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UN works to eliminate foodborne diseases affecting a third of global population

UN works to eliminate foodborne diseases affecting a third of global population

One of the 5 keys to safer food
The United Nations health monitoring agency today launched a campaign to eliminate the incidence of diseases carried by food, aiming to spare the world’s 2 million affected people.

Inaugurating its “5 Keys” strategy in Bangkok, Thailand, the World Health Organization (WHO) started distribution of a manual to train food safety professionals on eradicating the dreaded illnesses, which include dehydrating diarrhoea, by keeping hands and cooking surfaces clean, separating raw and cooked food, cooking food thoroughly, storing food at safe temperatures and using safe water and raw ingredients.

“The burden of foodborne disease is enormous but much of this burden can be prevented through simple techniques,” said Dr Jorgen Schlundt, Director of WHO’s Food Safety Department. “The 5 Keys strategy is complemented by a manual which helps individuals to adopt good food-handling practices. They show how people around the world, no matter where and how they live, can protect themselves from foodborne illness.”

Field testing of the manual, Bring Food Safety Home: How to Use the WHO 5 Keys to Safer Food, was starting in various countries, including Argentina, Bolivia, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua in the Americas, along with Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Maldives, Nepal and Timor-Leste in Asia.