Food safety

During the early days, I recalled bringing a bottle of water to school from home everyday. The amount of water to be brought is the amount of water I will drink for the whole day. The main reason is because I never dared to drink from water cooler because I always thought that water at the water cooler are never safe for consumption. In a sense, I felt that the water is uncleaned and untreated. However, my naïve thinking was proved wrong as I progressed my studies in the aspect of food safety. Just like the recent case of the Peter pan, when a batch of sample was found to be default, the government and the authorised bodies stepped in to recall all the goods. Similarly, plastic although was only found in one of the kit kat product, but the government has stepped in for the company to retrieve the goods. Since then, the government will definitely take actions against food sectors to ensure food safety of the citizens.

Being the future ambassador of the nation, being one of the future worker of the food industries, it is important that we know what food safety is all about, and practice food safety at all times. Nevertheless, food safety does not concern an individual, it concerns the whole public. In view of such, the food worker upholds very heavy responsiblities.
The food sector played an important role in the National Gross Domestic Profit. With increased food trends, more and more food related businesses has started. With increased competition and increased globalisation, companies have improved in their processes and production line, to improve their product quality and safety. To meet up with the challenges, many companies have come up with food hygiene and safety systems such as HACCP, ISO standards, developing new and innovative products, for tackling local and overseas market. Local food manufacturers have also changed their traditional mindset and strategies on pricing, marketing and management style. However, food safety is still the primary concern.

Being the key players in the food sectors, the manufacturers take a major role in ensuring food safety. The food industries have to ensure that food produced along the processing line meets the AVA stringent standards. The food industries must ensure that they enforce good manufacturing practices. Apart from educating their own workers on the food safety issues, it is also necessary for the industry players provide adequate information to the consumers.

Nevertheless, consumers themselves also played a role in ensuring food safety. This is mainly due to the fact that consumers have total direct control over food prepared. Therefore, it is important that consumers know about all the food safety issues, especially when handling foods that can be easily contaminated. By doing so, they can avoid the risks of contamination and safegaard themselves and their families.

Foodborne illnesses are diseases that started related to food, usually caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites. Food poisoning are mainly caused by salmonella, E.Coli, etc. Foodborne illnesses may cause fever, nausea, vomiting and if there are complications, it may even result in death. Since then, food safety is indeed an important aspect when it comes to food production. Despite importing about 90% of the food from affected countries, Singapore managed to be free from foodborne illnesses. The main reason is due to the stringent standards that are set by the AVA that provided security measures for safe consumption. The AVA ensures that the foods consumed are wholesome, nutritious and of good quality before it is retailed.

AVA, in short for The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA), is the national authority for food safety in Singapore. AVA sets strict food safety regulations that comply with the international regulations. It ensures that up to date food legislation is in order and properly enforced though inspection and testing programmes. AVA also educates consumers on food-borne hazards and how to keep food safe. The AVA's inspection and epidemiology team (ISED) conducts checks on imported primary produce, lifestock and processed food at entry, farms poultry slaughterhouses, meat, fish and food processing companies, and cold storage facilities; Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) programmes of food processing establishments; Monitoring and surveillance programmes; and risk assessment and epidemiology studies.

The AVA works hand in hand with the Food laboratory, which has been recognised by the WHO as collaborating Centre for Food Contamination Monitoring. The Food laboratory carries out analytical services including testing for additives, contaminants and food composition in both public and private sectors; it serves as a reference laboratory for the enforcing of Food act and Regulations; certification for import and export quality; it also conducts investigations, surveys and research activities pertaining to food quality and safety.

In addition, the AVA works with the Veterinary Public Health Centre (VPHC), which provides important support of the food safety monitoring and surveillence programmes. It updates it food inspection continuously and ensures that food test capablities.

The Food Safety Partnership Scheme was also enforced to award the food manufacturers and importers, supermarket operators and food retailers withgood food safety assurance and good safety consumer education efforts. Examples of companies under this scheme are Chop Hup Chong Food Industries Pte Ltd, Cold Storage Singapore (1983) Pte Ltd, NTUC FairPrice Co-operative Ltd and Thong Siek Food Industry Pte Ltd.

Some of the food safety tips that can be practiced are:
-Plan ahead, make sure location meets your needs.
-Store and prepare food safely.
-Cook food to internal safe temperature.
-Transport food safely.
-When reheating, bring food to a boil.
-Keep food out of danger zone. (40-140degrees F)
-When in doubt, throw it away.

Four important points to note to fight bacteria:
Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often
Separate: Do not cross contaminate
Cook: Cook to proper temperatures
Chill: Refrigerate promptly

Therefore, in summary, it is not only the task of the government bodies to ensure food safety, but also the consumers’ role and the food industry’s role. By ensuring food safety, we will be able to prevent foodborne illnesses that may cause harm to individuals. We must be vigilant and protect ourselves during the times of diseases such as the H5N1 virus, though it is not spreadable from humans to humans now. In all, We must ensure food safety.