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