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U.N. works to implement food safety practices in Indo-Pacific

Top Stories | Apr 11, 2020:

Tom Abke

Food-borne diseases end the lives of about 225,000 people in the Indo-Pacific region every year and cause another 275 million to become ill, according to estimates from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific in Bangkok, Thailand.

Building cooperation among national governments in the region to ensure their citizens have access to safe and nutritious food and clean drinking water is a top priority for the Bangkok office.

“The region has a relatively good set of food policies, legislations and regulations,” food safety officer Masami Takeuchi and senior food safety and nutrition officer Sridhar Dharmapuri, pictured, both with FAO in Bangkok, told FORUM. “But implementation and enforcement have been challenging in many developing countries in the region.”

FAO has found that most food-borne diseases occur when food and water are contaminated with microorganisms, as well as residue from pesticides, veterinary drugs and pollution-related chemical contaminants.

“Many people surprisingly do not realize the fact that diarrhea is a serious global killer — it is killing more than 2,000 children every day,” they reported. “And about 88% of diarrhea-associated deaths are attributable to unsafe water, inadequate sanitation and insufficient hygiene — all directly related to food safety.”

Better public understanding of food safety hazards and improved conditions where food is sold are needed to reduce disease, the experts explained.

“Infrastructure needs a major boost, particularly in the case of wet markets where most consumers buy their food from,” they said. “The vast majority of them are unhygienic and poorly managed, leading to a proliferation of food safety hazards.”

The region needs to more widely adopt cleaner, “fit-for-purpose” packaging and transport for food, the safety officers added.

FAO has been promoting good practices in food storage and handling, harvesting, processing and preparation in the region. The agency urges adoption of the multidisciplinary “One Health Approach” to attain optimal health for people, animals and the environment. The FAO works with governments in the region to mainstream food safety into national agriculture, nutrition and health policies and plans.

“The FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific started its own initiative in 2017 to establish a series of food safety indicators in the region,” Takeuchi and Dharmapuri told FORUM. “These are being developed so that countries can track their progress in food safety, year on year.”

The office has adopted the slogan “Regulate. Delegate. Participate.” to promote a regional food-safety culture. Sensible regulations must be matched with food safety practices across all sectors and by consumers at every level. This theme will be emphasized at FAO’s forthcoming Regional Food Safety Conference this year in Bangkok. The event will involve participants from across the Indo-Pacific, including high-level officials, food safety professionals, scientists, the food industry, nongovernmental organizations, researchers, students and academics.

Originally slated for June 2020, the event was postponed due to the COVID-19 outbreak and will be rescheduled.

Tom Abke is a FORUM contributor reporting from Singapore.

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