Why food safety matters

When you go food shopping, you probably think carefully about what you buy: how much it costs, where to find your favourite brand or whether the people you’re cooking for will like it. But do you think about whether a product is safe to eat?

If you live in the developed world, the answer is probably not. But not everyone enjoys this luxury. While many of us think food poisoning is a few stomach cramps and sickness, statistics show that around the world the consequences of consuming unsafe food and drink can be devastating.

The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 2 million people die each year from diarrhoeal disease contracted from contaminated food and water. A safe food supply is one of life’s fundamental necessities, essential for health and well-being – and, in turn, economic growth and development.

New pathogens need new policies

While it’s a concern for everyone, it’s the most vulnerable in society who are most at risk. People with weak or developing immune systems – young children, pregnant women, the infirm and the elderly – are more susceptible to foodborne infections.

As populations age in some regions and grow in others, the challenges to food safety are ever-changing. Add to that the threat of new pathogens and the complexity of international trade, and it becomes clear why policy-makers, authorities and food companies must constantly improve their procedures.

Food containing harmful microorganisms, parasites or chemicals can cause more than 200 diseases, according to the WHO. Natural chemicals such as aflatoxins, for example, which grow on cereal crops, can result in kidney damage, reproductive disorders and even cancer. While the European Commission has strict legislation for acceptable levels of aflatoxins in food, in other parts of the world things have not been so well controlled.

From farm to fork

This is a problem we have direct experience of in West Africa. Eight years ago, we had to reject about half of the locally grown grains supplied to our factories in Ghana and Nigeria, because they contained high levels of aflatoxins. To guarantee continued cereal production we replaced them with imported grain from other countries.

However, we needed to find a more sustainable solution. As manufacturers, we believe our responsibility is not only to enforce rigorous controls throughout the supply chain, but also to help raise standards across the industry.

Aflatoxins are produced by mould and often grow in moist, warm conditions. It’s possible to prevent them by ensuring grains are properly sorted, cleaned, dried and stored. So in partnership with the national governments and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), we helped set up an education and training programme to enable farmers to improve their practices. Today, the programme has succeeded in cutting the rejection rate for grains at the factory gates from 50% to just 2%. At the same time, we are adopting high-speed electronic sorting machines to remove damaged or discoloured grains, which are more likely to be contaminated.

Another, larger-scale example of how governments, businesses and civil society are working together to tackle aflatoxins is Aflasafe, an innovative “bio control” product that has been successfully trialled in several African countries. Developed by the United States Department of Agriculture and adapted by the IITA and other partners, Aflasafe uses natural strains of fungus that cannot produce aflatoxins to suppress aflatoxin-producing strains in grain crops.

Breaking the mould

Aflasafe has received funding and support from AgResults, a $118-million multilateral initiative, backed by governments and not-for-profits, to incentivize and reward agricultural innovations. It shows what can potentially be achieved when different organizations pool their skills and resources to address the root cause of food safety issues.

But while working together to advance science and technology undoubtedly helps us produce safer food, sometimes the simplest approaches are the most effective. This is particularly significant when it comes to handling and preparing food. Even in the developed world, millions of people suffer short-term illnesses caused by foodborne bacteria and viruses, which in principle are avoidable.

More often than not, foodborne illnesses arise from a failure to follow basic hygiene rules when preparing raw, unpackaged products. The 2011 outbreak of E.coli in Germany, linked to contaminated seed sprouts, led to 53 deaths and estimated losses to farmers and industry of $1.3 billion.

We all have a responsibility to help ensure the food we produce, sell, buy and consume is the safest it can be, and to share our knowledge with others. Whether it’s carrying out fundamental research or adhering to the laws of hygiene, we must do everything we can to stay one step ahead, wherever we are in the world.

Author: John O’Brien, Head of the Food Safety and Integrity Research Programme at the Nestlé Research Center

Image: Vendors arrange vegetables at a vegetable wholesale market in the northern Indian city of Chandigarh June 4, 2009. REUTERS/Ajay Verma