
The First Nations Food, Nutrition and Environment Study (FNFNES) was the largest nutrition, food security and food safety study conducted in Canada with First Nations. A total of 6,487 First Nations adults participated in this 10-year study which began in 2008. The study originated from concerns about the impacts of environmental pollution on the quality and safety of the ecosystems and traditional foods harvested by First Nations.
The goal of FNFNES was to address gaps in knowledge about the diet, traditional food and environmental contaminants, as well as the overall well-being and food security of First Nations.
As a community-based participatory research project, participating First Nations were involved in the planning and the implementation of data collection for the five principal study components: household interviews; tap water sampling for trace metals; surface water sampling for pharmaceuticals; hair sampling to estimate exposure to mercury; and traditional food sampling to estimate exposure to contaminants.
The collaborators for this project were University of Ottawa, Université de Montréal, and the Assembly of First Nations. The study was funded by the First Nations Inuit Health Branch (formerly of Health Canada), Indigenous Services Canada.
Principal investigators: Malek Batal (Université de Montréal), Laurie Chan (University of Ottawa), Tonio Sadik (Assembly of First Nations).
The goal of FNFNES was to address gaps in knowledge about the diet, traditional food and environmental contaminants, as well as the overall well-being and food security of First Nations.
As a community-based participatory research project, participating First Nations were involved in the planning and the implementation of data collection for the five principal study components: household interviews; tap water sampling for trace metals; surface water sampling for pharmaceuticals; hair sampling to estimate exposure to mercury; and traditional food sampling to estimate exposure to contaminants.
The collaborators for this project were University of Ottawa, Université de Montréal, and the Assembly of First Nations. The study was funded by the First Nations Inuit Health Branch (formerly of Health Canada), Indigenous Services Canada.
Principal investigators: Malek Batal (Université de Montréal), Laurie Chan (University of Ottawa), Tonio Sadik (Assembly of First Nations).