“Food security exists when all people have: physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their daily energy needs, and food preferences, to lead an active and healthy life” World Food Summit nineteen ninety six.
World Food Safety Day (WFSD) is celebrated on June 7, with the primary objective of inspiring actions that help prevent and detect possible risks that are transmitted through food, thereby It is intended to achieve global food security, but at the same time contribute to improving human health, the economic growth of peoples, increased agriculture, livestock and tourism, as well as achieving sustainable development of nations.
Worldwide, it is estimated that about 420 thousand people die annually, mostly affecting children under 5 years of age, with 125 thousand deaths. [1]
Due to the Covid 19 pandemic, we have all been forced to take extreme cleaning, health and personal care measures, including strengthening good hygiene practices for food or packaging that contains it.
Likewise, food safety has gained notable importance in recent years in response to various outbreaks of food poisoning. Consequently, the legislation is increasingly strict in this regard, delegating all responsibility to the owner of the product or the establishment and requiring the implementation of a self-monitoring system for the companies that manufacture the products, as well as requiring the implementation of of analytical controls to ensure that food products meet the microbiological criteria established in the current legislation of the various territories.
That is why most countries currently establish different regulations to control the quality and safety of food, in the different phases of the production and marketing chain, regulations that are applicable to both national and foreign companies that act as importers, producers, distributors, dispensers and handlers of foods of various kinds, establishing the obligation to comply with analyzes that verify the quality of the foods as a necessary requirement for the Sanitary Registration Process of the products, and in a timely manner for their commercialization.
At the Central American level, there is RTCA 67.04.50:17 Food. Microbiological Food Safety Criteria, which is the applicable food regulations.
The quality of a product is verified through food analysis, since this will determine if it is in suitable conditions for consumption or if the conditions of the product are deficient or suffer from some health requirement that must be met.
Our goal is to take home a good quality food, this implies that we have to know what analysis should be carried out on the food and one of them is the first thing we should know: The chemical composition by quantification of the majority and minority components, This means that analyzes of proteins, carbohydrates, fat, total minerals, vitamins and minerals will be carried out.
From the nutritional point of view, what is established in the overall composition of a food constitutes a mandatory preliminary stage, which is the obtaining of data that measure the nutritional efficacy of various components and several techniques must be available in food, one of which is freshness. of food, physicochemical methods, thereby providing results with nutritional significance, and microbiological. These techniques detect possible biochemical or enzymatic degraders in a food, so we can realize that if a food has been biochemically degraded, presenting fat oxidation. Food analyzes are carried out to determine foreign or natural substances that pose a danger to the consumer.[2]
Generally, this type of controls is carried out by the Ministry of Health of each of the countries, or by their Departments of Food Regulation and Control and in other cases by Private Laboratories who are in charge of food analysis.
This is because although food contains microorganisms that are beneficial for the food and beverage manufacturing process itself, as well as for other types of products such as medicines, vaccines or vitamins, and that are essential in our ecosystem and human well-being, There may also be pathogenic microorganisms, for example Salmonella, E.coli, toxins, or other microorganisms, which if not detected in a timely manner could put the consumer's health at risk, since they can cause infections or serious poisoning.
So that with the analyzes that are carried out for the Food Sanitary Registry, there is the possibility of detecting the presence of toxic or undesirable substances that can be found in food, and that in a timely manner can cause damage to the health of consumers.
Food components, whether water, amino acids, oils, fats, vitamins, among others, have specific properties that can be altered after undergoing changes in handling and processing or for natural reasons, which is why carrying out Conducting an analysis prior to authorizing the marketing of products is a relevant aspect for potential consumers.
Being able to analyze and check if the quality of food is modified or if it is contaminated is essential to distinguish if it has become a product that poses a risk to the health of consumers or if it maintains its nutritional properties intact.[3]
It is for this reason that carrying out analysis is fundamental and essential to ensure food safety in the processes of storage, preparation, transport and distribution to the final consumer.
It is important to be aware of what food safety means, so knowing the quality and state of the food we consume is essential to be sure that what we are eating meets the requirements and necessary quality standards.
Today we can know the origin, nutritional composition and traceability of each food that arrives at our table, thanks to the involvement of all the agents in the sector who help to keep track of the products and raw materials throughout the the entire food chain.
Finally, it is important to mention that international food trade is regulated by the World Trade Organization (WTO), guaranteeing that all economic food relations are controlled by standards, guidelines and recommendations of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, of the Organization World Animal Health Organization (OIE) and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC or IPPC). Standards, guidelines and other recommendations became the basis for safe food production and consumer protection in international food trade.[4]
[1] https://www.paho.org/es/campa%C3%B1as/dia-mundial-inocuidad-alimentos-2020
[2] http://musoqwaira.blogspot.com/2009/04/importancia-de-los-analisis-de-loss.html
[3] https://www.fichatec.com/blog/analisis-quimico-de-los-alimentos/
[4] https://www3.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10834:2015-justificacion-e-importancia-del-sistema-haccp&Itemid=41432&lang=es