Global And Environmental Health Issues For Food Safety

Food Safety

Discuss about the Global and Environmental Health Issues for Food Safety.

In food safety, Australia ranks fourth in the world. However, in Australia it is estimated that daily 11500 cases of food poisoning is recorded. Over past few decades, the salmonella rate increased to 80% and gastroenteritis surging increase to 75% at the same time. Moreover, due to food poisoning each year around 120 people dies in Australia. This report is design to understand the concept of DPSEEA framework and to know the role of various health agencies, critical infrastructure and legislative and regulatory measures at the federal, state, and local government.

The term food safety refers to preparing, handling, and storing food in a best way to reduce the risk of individual become sick from food borne illnesses. The main aim of principle of food safety is to prevent food from becoming polluted and causing food poisoning and this can be achieve through a variety of different avenues which are, sanitising all surfaces and clean utensils and equipment, maintain high level of hygiene, heating, chilling, storing food correctly, usage of effective pest control. In food safety, it is important to realizing value of food intolerance, food poisoning, and food allergies (Santacruz, 2016).

Population growth: Human population is growing consistently over past three decades. The occurrence of food insecurity among the Australian population is estimated to rise by 5%. Aboriginal, linguistically and culturally diverse and socially inaccessible people may also experience food insecurity at a high rate. 

Unequal distribution of income: some groups in Australia are more liable for food insecurity, including unemployed people parent households, low-income earners, rental households and young people.

Scarcity of Resources: The people of Australia experience food insecurity because of lack of resources, lack of nutritious food at affordable prices, lack of access to food due to geographical isolation and lack of motivation or knowledge about a nutritious diet (Iehias, 2018).

GHG effect: Food activities like transporting, producing food it to desired place and storing wasted food in landfills creates the greenhouse gases emission that contributes to environment. Out of these sources, the production of livestock production is more. It was estimated that 14.5% of global GHG emission is done from human activities. Meat from meditative animals such as cattle is mainly emission intensive.

CFCs: CFCs is not a natural gas it is been manufactured by the human being to reduce down the cost of refrigerators. All refrigerators work on liquid evaporating by observing heat from its surrounding, then the vapours condense, turn into liquid and then re evaporate. This process keep the refrigerator cool form inside and warm outside. In food preservation the processed food items requires a refrigerators to save then food from getting ruined (WHO, 2015).

DPSEEA Framework

Long-term Climate change: Various pressures that are been may affect the state or quality of food discuss above. The production of food is mainly affect due the frequent occurrence of natural disasters like floods and soil erosion, these type of natural disasters are not good for the fertile soil, with floods and soil erosion the fertility of soil also get effected and the production of crop get effected. The quality of air and water is also considered the factors, which may affect the quality of food items.  

Soil contamination: chemically processed food affects the quality soil and health of people. Human beings are often exposed to mixture of chemical that are not well characterized. The effect of one or more chemical and other harmful agents are not well understood. Complex environmental pathways usually mediate exposure to chemicals, and more than one route may contribute to uptake.

Soil erosion: floods are the main reason of behind the soil erosion. Due to the bad effects of GHG and CFCs the climate conditions of Australia are changing, the chances of natural disasters are increased and due to that the fertility of soil get effected.  

The changes in environmental conditions, the availability of food and its quality gets effected.  

Once the human get exposed with the adverse effects of the food items which are not safe to eat or which are containing chemicals not good for human health or the soil due to natural and human made disasters get unfertile, the health of human being will get effected after intake of the food. The chance of chronic disease, cancer, food poisoning and many more will increase. Intake of unhealthy food is the main reason behind the human health issues.

Social influence: The food production sector involves farmers, fishers, hired workers, ranchers and their family members and residents of the particular community. When the water and soil gets pullulated the crop also gets affected by those pollutants. The living of their families totally depends on the quality of water, and soil. If the soil and water get populated the quality of grains and fruits also get affected and those effected products were come to market for sell and people purchase those food items and in place of getting good health they got sick. 

Political Influence: The government has designed many standards in relation to the food items but due the continuous changes taking place in environment and the natural resources are getting effected due to those changes the food items are not matching those standards (FSANZ, 2018). To buy the nutritious food item the people requires money but due to the improper distribution of the income the population of Australia is not able to buy nutritious food and due to that, their health is getting worst and the statists of government are decreasing. 

Driving forces

Economic influences: The country is also facing the economic crisis as the value of the food is decreasing and the usage of chemical in food items has been increased the importer are not taking much interest in importing agriculture and proceeded food items from Australia (FSANZ, 2018). On other hand for the betterment of population of the country, the government has to import goods from other countries, which will decrease the revenue and foreign exchange value. 

The policies which is been designed to control the effect of DPSEEA frameworks in Australia is done by The Food Standards Australia New Zealand which include,    

• to improve the nutritional standards and knowledge within the community
• support local production of food and improved transport to food outlets
• Regulations should address the provision for special needs diets
• Policy should reflect higher cost of food in remote areas (Hambling, Weinstein & Slaney, 2011).
• The management should encourage food manufacturers and wholesalers to dispose of surplus food through food banks

Hazard Management: to manage the Hazard in Australia WHS wil following steps are required:

Identify hazards- first step is to identify the causes, which can harm the environment.

Assessing risk: in this step it need to the WHS need to understand the nature of harm and it cause.

Controlling risk: After assessing risk, the next step involves the effective control measures that are reasonable.

Reviewing control measures: After third step, the WHS will ensure control measures are working as planned.

Global and national monitoring: the Australian government will ensure that while making the policy and before taking any steps toward control of effect of environment over food, they should refer and monitor the policy and steps which other countries has been taken to control the conditions. Nationwide also they need to monitor is any new or innovative ways is been used by local bodies to control the effect.

 (Source: WHO, 1999)

The Austrian Government has shown its interest in the emerging field of environmental health issues. In October 2007-2012, the Australian Health Protection Committee approved National Environmental Health strategy (FSANZ, 2016). The priorities and outlines directions of strategy are for management environmental health in Australia. Explicit health risks is been recognised which includes climate changes, emergencies and disasters, growing burden on drinking water supplies, the concentration of urban development and lack of effective environmental health infrastructure in Aboriginal.    

 FSANZ is a government’s Bi national organization that administers and develops the Standards Code of Food in New Zealand and Australia. In Australia, FSANZ also prepare processing and production sets and standards extreme remainder limits for veterinary and agricultural chemicals (AIFS, 2011). The Board of FSANZ decides whether or not approves variations to the Standards Code of Food. These choices are advised to New Zealand and Australian ministers accountable for food guideline.   

• The health department or food regulatory agencies of local and state government are impose the Standards Code to Food
• The Veterinary Medicines Authority and Australian Pesticides, which is accountable for admiring veterinary and agricultural chemicals for use
• Department of Water and Agriculture Resources imposes Standards Code on imported foods
• The Beneficial Goods Administration, which imposes the food Standards code on imported foods (AIHW, 2011). 

The FSANZ manages and develops the Food standards code, which documented lawful requirements for storage, labelling, seasonings, GM foods, additives and nutrition.

• Classification of food products
• Ambiguous conducts by food business
• State Government food businesses and its food safety issues
• Foreign matter in food

• Food safety in hospitals, food distribution, food transport, and food processing
• Food safety in community organisation and events
• Food safety in takeaway food shops, cafes and Restaurants
• Vegetable and fruits and shops processing
• Aged care facilities, child care centres, and private hospitals
• Wholesale and retail distribution centres.

Conclusion

To conclude, this report contains the details of effects of environment changes on food security and its harsh impact on human health in Australia. There are various initiatives taken by the federal, state and local government of Australia and by various agencies to control the effect of food insecurity. 

References

AIFS. (2011). Food insecurity in Australia: What is it, who experiences it and how can child and family services support families experiencing it? Retrieved from:  https://aifs.gov.au/cfca/publications/food-insecurity-australia-what-it-who-experiences-it-and-how-can-child

AIHW. (2011). Health and the environment. Retrieved From: https://www.healthyplaces.org.au/userfiles/file/Miscellaneous/AIHW%20Health%20and%20the%20Environment%20Report%20Mar%202011.pdf

FSANZ. (2018). Food safety standards (Australia only). Retrieved from:https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/industry/safetystandards/pages/default.aspx

FSANZ. (2018). Safe Food Australia- A guide to the Food Safety Standards. Retrieved from: https://www.foodstandards.gov.au/publications/Pages/safefoodaustralia3rd16.aspx

FSANZ.(2016). Food Standards Australia New Zealand. Retrieved from: https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/HealthyLiving/food-standards-australia-new-zealand-fsanz

Gentry-Shields, J., & Bartram, J. (2014). Human health and the water environment: Using the DPSEEA framework to identify the driving forces of disease. Journal of Science of the Total Environment, 468, 306-314.

Hambling, T., Weinstein, P., & Slaney, D. (2011).A review of frameworks for developing environmental health indicators for climate change and health. International journal of environmental research and public health, 8(7), 2854-2875.

Iehias.(2018). The DPSEEA framework. Retrieved from: https://www.integrated-assessment.eu/eu/guidebook/dpseea_framework.html

Santacruz, S. (2016). what is food safety? Retrieved from: https://www.foodsafety.com.au/resources/articles/what-is-food-safety

WHO, (1999). DPSEEA Framework. Retrieved From: https://www.who.int/wssd/resources/indicators/en/ –

WHO. (2015). Food Safety: What you Should know Retrieved from: https://www.searo.who.int/entity/world_health_day/2015/whd-what-you-should-know/en/

Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:

Turnitin Report

Formatting

Title Page

Citation

Outline

Place an Order