【明報專訊】According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, food safety means preventing food from causing serious harm to human health by, for example, keeping bacteria and pesticide at a safe and reasonable level. The World Health Organisation says that food producers, governments and consumers all have a responsibility to keep food safe, since food can be contaminated during its production, transportation and sale.

"Best before" dates

There are two types of date labels on food items. The first is the "use by" date label. Consuming food that is past the "use by" date can affect health. The second is the "best before" date label. Food that is past the "best before" date might not taste as good, but it is edible. GreenPrice Supermarket, a social enterprise, specializes in the sale of the latter type of food to reduce food waste.

Global warming makes bacteria more dangerous

In June 2019, the European Academies Science Advisory Council (EASAC) published a report, saying that global warming was threatening human health. The report stated that a warmer environment made it easier for salmonella to breed and increased the risk of food poisoning. E. coli (大腸桿菌) and staphylococcus aureus(金黃葡萄球菌) were also showing stronger resistance to antibiotics. In December 2018 McDonalds announced its plan to stipulate the limit of antibiotics in its beef to help address the issue of bacteria becoming antibiotic-resistant due to the overuse of the drugs.

African swine fever

In August 2018, the first case of African swine fever(ASF) in China broke out. The virus later spread across Asia. In May 2019, the epidemic struck Hong Kong for the first time, and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department culled more than 10,000 pigs at the Sheung Shui Slaughterhouse. Dr. Cheng Chi Man said that, theoretically, the consumption of pork contaminated with the ASF virus does not affect humans.

Bad meat from Brazil

In March 2017, Brazil, the biggest exporter of red meat in the world, shock the world with the "bad" meat scandal. Over thirty meat companies were alleged to have bribed inspectors from health departments and politicians to gain approval for the sale of meat that was rotten, contaminated with salmonella or even carcinogenic. In response the Hong Kong government announced the suspension of the import of Brazilian meat, followed by a recall three days later.

Translated by Terence Yip

[通通識 第595期]