Food Safety Led to Antibiotic Resistance [ENG]

Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness or better known as food poisoning. The majority of foodborne illnesses are caused by harmful bacteria and viruses. Some parasites and chemicals also cause foodborne illnesses. Food is the most common medium for the growth of bacteria and parasites. Thus consumption of can transmit the disease from a person to another. 

More than 250 different foodborne diseases have been identified. Food can be contaminated at any time either during growth, harvesting or slaughter, processing, storage, and shipping. Raw foods such as raw meats, unpasteurized milk and raw vegetables are most associated with foodborne diseases. This is because they have been contaminated with the pesticides and chemical fertilizers in order to keep the freshness of the foods. In fact, some of the farmers and retailers would inject the food with antibiotics to prevent and control common disease events, and to enhance animal growth. 

Apart from that, the antibiotic is used to improve the quality of the product, with a lower percentage of fat and higher protein content in the meat. However, the over usage of antibiotics in agriculture has led to the emerging public health crisis of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic resistance is a looming public health crisis.

Antibiotic resistance occurs when an antibiotic has lost its ability to effectively control or kill bacterial growth. In other words, the bacteria are becoming more "resistant" to the antibiotic designed to cure or prevent infection. The resistant-bacteria can have a greater chance of survival as they will find ways to survive in the human body and continue to multiply, causing more harm. Antibiotic resistance poses health risk to human health in two ways either directly or indirectly. Direct effects, are through the consumption of the food which is infected with the antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Indirect effects are those that result from contact with resistant organisms that have been spread to various components of the ecosystem such as water and soil. 

Bacteria can travel in any medium so people could transmit the antibiotic-resistant bacteria to others by coughing or contact with unwashed hands. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria can spread to family members, schoolmates, and co-workers. Overall it may even threaten the community. Antibiotic resistance has become one of the world most pressing public health problems as it may cause illnesses that were once easily treatable with antibiotics to become dangerous infections, prolonging suffering for children and adults. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are often more difficult to kill and need an expensive treatment. In some cases, the antibiotic-resistant infections can lead to serious disability or even death.

There are few important ways that can be taken to protect from antibiotic resistance through the consumption of food infected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

• ·         Identify the restaurants that serve poultry injected with antibiotic;
• ·   Avoid consume fast food regularly as most of the fast food restaurants serve poultry, fish and vegetables injected with antibiotic routinely;
• ·     Inform the authorities if there any retailers who inject drugs or antibiotic on vegetables, fruits and meat to make them last long.

Antibiotic resistance is present in all parts of the world thus making it a serious threat to global public health that requires action across all government sectors and society. Foodborne disease and antibiotic resistance are mostly transmitted via food thus keeping food clean and safe should be a priority to all food manufactures, government and consumers.