“We are what we eat” is an old proverb. The physical, mental and nutritional status of an individual depends on the quality as well as the quantity of food taken in. Every human has a right to expect and demand good quality food. Safety of food is an innate component of food quality.
Food safety is a growing public health issue that needs urgent attention. Food safety is important from the point of view of protecting the consumers from food borne diseases. With changing lifestyle, rapid urbanization, working parents etc. eating out has become a necessity. ….. more and more number of people prefer eating out at restaurants, street foods joints, fast food joints, dhabas, etc.
Food served at such establishments does not always guarantee safe food. With safe food I mean the food that is free from all toxic substances, that which is free from physical, chemical as well as biological contaminants and that which guarantees health to the individual.
Food gets contaminated with invading bacteria and germs thus rendering it unfit for human consumption. These bacteria and germs can originate from number of sources and thus contaminate the food. They can be present in the clothing of the food handlers, environment as well as in the various kitchen tools. The food that appears tempting and that which also tastes delicious might be as unsafe. The number of bacteria that are invisible to our eyes might be harboring there. So, before we could gorge on our food the invisible small creatures ‘bacteria’ are already there to feast on it. So consumers out there…… don’t just always think that tasty food is safe food. Several pathogens (invisible bacteria) have been identified by various researchers from around the world… these are Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter jejuni, Listeria monocytogenes, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli O157H:7, Clostridium botulinum, and many others…. An endless list……. But these are the most popular pathogens known to cause large outbreaks of food borne origin.
Food borne diseases have devastating health effects; like nausea, vomiting, fatigue, dizziness, dryness of mouth and throat, muscle paralysis, difficulty in swallowing, double or blurred vision, drooping eyelids, breathing difficulties, febrile gastroenteritis in healthy individuals, severe septicemia and meningitis in neonates.
Thus, in view of the fact stated above, many national as well as international organizations are coming up with various strategies to .ensure safe food; because food safety has direct bearing on the human civilization.
