By Syed Muhammad Shahryar Hassan
Foodborne illnesses and diseases are more commonly spreading these days because of the fact that people do not give much thought to food safety. Where food safety must be our first and foremost priority, it has actually become of least concern these days.
There are about 200 diseases that spread through food. These diseases include common diseases like diarrhoea, vomiting and stomach pains to some fatal diseases like cancer and mental disorder as well. 1 out of every 10 people is in some way adversely affected by consuming contaminated food. About 240,000 people die every year worldwide due to diseases caused by consumption of contaminated food. Of all the age groups children below the age of 5 get extremely affected by contaminated food. Around 125,000 children die every year due to the consumption of contaminated food.
When we look at these alarming facts it only shows us the importance of consuming safe and healthy food. Many people still might not have all the information needed to stay atop all the foodborne illnesses and diseases.
When we talk about the awareness about foodborne illnesses we have to keep in mind that we need to make a collective effort at all levels in order to stand a chance against the diseases that are being spread through consumption and provision of food that is in some ways unhealthy for human consumption. Awareness needs to be spread through government bodies for all the food handlers in the country, from housewives to children to restaurant owners and food handlers. From purchasing to storing to processing to cooking and serving proper reforms and policies needs to be set in place for all these levels of food handling to make sure provision of safe and healthy food for the end user.
In our homes, we can take the following four quick and easy steps to ensure that the food is free of all the harmful microorganisms that lead to many diseases.
- We must ensure that the cooking area is clean, our hands are clean and the utensils we use for cooking and serving are clean.
- Separate raw food from cooked food. Separate meat from vegetables, separate unlike food items to stop cross contamination.
- Cook properly and thoroughly to the right temperature i.e. 60oC so that the harmful bacteria dies out leaving safe and healthy food for consumption.
- Proper defrosting methods should be adapted to prevent harmful bacteria from getting activated and cause the food to be sickening.
These are the four easy steps that should be taken in homes for the preparation and consumption of food. If we abide by these four easy ways we can considerably reduce the chance of catching foodborne diseases. Even in restaurants, these steps can be taken to get rid of most of the harmful bacteria. On top of all these things, we must be alert and cautious all the time regarding our food. Whenever we go out to eat something, or whenever we buy something to bring to our homes, we should take a look at the source where our food came from.
The steps needed to get rid of the foodborne diseases are small but very effective and can help us to lead a healthy life. Health is wealth, this is a phrase very well known amongst the masses and there could not be a truer, more realistic phrase about our health. Any person of any age group is unable to perform at his or her best if not healthy. Even if we are not seriously sick, even if the sickness is of common nature still the impact it has on our overall health is very significant. It prevents our whole body to perform at its peak. As humans, it has become a general habit of only realizing the value of something when we lose it. This needs to change when it comes to issues related to our health, we must not take the health for granted and take serious precautions. We would, unfortunately, spend thousands on end when we get sick and admitted to hospitals but we don’t spend anything to prevent sickness. It does not take any extra money to prevent foodborne diseases, it only takes a little extra care than normal, and we can prevent irrecoverable loss of health.
The right to a safe and healthy diet is the right of every individual and hence every individual must take part, in their own way and capacity, to make sure that the food is free of contamination. In this regard, the government body PFA (Punjab Food Authority) has taken initiatives to ensure the provision of food that is free of contamination. PFA is introducing new policies, rules and standards to achieve their goal in ensuring the provision of safe food to masses. Some other steps taken by the department include frequent raids of food businesses, taking samples from restaurants, introducing the law of having a license for all food business operators to have a check on their quality. There are other significant steps being taken by PFA like food awareness campaigns, bans on harmful food preservatives and chemicals and awareness programs too. But still, Pakistan needs to go the distance in order to achieve the ultimate goal of provision of safe and healthy food to each and every Pakistani.
