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When you eat a juicy hamburger, a nice piece of fish or even tinned food, you don't want to be worried about getting sick.
And you know what? Your country doesn't want you to get sick either. Whether in the developed or developing world, countries try the best they can to protect consumers from unsafe food. Food standards regulate the way food is produced, stored, processed, packaged, marketed and delivered to you.
All of these steps make up what FAO calls the food supply and distribution chain. Many developing countries do not have adequate technical resources or regulatory systems in place for ensuring the safety and quality of food as it makes its way along this chain. For many people, especially poor people living in big cities, this means that food-borne illnesses and hunger can be a real threat.
All over the world, cities are getting bigger and bigger. A major part of the battle to end hunger will involve establishing secure and safe connections between farmers in the country and consumers in the city. FAO is working with developing countries to make sure their food producers and traders can deliver clean, properly packaged and safely transported produce to urban consumers.
Find out more about what FAO is doing to help countries provide safe food for the cities.
You probably know that a lot of the food you eat doesn’t come from your country. Globalization is affecting our lives in many ways. And like many other things, food has gone global. Interested in finding out more? Why not visit our page on globalization.
International trade in raw and processed food is a $US 400 billion a year business. But this huge volume of trade is only possible if there are internationally recognized standards for food safety.
Who sets these standards? Well, that’s where FAO steps in.
Don’t be frightened by the name. The Codex Alimentarius Commission is friendly. It’s working to make sure the food you eat is safe.
The work of the Codex Alimentarius Commission is coordinated by FAO and the World Health Organization. It is made up of 171 member countries, plus the European Community. Member governments put in time, energy and resources to negotiate mutually agreeable worldwide standards for food safety and quality.
The Commission’s neutrality is essential because its work touches on many controversial issues. For example, the Commission sets standards and guidelines relating to all aspects of foods produced through biotechnology. Interested in finding out more? Check out our page on biotechnology.
The Codex Alimentarius Commission also sets standards for how foods can be labeled. For example, it determines when a fish can be labeled a sardine, or how much cocoa butter must be present in chocolate for it to be "real" chocolate. These decisions may sound trivial, but for producers and traders they can have a real impact on their sales.
The Commission deals with all kinds of food and a huge range of issues affecting the food we eat. Just to give you an idea, here’s a partial list:
Unfortunately, many developing countries are not able to produce food products that meet Codex’s standards for safety and quality. And this has a huge impact on hunger and rural development.
When developing countries are shut out of the global market place, their food producers have fewer opportunities to earn money to feed their families. It also means their governments have less money to invest in development.
FAO and the World Health Organization are helping potential food exporters in developing countries meet international food safety standards. They also work together to help importers improve their ability to verify the safety of foreign foods.
