Multipronged approach for food safety and security

THE EDITOR, Madam:

Even though Jamaica did not get a direct hit from Beryl, the damage from hurricane winds was felt mainly in the breadbasket parish, St Elizabeth, and in Clarendon and Manchester, major agriculture producers. These losses suffered by farmers have had immediate effect on prices and have shown up in a scarcity of foodstuff in the marketplace.

Of note, too, in the immediate aftermath of the hurricane, there have been reports of unfit foodstuff, reduced safe practices of storage because of a prolonged absence of electricity, and there are still communities without suitable and sufficient potable water supply, necessary factors in support of food safety.

In addition, food safety could be guarded and there are huge benefits to be had from improved legislation that could bolster enforcement.

Jamaica needs a regime of uniform, proactive inspections – random and planned – and monitoring of our food chain from the farm to the fork.

Consumers need to know that their food is safe, and it is the government’s responsibility to provide comprehensive legislation, regulations, and policies to ensure control. In the absence of a review of our local food law and policies, the safe introduction of technology and new foods, including genetically modified foods and seeds, will likely go undetected, unleashing its negative effects on human and plant health.

One mitigating factor for food safety improvement in this climate change era is the need for comprehensive food laws, which cannot be achieved through the present public health legislation. The responsibility for the food safety programme is ad hoc, spread across several ministries. This system contributes to challenges in enforcement and results in overlapping of roles. ( Jamaica Food Safety Policy, January, 2013)

Jamaica Food and Nutrition Security Policy (March 2013) also highlighted the need for government to increase agriculture in traditional crops as a priority. It also suggested the use of new technology to mitigate risks from food shortage and nutritional issues, and the importance of new technology to reduce risks of food fraud.

A revised food safety law would help towards the sustainability of food security and closing the gaps in consumer risks to unsafe food. This will reduce health risks that could be brought on by consumption of unsafe imported foods. Coupled with education of the consumer, a revised food safety law can result in market sustainability for export foodstuff, strengthening of the domestic food market, improved health, and reducing our food import bill.

Food safety needs a three-pronged approach – the government, consumer and businesses – without which we are all at risk from increasing chronic diseases and decreased choice in foods that will improve our health and lifestyle and reduce the burden on an already stretched healthcare system.

MARVA HEWITT