Cornwall_2015_04_01

10 Facts on food safety

Article taken from http://www.who.int/cam- paigns/world-health-day/2015/en/ The great majority of people will experi- ence a food or water borne disease at some point in their lives. This highlights the im- portance of making sure the food we eat is not contaminated with potentially harm- ful bacteria, parasites, viruses, toxins and chemicals. “Food safety: from farm to plate, make food safe” is the theme of World Health Day 2015. The day focuses on demonstrating the importance of food safety along the whole length of the food chain in a glo- balised world, from production and trans- port, to preparation and consumption. Over the past half century, the process by which food gets from the farm to the plate has changed drastically. Food contamina- tion that occurs in one place may affect the health of consumers living on the other side of the planet. This means that everyone along the production chain, from producer to consumer, must observe safe food han- dling practices. Fact 1 - More than 200 diseases are spread through food. Millions of people fall ill every year and many die as a result of eating unsafe food. Diarrhoeal diseases alone kill an estimated 1.5 million children annually, and most of these illnesses are attributed to contami- nated food or drinking water. Proper food preparation can prevent most foodborne diseases. Fact 2 - Contaminated food can cause long-term health problems. The most common symptoms of foodborne disease are stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhea. Food contaminated with heavy metals or with naturally occurring toxins can also cause long-term health problems including cancer and neurological disor- ders. Fact 3 - Foodborne diseases affect vulner- able people harder than other groups. Infections caused by contaminated food have a much higher impact on populations with poor or fragile health status and can easily lead to serious illness and death. For infants, pregnant women, the sick and the elderly, the consequences of foodborne disease are usually more severe and may be fatal. Fact 4 - There are many opportunities for food contamination to take place Today’s food supply is complex and in- volves a range of different stages including on-farm production, slaughtering or har- vesting, processing, storage, transport and distribution before the food reaches the consumers. Fact 5 -Globalization makes food safety more complex and essential.

range of different disciplines – toxicol- ogy, microbiology, parasitology, nutri- tion, health eco- nomics, and human and veterinary med- icine. Local com- munities, women’s groups and school education also play an important role. Fact 10 - Consum- ers must be well informed on food safety practices. People should make informed and wise food choices and adopt adequate be- haviors. They should know common food hazards and how to handle food safely, using the informa- tion provided in food labelling.

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Dr Margaret Chan Director-General of WHO

Globalization of food production and trade is making the food chain longer and com- plicates foodborne disease outbreak inves- tigation and product recall in case of emer- gency. Fact 6 - Food safety is multisectoral and multidisciplinary To improve food safety, a multitude of dif- ferent professionals are working together, making use of the best available science and technologies. Different governmental departments and agencies, encompassing public health, agriculture, education and trade, need to collaborate and communi- cate with each other and engage with the civil society including consumer groups. Fact 7 - Food contamination also affects the economy and society as a whole. Food contamination has far reaching ef- fects beyond direct public health conse- quences – it undermines food exports, tourism, livelihoods of food handlers and economic development, both in developed and developing countries. Fact 8 - Some harmful bacteria are be- coming resistant to drug treatments. Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global health concern. Overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in agriculture and animal husbandry, in addition to human clinical uses, is one of the factors leading to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial re- sistance. Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in animals may be transmitted to humans via food. Fact 9 - Everybody has a role to play in keeping food safe. Food safety is a shared responsibility be- tween governments, industry, producers, academia, and consumers. Everyone has a role to play. Achieving food safety is a multi- sectoral effort requiring expertise from a

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