Food Safety & Regulatory Measures

Foodborne diseases (FBD) comprehend a wide range of illnesses and are a growing public health problem and are considered as one of the important causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Almost 30% of all deaths are in children under the age of 5 years from food borne diseases. According to World Health Organization (WHO), 351,000 people die of foodborne diseases globally every year. Salmonellosis, a Salmonella infection, caused by non-typhoid strains is the most common reported foodborne pathogen conquering more societal burden than any other FBD. Out of the significant pathogens including Shigella, Campylobacter, Listeria, Yersinia, Vibrio, and Cyclospora, the Salmonella is the utmost communal microbe causing maximum number of associated outbreaks. It also creates negative economic influences because of the high cost of investigation, treatment and prevention of food borne illness. Million cases of gastroenteritis are caused by Salmonella species across the globe each year, generally a self-limited disease, with the symptoms of fever (normally resolves within 48 to 72 h.) and diarrhea (3 to 7 days) occasionally with unembellished dehydration, shock, collapse and septicemia severely in young children, infants, elderly and immune-compromised. The most common mode of Salmonella transmission is through the ingestion of the bacterium in food (milk, water, poultry, uncooked eggs etc.) derived from an infected animal or contamination sources. The incidence of salmonellosis outbreak cannot be ignored due to the devastating effects to human. The situation in developing world is even more alarming because of poor public health and regulation enforcements. Intervention approaches are hence imperative to control Salmonella from farm to fork.