World Health Organisation (WHO) has revealed that developing countries spend about $110 billion yearly on medical expenses due to unsafe food. This came as the director-general of the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Prof Mojisola Adeyeye, called on the stakeholders in the food supply chain to take deliberate actions to institute a food safety culture in their operations to mitigate the food hazards and risks that could compromise food safety. Adeyeye issued the warning at the 2024 World Food Safety Day, which had the theme “Food Safety: Prepare for the Unexpected.
” She charged the stakeholders with taking deliberate actions to institute a food safety culture in their operations to mitigate the food hazards and risks that could compromise food safety. World Food Safety Day was established in 2018 by the United Nations General Assembly after it was suggested by the Codex Alimentarius Commission as a way of raising food safety awareness and promoting collaboration across sectors. According to WHO estimates, globally, one in 10 people become sick, and 420,000 die each year after consuming contaminated food, which is attributed to the loss of 33 million years of healthy life with children under five years and other vulnerable groups disproportionately affected in the poorer areas of the world.
In developing countries, about $110 billion is lost yearly on medical expenses due to unsafe food. Adeyeye remarked that food safety is not only im.
