FOOD SAFETY ON A GLOBAL SCALE: WHAT ARE THE EMERGING RISKS?

Due to the increasing globalization of the food supply, food safety problems can spread rapidly beyond single locations to create problems. Inadequate food safety systems and the resulting food safety crisis have great social costs: (illnesses, loss of productivity and, in the more serious cases, death). Furthermore, it is necessary to consider all the costs deriving from the reduced market access and the loss of income, due to contaminated food that cannot be sold and is wasted. The costs of unsafe food are greater for developing and emerging countries, in which food safety is critical to food security, poverty alleviation and economic growth. Re-thinking food safety in a global scale implies analyzing risks for food safety deriving from globalization, taking into consideration all the aspects of food safety issue: the consumer health protection, as well as the economic, entrepreneurial, social, trade and policy aspects. Education and innovation has also an important role in delivering effective solution to prevent food safety problems.

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