ENSURE FOOD SAFETY THROUGH PROACTIVE ACTIONS

Explore the critical role of food safety standards in preventing illness and safeguarding health

- M Balasubramanyam

In the year 2016, a proposal to celebrate World Food Safety Day was voiced by the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), which implements the FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. This idea was supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) at its 40th session conference (July 2017) by adopting a resolution which was supported by the World Health Organization (WHO). Finally, in the year 2018, the World Food Safety Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly.

World Food Safety Day 2024 is aimed at drawing attention to food safety incidents. This year's theme 'Food safety: Prepare for the unexpected,' underlines the importance of being prepared for food safety incidents, no matter how mild or severe they may be.

Food safety incidents are situations where there is a potential or confirmed health risk associated with food consumption. Managing food safety incidents requires anticipatory actions and dedicated efforts from policymakers, food safety authorities, farmers, food business operators, as well as consumers.

CONTAMINATED FOOD: AN ALARMING HEALTH BURDEN

• Food-borne diseases affect 1 in 10 people worldwide each year.

• About 16 lakh people get sick due to unsafe food in one day, on average, and this means every year, nearly 60 crore people get sick due to the consumption of unsafe food.

• 340 children under five years of age die due to preventable food-borne diseases, on average, every day.

• Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical substances causes more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhea to cancers.

• Forty percent of the food-borne disease burden is carried by children under five.

• Food-borne illnesses cause 4.2 lakh preventable deaths every year.