Cuba gives priority to food safety

Food safety is a priority for Cuba, as a developing country, through the implementation of measures and actions to ensure food safety, human health and prevent losses to the economy.

This June 7, proclaimed World Food Safety Day by the United Nations, the country joins the call to raise awareness of the necessity to promote actions for prevention, detection and management of risks transmitted by foodstuffs.

On this issue, Dr. Mayda Marti Perez, head of the National Department of Food Hygiene and Nutrition of the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap), told the Cuban News Agency that a joint work is carried out between the agriculture, industry, commerce and environment agencies for the growing development in standardization, legislation and harmonization of sanitary norms.

The supply chain has become more complex, any adverse incident related to food safety can have negative effects on health and the economy, therefore, there is a coordinating center for food safety, the National Office of Standardization of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Environment (Citma by its Spanish acronym), a Food Safety Law, with a regulation and system of sanitary standards, and a Law of Sovereignty and Food and Nutritional Security to ensure compliance with the sanitary requirements of producers, he said.

Marti Perez stressed the importance of complying with the five keys to food safety, from the raw material, including water from a safe source with sanitary quality, the cleanliness of establishments where food is handled, the hygiene of food processors, separating raw food from ready-to-eat food, cooking well to eliminate pathogens in raw inputs such as meat and dairy products, to avoid diseases, and maintaining adequate conservation, as required.

Mariana de Jesus Perez Periche, head of the Department of Quality Management of the Ministry of Agriculture, affirmed that it is essential today for those involved in food production to have the knowledge and apply good practices to prevent a product from becoming harmless and going to waste, since most of the diseases transmitted are avoidable with proper handling and education on the issue of preservation and conservation at all levels.