Safe Food and Healthy Diets

摘要

Thanks to appropriate legislation and increasingly improved food control, it can be concluded that food in general—especially the food marketed within the European Union—can be regarded as safe for consumers. Criminal tampering with food— whether leading to unsafe products or just not delivering what is promised on the labels—needs to be detected and prevented. This is the responsibility of the food producer and food control authorities. However, the individual consumer is still responsible for his or her own safe food products and healthy diet. Food safety continues to be an issue in the consumer's home. It is therefore important that consumers have the knowledge and education on appropriate handling of food, especially with regard to impact on health from microbial contamination. However, safe food products alone do not guarantee a healthy nutrition. Appropriate nutrition, i.e. a healthy diet, is the consumer's responsibility. It is the portion size and frequency of certain foods in the diet that have a significant impact on a healthy nutrition. Moreover, an appropriate and consistent diet is important, especially when consumers are under medication. A healthy diet is composed of safe food products tailored to the individual needs of the consumer. Food products need to be affordable but not cheap, and above all safe. Cheap food may not give incentives for appropriate portion sizes and responsible food handling especially with regard to food waste. Consumers need to be empowered by transparent information to make the right decision for healthy choices in their diets.