World Food Safety Day is observed as an awareness towards safety of foods. Food is a substance consumed by any living beings. Food contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals which are required by the body for a healthy living and also it gives us energy. Looking at the vital role food plays in our lives, it is very necessary for the food to be safe from every prospective as we take it orally and it has a direct impact on our health.
World Food Safety Day
As per the data provided by the ( World Health Organization ), on an average approximately 16 Lakhs people get sick due to unsafe food or food with lower qualities on a single day. Almost 340 children under the age of 5 years die due to preventable food borne diseases everyday in the world. Most surprisingly 200 types of diseases are caused by unsafe food, ranging from Diarrhoea to Cancers.
That’s why World Food Safety Day is celebrated annually as a global occasion on 7th June to raise awareness about food safety and using healthier and hygienic foods.
Significance of World Food Safety Day
World Food Safety Day was established by the United Nations to raise awareness about the importance of food etiquette and safety at all stages of the food chain. Before our food gets to our stores, restaurants, and even our mouths, they go through a long chain of distribution managed by people who handle processes like harvesting, processing, storing, distribution and preparation. This is why it is important because in the long chain of food consumption there are several possibilities of food contamination.
According to the WHO, one in ten people is affected by foodborne diseases annually across the world. Annually around an estimated 600 million foodborne illnesses recorded. Among these children below 5 years of age are at a higher risk. Poverty-ridden sections are more prone to illnesses due to unhygienic food consumption. Hence to eliminate this the two agencies of the United Nations, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) came towards eliminating this cause by observing 7th June as World Food Safety Day.
The slogan for World Food Safety Day is “Food safety is everyone’s business”.
A resolution was adopted on December 20, 2018, by the United Nations General Assembly to mark June 7 as the day “celebrating the myriad benefits of safe food”.
The First World food safety day was celebrated on 7th June 2019.
The World Health Assembly (WHA) passed a resolution on August 3, 2020, declaring June 7 as the World Food Safety Day every year.
Safe food is a key factor in determining our overall health because whatever we ingest is digested and spread easily to other parts of our body via our bloodstream. Food poisoning is one of the most common conditions caused by food-borne pathogens, and symptoms may include vomiting, aches, and diarrhea. Food poisoning is 100% preventable through the use of food safety mechanisms.
The theme for this year’s World Food Safety Day is “Food standards save lives” is aimed at recognizing the importance of food standards across the world in keeping consumers safe, and in underpinning an equitable trade in food.
Food safety, nutrition and food security are closely related. Unhealthy food creates a cycle of disease and malnutrition that affects infants and adults as well. Food can transmit pathogens which can result in the illness or death of the person or other animals. The main types of pathogens are bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungus. Food can also serve as a growth and reproductive medium for pathogens. In developed countries there are intricate standards for food preparation, whereas in lesser developed countries there are fewer standards and less enforcement of those standards. Even so, in the US, in 1999, 5,000 deaths per year were related to foodborne pathogens.
How does food get contaminated?
Food contamination is defined as the presence of harmful chemicals and microorganisms in food that can cause illness.
1- Poor food handling like not washing hands before preparing foods, or eating.
2 – Not washing hands after using tiolets, blowing nose, after coughing or sneezing.
Food contamination can be: physical: foreign objects in food can potentially cause injury or carry disease-causing microorganisms. Pieces of metal, glass and stones can be choking hazards, or cause cuts or damage to teeth. Hair is another physical contaminant.
Biological: living organisms in food, including microorganisms (bacteria, viruses and protozoa), pests (weevils, cockroaches and rats) or parasites (worms), can cause disease.
Chemical: substances like soap residue, pesticide residue and toxins produced by microorganisms such as aflatoxins can lead to poisoning.
3 – Using dirty utensils, not washing fruits and vegetables with clean water.
4 – Storing raw and cooked food in the same place.
5 – Sick people should not handle food. And we should avoid consuming under-cooked foods, particularly meat.
6 – Poor farming practices like heavy use of pesticides and antibiotics, or growing fruits and vegetables using contaminated soil and water. The use of inadequately composted or raw animal manure or sewage is also harmful.
7 – Contaminated water
8 – Street foods basically in low and middle income countries are of higher contribution to the food unsafety.
9 – Not cooking meat, chicken, turkey, seafood, or eggs thoroughly
10 – Leaving food out too long before putting it in the fridge : Harmful germs can grow in perishable foods (including meat, chicken, turkey, seafood, eggs, cut fruit, cooked rice, and leftovers) if you leave them out of the refrigerator 2 hours or longer.
11 – Tasting or smelling food to see if it’s still good
12 – Poor Cleaning and Sanitizing
13 – Foods need to get hot and stay hot. Heat kills germs.
14 – Always wash your food, hands, counters, and cooking tools.
15 – Keep raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs away from other foods.
16 – 2-Hour Rule: Put foods in the fridge or freezer within 2 hours after cooking or buying from the store. Do this within 1 hour if it is 90 degrees or hotter outside.
17 – Keep the refrigerator temperature at 4 degrees Celsius. This temperature is intended to prevent the development of most pathogenic bacteria that may be in food.
18 – It is recommended to use disposable paper towels in the kitchen. If non-disposable tea towels are used, they should be washed frequently. Towels that are used to clean working surfaces that have been in contact with food could become contaminated with bacteria, some of which are pathogenic bacteria that convey diseases.
19 – Clean kitchen utensils (cutlery, plates, pots) with a scrubbing sponge or brush, hot water and dishwashing fluid; and air-dry them after rinsing in water. Avoid wiping kitchen utensils with a tea towel which could be contaminated with bacteria and re-contaminate the clean food utensils.
20 – Do not purchase perishable foods (meat, poultry, fish, dairy and egg products) at places that are not organized, air-conditioned, and have appropriate equipment such as refrigerators and freezers.
21 – Check the expiry dates of packed food items and don’t use them post that date to maintain food safety.
Governments, producers, and consumers all have responsibilities for food safety. From farm to table, everyone has a part to play in ensuring that the food we eat is safe and nutritious.After air and water, food is the third most essential component of life. It is the source of our vitality, which keeps us healthy and promotes happiness. People typically take safety for granted, but in an increasingly complicated and interwoven system, this is no longer the case.
Quotes on World Food Safety Day
- “There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” – Mahatma Gandhi.
- “Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food”-Hippocrates
- “Food safety involves everybody in the food chain”-Mike, Johanns
- “We are going to do everything possible to make sure that food safety is always paramount, and that we work with the industry as aggressively as we can to make sure that we are paying attention to food safety issues”-Mike Johanns
- “The food that enters the mind must be watched as closely as the food that enters the body”-Pat Buchanan
- “Get people back into the kitchen and combat the trend toward processed food and fast food”.-Andrew Orwell
- “We may find in the long run that tinned food is a deadlier weapon than the machine-gun.”-George Orwell
- “Many countries have food safety systems from farm to table. Everybody involved in the food supply is required to follow standard food safety procedures. You would think that everyone involved with food would not want people to get sick from it”-Marion Nestle
- “We provide food that customers love, day after date after day. People just want more of it.”-Ray Kroc
- “Our minds are like our stomachs; they are whetted by the change of their food and variety supplies both with a fresh appetite.”-Quintilian
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