FAO, WHO urge world to be more vigilant about food safety

New Delhi, July 20 (UNI) Armed with 44 new and amended parameters, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC) established by FAO and WHO to determine food safety standards has urged all countries to strengthen their food safety monitoring systems while remaining to be far more vigilant on producers and traders.

Alarmed on recent food safety incidents, like the discovery of the industrial chemical melamine in animal and fish feed, or the unauthorised use of certain veterinary drugs in intensive aquaculture, the CAC said all this could affect health and often lead to rejections of food products in international trade.

However, such food safety incidents are often caused by lack of knowledge of food safety requirements and of their implications, or by the illegal or fraudulent use of ingredients including unauthorised food additives or veterinary drugs.

During the last 12 months, an average of up to 200 food safety incidents per month have been investigated by WHO and FAO to determine their public health impact and their information was shared with countries through the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN).

''Food safety is an issue for every country and ultimately every food consumer. All countries can benefit from taking stronger measures to fill safety gaps in the sometimes considerable journey food takes from the farm to the table,'' said Jorgen Schlundt, Director of WHO's Department of Food Safety, Zoonoses and Foodborne Diseases in a release here today .

Weak food safety systems can lead to a higher incidence of food safety problems and diseases caused by micro-organisms such as Salmonella, E coli, Campylobacter and Listeria by residues of agricultural chemicals (pesticides, veterinary drugs, etc) and by the use of unauthorised food additives. Diarrhoeal diseases alone, due mainly to unsafe food and water, kill 1.8 million children every year.

Food production systems in developing countries are facing a series of challenges: population growth and urbanisation, changing dietary patterns, intensification and industrialisation of food and agricultural production. Climate conditions, poor sanitation and weak public infrastructure compound these difficulties.

Besides that, Food safety legislation in many developing countries is often incomplete or obsolete or not in line with international requirements. Also, they lack laboratories furnished with essential equipment and supplies.

Many developed countries often do not include or cover primary production and such dispensation was responsible for the global spread in recent years of new Salmonella strains in poultry.

The rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) stipulate that developed countries help exporting developing countries to achieve the necessary high level of food safety for international trade.

FAO and WHO are supporting national governments to improve the institutional set up and the performance of food inspection, enforcement, laboratory analysis and diagnosis, certification, food-borne disease surveillance, emergency preparedness and response. UNI