SACRU highlights World Food Safety Day
To mark World Food Safety Day, which is celebrated today, the Strategic Alliance of Catholic Research Universities - SACRU has gathered expert opinions on the topic launched this year by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food & Agriculture Organization (FAO): Safer Food – Better Health.
The data that the WHO presents are of concern to society as a whole: "600 million people fall ill as a result of eating contaminated food; more than 200 illnesses are caused by food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemicals; $110 billion in productivity and medical costs are lost in low- and middle-income countries due to unsafe food; and children under the age of 5 years are victims of 40 percent of foodborne illnesses, with 125,000 deaths annually.”
Paula Teixeira, professor at the Faculty of Biotechnology, Universidade Católica Portuguesa, warns of some of the risks posed by new consumer food trends: "Consumer expectations are complex. While safe and also convenient food with a long shelf life is demanded, we have seen an increase in demand for "natural", "preservative-free" and "less processed" products. To add further complexity, consumers typically expect all types of food to be available in all places at all times. (...)Nitrite is probably the most commonly used curing agent in the meat industry. Due to health concerns linked to the carcinogenic risk of processed meats, nitrite-free meat products are being launched in the marked. Is the safety of these products being validated?"
Click here to read the researchers' reflections: Pier Sandro Cocconcelli, from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore; Alícia Orta Ramírez e Xavier Ortiz Almirall, from Universitat Ramon Llull; Bo Wang, from Australian Catholic University; Paulo Esteves, from Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro; Takeshi Ito, from Sophia University; Fernando O. Mardones, from Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile; Glenn R. Gaudette, from Boston College; and Takashi Hayashita, Takeshi Hashimoto, Nobuyuki Kanzawa, e Kazuhiro Ema, from Sophia University.