belarus (https://mcx.gov.ru/press-service/news/v-2022-godu-rossiya-sokhranit-status-netto-eksportera-produktsii-apk/). At the same time, quite high rates of food inflation remain, which, together with a decrease in real incomes of the population, reduces the level of economic availability of food for the population (Figure 2).

The lag of the Russian Federation from other industrially developed economies in eliminating the trend of declining economic availability of food (the share of food costs on average in the group of developed countries is 15-18%) is clearly demonstrated by calculated polynomial regressions of the structure and dynamics of food costs in the structure of consumer spending of Russian households. From the contents of Figure 2, it can be concluded that there is an upward trend in all households in Russia, and this trend will continue in the near future. The most difficult situation is in families living in rural areas.

In addition, there remains a significant differentiation in the economic availability of food by decile groups. Food expenses in the first decile group (with the lowest incomes) accounted for 51.3% of all consumer spending in 2021, and in the tenth group – only 19.8%. Of course, this situation has a negative impact on the quality of the diet.

Figure 2. The share of food expenses in the total structure of household consumer spending in the Russian Federation in 2003-2021. Source: compiled according to RosstatSimilarly to the above trend in developed countries in the Russian Federation, a difficult situation remains with the availability of food for certain groups of households: large families spent 35.7% of all their consumer spending on food and soft drinks in 2021, single–parent families – 35.5%, unemployed pensioners – 46.1%, families with disabilities - 44.2%.

Note that, unlike developed countries, there is still no functioning mechanism for food aid to those in need in Russia (despite the fact that it has been discussed since 2014). The problem of food quality and safety remains significant.

Food quality as a key factor of food securityAs noted by L.A. Kormishkina et al. ^[16], a new model of food security in the XXI century in developed countries is being transformed in the direction of food quality and safety (Figure 3).

It is not just the production of food in ever-increasing volumes that is becoming important, but the production of high-quality food products that improve human health, and affordable in terms of price characteristics.

Figure 3. Transformation of the food security model

 Responsibility for food safety lies on the entire food supply chain, from "farm to fork" and includes the assessment and management of risks such as microbiological, chemical and physical challenges and threats at every stage of the reproductive process, starting with the supply of raw materials, its processing and ending with the consumption of the final product by the consumer ^[17]. Thus, ensuring food safety involves many stakeholders, including agricultural enterprises, food producers in the food and processing industry, retail and catering, as well as households themselves. The Government is also responsible for monitoring compliance with food quality standards. The joint efforts of the government, the food industry and consumers are the key to ensuring food safety ^[18].Food supply chains are constantly changing thanks to new innovative technologies that appear in response to consumer demand for fresher, tastier, better color-preserving, more nutritious products with an extended shelf life.

Food trends are shifting from healthy innovations to personalized nutrition ^[19], with functional products becoming a new area.

Regarding food quality, it should be noted that the scale of global international trade between countries invariably leads to the fact that different countries evaluate food safety standards with reference to international food safety standards, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, and disputes concerning the harmonization of food safety standards are referred to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

As a result of the interaction between FAO and WHO, it became possible to create the General Principles of Food Hygiene of the Codex Alimentarius, approve the Guidelines for the Use of the system of Critical control Points in the analysis of a dangerous factor (HACCP), and develop a scale of food standards. These acts of international law are the foundation for the formation of a system of domestic standards and a means of ensuring their harmonization with international rules. The system of standards FSSC 22000 (Food Safety System Certification) has also been developed – the certification of the food safety system, which combines the achievements, elements of previous standards on food safety, such as: ISO 22000:2005, HASSP, BRS, IFS. The peculiarity of the FSSC 22000 standard is the possibility of its application to any food producers, regardless of the volume and size of production, regardless of the form of ownership, as well as to companies that participate in the food production chain at any stage of its production ^[20].

However, as some scientists rightly point out, there are certain contradictions between the economic interests of food exporters and importers regarding compliance with international standards ^[18]. Exporting countries adhere to international quality standards for food safety, and importing countries, in turn, may try to protect the interests of their local producers by introducing stricter requirements for imported products, including non-monetary trade tariffs and sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.

The problem of food quality and safety is relevant for all countries. For example, consider the example of the PRC in the field of food security. Increasing food safety requirements have been declared a top priority by the Chinese government, which as a result led to the transformation of the legislative framework in the field of food safety, which led to the establishment of the Chinese National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center (CFSA). CFSA has developed National Food Safety Standards (NFSS). These standards were largely based on the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) and thus on the best practices of developed countries. The agreed risk assessment protocols currently in use in China are backed up by a comprehensive set of research data relevant to China.

The Chinese Government adopted the Food Safety Law (FSL) in 2009; this law was developed on the basis of the previously existing Law on the Quality and Safety of Agricultural Products, introduced in 2006, and before that, the Law on Agriculture in 2003.. The Food Safety Act of 2009 was an important step in overcoming the long history of the confusing food safety system and ensures that the Chinese food safety system supports the safety and quality of food, and, consequently, the health of the population. FSL also manages food safety incidents by providing recommendations for their elimination (Zhang et al., 2018) ^[21].

The basic laws are responsible for the quality and safety of agricultural food, and their implementation is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Agriculture. Its function is to ensure compliance with the rules of growing fresh products, farming methods, processing of fresh products at the factory, packaging of food products in hygienic conditions and all other safe methods of food production at the processing enterprise.

In Canada, the Ministry of Health of Canada and the Canadian Food Supervision Agency are responsible for the food safety of the society. The first agency has jurisdiction in the field of health protection (including healthy nutrition) and regulates food safety in accordance with the Laws on Food and Medicines (Health Canada, 2021). The Canadian Food Supervision Agency is responsible for monitoring compliance with these laws ^[18].

In Russia, the food safety system is also gradually being built up. Plans to improve the quality of Russian food have been announced at the highest level: on October 24, 2021, a list of instructions from the President of the Russian Federation aimed at creating a national food quality management system based on the introduction of an integrated mechanism for its traceability was approved. In September 2022, Rosstandart approved the National Standardization Program for 2023, which includes more than 4,200 standardization documents, of which a record more than 2,000 are scheduled for approval in 2023. Among the key areas of development is ensuring the safety of products of the agro–industrial complex.

Among other things, since January 1, 2020, organic products are also certified in the Russian Federation. In 2022, Roskachestvo, together with the Ministry of Agriculture, Rosaccreditation and Rosstandart, presented recommendations on identifying "pseudo-organics" on the shelves of Russian stores, accounting for up to 70% of the total volume of products with similar instructions on the packaging. The manufacturer can write that the product is organic only if there is a certificate of conformity that confirms compliance with national and international standards for the production of organic products ^[22].

Food fraud poses a significant threat not only to Russia, but also to many other countries of the world. Most often, such fraud is associated with incorrect labeling of food products, asymmetry of information, forgery and falsification of food products ^[23]. Food fraud is not easy to detect, and often small differences in quality can only be detected with the help of DNA molecular technology; therefore, sellers are tempted to take risks and engage in food fraud. The level of verification by the authorities of cases of food fraud is often low, and repeat offenders are not punished sufficiently, which leads to repeated offenses. For example, advanced inspection departments, such as the US FDA, still inspect only about 1% of imported food.

The example of fake olive oil on the Italian market in 2014-2017 is widely known in expert circles ^[24].

Honey fraud in the United States in 2001 attracted huge international attention. The anti-dumping tariff was imposed on two countries involved in fraudulent honey exports: Argentina and China. Honey producers evaded payment of duties by fraudulently marking the place of origin. The US government used three sets of data to identify this type of fraud: the volume of foreign trade transactions, an inflated balance of foreign trade, as well as discrepancies between the volume of exports declared in the place of origin report and the volume of imports reported at the destination ^[25].

Summing up the above, it can be noted that ensuring food security remains among the significant problems both at the global level and at the national level, and an important trend in recent years has been increasing attention to food safety and quality issues.