WORLD HEALTH DAY 2015, THEME : FOODSAFETY.

Unsafe food is linked to the deaths of an estimated 2 million people annually – including many children. Food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances is responsible for more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhoea to cancers.
New threats to food safety are constantly emerging. Changes in food production, distribution and consumption; changes to the environment; new and emerging pathogens; antimicrobial resistance - all pose challenges to national food safety systems. Increases in travel and trade enhance the likelihood that contamination can spread internationally.

The topic for World Health Day 2015 is food safety
As our food supply becomes increasingly globalized, the need to strengthen food safety systems in and between all countries is becoming more and more evident. That is why the WHO is promoting efforts to improve food safety, from farm to plate (and everywhere in between) on World Health Day, 7 April 2015.

Five keys to safer food
Food safety is a shared responsibility. It is important to work all along the food production chain – from farmers and manufacturers to vendors and consumers. For example, WHO’s Five keys to safer food offer practical guidance to vendors and consumers for handling and preparing food:
• Key 1: Keep clean
• Key 2: Separate raw and cooked food
• Key 3: Cook food thoroughly
• Key 4: Keep food at safe temperatures
• Key 5: Use safe water and raw materials.

World Health Day 2015 is an opportunity to alert people working in different government sectors, farmers, manufacturers, vendors, retailers, health practitioners – as well as consumers – about the importance of food safety, and the part each can play in ensuring that everyone can feel confident that the food on their plate is safe to eat.

The evolving world and food safety[img][/img]

Safe food supplies support national economies, trade and tourism, contribute to food and nutrition security, and underpin sustainable development.

Urbanization and changes in consumer habits, including travel, have increased the number of people buying and eating food prepared in public places. Globalization has triggered growing consumer demand for a wider variety of foods, resulting in an increasingly complex and longer global food chain.

As the world’s population grows, the intensification and industrialization of agriculture and animal production to meet increasing demand for food creates both opportunities and challenges for food safety. Climate change is also predicted to impact food safety, where temperature changes modify food safety risks associated with food production, storage and distribution.

These challenges put greater responsibility on food producers and handlers to ensure food safety. Local incidents can quickly evolve into international emergencies due to the speed and range of product distribution. Serious foodborne disease outbreaks have occurred on every continent in the past decade, often amplified by globalized trade.

Examples include the contamination of infant formula with melamine in 2008 (affecting 300 000 infants and young children, 6 of whom died, in China alone), and the 2011 Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli outbreak in Germany linked to contaminated fenugreek sprouts, where cases were reported in 8 countries in Europe and North America, leading to 53 deaths. The 2011 E.coli outbreak in Germany caused US$ 1.3 billion in losses for farmers and industries and US$ 236 million in emergency aid payments to 22 European Union Member States. NIGERIA'S CASE IS UNQUANTIFIABLE[i][/i][i][/i]

This is great. was following it up yesterday... and this is great.

WHO Uses World Health Day to Shine Light on Food Safety

BY LYDIA ZURAW |
 APRIL 7, 2015Food safety is so important to everyone around the world that the World Health Organization (WHO) dedicated this year’s World Health Day — celebrated each year on April 7 — to spreading awareness of it.As readers of Food Safety News know, food contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances can lead to long-lasting disability and death.Foodborne and waterborne diarrheal diseases kill an estimated 2 million people annually, including many children and particularly in developing countries.WHO says that World Health Day 2015 is a chance to recognize the food safety role of all those involved in food production and to strengthen collaboration and coordination among these areas in order to prevent, detect and respond to foodborne diseases efficiently.The actual levels of foodborne diseases are estimated to be much higher than what gets reported, underlying the need for improved collaboration to lower risks.According to WHO, food safety is distinct from, but a prerequisite for, food security.“Foodborne diseases impede socioeconomic development by straining health care systems and harming national economies, tourism and trade,” WHO says. “Food supply chains now cross multiple national borders.”Particularly challenging for maintaining food safety is that food producers are turning to intensified and industrialized systems to meet the increasing demand for food from a growing population. Climate change is also predicted to impact food safety where temperature changes modify food safety risks associated with food production, storage and distribution.WHO is using World Health Day to call on policymakers around the world to build and maintain adequate food safety systems and infrastructures, respond to and manage food safety risks along the entire food chain, integrate food safety into broader food policies and programs, and foster communication, information sharing, and joint action between public health, animal health, agriculture and other sectors.Consumers are advised to practice WHO’s Five Keys to Safer Food when handling and preparing food: keep clean, separate raw and cooked food, cook thoroughly, cook food at safe temperatures, and use safe water and raw materials.To help in spreading food safety awareness, WHO developed graphics, videos and fact sheets. Association of Food Vendors in Nigeria (AFVN) joined in the celebration through sensitization at food markets and road show rallies. There are also educational events being held around the world to celebrate World Health Day.

Food contamination is responsible for over 200 diseases[font=Lucida Sans Unicode][/font],

contamination caused by improper food handling or chemical substances, particularly in genetically-modified organisms."Unsafe food -- containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances -- causes more than 200 diseases ranging from diarrhoea to cancers. manufacturers, distributors ,vendors and consumers should be aware of food contamination at all levels to reduce related diseases and deaths."Food safety, nutrition and food security are inextricably linked. Unsafe food creates a vicious cycle of diseases and malnutrition particularly affecting infants, young children, the elderly and the sick.

European Union Ban: Senate Tasks NAFDAC, SON On Food Safety


The Senate, on Thursday, called on the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), and the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), to tighten its oversight on food and agricultural products to ensure global acceptance.

This followed a motion by Senator Francis Alimikhena (APC, Edo North) on European Union’s ban on Nigeria agricultural export products.

The products banned by the EU till June 2016, according to Alimikhena, are beans, sesame seeds, melon seeds, dried fish, dried meat, peanut chips, and palm oil.

He noted that the rejected beans, for instance, was found to contain between 0.03 mg kilogram to 4.6 mg kilogram of dichlorvos substance, contrary to acceptable limit.

The Senate equally called on ministries of Agriculture and Health and the National Food Safety Management Committee (NFSMC) to sanitize food and agricultural products imported into or exported out of Nigeria.

It further mandated its Standing Committee on Health and Agriculture, when constituted, to look into the matter with a view to overturning the EU ban on Nigerian agricultural products.

Presiding over plenary, the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, said the ban by the European Union was embarrassing, given the strength of the country in the international community.

He called on relevant stakeholders to wake up to their responsibilities.

He said: “The regulatory agencies should work to reverse this ban.

“As we talk about diversification we should take a good look at this, particularly because the EU market is closer to us than Asian markets.


http://dailyindependentnig.com/2015/08/eu-ban-senate-tasks-nafdac-son-food-safety/