Food safety, the World Health Organisation’s theme of the World Health Day 2015, is an issue of growing public health concern and, therefore, timely indeed. It has brought attention to pertinent questions: What is in your meal? Where did the ingredients come from? Were they properly and safely handled at every stage, from farm to plate? The objective of the World Health Day this year is to catalyse collective government and public action to put measures in place that will improve safety of food by aligning policies in agriculture, trade, health, education and social protection to provide a safe and healthy diet for all.
Foodborne and waterborne diarrhoeal illnesses kill an estimated 2.2 million people every year globally, most of whom are children. Unsafe food, containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances, causes more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhoea to cancers. Food safety hazards arise from harmful agricultural practices, poor hygiene at all stages of the food chain, lack of preventive controls in food processing operations, misuse of chemicals, contaminated inputs or inappropriate storage.
In India, the full burden of foodborne illnesses is not known; most foodborne illnesses go unreported. Surveillance data in the country from 2011 -14 shows that foodborne outbreaks, together with acute diarrhoeal diseases, constituted nearly half of all reported outbreaks during this period. Although, there are many factors contributing to diarrhoea, simple interventions like washing hands with soap can reduce the risk of diarrhoeal diseases by 42-47 per cent.
India has the second largest human population and one of the world’s greatest densities of tropical livestock. It possesses a favourable environment for the transmission of both, known and novel diseases between animals and people. Recent data on the foodborne micro-organisms in India has seen outbreaks of eight organisms of emerging and re-emerging diseases and six of these are of zoonotic origin. Thus, collaboration and strengthening surveillance in both, the animal and human health sectors, recognises the importance for comprehensively addressing the health risks at animal-human interface.
Use of pesticides and fertilisers in the past 50 years have grown nearly 170 times. Consequently, persistent residues of these chemicals contaminate food and disperse in the environment and find their way into the food chain.
In India, food safety has obvious and direct linkages with the Swachh Bharat initiative of the prime minister that promotes cleanliness and hygiene, which are the key factors influencing food safety, thereby reducing the socio-economic impact of foodborne illnesses. Food safety also has linkages with the ‘Make in India’ campaign of the government to realise India’s huge potential in the export of high value agricultural produce-higher domestic standards for food safety and compliance can reduce the market risk.
The Government of India reaches nearly 200 million beneficiaries through the nation-wide food supplementation programmes like midday meals and supplementary nutrition programme of Integrated Child Development Services scheme. The public distribution system supplies grains to populations below poverty line. These programmes may harm beneficiaries in cases of gaps in food safety and control system.
Street food culture
The country has a thriving street food culture. While it may be the least expensive and most accessible food, street food also carries some risk. Fair licensing and inspections, combined with educational drives, are the best long-term measures to safeguard the public.
By enacting Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, India consolidated various laws relating to food and established the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for laying down science-based food standards.
At the same time, agriculture sector needs to ensure the safety of the produce that arrives in the market as per the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) guidelines and Codex recommendations. On this World Health Day, let us commit to working together for making our food safe, leading to better health of the people of India.
(The writer is WHO Representative in India)
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