{"id":105055,"date":"2015-04-04T06:09:17","date_gmt":"2015-04-04T06:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/4cd.e16.myftpupload.com\/?p=105055"},"modified":"2015-04-04T06:09:17","modified_gmt":"2015-04-04T06:09:17","slug":"unsafe-food-is-growing-global-threat-who","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/citifmonline.com\/?p=105055","title":{"rendered":"Unsafe food is ‘growing global threat’ – WHO"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eating food contaminated with bugs leads to more than half a billion cases of illness a year, the World Health Organization warns.<\/p>\n

It says this “global threat” contributed to 351,000 deaths in 2010.<\/p>\n

Unsafe foods, for example undercooked meat, can cause 200 problems – from diarrhoea to cancer.<\/p>\n

But changes in food production mean there are more opportunities for meals to harbour harmful bugs or chemicals, experts say.<\/p>\n

Culinary caution<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unsafe foodstuffs can contain many types of harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemicals.<\/p>\n

Examples include undercooked meat, fruits and vegetables contaminated with faeces and shellfish containing marine toxins.<\/p>\n

But the WHO says investigating these outbreaks has become increasingly challenging as single plates of food often have ingredients from many countries.<\/p>\n

In its first WHO report on this issue, its director-general Dr Margaret Chan warns: “A local food problem can quickly turn into an international emergency.<\/p>\n

“Food production has been industrialised, and its trade and distribution have been globalised.<\/p>\n

“These changes introduce multiple opportunities for food to become contaminated with harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemicals.”<\/p>\n

The analysis, which pulls together scientific literature from across the globe, shows:<\/p>\n