Food security and food safety figure in the columns of dailies presenting a number of issues related to the two distinct subjects raised in circles of literati, only to be read by people at large, some feeling concerned and the rest resting unconcerned, the latter kind being convinced that the successive Governments often come out with plans to address the issues but stumble in carrying out the action as planned. Officially sourced data on the annual food production in the country, intimately connected with timely and adequate rainfall, allow one to be in a zone of mental comfort that all is well in the matter of food security, notwithstanding the also officially sourced data that more than one-fifth of the country’s population are bugged by hunger, without the wherewithal to access food. The issue of food safety, engaging the sections in the country’s populace who are able to access food in both quantity and quality, doesn’t seem to be bestowed the attention it deserves given the media reports of episodes of diet-driven disruption in the health of consumers.
The global watchdog on human well-being, World Health Organisation (WHO), has been pursuing the common cause of access to safe food with the message that safe food is the key to sustaining life and promoting good health. The agency has released figures that estimate 600 million cases of food-borne diseases occur annually worldwide, which translates to nearly one in 10 people falling ill after consuming contaminated food.
