World Food Safety Day 2024: Prepare for the unexpected

By G Kamala Vardhana Rao


With some 600 million cases of food-borne illnesses every year, unsafe food has emerged as a major threat to human health and economies around the world. Ensuring food safety is a public health priority and an essential step towards achieving food security. WHO & FAO have jointly declared the theme for this year’s World Food Safety Day as “Prepare for the Unexpected”. This is highly appropriate in the modern world with the availability of a wide variety of food preparations and methods of consumption. Historians highlighted that in 483 BCE, Gautama Buddha, fell seriously ill due to food poisoning, when he was served a dish called "sukara-maddava" while traveling in Kushinagar in India. The dish was believed to be contaminated and improperly prepared. The historical account of Buddha serves as a reminder of how food-borne illnesses can have severe consequences. 1(Chen & Chen, 2005)

At the height of the Roman Empire, lead was commonly used in various aspects of daily life, including cooking utensils, food storage containers, and even in the production of wine. This widespread use of lead led to a public health crisis, as prolonged exposure to lead resulted in lead poisoning, causing a range of debilitating symptoms and even death. Emperor Tiberius in the First century CE suffered from severe health issues, including paralysis and dementia, which some historians attribute to lead poisoning.

The Ergot Poisoning Epidemics in medieval Europe, caused by the consumption of rye contaminated with the fungus, resulted in severe symptoms such as hallucinations, convulsions, and gangrene.

Similarly, in 1981, Spanish Toxic Oil Syndrome outbreak in Spain resulted in severe health consequences for over 20,000 people and 1,200 deaths. The illness was linked to the consumption of adulterated rapeseed oil, which was illegally refined and sold as olive oil. The outbreak highlighted significant gaps in food safety emergency preparedness to handle such crises.

The Listeriosis Outbreak in 1985 was linked to queso fresco cheese contaminated with Listeria and resulted in over 86 reported cases of illness and between 47 to 52 deaths, making it the deadliest bacterial foodborne outbreak in the US.

The E. coli O104:H4 outbreak in 2011 was caused by contaminated fenugreek sprouts and resulted in over 3,950 reported cases of illness and 53 deaths, making it the deadliest bacterial food-borne outbreak in Europe.

The outbreak of Botulism in commercially canned foods in the US led to the deaths of 47 people and prompted the establishment of the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) within the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) to ensure the safety of meat, poultry, and egg products.

Every country has its own set of organizational structures to deal with unexpected food safety related incidences to prevent large scale food-borne illnesses. Since food is a highly traded commodity, it is imperative to have an inter-governmental institutional mechanism to raise alerts at the international level.

Global Scenario

Various international alert systems for food safety emergencies are in place and constitute a comprehensive framework designed to ensure rapid and effective communication and response to food safety incidents across the globe. These systems are critical in preventing the spread of food-borne diseases and contamination that can have severe public health implications.

1. International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN)

INFOSAN is a global network created by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to enhance information exchange and cooperation among food safety authorities around the world. The network facilitates the swift dissemination of information about food safety emergencies, allowing member countries to take coordinated actions to protect public health. It also provides technical support and helps build the capacity of member countries to manage food safety risks effectively.

Similarly, FAO's Emergency Prevention Systems (EMPRES) focuses on the prevention and early warning of trans boundary animal and plant pests & diseases, and food safety threats that can impact food security. The system supports rapid response mechanisms to contain and control outbreaks, minimising their impact on food production and safety.

The European Union's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) enables EU-member states to share information about food safety risks, facilitating quick actions to remove unsafe products from the market. Generally, the EU raises concerns in the form of an alert, information and border rejections. The system has a functionality to upload time-bound corrective and preventive action taken by competent authorities of respective countries in response to specific alerts. Alerts are published on a weekly basis keeping the public informed about potential risks. Further, the EU has put in place a Trade Control and Expert System (TRACES) to ensure traceability, information exchange and risk management in case of detection of health hazards.

In the US, Food Emergency Response Network (FERN) is an integrated system jointly operated by the Department of Health and Human Services Food and Drug Administration (HHS/FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (USDA/FSIS) to ensure federal and state inter-agency participation and cooperation in the development and operation of the network. FERN plays a critical role in food safety and food defence by helping FSIS in detecting, identifying, responding to, and aiding in the recovery from emergencies involving biological, chemical, or radiological contamination of food.

Food safety emergency response system in India

India is a country renowned for its vibrant culture and mass gatherings, where large quantities of food are produced and consumed. These events range from religious festivals, weddings, langars, bhandaras, kirtans to fairs and rallies. These events, while culturally significant, pose substantial food safety challenges due to the sheer volume of food prepared and the need to maintain hygiene in often makeshift settings. Further, street food vendors are also one of the significant pillars of the food ecosystem in the country offering an entirely different kind of challenge.

In 2018, a significant food safety incident occurred in India at the Kichu-Chaumukh village in West Bengal, where worshippers fell ill after consuming prasad during a religious festival.

Recently, a tragic incident was reported in Punjab, where a young girl died after consuming cake from a bakery, underscoring the importance of food safety in public health. Food-borne illnesses can have severe health risks, especially for vulnerable populations.  Food-borne illnesses stemming from adulteration practices and contamination remain major concerns, posing significant risks to public health and safety.

In order to combat such incidents, a comprehensive food safety emergency response mechanism has been instituted. This involves the identification of emerging risks and the implementation of a rapid alert system. State food authorities have nominated members to form Rapid Response Teams (RRTs), crucial for swift intervention during emergencies, with some members undergoing training for their roles. 'Guidelines for investigating and managing foodborne illness outbreaks in India' and the 'Framework of Food Safety Emergency Response System' have been prepared and are available in public domain.

2. Regulatory Provisions

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has also framed a regulation named as “Food Safety and Standards (Food Recall Procedure) Regulations, 2017 which establishes procedures and guidelines for the recall of unsafe food products from the market. The regulation aims to ensure the safety of food products consumed by the public by providing a systematic framework for identifying, initiating, and executing food recalls when necessary. It also seeks to protect public health by enabling timely and effective removal of potentially hazardous food products from the market.

The Way Forward

A Food Safety Emergency Response (FSER) system is a process of assessing the risk, making risk management decisions, and communicating risks in the face of time constraints, and possible incomplete data and knowledge. This framework involves coordinated efforts among various stakeholders including government agencies, food producers, distributors, retailers, and public health authorities. Risk assessment and monitoring, early warning systems, communication of information, response protocols and procedures, training and capacity building of various stakeholders play a crucial role in addressing various challenges related to food safety.

Technology plays a major role in this regard in dissemination of information among all stakeholders. Establishment of a common online portal inter linking all the stakeholder departments in the country will ensure that food safety incidents are appropriately managed and the public is adequately informed well in time to avoid any epidemic. Moreover, there is also a need for establishment of an institutional mechanism between Competent Authorities of various countries for real time sharing of information.

(The author is the Chief Executive Officer of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India)

Disclaimer: These are personal views of the writer. They do not necessarily reflect the opinion of www.business-standard.com or the Business Standard newspaper

1 Chen, T. S., Chen, P. S. (2005). The death of Buddha: a medical enquiry. Journal of Medical

Biography, 13(2), 100-103.