This archive report was first published on 12 June 2020.
Food safety is a critical concern that affects us all, from the farm to our plates. According to experts, food contamination often begins at the farm level due to various practices and inputs used, such as water, manure, equipment, and the farmers themselves.
Published on June 12, 2020, a recent article highlighted the importance of embracing organic farming and conservation agriculture to ensure food safety. One of the best ways to achieve this is by using natural methods, such as using rabbit urine as a bio-pesticide and fertilizer due to its high nutrient content.
However, it's essential to ensure that the manure is well-decomposed before using it on the farm to avoid contamination. While the use of manure reduces the cost of production significantly and improves the soil structure, it should not be a source of ill-health.
For consumers, checking for bad smell is a simple yet effective way to determine if food products, such as vegetables, are contaminated. Additionally, when buying ripe bananas, it's best to opt for those that are yellow and have dots on the peelings, and avoid those that are too yellow, as this may be a sign that chemicals have been used to ripen them.
While food safety is a shared responsibility, farmers play a crucial role in ensuring that the food they produce is safe for consumption. This includes avoiding the use of contaminated water to mix pesticides and herbicides or to irrigate the crop, staking vegetable fruits such as tomatoes to reduce fruit contamination from the soil, and fencing the farm to provide security against animals that may cause contamination through faecal materials.
Furthermore, distributors and consumers must also take their roles seriously. Distributors must ensure that food is well-packaged to avoid contamination, while consumers should store foodstuffs properly, sort out affected products, and allow proper air circulation in their stores to prevent high temperatures that may cause food to rot.
