A public health priority Flashcards
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Food Safety: a public health priority
Access to sufficient and safe food is a basic human necessity
essential for creating a world without
hunger and reducing poverty worldwide. While everyone is exposed to foodborne health risks
it is
the poor who are most exposed and vulnerable to these risks.
Foodborne and waterborne diarrhoea diseases kill an estimated 2.2
million people annually
most of whom are children. Diarrhoea is the most
common foodborne illness caused by pathogens
but other serious
consequences include organ failure
brain and neural disorders
arthritis and death. Chemical food contamination may cause non-
communicable diseases
in particular cancer
reproductive health and the immune system.
Serious outbreaks of foodborne disease have been documented on every continent in the past
decade
illustrating the significance of these diseases. They also have negative economic
consequences by imposing a substantial burden on healthcare systems
markedly reducing economic
productivity and threatening livelihoods. Traditionally
the term “foodborne disease” has been used
for illnesses caused by microorganisms. However
in order to address the full scope of causative
agents
of a bacterial
foodborne disease is used by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in a wide all-encompassing sense.
It includes foodborne zoonosis (disease transmitted to humans from animals) and other risks
associated with food along the entire food chain
as well as new and emerging health issues associated
with food.
