As food distribution chains are increasingly stretched around the world, urgency has arisen for the creation of new food safety standards and stricter enforcement of existing to ensure that food industry quality control and food processing standards provide for a safe global food supply.
The global food and beverage industry is the world’s largest industry. In fact, it is larger than all of the world’s other industries combined. In the quest for market share and increased profits, quality and food safety may sometimes be sacrificed. Consumers depend upon the interaction and the cooperation between government agencies to set and enforce standardized safety guidelines and food safety laws that ensure that there are no compromises in terms of quality and safety. Consumers need to know that produce from agriculture is safe from farm through processing to grocery shelves, that fish is safely wild harvested or raised by aquaculture, that poultry and livestock are free from pathogens and that food and food supplements contain ingredients generally recognized as safe. Processed foods must be pasteurized or sterilized, and canned or otherwise packaged aseptically sealed containers. Fresh food must be inspected by government agencies.