Health safety, quality and nutritional value of food is of fundamental importance for health, the Institute for Public Health of Montenegro (IJZCG) announced today.
They announced on the occasion of World Food Safety Day on June 7.
"Healthy safe food is food that does not contain microbiological, chemical, or physical contaminants and that after consumption will not lead to health disorders. The United Nations General Assembly established the World Food Safety Day in 2018 to raise awareness of this important issue. WHO and The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) jointly facilitates the celebration of the World Food Safety Day, in cooperation with member states and other interested parties," the IJZCG press release points out.
They added that foodborne diseases account for about 600 million health disorders annually and claim one in ten human lives worldwide.
"Data indicates that among them about 40% are children under the age of five, i.e. 125.000 deaths every year. These diseases hinder socioeconomic development by burdening health care systems and harming national economies, tourism and trade. This year's theme, "Safer food, better health", emphasizes the role that safe food plays in ensuring the health and well-being of people and calls for a set of specific actions to make food safer", said IJZCG.
From that institution, they stated that problems with unsafe food are noted, mostly only after they happen, so the health system deals with the consequences instead of preventing the cause of the problem.
"That is why a new modified system for food health safety is increasingly being approached, in which the main focus is on the prevention and hygiene of production processes. Unsafe food is the cause of many diseases and contributes to the deterioration of health conditions such as growth and development disorders, lack of micronutrients, non-infectious and infectious diseases, as well as mental illnesses. The fortunate circumstance is that most diseases transmitted by food can be prevented by proper food handling and continuous education on hygiene and food safety," said the IJZCG.
They said that food safety is based on science.
"It is not possible based on the appearance or smell of food to determine whether it is health-safe or not, but scientists have developed tests and tools that detect the causes of unsafe food. Scientists dealing with food safety include microbiologists, veterinarians, doctors - hygienists, technologists and toxicologists indicate the best and safest ways to handle food, from production, processing, handling, preparation to serving, to make food health safe. When hygienic and safe practices are applied throughout the food chain, food becomes health safe." it is written in the announcement.
IJZCG also said that education on health food safety is a recognized, but insufficiently used preventive public health intervention that prevents the occurrence of a large number of diseases of various etiologies.
"Safe food is necessary for the overall health and well-being of all of us. Only when food is safe can we fully benefit from the nutrients it contains. Safe food is one of the crucial points of good health. In addition to establishing laboratories that are capable of a large number of accredited methods of food and water analysis, the Institute for Public Health of Montenegro organizes hygiene minimum courses for employees who work with food. The courses are aimed at increasing the level of knowledge of employees about hygiene and food safety, and that is why they are not only a legal obligation, but also excellent preventive measure in preventing the occurrence of food-borne diseases", concludes the IJZCG announcement.
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