Food Safety: Ensuring Healthy Food for Australians - Essay Sample

Introduction

The food act of 1984 regulates the standard of food produced by the food business to ensure Australian consume healthy, suitable, and properly labeled foodstuffs (food safety). Consumption of unhealthy food containing chemicals, bacteria viruses, among others, can cause over two hundred diseases. Foodborne diseases are naturally toxic and infectious and can result in acute diarrhea or debilitating infections (Food safety, 2019). Those that contain chemicals can lead to severe illnesses like cancer. Insensitive business people put the lives of people at risk for their benefits (Food safety, 2019). They ignore some of the significant rules and regulations set to guard food production. Every government has its food standard code that all the food businesses should adhere to, but still cases of food poisoning are still alarming.

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A healthy nation is productive, and the government has enacted laws that ensure its people consume excellent and healthy food (Consumer, 2020).) These rules and regulations are inaugurated for all the greedy persons who are after making money at the expense of other peoples' health are punished accordingly. The codes are designed to ensure the consumers get adequate information regarding the foodstuff in the market hence make informed decisions before consuming them (Consumer, 2020). The producers should allow the buyers to make sober decisions of what they should take following the information given on the product.

Fire Safety Within the Premises

Just like any other company, a food manufacturing firm should ensure the safety of the workers. There are standards they need to meet before being cleared by the government body hence commence the operations. The firms are supposed to comply with the rules and regulations set by the government. The safety of both their workers and the buyers should be their priority. They need a systematic approach that can eliminate or reduce risks at the workplace. There are several safety measures that these businesses should put in place. The business premises should have exit doors that people can use in case of emergency. On many occasions, whenever a fire breaks in the company, most people tend to lose their lives due to a lack of exit doors that they can escape through. The companies should also ensure the availability of fire extinguishers and fire hose reels that can be used during fire break out hence saving the lives as well as the entire property. All businesses especially eateries and hotels that tend to have large populations need to adhere to these rules

Producing Safe and Healthy Peanuts

Peanut is a product that has an allergic effect on many people. Those processed from the factories also contain preservatives that can react with people differently. Other than the chemicals, as well as its natural side effects, its safety hygienically is also essential. The entire production environment should be clean, and all the production process should be handled with care to avoid contamination of the products. Food poisoning usually results from poor hygiene, and it has cost many their lives.

When it comes to food poisoning due to the producers' negligence, it doesn't matter the age of the victim since, without labeling, no one can tell whether the product is harmful to his/her health (Consumer, 2020). Making money should not be your first priory but instead, ensure that the food produced is up to the required standard. Proper hygiene ensures that consumers get to buy safe food (food hygiene). An estimate by World Health Organization (WHO) states that the global burden of foodborne diseases is considerable, and people of all ages are affected, especially those from low-income regions and children and the age of 5years. Food safety remains a significant challenge globally, and many have and continue to lose their lives daily due to it.

Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) is a body that develops food standards for all the food available in New Zealand and Australia (Food safety culture). Every business dealing with food is expected to meet its set standard. The standard developed by FSANZ is usually described in the code. Following the deaths that are experienced due to poor food safety, the government wants every food business to ensure its products are up to the required standard (Food safety culture). In Australia, an estimated number of 4.1 million cases of food poisoning are reported annually. Cases like failure to properly label the foodstuffs have caused many of their lives while others contract dangerous diseases.

Most companies use additives in their products for various reasons. The additives can be used to improve the appearance or the taste of a product hence attract more customers. Others use additives as preservatives as a way of lengthening their storage life span, while others use it as food stability (Additives, 2019). Cases of allergens have gone higher since people tend to react differently to different additives. Some end up developing severe health conditions while others even die due to the allergic reaction. The food standard is set to ensure that the food companies label their products. They should indicate the ingredients used in the product as a way of protecting people allergic to the additives. They are expected to highlight specific flavoring substances used in the foodstuff.

Releasing contaminated food into the market is very dangerous. All food-producing firms should ensure that their products undergo all the quality tests before they are set for sale (Consumer, 2020). Recalling foodstuff from the market due to their failure to meet the required standard as the set laws also protect the consumer's hence healthy population. The act is good but not safe since they're those who will consume the products, especially when they are already in the market. On February 21st, 2020, CTC Australia conducted a recall of Lolly Co Jersey Caramels that were already being sold in different shops within the country (Foodrecalls, 2020). These products were found to contain plastics hence unfit for human health, yet they were released into the market. It is clear that the manufacturers, as well as law implementers, are not doing their duty and therefore risking the lives of the public. Public health officials are also not playing their role hence putting consumers' health at risk.

References

Additives.,2019.https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/additives/additiveoverview/Pages/default.aspx. March 11th, 2020.

Consumer., 2020. https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/consumer/Pages/default.aspx March 11th, 2020.

Food hygiene. https://www.who.int/foodsafety/areas_work/food-hygiene/en/

Food safety culture. https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/foodsafety/culture/Pages/default.aspx

Food safety. https://www2.health.vic.gov.au/public-health/food-safety

Food safety. , 2019. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/food-safety

Foodrecalls.,2020.https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/industry/foodrecalls/recalls/Pages/default.aspx.11 March 2020.