By Muyid Deen Suleman
Kumasi, June 14, GNA – The World Health Organisation (WHO) says an estimated 600 million people across the globe fall ill from consuming contaminated food annually.
About 420,000 out of the number die as a result, according to the global health body.
This was disclosed at a conference to climax the World Food Safety Day activities organised by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) in Kumasi.
The conference brought together various stakeholders to deliberate and raise awareness on the importance of food safety in Ghana.
This year’s theme: “Food Standards Save Lives” brings to the fore the role and importance of established food safety practices and standards in ensuring food safety and quality.
Dr Francis Chikata Kasolo, WHO Country Representative, in a speech read on his behalf, said the WHO was collaborating with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and other stakeholders to facilitate the observance of the day globally.
He said the goal was to highlight the impact of food borne illness and mobilise governments, food producers, consumers, development partners to take action to protect human lives.
He explained that standards were at the heart of food safety and essential throughout the food production chain, which included food commodity standards, hygienic practices, setting maximum levels of pesticides and additives in food that do not cause harm to human.
Dr Kasolo said food must be safe, available, accessible, nutritious, and culturally acceptable for growth to improve the health and well-being of the citizenry.
He explained that deaths associated with food contamination were preventable and that it was unacceptable for anybody to die from eating food.
He urged the key stakeholders to support in creating awareness on food safety standards along the food chain and support the implementation and enforcement of the standards.
The WHO representative advised that as partners there was the need to continue to ensure that food standards were based on scientific evidence and considerations of public health.
Mr Roderick Daddey-Adjei, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of FDA, said since the enactment of the Public Health Act 851, regulatory bodies had worked collaboratively to ensure that food safety and quality standards were prioritized.
GNA