In a world where food security is intricately linked with global health and economic stability, ensuring the safety of our food supply has never been more critical. As we approach World Food Safety Day 2024, the theme “Prepare for the Unexpected” serves as a reminder of the ever-evolving challenges faced by our food systems. From pathogens to environmental hazards, the landscape of food safety is constantly shifting, demanding proactive measures and innovative solutions to safeguard public health and well-being.

What is Food Safety?

“Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food borne diseases.” It’s not the responsibility of just the regulatory body or the food industry alone, but a shared responsibility between the government, producers, industry, and consumers.

Every year, World Food Safety day is celebrated on 7 June. This year’s theme underlines the importance of being prepared for food safety incidents — where there is potential or confirmed health risk associated with food consumption such as food frauds or natural disasters.

When it comes to food safety, the spotlight of scrutiny often shines brightly on manufacturers and producers. Yet, amidst this scrutiny, a pivotal player often remains in the shadows: the Consumer. As we approach World Food Safety Day, it is imperative to shift our focus towards the essential role that consumers play in the intricate web of food safety.

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Obesity is a global epidemic, affecting people regardless of ethnicity, gender, or age, with rates tripling in recent years, especially childhood obesity. Contributing factors include excessive calorie intake, large portions, junk food consumption, and limited physical activity, leading to health risks like cardiovascular diseases and diabetes.

Concerns with weight and shape are common among teenagers. Besides being exposed to the health risks of obesity, they are being exposed to the unrealistically thin beauty ideals portrayed by the media, and thus many turn to fad diets, hoping for quick fixes to long-term issues.

What are Fad Diets?

A fad diet is a weight loss plan that promises rapid weight loss tempting people with the idea of a diet that can help them lose weight fast. Various fad diets like low-carb, low-fat, high-fat, high-protein, and detox diets may promise quick results, but blindly following them can harm health. They often eliminate essential food groups, lack proper nutrition, aren’t sustainable, and lack scientific support compared to a balanced diet. Common fad diets include:

Ketogenic Diet (KD)

KD is a high fat, extremely low carbohydrate diet that has gained immense popularity in recent years for its ability to induce weight loss quickly. It was originally curated for treating epilepsy.

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Oral health reflects on our overall well-being, impacting the entire body. A symbiotic relationship exists between a healthy mouth and body, influencing essential functions. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines Optimal Oral Health as ‘Freedom from conditions like chronic pain, oral infections, gum disease, and tooth decay’.

The 2016 Global Burden of Disease Study notes that half of the world’s population faces dental caries, highlighting the widespread impact of oral health issues. Severe periodontal (gum) disease, ranked 11th globally, emphasizes the importance of oral care.

This year’s theme for World Oral Health Day, celebrated on 20 March, is ‘A Happy Mouth Is…. A Happy Body’ highlighting the deep link between oral health and overall well-being. Understanding how diet and eating behaviours contribute to dental caries in youngsters and adults is essential to improving oral health.

What is Dental Caries?

Dental caries is the breakdown of tooth enamel due to bacterial acid erosion. Cavities range from yellow to black colours, and symptoms may involve pain and eating difficulties. A significant correlation exists between the quantity and frequency of free sugar intake and dental caries risk.

The Relationship Between Sugar, Plaque, and Tooth Decay

Diet significantly impacts oral health, contributing to problems like tooth decay and enamel erosion. Sugary foods foster plaque, a bacterial film that produces acids, leading to enamel damage if not properly cleaned. Acidic attacks result in tooth decay and cavities over time.

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Maintaining good oral health is of paramount importance in every stage of our life. Teenagers are often negligent in their oral health care leading to long term adverse effects not only on their dental wellness but also serious negative consequences on their overall physical and mental health.

Adolescence is a period where teenagers are busy with their school/college, general and social activities, squeezing all meaning out of the very idea of what is attention-worthy for their oral health. This unmindfully leads to the habit of eating fast food items, thus neglecting their gums and teeth and leading to several dental ailments in the future.

Here are some basic tips which teens can follow to keep their attractive and healthy smiles intact:

1. Brush twice a day with an ultra-soft toothbrush and pea-sized fluoridated toothpaste.

• Aim to make an angle of 45 degrees towards the gumline.
• Move the toothbrush in gentle circles.
• Start with the top back teeth. Brush the outside surface of the teeth along the gumline, then the inner surface of teeth. Repeat the same with other teeth also.
• Move to the bottom teeth and repeat the above step.
• Brush along the chewing surface of teeth.
• Do not forget to floss after brushing the teeth.
• Gently brush the tongue.
• Brush for around 2 minutes.

Discuss with your dentist what kind of toothbrush and toothpaste is best for you.

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New Year resolutions often emphasize on weight loss, developing a hobby, exercising, or increased productivity, thus suggesting that we’re not sufficient as is. It turns life into a continuous task of self-improvement, robbing it of its joy. This year, let’s resolve to embrace life without the constant pressure to fix ourselves all the time.

Let’s aim to enjoy life by focusing on additions rather than subtractions. To start, let’s incorporate a superfood into our daily diet each month.

In the realm of health and wellness, superfoods are recognized as nutritional powerhouses, offering significant benefits to overall health. These include plant-based foods and select animal products known for their exceptional nutrient density. Superfoods play a vital role in promoting a holistic and healthy lifestyle.

We can elevate our well-being with the curated inclusion of twelve superfoods — one for each month in 2024.

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Food is the main attraction of every celebration, bringing together family and friends, feeding both the body and the soul. A thanksgiving meal is a representation of the gratitude humans have towards God thanking him for the abundant crop and blessings bestowed.

What do we picture when we think of any celebration?

Tables overflowing with a range of savoury foods, sweet delicacies, and beverages. But have you ever pictured a celebration as an overflowing LANDFILL? Sadly but true, that is where all the celebrations end up — FOOD WASTE!

Every day, especially during the festive season, tonnes of food are wasted. This gives rise to emission of greenhouse gases, which further deteriorates our environment.

Food waste (over-shopping, allowing fruits and vegetables to go stale, or over-cooking) is now become a part of our lifestyle. We are not only wasting food, time and effort but also depleting natural resources like water and land.

Food Waste Equals …

1. Food waste = Water waste: Agriculture uses most of the world’s freshwater. When we throw away food, we also waste gallons of water used to grow and sustain plants and animals.

2. Food waste = Greenhouse gas: Rotten foods in landfills produce methane, which stays in the air and traps solar heat for almost 12 years.

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“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, Bible)

August is the month of celebrating friendships. You and your friends may have made plans to spend the day together, and some may have even bought friendship bands, too! Did you know that the concept of friendship bands dates back to the Stone Age when hunters and gatherers would exchange hand-made rings to symbolize a strong connection?

Friendship is all about strong connections and relationships. When friends come together as a unit, their strengths are amplified and they bring out the best in each other.

Just like us humans, foods too have ‘special friends’ which when combined not only improve the flavour of the meal, but also enhance nutrient absorption.

Food pairing/combining may seem like a new trend, but it’s actually an age-old tradition, practised from the time of our ancestors. Dal and Rice. Carrots with Peas. Peanut Butter and Jelly. Some combinations are simply better together!

How important is nutrient absorption?

Vitamins, minerals and other nutrients found in foods help in metabolic processes that are necessary for proper bodily functions. While maintaining a healthy diet is important, do we ever wonder what happens to the food once it reaches our stomachs? Food enters the stomach and is broken down by digestive enzymes. Waste is eliminated as it passes through, while nutrients are further absorbed in the small intestine.

Sadly, sometimes our gut doesn’t always function well. This may lead to poor absorption of nutrients and issues like exhaustion, mental fatigue, poor digestion, or skin disorders.

‘Food Besties’ that enhance nutrient absorption and are better together

Tomatoes and Olive Oil
It is an old Italian tradition to combine tomatoes with olive oil. Research reveals that when combined they boost each other’s health advantages. Lycopene, a potent antioxidant found in abundance in tomatoes, can help prevent conditions like cancer and heart disease. Lycopene is more easily absorbed when olive oil is used. E.g. home-made tomato-olive oil chutney.

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Food safety is a growing concern. There is a growing need to provide greater assurance about the safety and quality of food to consumers.

Before our food reaches the stores, restaurants or even our mouths, they go through multiple processes like harvesting, processing, storing, distribution, and preparation during which there are several possibilities of food contamination.

World Food Safety Day is celebrated on 7 June every year. This year’s theme, ‘Food Standards Saves Lives’, aims at recognizing the importance of food standards in keeping consumers safe and bringing awareness of food security.

What is food safety?

It refers to the proper food-handling procedures applied during food preparation, processing, storage and distribution of food to ensure that contaminants that cause food-borne illnesses are not present. It also includes labelling, hygiene, additives and preservatives.

Safe food is needed not only to better health and food security, but also for the livelihood, economic development, trade and the international reputation of every country.

Food regulation organizations and agencies make the flow of food safety measures easier to manage and control by setting laws in place. Bodies like the WHO, FAO, FDA were established to govern food safety.

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Exam season is approaching, which can make it challenging to prioritise healthy habits due to late-night studying, lack of sleep, piles of highlighted study notes and textbooks. However, maintaining a healthy lifestyle even during challenging times will help you get the best outcome.

You may not know it, but your diet has a direct impact on how your body operates under various circumstances. Certain foods can boost mental clarity, memory recall and overall well-being, and can also boost energy levels. Here are a few guidelines for students to maintain a healthy lifestyle during exam time.

Rule 1: Never skip a meal

Sometimes you might feel tempted to skip a meal in order to finish studying one more chapter, but ignoring your hunger cues and skipping a meal is only going to set you back.

The brain requires adequate glucose for proper functioning. While studying, there is a constant inclination to munch on sweets (biscuits, chocolates) and heavily salted foods (crisps, farsan). Simple sugars from candies and sweets cause a brief spike in energy, which is followed by a collapse in blood sugar levels that causes exhaustion, lethargy and other symptoms.

Include slow-releasing carbohydrates in your meals, such as whole grain roti, bread or porridge made with whole rolled oats. Add a protein-rich food such as milk, yoghurt or eggs, to your meal to help you feel satiated for a longer period.

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It’s that time of year again when you set a New Year’s resolution. You establish it with the best of intentions, staying consistent for a few weeks, but then give up.

So what will it be this year? A new hobby, playing an instrument, exercising or perhaps staying off our phones and gadgets for two hours daily?

This year, I propose that we switch things up a bit. Let’s keep our resolutions at bay and celebrate health differently. This New Year, let’s ‘Celebrate a World of Flavours’.

Trying different flavours of the world enhances one’s palate and knowledge about one’s own food culture as well as various other culinary traditions. Every cuisine offers dishes which incorporate foods from every food group. This allows you to try new dishes from across the globe while also ensuring you receive a range of nutrients needed for good health.

Here are a few ways to embrace global cultures and cuisines when planning your meals and snack throughout the year.

Bring the world to your table

Vary your meals to include favourites from around the world. Healthful options are available, even if time is limited. Online videos, cookbooks, and recipes from chefs around the world can guide you through the process of cooking.

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