Everyone has the right to obtain safe, nutritious and adequate food. Safe food is essential to promote health and eliminate hunger. But at present, nearly 1/10 of the world’s population still suffers from eating contaminated food, and 420,000 people die as a result. A few days ago, the WHO proposed that countries should continue to pay attention to global food security and food safety issues, especially from food production, processing, sales to cooking, everyone should be responsible for food safety.
In today’s world where the food supply chain is becoming increasingly complex, any food safety incident may have a negative impact on public health, trade and the economy. However, people often only realize food safety issues when food poisoning occurs. Unsafe food (containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemicals) can cause more than 200 diseases, from diarrhea to cancer.
The World Health Organization recommends that governments are vital to ensuring that everyone can eat safe and nutritious food. Policy makers can promote the establishment of sustainable agricultural and food systems, and promote cross-sectoral cooperation among public health, animal health, and agriculture sectors. The food safety authority can manage the food safety risks of the entire food chain including during the emergency.
Agricultural and food producers should adopt good practices, and farming methods must not only ensure adequate global supply of food, but also reduce the impact on the environment. During the transformation of the food production system to adapt to environmental changes, farmers should master the best way to deal with potential risks to ensure the safety of agricultural products.
Operators must ensure food safety. From processing to retail, all links must comply with the food safety guarantee system. Good processing, storage and preservation measures help preserve the nutritional value of food, ensure food safety, and reduce post-harvest losses.
Consumers have the right to choose healthy foods. Consumers need to obtain information on food nutrition and disease risks in a timely manner. Unsafe food and unhealthy dietary choices will exacerbate the global burden of disease.
Looking at the world, maintaining food safety requires not only inter-departmental cooperation within countries, but also active cross-border cooperation. Faced with practical issues such as global climate change and global food supply imbalance, everyone should pay attention to food security and food safety issues.
Post time: Mar-06-2021