WHO hasn’t fallen prey to the enticing and slightly dangerous attractions of kwek-kwek, isaw and fish balls? Boiled egg, deep fried in eye-catching orange batter, pork and chicken innards marinated and grilled, and meat fashioned into balls and dipped in sweet murky sauce—you can find these in any street corner in the Philippines and are deliciously quick fixes for snacking on the go.
But are they safe? You ask the question and happily eat them, anyway, hoping that it’s your lucky day and the vendor keeps everything clean, or your stomach is strong enough to handle the abuse.
Street food is always an easy target for food-safety concerns. But what about products from the local market? Or the large chain of supermarkets? In the past few years, milk formula that may source ingredients from one country, produced in another and eventually sold all over the world has been found to be bulked up with melamine, laced with mercury, or contained bacteria that may cause botulism, an infection that can lead to paralysis and death.
What’s in your food?
In China in 2008, infant formula with melamine sent 300,000 children to the hospital and killed at least six children.
Melamine is a compound composed of nitrogen, carbon and hydrogen that is used to produce plastic. However, unscrupulous food companies also use melamine as a cheap and abundant filler for products ranging from livestock feed to pet food, and apparently, baby formula.
And it’s not just baby formula. Fresh fruits and vegetables may be sprayed with insecticides, canned goods may have gone past expirations dates, and spoiled meat may have been frozen and sold from supermarket freezers. Food safety and health issues now have people asking, “What’s in your meal?”
“Where did the ingredients come from?” “Has the food been properly handled at every stage?”
On World Health Day on April 7, the World Health Organization (WHO) is calling on producers, policy-makers and the public to promote food safety.
According to the WHO, over 200 diseases are caused by unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses and chemical substances. It is also estimated that 2 million deaths occur every year from contaminated food or drinking water. Food safety is, thus, a theme of high relevance, as safe food underpins food security, and protects food consumers and the public from risks of food poisoning and disease, and prevents a range of health problems.
Food safety and the environment
New threats to food safety are constantly emerging. Changes in food production, distribution and consumption; changes to the environment; new and emerging bacteria and toxins; antimicrobial resistance—these all increase the risk of food contamination.
Increases in travel and trade also enhance the likelihood that contamination can spread.
According to Atty. Roberto V. Oliva, executive director of the Asean Centre for Biodiversity, “How we treat the environment, and not just food products, affects food safety all over the world. Climate change and other factors have changed agricultural practices and food production. Chemicals used in various industries find their way into land and water systems and eventually our food. Persistent organic pollutants from industrial processes accumulate in the environment and the food chain. Heavy metals from pollution may also contaminate air, water and soil.”
“The point has come for everyone, from consumers to communities, environmental organizations and governments, to scrutinize food and how they are produced, from farm to plate, to ensure the safety of the public,” Oliva emphasized.
Keeping food safe
Safe food supplies support national economies, trade and tourism; contribute to food and nutrition security; and underpin sustainable development. Globalization has triggered growing consumer demand for a wider variety of foods, resulting in an increasingly complex and longer global food chain.
The growing demand for food continues to intensify agriculture and animal production, and increases 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.
Food can become contaminated at any point of production and distribution, and everyone has a role to play to ensure that food is safe for consumption.
Governments should develop policies and regulatory frameworks, and establish and implement effective food-safety systems that ensure that food producers and suppliers along the whole food chain operate responsibly and supply safe food to consumers.
Food producers should comply with safety food regulations and practices and ensure that food sources and environments are free from contamination.
Proper food handling must be practiced at all times, whether in the privacy of one’s home, or in street-food stalls, restaurants, or markets. Not all food handlers and consumers understand the roles they must play, such as adopting basic hygienic practices when buying, selling and preparing food to protect their health and that of the wider community. When people, organizations and governments prioritize food safety and public health, then maybe there will be less risk involved when one succumbs to a craving for spicy squid balls.
Sahlee B. Barrer / Special to the BusinessMirror
Image credits: Aena Marie Rebutoc