10 FACTS ON FOOD
SAFETY

Fact 1
More than 200 diseases are spread through
food.
– Millions of people fall ill every year and many die as a
result of eating unsafe food. Diarrhoeal diseases alone kill
an estimated 1.5 million children annually, and most of
these illnesses are attributed to contaminated food or
drinking water. Proper food preparation can prevent most
foodborne diseases.

Fact 2
Contaminated food can cause long-term health
problems.
– The most common symptoms of foodborne
disease are stomach pains, vomiting and
diarrhoea. Food contaminated with heavy metals
or with naturally occurring toxins can also cause
long-term health problems including cancer and
neurological disorders.

Fact 3
Foodborne diseases affect vulnerable people
harder than other groups.
– Infections caused by contaminated food have a
much higher impact on populations with poor or
fragile health status and can easily lead to serious
illness and death. For infants, pregnant women,
the sick and the elderly, the consequences of
foodborne disease are usually more severe and
may be fatal.

Fact 4
There are many opportunities for food
contamination to take place
– Today’s food supply is complex and involves a
range of different stages including on-farm
production, slaughtering or harvesting,
processing, storage, transport and distribution
before the food reaches the consumers.

Fact 5
Globalization makes food safety more complex
and essential.
– Globalization of food production and trade is
making the food chain longer and complicates
foodborne disease outbreak investigation and
product recall in case of emergency.

Fact 6
Food safety is multisectoral
and multidisciplinary
– To improve food safety, a multitude of different
professionals are working together, making use of
the best available science and technologies.
Different governmental departments and
agencies, encompassing public health, agriculture,
education and trade, need to collaborate and
communicate with each other and engage with
the civil society including consumer groups.

Fact 7
Food contamination also affects the economy
and society as a whole.
– Food contamination has far reaching effects
beyond direct public health consequences – it
undermines food exports, tourism, livelihoods of
food handlers and economic development, both in
developed and developing countries.

Fact 8
Some harmful bacteria are
becoming resistant to drug treatments.
– Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global health
concern. Overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in
agriculture and animal husbandry, in addition to
human clinical uses, is one of the factors leading
to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial
resistance. Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in
animals may be transmitted to humans via food.

Fact 9
Everybody has a role to play in keeping food
safe.
– Food safety is a shared responsibility between
governments, industry, producers, academia, and
consumers. Everyone has a role to play. Achieving
food safety is a multi-sectoral effort requiring
expertise from a range of different disciplines –
toxicology, microbiology, parasitology, nutrition,
health economics, and human and veterinary
medicine. Local communities, women’s groups
and school education also play an important role.

Fact 10
Consumers must be well informed on food
safety practices.
– People should make informed and wise food
choices and adopt adequate behaviors. They
should know common food hazards and how to
handle food safely, using the information provided
in food labelling.

Compiled By:
Suman Dhital, Food Research Officer, DFTQC,
Nepal.
Reference:
10 facts on food safety (WHO),
http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/food_saf
ety/en/