Food Health And Safety
One of the major health and safety issues faced by people across the world is that of food borne illness. There are about 9,100 deaths that take place every year due to sub standard food products and due to food borne illnesses. The total number of food-borne illness cases registered annually vary anywhere from 6.5 million to 81 million.
Millions of people contract different types of food-borne illness and this leads to thousands of deaths all over the world. Poor food safety training amongst people who handle and prepare food is one factor that leads to food consumption related illness This has transformed into a critical health issue today. Food health and safety issues are the most challenging of them all because they are all inter related to each other and because food is consumed on a daily basis.
The most recent critical health issue is that of illnesses, which are on the rise caused by the pathogenic bacteria. According to research aided reports, the economic devastation caused by these diseases is huge and the estimated medical or health cost associated with it is $420 per person per visit, which totals to a whopping $7.3 billion of lost productivity each year.
People all over the world are also worried about health and safety issues related to food as they are concerned about the quality of food available to them. The consumer wants variety but at the same time they don't want to compromise on the quality. The only way to fight food-borne illness is by providing quality food to the consumer at low cost. In reality, the definition of good quality food can vary based on an individual's preference and the type of food. The health and safety issues can be taken care of if the food quality is good. Some of the important characteristics that define the quality of food include freshness, wholesomeness, nutritional value, color, texture, flavor and aroma. There are many consumers who understand the dept of the food driven critical health issue but for them, high quality or safe food means that the food will have no amount of pathogenic microorganisms or harmful chemicals or naturally occurring toxins. Under the health and safety issues, high quality food should not have any added artificial colors. But scientists have formed an opinion based on their research and feel that it is the microorganisms that pose a bigger threat to our health than any other source of food-borne illness. It is not the food that causes illness, it the microorganisms, the bacteria present in the food that causes illnesses. The food that is more contaminated is raw animal food like poultry, meat; eggs, fish, etc. Most of the time, raw meat or eggs are contaminated with bacteria or pathogens, which are common to the particular food chain. As a result, it is almost unavoidable. If the suppliers work towards finding a solution that will address the Food health and safety issues, then instances of food-borne illness can be reduced considerably. Food is important for survival but health and safety can be maintained only with the intake of high quality food. Strict adherence to proper food safety guidelines amongst food handlers can greatly reduce the threat of food related illness.
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