Making Safe and Nutritious Food a Priority for Public Health

 

Nutrition and health are influenced by many factors. Nutrition and food aspects are very closely related. Food can be processed into various processed food products which are useful for fulfilling nutrition and health. One of the factors causing nutritional problems that can directly affect nutrition is intake. It must be ensured that intake is met properly, not only in quantity, but also in the quality of the food consumed (Harris & Nisbett, 2020). This means that the food consumed must not only be sufficient in quantity but also ensure that it is safe to consume. Food safety is an inseparable factor in the concept of meeting nutritional needs to support good nutritional and health status. Allah SWT in his word in Surah Al Maidah verse 88, commands humans to consume food that is halal and toyib/beneficial. The benefits of food will be obtained if the food consumed is not only halal, in sufficient quantities, but also safe for consumption.

The supply of nutritious food must be met in sufficient quantities while monitoring adequate quality and safety on all sides, including production, distribution and consumption, so that both safety and nutrition are considered and/or maintained as a whole. For example, at the production stage of agricultural products (input), the soil and planting process are protected from pathogens and other contaminants that have a negative impact on health, for example pesticides. After the harvesting process, food safety must still be maintained, namely at the packaging stage (for example canning), processing so that nutrients are maintained (for example, temperature-sensitive vitamins), until serving does not increase the potential for harm (for example, the addition of sodium/other substances that do not meet the requirements. food safety aspects (Nordhagen et al., 2022).

The government and producers have a big role in creating a food security situation for society. They must provide a budget for food safety guarantee programs because the government and producers have an obligation to protect consumers, as stated in consumer protection law no. 8 of 1999, consumer protection is any effort that ensures legal certainty to provide protection to consumers (President of the Republic Indonesia, 1999). Apart from that, FAO also stated that safe food is a shared responsibility, the government, industry and consumers each have responsibilities in national food safety commitments.

FAO WHO stated that a commitment to food security is important to achieve an efficient, resilient and sustainable food system to be able to provide healthy and safe food for everyone anywhere and at any time. This mandate is also stated in Food Law No. 18 of 2012, which states that to protect consumers, it is prohibited to distribute contaminated and dangerous food, containing dirty ingredients, disease or originating from carrion, produced in prohibited ways and has expired (RI, 2012). In accordance with the mandate of this law, the government and producers are obliged to guarantee the food safety of consumers/public, one of the ways is by budgeting for food safety guarantees that are adequate, can be realized well and are accounted for. The Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) is a government agency that regulates and supervises drugs and food circulating on the market from a food safety aspect to ensure the health and safety of the public as consumers.

Unsafe food can cause various Food Borne Diseases (FDB). If FDB occurs there will be large costs/losses. The losses experienced due to FDB are very high. FDB losses are measured through Cost of illness (COI). The COI approach measures the amount of medical spending and lost productivity caused by illness or death. Until now, FDB cases in Indonesia have not been well recorded, this is because people still think that FDB is not a disease so they do not feel the need to go to the doctor. So COI in Indonesia cannot yet be known even though many cases of FDB have been found in the community, for example when we see news about food poisoning in residents after attending an event with a banquet. FDB is often known when mass poisoning incidents like this have occurred which could have been prevented if the producer/manufacturer/food provider/caterer/restaurant had all implemented good food safety practices. Massive socialization, training and government supervision are needed to create safe, nutritious food for healthy and prosperous communities.

The government's commitment to food safety in Indonesia has been proven by establishing the National Food Agency (BAPANAS) as the implementation of the mandate of Law No. 18 of 2012. Food safety must be realized synergistically with the roles of various related agencies and ministries. It is not only the responsibility of certain ministries or agencies. All relevant parties need to contribute actively in monitoring and developing food safety along the food chain. The national food agency was formed in accordance with Presidential Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 66 of 2021. The national food agency is tasked with coordinating, formulating and determining policies on food availability, stabilization of food supply and prices, food and nutrition insecurity, diversification of food consumption and food safety. directly responsible to the president.

There are 3 deputies under the head of the national food agency, one of which is related to food safety, namely the Deputy for Consumption Diversity and Food Safety. This deputy is tasked with coordinating, formulating, determining and implementing policies in the field of diversifying food consumption and supervising the implementation of circulating food safety standards. In its implementation, the deputy in this field is related to the performance of various ministries and government bodies, including the Ministry of Agriculture, KKP, BPOM, KLNK, Ministry of Industry, Ministry of Religion, Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Education and Culture to ensure the realization of national food safety commitments from producers to consumers. Each ministry and agency involved can be monitored and coordinated with the Deputy for Consumption Diversity and Food Safety who will then report to the head of the national food agency.

National food safety commitments can be realized through implementation and supervision in terms of production, post-production, distribution, so that food can be safely consumed by the public. On the production side, the Ministry of Agriculture, KKP, BPOM, KLHK, and the Ministry of Industry each have their own roles according to the main tasks and functions of their institutions. BPOM has a role in both production and post-production before the product is released to consumers. Comprehensive laboratory testing until the issuance of a distribution permit is the responsibility of BPOM. Apart from BPOM, the Ministry of Religion, with regulations and product halal testing, can ensure that consumers receive safe and halal food considering that the majority of Indonesian people are Muslims. The Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Industry establish regulations and supervise the safe distribution of food to consumers. From the consumption side, the role of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education and Culture is important to carry out education, outreach and communication efforts to increase public literacy about food safety. Throughout the process, supervision, monitoring and evaluation must continue to be carried out to continue to ensure safe and nutritious food for the community.

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