In an attempt to achieve a safe food system and human health, a Professor of Food Microbiology and Safety, Prof. Adebukunola Omemu, has called on governments and policymakers to set the rules of the game by establishing food safety regulations and enforcing them through inspection and penalties for the overall benefits of Nigerians while the people have been charged to prioritise the quality of their health and always remember that a healthy life is a productive life.
According to Prof. Omemu in her inaugural lecture, titled: ‘Safe Journey of Food: from Farm-To-Fork’, governments have called upon to promote sustainable practices in agriculture and foster collaboration between public health, animal health and agriculture, “which are crucial steps to achieving a truly safe food system”, stressing that they should also fund research on food safety issues and invest in training programme for food industry personnel and consumer. The inaugural lecturer noted that authorities, particularly local, should consider informal agents as partners in local development initiatives, maintaining that they should implement policies and programmes aimed at creating adequate conditions for informal sector activities to be efficiently undertaken while minimising risks in society.
The lecturer believes that governments and policymakers can leverage advancements in technology such as blockchain, Internet of Things (IoT), and sensors and data analytics to enhance traceability across the supply chain. The food safety advocate, however, urged scientific and educational institutions to identify and address emerging food safety threats through their various researches and also facilitate community engagements and outreach efforts to empower consumers with knowledge and skills to make informed decisions about food safety.
The lecturer had earlier informed that food safety is the assurance that the food consumed will not do any harm”, adding that “to achieve 100% food safety is difficult”. She stressed that actors involved in food preparation should be careful, saying “if achieving 100% food safety is not guaranteed”, they should not add to its unwholesomeness. Prof. Omemu stated that quality had to do with physical parameters. She further said and that even though, one might have quality food, but such might not be safe. Prof. Omemu, however, posited that the contributions of humans could not be overlooked in terms of food safety, adding that “human activity is the major challenge” while admonishing that food safety is everybody’s business.
Meanwhile, Nigerians have been charged to prioritise the quality of their health and always remember that a healthy life is a productive life. This was the position of a Public Health Officer, Sanitarian Taiwo Akinwumi, in a telephone interview he had. He emphasised that “a healthy life is a life that has hope”, adding that Nigerians should take their lives seriously and have it in mind that whatever they do would directly or indirectly affect their families, communities and as well affect the planet. Akinwumi reiterated that rising cost of living was impacting on human health and “there is increasing rate of depression, suicide and diseases because people could not afford the necessity of life”.
He noted that poor health habit, unhealthy behaviour and domestic violence had been on the increase due to high cost of living, saying this indirectly affects mental health, adding that sanitation “is about life and it is crucial in maintaining good environmental, personal and food hygiene”. The sanitarian, however, posited that “there is no perfect policy or system”, stressing that the provision of palliatives by the government “is good, but not 100% addressing the problem”. He added that government “needs to empower the farmers by providing necessary farming inputs at a subsidised rate in order to tackle food insecurity and ensure bumper harvest” in the country.
From the expose of both experts, the key points to note in preserving safety regulations and human health that governments and policymakers should establish food safety regulations and enforcing them through inspection and penalties for the overall benefits of the people, better funding of research on food safety, investment in training programme for food industry personnel and consumer, informal agents should be engaged as partners in local development initiatives by leveraging advancements in technology, educational institutions should identify and address emerging food safety threats through their various researches, while issues of poor health habit, unhealthy behaviour and domestic violence should be looked at, among others.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) reported that access to enough safe and nutritious food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health. Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances can cause more than 200 different diseases, ranging from diarrhoea to cancers. WHO stated that round the world, an estimated 600 million fall ill after eating contaminated food each year, resulting in 420,000 deaths and the loss of 33 million healthy life years. The organisation has informed us that good safety, nutrition and food security are closely linked. Unsafe food creates a vicious cycle of disease and malnutrition, particularly affecting infants, young children, elderly and the sick. No doubt, people would live more fruitful lives only when they timely heed the advice given by experts.