A good book is the precious lifeblood of a master spirit, embalmed and treasured up on purpose to a life beyond life. This outlook to books, attributed to the renowned English Poet John Milton (1608-1674), applies in good measure to the book authored by Dr. Renu Agrawal, titled “Making Foods Safe and Free from Pathogens.” The central message that the author seems to convey conforms to the time-honoured proverb Look before you leap, an advisory to be clear about what is ahead before making a decision and acting. Given the frequently happening incidents of people taking ill after consuming food not checked for its fitness to be served, many times claiming life of school-bound children, the author deserves to be thanked, more than complimented, for bringing light on food in the form of a well-researched book.
Our ancestors are known to have strictly followed the practice of consuming dishes prepared by cooking in fresh state, maybe because of unavailability of technologies of preserving food from getting spoiled, except by sun-drying and pickling. The issue of making food safe for consumption has acquired enlarged dimension due to many factors, particularly growth of food processing industry with its high proportion of share in the nation’s economy, not to forget packaging the products for extended periods of storage before they appear in the marketing channels.
