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Make food safety a priority: WHO
The World Health Organizationâs (WHO) South-East Asia Regional office is calling upon countries, policy makers, farmers, food handlers, families and individuals to make food safety a priority as an estimated 700,000 children die of diarrhea every year in the region
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he World Health Organization's (WHO) South-East Asia Regional office is calling upon countries, policy makers, farmers, food handlers, families and individuals to make food safety a priority as an estimated 700,000 children die of diarrhea every year in the region.
WHO South-East Asia regional director Poonam Khetrapal Singh said bacteria, viruses, parasites, chemicals and other contaminants in food could cause over 200 diseases ranging from diarrhea to cancer.
New and emerging threats, such as climate change and its impact on food production, emerging biological and environmental contamination, new technologies, new foodborne infections and diseases, and antimicrobial resistance through the food chain, all posed challenges to the safety of food, she said.
'These existing and emerging threats call for urgent action. Countries must put in place comprehensive food safety policies matched by legislation and robust food safety strategies. And they must be stringently implemented across the food chain. This requires a trained workforce and an informed and empowered consumer,' said Khetrapal Singh in her statement on the World Health Day, which falls on April 7.
WHO says food safety policies need to be multisectoral, since food passes through multiple hands to reach plates.
'The approach needs to be preventive -- to improve food safety and quality through application of good farming practices by using agro-chemicals or veterinary drugs only as prescribed. Good storage, transportation, retail and restaurant practices must be implemented to make food safe,' it says.
Food safety is one of the key focus areas under the International Health Regulations, IHR 2005, which includes all public health emergencies of international concern that involve contaminated food and outbreaks of foodborne diseases.
WHO and the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) have established the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) to rapidly share information during food safety emergencies.
WHO supports countries to prevent, detect and respond to foodborne disease outbreaks using the Codex Alimentarius, a collection of international food standards, guidelines and codes of practice.
Codex provisions concern the hygienic and nutritional quality of food, including microbiological norms, food additives, pesticide and veterinary drug residues, contaminants, labeling and presentation, and methods of sampling and risk analysis; covering all the main foods and processes. (ebf)(+++)
