The world could be rendered defenseless against the next global pandemic if antimicrobial use in Southeast Asian animal agriculture is not curbed, researchers from RMIT University have warned.
Six nations have assessed their performances in minimizing and containing foodborne antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The work was done as part of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO’s) ACT project, which aims to support the global implementation of Codex Alimentarius texts on AMR.
More than 200 food safety experts across 14 countries in Asia and the Pacific have been trained in the use of the use of nuclear techniques to test for microbial and chemical hazards, through a project led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Traditionally, food safety issues associated with alcoholic beverages focus on chemical or physical hazards from the processing line. Intoxication with alcoholic beverages, as it relates to food safety, is less reported in the literature. However, the addition of cheap methanol to illicitly produced liquor—a rising issue in Asia—is increasingly being studied as a food safety and food adulteration issue.
The authors and collaborating food safety experts highlight several unique features of Asian culture that interplay with food safety management: evolving leadership toward modern styles, emerging risk awareness, and an immense hunger for learning
