Ensuring food safety

Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) called on stakeholders along the food supply chain to be prepared for unexpected threats to food safety in an increasingly and interconnected global food supply. The two United Nations’ agencies made the call during the marking of this year’s World Food Safety Day.

The event usually marked annually on June 7 is used to draw global attention to issues around food safety. The theme of this year’s World Food Safety Day, “Food Safety: Prepare for the unexpected,” underscored the importance of being prepared for food safety incidents, no matter how mild or severe they can be. According to the WHO, “food safety incidents are situations where there is a potential or confirmed health risk associated with food consumption. A food incident can happen, for example, due to accidents, inadequate controls, food fraud, or natural events.”

“While being ready to manage food safety incidents requires dedicated efforts from policymakers, food safety authorities, farmers and food business operators, consumers also can play an active role,” WHO advised.

As part of activities to mark the event in Nigeria, the Director-General of the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, also tasked stakeholders in the food supply chain to institute a culture of food safety in their operations to mitigate the hazards and risks that may compromise food safety.

According to the NAFDAC boss, “food safety is a collective responsibility that everyone from the producers to the consumers should play their part and ensure that the food people eat is safe. The food safety campaign aims to promote efforts at preventing, detecting and managing food-borne risks globally by highlighting the importance of being prepared for food safety incidents.” Adeyeye also tasked all stakeholders in the food supply chain, from regulatory officers, experts, and producers to processors, distributors, retailers, restaurant outlets and consumers to get prepared for the unexpected and ensure that food safety is everyone’s business and a shared responsibility. She equally warned against storing cooked food in the refrigerator for more than three days, arguing that such food is susceptible to contamination by disease-causing pathogens, which are key agents of food-borne diseases that can cause death.

Earlier, NAFDAC had warned Nigerians against using hazardous chemicals to preserve food items. The agency specifically warned grain merchants to stop using dichlorvos and other dangerous chemicals to preserve food because of their toxicity and inherent dangers. The warning came on the heels of a viral video showing individuals using some dangerous chemicals to preserve beans, stockfish and crayfish. We recall that some market women use dangerous chemicals to ripen food and fruits.

Considering the importance of instituting a culture of food safety in the country, we call on the federal government to develop and update national food safety emergency response plans, strengthen national food control systems, increase surveillance and coordination capacities and also improve communication with food businesses and the public. It is good that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has reportedly developed programmes for the elimination, eradication and control of diseases, which include the National Integrated Guidelines for Food-borne Disease Surveillance and Response to tackle the menace.

The global health agency says that one in ten people worldwide fall ill from contaminated food each year. Over 200 diseases are caused by eating contaminated food. About 40 per cent of the food-borne disease burden is carried by children under five. Not less than 420,000 people die each year after consuming contaminated food. Eating contaminated food is responsible for the loss of 33 million years of healthy life. Children under five and other vulnerable groups are more affected by the menace in poorer countries of the world. About $110billion is reportedly lost annually on medical expenses due to consumption of unsafe food.

NAFDAC and the health authorities should embark on massive enlightenment campaigns on food-borne diseases, food safety and the use of dangerous chemicals to preserve food. The campaign messages should be in English, Pidgin and local Nigerian languages. Apart from the federal government, the state and local governments should be part of the crusade to institute a culture of food safety in the country. The food safety campaign has become necessary now that cholera epidemic is ravaging many states and local governments in the land.