The Human Nutrition Department, at the College of Health Science marked World Food Day stressing on the importance of ensuring food security and achieving the sustainable development goals.
World Food Day is an international day celebrated every year worldwide on October 16th, to promote awareness and action around the world for those who suffer from hunger and to ensure healthy diets for all. On this day, experts from Human Nutrition department at QU shared their opinions on the importance of maintaining food safety and raising awareness of how to use food safely.
Dr. Layal Karam, Assistant Professor of Food Safety at the College of Health Sciences, said: “Our health is directly impacted by food safety. Foodborne illnesses can range in severity from minor ones like diarrhea and vomiting to dangerous ones like cancer and long-term health issues. 420,000 people die each year due to foodborne illnesses, which impact 1 in 10 persons worldwide. Other health issues like malnutrition, poor growth, micronutrient deficiencies, and decreased productivity at work and school are also caused by unsafe food.”
Dr. Karam added, “Everyone has a part to play in preserving food safety, which is a shared duty. To safeguard customers, governments seek to create strict policies, regulate food, and enact laws. On the other hand, to guarantee food safety along the whole supply chain, from farm to table, establishments in the food sector must adhere to national and international regulations. In addition to undertaking ongoing research to identify innovations and solutions to new difficulties in the field of food safety, educational institutions play a key role in graduating specializations and high competencies. One of the key components in teaching and increasing consumer awareness is the media, which is also important for promoting safe eating habits.”
Professor Hiba Chatila, Lecturer of Human Nutrition and Aya Hamdan, Teaching Assistant of Human Nutrition pointed to the role that Qatar University plays in educating the university community about the importance of food security. They also explained that the university is working to educate the university community, the importance of food security by including it in school curricula and organizing workshops and events on proper nutrition, agricultural production, reducing food waste, economic development and environmental sustainability.
Professor Al-Jazi Al-Qahtani, Teaching Assistant of Human Nutrition, and Professor Nouf Al-Mansoori, Teaching Assistant of Human Nutrition also spoke about the fact that indicators of climate change's effects include food insecurity. Climate catastrophes pose a threat to efforts to end hunger, sustain development, and global food security. Climate change-related factors including rising temperatures, water scarcity, and extreme weather like floods and droughts, as well as growing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, have an impact on the production of staple crops around the world and, consequently, food insecurity. It is anticipated that the agricultural ecosystem would undergo increasingly complicated changes, which could have a disastrous effect on the environment's balance and the availability of food in the near future. As a result, having modern, resilient agricultural systems is crucial to mitigating the consequences of climate change and ensuring that everyone has access to food.
They stressed the importance of educating and raising community awareness to reduce food waste by saying: “One of the biggest issues brought forward by our actions is food waste, which requires immediate action. In Qatar, 1.4 million tons of food are wasted annually, or 636 kg per person as opposed to 115 kg per person. Additionally, 14% of the food in Qatar, or 20 million kg, is lost due to storage or expiration issues, compared to 11 kg in developing countries and 20 million kg in poorer nations. Food that is produced but not consumed leaves a carbon dioxide carbon footprint, which could lead to greenhouse gas emissions.”
Source: Qatar University