Food safety: Eat, drink, and be wary

Now, this is one absorbing topic that’s closest to our hearts (or should I say, our stomachs). We’ve heard and read about cases of food poisoning (or foodborne illness). Or it may have happened to you or somebody close to you. A colleague had a drinking spree with some friends and went home not really drunk but feeling funny in the pit of her stomach and somewhat nauseous. The morning after, she was making more trips to the toilet than she could remember. This went on for three days and she was feeling so weak she could hardly crawl out of bed. Mustering enough strength, she drove herself to the nearest hospital. She was immediately confined; her doctor said she lost a lot of fluids and electrolytes (which regulate our body’s hydration) and her kidneys were close to shutting down. She was put on dextrose, consuming a total of 11 bottles during her stay at the hospital. What caused all this? The culprit: contaminated ice cubes that she took with her vodka.

Then there was this food poisoning outbreak in a grade school in Tondo, which downed more than a hundred students after they reportedly ate egg sandwiches and hot dogs at the school canteen.

Foodborne illnesses are commonly caused by improper food preparation, handling, and storage. When it comes to food safety, we can’t be too careful.

Now comes the very first magazine on food safety and quality awareness — from farm to table — that focuses on the Philippine setting. Food Safety Trends Philippines was conceived “to address many of the concerns that the Philippine food industry has encountered over the years and those it currently faces.” Its maiden issue is loaded with informative articles on the Food Safety Act of 2013 (RA 10611), the science of proper handwashing, the food safety culture, and lessons in food safety.

Yes, there’s such a thing as the Food Safety Act of 2013, which tackles the “government’s efforts in taking the country’s level of food safety assurance on a higher scale, stating the responsibilities the government partakes in managing food safety in the country.” The major government agencies involved here are the Food Safety Regulatory Agencies, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Health.

Under the Department of Agriculture fall the following agencies: Bureau of Animal Industry (for food derived from animals, including eggs and honey production), National Meat Inspection Services (obviously for meats), Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (for fish and other seafoods, including those grown by aquaculture), Bureau of Plant Industry (for plant foods), Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority (for pesticides and fertilizers used in the production of plant and animal food), Philippine Coconut Authority (for fresh coconut), Sugar Regulatory Administration (for sugar cane production and marketing), National Food Authority (for rice, corn, and other grains).

Under the Department of Health are the Food and Drug Administration and the FDA Center for Food Regulation (to implement food safety control management system for the development of food standards and regulations). Also under DOH is the Bureau of Quarantine, which is tasked with the provision of sanitation and assurance of food safety in all its areas of responsibility such as domestic and international ports and airports including flight catering, food service establishments, sea vessels, and aircraft.

To protect consumers, food safety assessment bodies will be established, where the National Epidemiology Center, the Research Institute of Tropical Medicine, and the National Center for Disease Prevention and Control will conduct and document epidemiological studies on foodborne illnesses.

As can be gleaned from the article on the Food Safety Act, on top of consumer health and protection, the government is beefing up its food safety management system “to make the country’s goods more competitive with products from abroad, especially those countries requiring stringent food safety compliance.”

Food safety being such a broad topic, the FDA narrowed it down to these areas where a establishment can be held responsible for compromising food safety, as follows: apparent spoilage, presence of filth or foreign matter, unsatisfactory microbial quality, presence of naturally occurring toxicants in excess of the safe level, presence of heavy metals in excess of the allowable limits, presence of non-permissible food additives or in excess of the safe level, unsatisfactory packaging materials, non-conformance to established standard identity and quality for specific product, mislabeling or non-compliance with labeling regulations.

Establishments found guilty of violating any part of the Food Safety Act can be penalized from P50,000 to P500,000 and face imprisonment, depending on the gravity of the violation. Their registration and certification can even be revoked.

Food safety literally lies in our hands and we should guard our right to it with our lives.