The 7 of June is celebrated the World Food Safety Day. A very important topic that most people do not know or ignore. World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are the entities of the ONU in charge of coordinating the celebration of this day in collaboration with the Member States and other organizations. Today we want to inform you about what this concept means and what role it plays in our fullfilment of security requirements when it comes to feeding ourselves. It sure surprises you.
What does food safety mean?
Food safety refers to the conditions and practices that preserve the quality of all foods for prevent pollution and disease transmitted by the consumption of these. The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) educates consumers about the importance of safe food handling and guides them to know how to reduce the risks associated with such illnesses.
Access to this type of nutritious food in sufficient quantity is essential for the development of life and promoting good health. Since the diseases that you can get through unsafe food are usually infectious or toxic in nature, in addition to being in most cases invisible to the naked eye and therefore impossible to avoid.
Why is food safety important?
Through food you can acquire more than 200 types of different diseases and many of them, if not most, can cause death. An example of this is that only diarrheal diseases kill some 1,8 million children each year and the plurality of them are attributable to contaminated water or food. In fact, children under 5 years of age account for 40% of the disease burden from foodborne diseases, with 125.000 deaths per year.
Likewise, it is estimated that there are currently 600 million cases annually, of which approximately some 420.000 people. This is a great threat to both human health and world economies and it is important to help eradicate it in every way possible.
This is where food safety shows how big it is. Proper food preparation and handling can prevent most of the diseases transmitted by them in the food chain. This concept must be taken into account from production to harvest. In addition, in processing, storage, distribution, preparation for sale and consumption, it is essential to comply with global food standards. Equally, establish effective control regulations that include emergency preparedness and response.
Who is primarily affected by this problem?
Vulnerable and marginalized people, especially Women and children, are the most affected by this lack of healthy eating. In addition to populations subject to major conflicts and migration. But this issue, as the slogan of the World Health Organization (WHO) campaign points out, is a everyone's business. With it, they invite action and create awareness, that is, that everyone as possible is inspired to take action and take action on the food safety. Especially the big countries, the entire private sector, civil society and the sections with more power.
Preventing, detecting and managing foodborne risks is essential to contribute to human health and economic prosperity. For that reason, the World Food Safety Day, a special day to force you to increase efforts intended to guarantee food safety as this issue is added to the public agenda. Did you know this concept? Do you think this topic should be talked about more and given more importance globally? What measures can you think of to solve the problem of unsafe or unhealthy food? We want to know your opinion!
