Introduction

Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that
prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially
severe health hazards. Food can transmit disease from person to person as well as serve as a growth medium
for bacteria that can cause food poisoning. Debates on genetic food safety include such issues as impact
of genetically modified food on health of further generations and genetic pollution of environment, which can
destroy natural biological diversity. In developed countries there are intricate standards for food preparation,
whereas in lesser developed countries the main issue is simply the availability of adequate safe water, which is
usually a critical item.

A 2003 World Health Organization (WHO) report concluded that about 40% of reported food
poisoning outbreaks in the WHO European Region occur in private homes.[4] In theory food poisoning is 100%
preventable.
Key Principles

The five key principles of food hygiene, according to WHO are:

1. Prevent contaminating food with pathogens spreading from people, pets, and pests.

2. Separate raw and cooked foods to prevent contaminating the cooked foods.
3. Cook foods for the appropriate length of time and at the appropriate temperature to kill pathogens.
4. Store food at the proper temperature.
5. Use safe water and raw materials.

History of Food Safety

Before manufacturing traditional, farming practices and preserving techniques were used to ensure safe
food. During industrial revolution, food began to be processed and packaged. Lacking regulation, manufacturers
were free to add whatever they liked to their products. Sweeping from the floor were included in pepper, lead
salts were added to candy and cheese, textile inks were used as coloring agents, bricks dust was added to cocoa,
and copper salts were added to peas and pickles.

In the 1880s, women started organizing groups to protest the conditions at slaughterhouses in New
York City and adulterated foods in other parts of the country.

In 1883, Harvey W. Wiley, chief chemist of the U.S Agricultural Department’s Bureau of Chemistry,
began experimenting with food and drug adulteration.

Meanwhile, Upton Sinclair spent several weeks in a meat packing plant investigating labor conditions
and turned his discoveries into a book, The Jungle, published in 1906. Although the focus of that book was the
conditions immigrants experienced in the early twentieth century, there were graphic descriptions of the filth
and poor hygiene in packing plants. It caught the public attention.

People began complaining to Congress and to President Theodore Roosevelt. Pressure was also
mounting from foreign governments that wanted some assures that food imported from United States was pure
and wholesome.
 Two acts were passed in 1906, the Pure Food and Drug Act and the Beef Inspection Act, to improve
food safety conditions.

In 1927, U.S Food, Drug and Insecticide Administration (shortened to Food and Drug Administration)
or FDA was created to enforce the Pure Food and Drug act.

The Pure food Act was later superseded in 1938 by Pure Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act. This act
prohibited any food or drug that is dangerous to health to be sold in interstate commerce.

In 1958, concern over cancer led to the adoption of the Delaney Amendments, which expanded the
FDA’s regulatory powers to set limits on pesticides and additives. Manufacturers had to prove that additives and
pesticides were safe before they could be used.

The Fair Packaging and Labeling Act of 1966 standardized the labels of products and required that
labels provide honest information.

The next major act was the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996. It set new regulations requiring
implementation of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control points (HACCPs) for most food processor.

The Food quality Protection Act also changed the way acceptable pesticide levels are calculated. Now
total exposure for all sources must be calculated.
Regulatory Agencies

The US food system is regulated by numerous federal, state and local officials. Although the US food
safety system is one of the best in the world, it is lacking in "organization, regulatory tools, and resources to
address food borne illness." The parliament of the European Union (EU) makes legislation in the form of
directives and regulations, many of which are mandatory for member states and which therefore must be
incorporated into individual countries' national legislation. As a very large organisation that exists to remove
barriers to trade between member states, and into which individual member states have only a proportional
influence, the outcome is often seen as an excessively bureaucratic 'one size fits all' approach. However, in
relation to food safety the tendency to err on the side of maximum protection for the consumer may be seen as a
positive benefit. The EU parliament is informed on food safety matters by the European Food Safety Authority.

Individual member states may also have other legislation and controls in respect of food safety,
provided that they do not prevent trade with other states, and can differ considerably in their internal structures
and approaches to the regulatory control of food safety.
Food Safety Agencies in UK

The Food Standards Agency is a non-ministerial government department of the Government of the

United Kingdom. It is responsible for protecting public health in relation to food throughout the United
Kingdom and is led by an appointed board that is intended to act in the public interest. Its headquarters are
in London, opposite Holborn tube station, with national offices in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
The Meat Hygiene Service and, more recently, the Wine Standards Board are branches of the Food Standards
Agency.

It was created in 2000 based on a report by Professor James, issued after a number of high-profile
outbreaks and deaths from foodborne illness. It was felt that it was inappropriate to have one government
department, the Ministry for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, responsible for both the health of the farming and
food processing industries and also for food safety.

Uniquely for a UK Government department, the Food Standards Act gave the Agency the statutory
right to publish the advice it gives to Ministers - and as a signal of its independence it declared that it would
invariably do so. From its inception the Agency declared that it would take no decisions about food
policy except in open Board meetings accessible to the public. Since 2003 these meetings have been webcast
live, enabling consumers to see the decision-making process in action. Each Board meeting concludes with a
Q&A session in which web viewers can question the Board or its Executive directly.

According to uncited sources in The Guardian/Observer, on 12 July 2010 Andrew Lansley the
Conservative / Liberal Democratic Coalition health secretary will announce the abolition of the Food Standards
Agency. The newspaper report claims the FSA's public health activities will be undertaken by the Department of
Health and its regulatory functions including food safety and hygiene will be undertaken by DEFRA, this
remains unconfirmed.
Sir John Krebs was the first Chairman of the Food Standards Agency. He resigned in 2005 to become
Principal of Jesus College, Oxford. Dame Deirdre Hutton was Chair between 2005 and July 2009.Jeff Rooker is
the current Chair of the Food Standards Agency Board. Dr Ian Reynolds is the current Deputy Chair.
Government Responsibility

At the top of the ladder, the most critical responsibility of the State or Federal ministries (Food, Health etc.) is to
structure a centralized vision with Risk Assessment, Risk Management and Risk Communication as its broad
guiding principles. Since Risk Assessment and Risk Management deal with scientific and socio-economic
arenas respectively, it is a prime task of the state government to develop a scientific and legal amalgamation and
supervise its implementation right till the grass roots. Other important responsibilities of the state government
include:

 Assessment of raw materials and finished products and identification of critical control points
throughout the system.
 Allocation of appropriate funds for the provincial governments to uplift their food safety programs.
 Introduction of stringent monitoring systems of sampling and thorough inspections before approving
food imports.
 Evaluation of the laws and standards adopted from international bodies and their localization in
accordance with our needs and resources.
 Replacement of 'Hands-on' approach with new techniques and establishment of up-to-date laboratories
and research centers with latest equipments and other analytical facilities.
 Development of the transport system all through Pakistan to minimize microbiological losses.
 Enforcement of basic hygiene practices and safety and quality management systems such as ISO: 9001-
2000, HACCP and ISO: 22000 at every level.

Coming next in line, the Provincial governments have the responsibility of taking the message from the central
authorities and implement it in their respective provinces. Whatever the plan of action they adopt, it should not
in any way deviate from the regulations set by the state. Working on a unified vision, each province should
initiate its own operations in accordance with its priorities and resources. Just like the inauguration of a Parha
Likha Punjab Campaign (Literate Punjab), every province should invest in such programs for awareness about
food safety and should incorporate these operations to all districts, cities and villages in its jurisdiction. Other
responsibilities include:

-Assessment of raw materials and finished products and identification of critical control process points at
provincial level. 
-Continuous surveillance of the entire supply chain including farmers, processors, suppliers, wholesalers,
retailers etc. with special attention to the execution of the regulations and predefined criteria. 
-Introduction of technical programs for training of small farmers and other producers at the grass root level
concerning basic food safety and hygiene principles. 
-Funding for new graduates who pursue governmental public health careers and enhance state efforts on
recruitment and retention of public health professionals. 
-Establishment of 'Emergency Recall System' at the time of a catastrophic outbreak. 
-Re-invention of procedures and development of capacities to support health agencies during recalls and
outbreaks. 
-Impeachment of the people/organizations breaching the regulations with autonomy granted to agencies to
immediately ban such business, independent of the court decisions.

Despite being at the lowest end of the command order, the Municipal/City/District government has one of the
most critical roles to play in implementing and enforcing food safety standards. Being the most familiar with the
ground realities, municipal government has a superior chance of understanding situations and then act
appropriately. Some of its key responsibilities include:

 Continuous food safety surveillance of the different food chains including industries, hotels,
restaurants, cafes with appropriate penalties and prohibitions for offenders.
 Enhanced facilities for action based approach on consumer complaints.
 Recruitment of skilled and sincere personnel for the inspection and scrutiny of general practices.
 Food Safety Laws

Main food safety and consumer protection offences created by the Food Safety Act 1990

Section 7: rendering food injurious to health by:

 adding an article or substance to the food
 using an article or substance as an ingredient in the preparation of the food
 abstracting any constituent from the food
 subjecting the food to any process or treatment
with the intention that it shall be sold for human consumption.
Section 14: selling to the purchaser’s prejudice any food which is not of the nature or substance or quality
demanded by the purchaser.
Section 15: falsely describing or presenting food.
Under section 20, if the commission of an offence is due to the act or default of another person, the other person
is guilty of the offence.
Under section 21 in proceedings for an offence under the provisions of Part 2 of the Act (which includes the
offences listed above), it is a defence for a food business operator to prove that he took all reasonable
precautions and exercised due diligence to avoid the commission of the offence.

Main provisions of the General Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002 that apply to food business operators
Imports
Article 11 states that food imported into the European Union (EU) for placing on the market shall comply with
the requirements of food law recognised by the EU, or if there is a specific agreement between the EU and the
exporting country, those requirements.

Exports
Article 12 states that food exported (or re-exported) from the EU shall comply with the requirements of food
law, unless the authorities of the importing country have requested otherwise, or it complies with the laws,
regulations and other legal and administrative procedures of the importing country.
In the case of exporting or re-exporting food, provided the food is not injurious to health or unsafe, the
competent authorities of the destination country must have expressly agreed for the food to be exported or re-
exported, after having been fully informed as to why the food could not be placed on the market in the
Community.
Where there is a bilateral agreement between the EU or one of its Member States and a third country, food
exported from the EU needs to comply with its provisions.

Safety
Article 14 states that food shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe. Food is deemed to be unsafe if it is
considered to be:
 injurious to health
 unfit for human consumption
The article also indicates what factors need to be taken into account when determining whether food is injurious
to health or unfit.
 Presentation
Article 16 states that labelling, advertising and presentation, including the setting in which the food is displayed,
of food shall not mislead consumers.

Traceability
Article 18 requires food business operators to keep records of food, food substances and food-producing animals
supplied to their business, and also other businesses to which their products have been supplied. In each case,
the information shall be made available to competent authorities on demand.

Withdrawal, recall and notification

Article 19 requires food business operators to withdraw food which is not in compliance with food safety
requirements, if it has left their control and to recall the food if has reached the consumer.
Withdrawal is when a food is removed from the market up to and including when it is sold to the consumer,
recall is when customers are asked to return or destroy the product.
Food businesses must also notify the competent authorities (their local authority and the Food Standards
Agency). Retailers and distributors must help with the withdrawal of unsafe food and pass on information
necessary to trace it.
Where food business operators have placed a food on the market that is injurious to health, they must
immediately notify the competent authorities. There are also similar provisions for animal feed.

Offences and penalties laid down by the General Food Regulations 2004
Regulation 4 creates criminal offences for breaches of Articles 12, 14(1), 16, 18(2) or (3) and 19 of the General
Food Law Regulation (EC) 178/2002.
Regulation 5 lays down the penalties for the breaches of the articles listed above:
 on conviction in a Crown Court, a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both
 on conviction in a Magistrates’ Court, a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months or
both
The defences under sections 20 and 21 of the Food Safety Act also apply to these regulations.

Food hygiene legislation

Food hygiene legislation is closely related to the legislation on the general requirements and principles of food
law.
The legislation lays down the food hygiene rules for all food businesses, applying effective and proportionate
controls throughout the food chain, from primary production to sale or supply to the food consumer.
Recent Law Enforcement

The number, or at least the profile, of food recalls has increased over the last decade. Outbreaks such as
"mad-cow disease" in the UK, US or Japan, or the more common salmonella and E-coli contamination have
been behind some of the largest recalls or recent years.

A food recall for salmonella poisoning can be devastating for a company – a number of business have
claimed bankruptcy as a result of a widespread recall. This has forced a number of food processors to increase
the levels of quality control and hygiene at plants around the world.

National food standards agencies have also been given further-reaching powers to reduce the risk of a
food poisoning outbreak.

So have we seen a decrease in the number of food recalls? Strangely, the answer is no, but detection
techniques have improved. Food has also become more global, with imports rising from countries where quality
control standards are less strict and certain food additives restricted in the Western world are still widely used.

Below, we list some of the biggest food recalls of the past decade that highlight a number of these
growing concerns, despite food practices getting much better.
References:

 http://ezinearticles.com/?Enforcing-Food-Safety---The-Governments-Responsibility&id=2231016

 http://www.world-foodhistory.com/2009/02/history-of-food-safety.html

 http://factsonfile.infobasepublishing.com/BookSearch.asp?

pageID=2&bookType2=H&ISBN=0816069689&searchText=satin&parent=&productType=&sortType

=&Filter=Desc

 http://www.euro.who.int/eprise/main/who/mediacentre/PR/2003/20031212_2

 Becker, Geoffrey, The Federal Food Safety System: A primer, Congressional Research Service,

4/10/10

 http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/maffdh/fsa/preface.htm

 http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2010/jul/11/food-standards-agency-abolished-health-secretary

 http://www.food.gov.uk/aboutus/ourboard/boardmem/jeffrooker/