The Importance of Food Safety
Everybody has a role to play from farm to table to ensure the food we consume is safe and will not cause damages to our health
Post by on Friday, June 18, 2021
AAMIR MANAN DEVA
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Food
is the basic requirement for getting energy, maintaining health and our
wellbeing. Nowadays food safety is being taken for granted. We are living  in an increasingly complex and interconnected
world where food value chains are growing longer; food  standards and regulations are much more
important in keeping us safe.The way in which food is produced, stored, handled
and consumed chiefly affects the safety of our food. Complying with global food
standards, establishing effective regulatory food control systems, including
emergency preparedness and response, providing access to clean water, applying
good agriculture practices (terrestrial, aquatic, livestock, horticulture),
strengthening the use of food safety management systems by food business operators,
and building capacities of consumers to make healthy food choices are some ways
in which governments, international organisations, scientists, the private
sector and civil society can work to ensure food safety.
‘Food
safety is everyone’s business,’ says the World Health Organisation (WHO) which
has released figures that estimate 600 million cases of food-borne diseases
occur annually worldwide. This translates into one in 10 people falling ill
after eating contaminated food. Safety of food is an increasing threat to human
health. According to WHO, children under 5 years of age carry 40% of the
food-borne disease burden with 1,25,000 deaths every year. Access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious
food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health. Quality and Food Safety have become competitive edge
in the global market for food products. For the overall development of the food-processing
sector in the country, various indicators of Total Quality Management (TQM)
such as quality control, quality system and quality assurance should operate in
a horizontal manner. Apart from this, in the interest of consumer safety and
public health, there is a need to ensure that the quality food products
manufactured and sold in the market meets the stringent parameters as prescribed
by the Global and National Food Regulatory Authorities.Â
As
the world population continues to grow, much more effort and innovation will be
urgently needed in order to sustainably increase agricultural production,
improve the global supply chain, decrease food losses and waste, and ensure
that all who are suffering from hunger and malnutrition have access to
nutritious food. Many in the international community believe that it is
possible to eradicate hunger within the next generation, and are working
together to achieve this goal.World leaders at the 2012 Conference on
Sustainable Development (Rio+20) reaffirmed the right of everyone to have
access to safe and nutritious food, consistent with the right to adequate food
and the fundamental right of everyone to be free from hunger. The UN
Secretary-General’s Zero Hunger Challenge launched at Rio+20 called on
governments, civil society, faith communities, the private sector, and research
institutions to unite to end hunger and eliminate the worst forms of
malnutrition.The Zero Hunger Challenge has since garnered widespread support
from many member States and other entities. It calls for:
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stunted children under the age of two.
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