World Food Safety Day: WHO Ten Keys To Ensuring Food Safety

World Food Safety Day is observed on 7 June every year, with the purpose of bringing attention to food standards. Each year, 1 in 10 people throughout the world suffer from food-borne illness, so food standards go a long way in protecting us.

The theme for World Food Safety Day 2023 is "Food Standards Save Lives". It emphasises the importance of food standards in safeguarding lives and preventing food contamination.

We all have a role to play in promoting food safety. Governments, retailers, food producers and consumers must work together to ensure that the food we buy and eat is safe. The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated that there are ten keys to making food safer and ensuring food safety. Let's take a look at it.

WHO Ten Keys To Ensuring Food Safety

These are the WHO "Golden Rules," take a look [1]:

1. Choose foods processed for safety

Some foods, like fruits and vegetables, are best when they are unprocessed, while others are safer if they are processed. When shopping, choose pasteurized milk over raw milk and poultry that has been ionized if possible. Certain raw foods, such as lettuce, need to be thoroughly washed. Processing improved safety as well as shelf life.

2. Cook the food thoroughly

Cooking raw foods thoroughly will kill pathogens, but make sure to reach a temperature of at least 70°C for all parts of the food.

3. Eat cooked foods immediately

4. Store cooked foods carefully

Keep leftovers under either hot (near or above 60 °C) or cool (near or below 10 °C) conditions if you must prepare food in advance. You must follow this rule if you plan to store foods for longer than four hours. Infant foods should not be stored at all.

Putting too much warm food in the refrigerator is one of the biggest causes of food-borne diseases. Overcrowded refrigerators cannot cool cooked foods to the core as quickly.

5. Reheat cooked foods thoroughly

Once again, thorough reheating means all parts of the food must reach 70°C to prevent bacteria from developing during storage (proper storage slows down microbe growth but doesn't kill them).

6. Avoid contact between raw foods and cooked foods

Cross-contamination can occur directly when raw poultry meat comes into contact with cooked food, or it can be subtle. For example, don't prepare raw chicken and then cut it with the same unwashed knife and cutting board. The disease-causing organisms can be reintroduced.

7. Wash your hands repeatedly

8. Keep all kitchen surfaces thoroughly clean

9. Protect food from insects, rodents, and other animals

10. Use safe water