From farm to plate Make food safe
* Access to sufficient amounts of safe and nutritious food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health.
* Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances causes more than 200 diseases – ranging from diarrhoea to cancers.
* Food borne and waterborne diarrhoeal diseases kill an estimated 2 million people annually, including many children.
* Food safety, nutrition and food security are inextricably linked. Unsafe food creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition, particularly affecting infants, young children, elderly and the sick.
* Food borne diseases impede socioeconomic development by straining health care systems and harming national economies, tourism and trade.
* Food supply chains now cross multiple national borders. Good collaboration between governments, producers and consumers helps ensure food safety.
MAJOR FOODBORNE ILLNESSES AND CAUSES
* Food borne illnesses are usually infectious or toxic in nature and caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances entering the body through contaminated food or water.
* Food borne pathogens can cause severe diarrhoea or debilitating infections including meningitis. Chemical contamination can lead to acute poisoning or long-term diseases, such as cancer.
* Food borne diseases may lead to long-lasting disability and death. Examples of unsafe food include uncooked foods of animal origin, fruits and vegetables contaminated with faeces, and raw shellfish containing marine biotoxins.
Source: www.who.int
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