420,000 Die Annually Owing To Food-Borne Diseases

News Desk

Islamabad: Food-borne illnesses cause nearly 420,000 preventable deaths every year, and children under 5 years of age carry 40 per cent of the disease burden, with 125 000 deaths every year, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Young people and populations with limited resources are among the most affected.

Moreover, annually, 600 million people fall ill due to the 200 different types of illnesses that can be transmitted by food. Food-borne diseases affect one in 10 people worldwide each year, and food standards help us ensure what we eat is safe.

Read More:https://thepenpk.com/from-plate-to-planet-how-food-waste-fuels-climate-change-poverty/

Therefore, to impart awareness of the importance of food standards, World Food Safety Day will be marked on June 7 (Wednesday) across the globe, including Pakistan. World Food Safety Day (WFSD) celebrates its fifth edition in 2023.

The Day aims to promote discussions, solutions and means to enhance human health, trade, agriculture, and sustainable development. It also raises awareness about the significance of prevention, detection, and management of risks through food safety practises.

This year’s theme is ‘Food Standards Save Lives’. Standards set maximum levels of additives and pollutants, among other ingredients, that can be safely consumed, in addition to giving farmers and processors instructions on the sanitary treatment of food. Governments, organisations, and regional or intergovernmental bodies are responsible for setting such standards.

The motto of World Food Safety Day is ‘Food safety is everyone’s business’ which exhorts each of us to take responsibility for preserving safe food across the supply chain, from farm to fork. There are risks that could lead to contamination in every part of that chain.