Food safety

Food safety means controlling and limiting hazardous substances in food that can be injurious to the health of the consumer and includes production, handling, storage, packing, packaging, transport and preparation of food. Karnataka has been ranked 9th on the Food safety index for 2020 -21 based on five parameters -human resources and institutional data, compliance, food testing facility, training and capacity building and consumer empowerment.

A systematic review of public health risks related to food safety issues in the food market by Gizaw (2019) identified seven common public health risks related to microbial contamination of foods, chemical contamination, food adulteration, misuse of food additives, mislabeling, genetically modified (GM) foods and outdated foods or those past their use by dates.

Food contamination is the unintentional addition of toxic, infectious or hazardous substances to foods during any of the process of production, manufacture, processing, preparation, packing transport, storage etc. This can be microbial or chemical.

Microbial contamination

This is caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungus and can often be identified because of a change in taste, smell, consistency etc. While some may cause mild ‘stomach upset’ and recover spontaneously, others maybe severe enough to mandate hospitalisation and long term care. Food-borne microbes and fungus are a major cause of preventable morbidity, death and economic burden in most countries but not enough is being done to control them. Overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in veterinary and human medicine has been linked to the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria, rendering the treatment of infectious diseases ineffective in animals and humans. These resistant bacteria then enter the food chain through the animals (e.g. Salmonella through chickens). Parasites can infect people through food, by direct contact with animals or via water or soil. Prions are infectious proteinaceous agents associated with specific forms of neurodegenerative disease. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy or  "mad cow disease" is a prion disease in cattle, and consumption of bovine products containing brain tissue can lead to Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease in humans.

Chemical contamination

Contamination of foods with naturally occurring chemical toxins and environmental chemical pollutants can be a significant source of foodborne illness, although it maybe difficult to establish causation.

Naturally occurring toxins like mycotoxins, marine biotoxins, cyanogenic glycosides etc. can be found in staple foods like corn, cereals, fish, wild (poisonous) mushrooms etc.  While some can be destroyed by special treatment, processing, cooking etc. others may not. For example, the part of the potato that is budding or greenish can contain solanine which is toxic but this cannot be destroyed by cooking and therefore needs to be removed prior to cooking. Cabbage contains thioglucosides which can be absorbed in those with low dietary iodine, and cause thyroid enlargement. Certain kinds of fish or mushroom can cause serious poisoning even in the natural state.

Environmental contaminants are impurities that are either introduced into food by human activity or occur naturally in water, air, or soil. Persistent organic pollutants such as dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are unwanted by-products of industrial processes and waste incineration and accumulate in the environment, human body and food chain, causing short and long-term complications. While short term exposure can cause skin lesions and allergic symptoms, longer exposure can affect the immune, reproductive, endocrine and hormonal system. There have been long-standing concerns about the chemical safety of food due to misuse of pesticides, insecticides, herbicides, fungicides etc. which may often be used indiscriminately especially when poorly regulated or when there is inadequate training or information on their ill-effects, even if there are limits on these based on Acceptable Maximum Dietary Intake (ADI) and Maximum Residual Limit (MRL).  Phthalates in infant formulae, substances in food with oestrogenic activity, and veterinary drug residues, etc have also heightened public concern.

In Bengaluru, Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) has documented that the discharge of untreated industrial effluents from the Peenya Industrial area into lakes has led to high levels of non-biodegradable chemicals and heavy metals. When this contaminated water is used for agriculture, it exposes the farmers as well as the consumers to high risk of toxicity.  While the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) has made an action plan to address this issue, etrospectively addressing pollution is not good strategy, as the short and long term consequences have already been set into motion.

Food adulteration is the addition of prohibited items to food to partly or wholly substitute healthy ingredients or artificially create the impression of freshness in stale foods with the usual purpose of financial gain. Some examples are metanil yellow to color sweets; Rhodamine B, brick powder, talk powder in chilli powder;  Malachite green to color green vegetables; lead chromate in turmeric powder; jaggery or sugar syrup in honey etc. Deb Pal A. and Jain A. (2018) have found that 39.3% of unpackaged oil samples and 31.3% packaged samples are adulterated. Respondents from high income groups (58- 83%) had a better awareness about oil adulteration than low SE group (10-56% ).

Genetic engineering manipulates hereditary material like RNA and DNA across species and is being used for Genetically modified (GM) foods. . These processes are often not transparent and can be pushed on general population without a thorough understanding of their impact, many of which could be irreversible. A study by Centre for Science and Environment in 2018, found that despite GM food not being allowed into the country, several samples of edible oils, processed and packaged food and infant food items prepared locally and imported were found to contain GM ingredients. 32% samples, most of them imported, had tested positive for GM ingredients. There are studies linking genetically modified foods to non-communicable diseases, Alzheimer’s, stroke, Parkinson’s, end stage renal disease, acute kidney failure, several forms of cancer, respiratory and gastro-intestinal illness, hormonal imbalance, disruption of immune function, allergic reactions etc. There is therefore a need for much more honesty and choice about GM foods, specifically in the Indian context.

Food safety standards

Food safety strategies have to be applied at every stage of the food supply chain from food handling, production, agricultural practices, transportation, marketing, etc.  There is a need to invest in training, infrastructure, laboratories and human resources to prevent, identify and rectify gaps in food safety. Businesses and industries need to be held accountable for preventing pollution and also ensuring the safety of the foods that they produce and market.

One of the primary responsibilities of the Food Safety Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) which operates under the Food Safety & Standards Act, 2006  is to ensure food safety and quality standards by creating national guidelines and regulatory framework and thus protect public health. The FSSAI should routinely put out reports on food safety in the public domain.