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By Chino S. Leyco Researcher
THE Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) and World Health Organization (WHO) said Friday
that producers and traders should be liable for recent food scares,
adding these prove the weaknesses of food safety systems around the
world.
In a joint statement, FAO and WHO
are urging all countries to strengthen their food safety systems and
to be far more vigilant with food producers and traders.
“In order to ensure safe food
production for their own consumers and to meet international
requirements for food exports, national food safety authorities
should be more vigilant. Producers and traders should be held
accountable for safe food production throughout the food chain,”
they said.
The organizations added that in
the last 12 months, they have investigated an average of 200 food
safety incidents a month.
“Food safety legislation in
many developing countries is often incomplete and obsolete or not in
line with international requirements and responsibility for food
safety and control tends to be dispersed across many
institutions,” they said.
FAO and WHO added that many
developing countries’ laboratories lack essential equipment and
supplies.
They also said that the recent
food safety incidents can affect health and often lead to rejections
of food products in international trade.
“Such food safety
incidents are often caused by lack of knowledge of food safety
requirements and of their implications, or by the illegal or
fraudulent use of ingredients including unauthorized food additives
or veterinary drugs,” they said.
Jorgen Schlundt, WHO
director for food safety, said that food safety is an issue for
every country and ultimately every food consumer.
“All countries can
benefit from taking stronger measures to fill safety gaps in the
sometimes considerable journey food takes from the farm to the
table,” Schlundt said.
Ezzeddine Boutrif, FAO director
for nutrition and consumer protection, said that consumers have a
right to be informed about potential hazards in food and to be
protected against them.
“Countries are only able to
keep their shares in globalize food markets and the trust of
consumers if they apply internationally agreed food quality and
safety standards,” Boutrif said.
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