Food Safety Awareness Week observed October 20-26 highlights the importance of safe and healthy food. It highlights the challenges in establishing and strengthening the components of a control system to ensure safety along the whole food chain, and is an opportunity for us to be aware about a few simple techniques that will help us eat safe food and stay healthy. Food safety is generally defined as the assurance that food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared and/or eaten according to its intended use.

The World Health Organization has estimated that there are 1.8 million deaths every year due to diarrheal diseases and most of the cases of death can be attributed to water and food contamination.

Food-borne diseases impose a heavy social and economic burden on communities, affecting their economic productivity. They encompass a wide spectrum of illnesses caused by microbes, parasites, or chemical contamination of food. Recent trends in food production, processing, distribution, and preparation are creating an increasing demand for food safety research in order to ensure a safer food supply.

We seldom think of a kitchen as a dangerous place. But there is a hidden enemy there waiting to attack one’s weakened immune system.

Bacteria hiding in raw meats, utensils, sponges, counter tops and cutting boards, and even on one’s hands, put many at a risk for life-threatening infections. Improperly stored or prepared foods can harbor bacteria that can be dangerous to health.

It is our responsibility to protect our families and others by being careful in the handling of food because food poisoning can leave us with long-term organ damage and can be fatal.