We are what we eat

For all of us, the most important thing about our daily food is that it should be safe. In recent years we have seen an increase in the number of food scares across Europe.

1. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE)
2. Transmissible spongiform ecephalopathies (TSEs)
3. Dioxins
4. A whole host of microbial horrors as listeria and salmonella
5. Avia flu

All these shake the confidence of citizens in the ability of the food industry to guarantee food safety.

Several factors influence the rise. An increased globalization of supply provides for a wider variety of produce on our shelves, but also increases the risk of poorer control over the quality and the safety of goods.

Moreover, bulk buying and selling of produce places large sections of the population at risk when there is a threat of contamination at any stage of the food chain, from farm to processing to transportation and storage.

Another factor is the human exposure to chemical elements contained in food, whose source is much more difficult to trace.

This includes natural toxic products, such myotoxins, or a whole range of contaminants, originating in pesticides, mercury, lead, and radionucleides.