Standing still is not an option. As food safety moves up the global agenda, demands are being made by consumers, retailers, regulators and stakeholders to raise the level of food protection around the world. Food safety has risen to prominence for several reasons including growing population, scarcity of natural resources, globalisation, sustainability and advances in modern technology.
According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) 2019 Food Safety report, unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances, causes more than 200 diseases – ranging from diarrhoea to cancers. An estimated 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people in the world – fall ill after eating contaminated food and 420,000 die every year.
Unsafe food practices can have devastating consequences. A food safety incident in one part of the world has the potential to go global within hours. The human and business costs of failure can be catastrophic: harm to consumers, loss of trust, damage to the brand, costs in terms of product recalls and redesign.
Read more below and download our white paper A spotlight on food safety and industry 4.0 (pdf)