Havana, Mar 21.- Food harmlessness is the subject chosen by the World Health Organization to celebrate the World Health Day on April 7, a day on alert for all the actors in the food chain about this problem.
Not by chance the motto for this occasion is Healthy Food: from the field to the table, because healthy food is a shared responsibility, from countryside workers and manufacturers to sellers and consumers, experts asserted.
In this reference, Doctor Jose Luis Di Fabio, representative to Cuba of the World-Pan-American Health Organization (PAHO-WHO), said this subject is a priority to the health systems, because it is directly associated to the diseases transmitted by food.
In a media conference, the expert highlighted that food problems are an important cause of morbility and mortality and cause about two million deaths a year, mostly children.
Food can carry bacteria, viruses, parasites or harmful chemical substances, responsible for more than 200 diseases, from diarrhea to cancer, Di Fabio explained.
We need to take into consideration the chemical and bioxic contaminating substances that are being used more often every time in crops and agriculture, as well as pesticides to control vectors with the subsequent risks that they entail for agriculture, he asserted.
However, these problems are preventable, if there is proper handling. It would be enough to respect the five keys that the WHO recommends: keeping cleanliness, separating raw food from cooked food, cook them completely, preserve them at proper temperatures and using harmless water and raw materials.(Prensa Latina)
Radio Cadena Agramonte, March 21, 2015
