Food safety – critical link for control

THE EDITOR, Madam:

I am writing with great concern regarding Jamaica’s readiness to mitigate the risk of climate-change on our traditional food supply chain.

Hurricane Beryl has highlighted some of the dangers.

The damage from hurricane winds was felt mainly in the ‘breadbasket’ parish of St Elizabeth, Clarendon and Manchester.

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

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

Consumers need to know that their food is safe, and it is the government’s responsibility 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. In Jamaica, 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 of traditional crops as a priority. It also suggested the use of new technology to mitigate risks from food shortage, nutritional issues and the importance of new technology to reduce risks of food fraud.

A revised food safety law would help to close the gaps in consumer risks to unsafe food. This will reduce health risks . It can result in market sustainability to export foodstuffs.

The law will also improve our border control and provide the agencies with a more concrete regulatory tool for ensuring a more proactive farm to fork science-based approach which will encourage all food businesses to contribute to a safe supply chain.

Food safety needs a three-pronged approach - government, consumer and businesses, without which we are all at risk from increasing chronic diseases and decreased choice in foods.

MARVA HEWITT