Food Safety and Security are two faces of the coin - 0 views
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Roger Steven on 25 May 16Food Safety and Security are two faces of the coin : Food safety and security are two different, but closely related concepts. Although part of the same aspect, they vary in their application and meaning. Both are equally important in ensuring that populations of the world get food that is sufficient and nutritious. Food safety and security are complete without each other. Food safety complements food security, and vice versa. Food safety : Food safety is essentially about the safety of the ingredients that go into food. If food is being sourced from a farm, the food makers have to ensure that the farm has ensured safety standards in producing this food. Food safety is concerned about the amount of chemicals and fertilizers used in production of food. It is also concerned with how much residual pesticide, which could cause harm to humans when the food that is grown using it, is left in the final product, and so on. Food safety is related to and is dependent on factors such as demographics, inputs that go into the cultivation and production of food, availability of water for production of safe food, the use of energy sources in the safe production of food, climate change, etc. Now, food security : Food security, on the other hand, is about more about the food supply chain. When food arrives from the producer to the consumer, it goes through a complex chain that can many times span entire continents. Food may also be sourced and consumed locally. In either case, there is a need to ensure that the points that food travels in and reaches are secure. Ensuring quality throughout : The aim of food security is to ensure that food which travels through many chains and stages should be clean at all these stages. This means that security has to be ensured from rodents and other forms of disturbances at the agricultural fields in which food is produced, then at the granaries in which it is stored, at the routes that it travels, then at the location at which food is pr