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Food safety
In the first few weeks of 2023, the issues of food safety and supply were rarely out of the headlines. Andrew Tunnicliffe speaks with Catherine Bessy of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation;
Sarah Cahill of the Codex Alimentarius Commission; and Taryn Webb of the FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition to understand the challenges and how they can be addressed.
s the world grapples with one of the biggest outbreaks of avian influenza (bird flu) for decades, the question of whether eating poultry is safe has been asked several times over. Of course it is, but it remains the case that some communities are mistrusting of that – as they are with other matters relating to food, its origins and the story behind its benefits or otherwise to our health. This recent outbreak, though, highlights the role that regulators play to protect the public. A role that has never been as important as we face a unique and evolving food safety picture. “There is growing recognition that without safe food, we cannot achieve food security,” says Catherine Bessy, a senior food safety officer of the Food Systems and Food Safety Division of the United Nation’s (UN) Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO). “Therefore, without taking action at all levels to ensure the availability and access to safe and nutritious food, achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) becomes an even greater challenge.”
geopolitical climate could do to global food supplies and quality. “We are still grappling with supply chain shortages stemming from Covid and the war in Ukraine,” says Taryn Webb, health communications specialist with the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, “including strains in the availability of labour, raw materials and other ingredients which continue to challenge food supply.”
The US is not alone with its difficulties. The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has said it has had to
Food for thought A
“The visibility and awareness of food safety issues continue to increase,” adds Sarah Cahill, senior food standards officer of the Secretariat for the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex). “We have, from a global perspective, seen this through the ongoing engagement and commitment of countries, and discussions on food safety issues during the pandemic.”
Regulators contend with challenges
That may be true, but recent months have turned the world’s focus firmly on the ability to respond to growing concerns; the impact that climate change might have on foodborne disease or what an increasingly unstable
76 Ingredients Insight /
www.ingredients-insight.com
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