INTRODUCTION
safety and quality of food, gradually becomes more relevant in Mexico and the world. The importance of food safety is that food may be cause of diseases that decrease the ability the individual and development alternatives in your community affect and disrupt the functioning of organizations in which it participates. From an economic and social, sanitary quality of foods - which are fit for human consumption - is a gradually more important factor for the development of the country, thereby influencing the growth prospects of employment, foreign exchange and availability resources for development. The agricultural and fisheries sectors, the manufacturing industry, commercial and tourism services related to production, processing and food supply, contributing significantly to GDP and foreign exchange earnings also to be the largest employers of people in a country.
Several stakeholders to ensure safe food processors that offer products and services, the consumer, government agencies that promote and support the individual in their function or protect or educate the consumer, the challenge is to involve them to make them stewards the achievement of food safety and food quality.
IMPORTANCE IN PUBLIC HEALTH IN MEXICO AND THE WORLD
foodborne diseases (FBD), although difficult to quantify, is considered relevant to the health of Mexicans. The nature of acute illness borne infectious bacteria parasites and viruses, in which one of the routes of transmission are foods are an important cause of morbidity. Also, chronic diseases, in which ingested toxins through contaminated food consumed for long periods that accumulate in organisms are risk factors, increasing life expectancy are manifested in middle age, affect quality of life and the productive performance and cause of death.
foodborne diseases are increasing worldwide. According to the World Health Organization food passed more than 200 diseases, each year millions of people sick, many of which die from eating unsafe food. Diarrhoeal diseases alone kill an estimated 1.8 million children each year and most of them are attributable to contaminated food or beverages. Proper preparation of foods and drinks can prevent most diseases.
interconnections of global food chains make pathogens in food to be transmitted more widely and at greater distances, increasing the frequency of food-borne diseases and the number of places affected by them. Rapid urbanization existing worldwide also increases the risks, since urban dwellers consume more food prepared outside the home, which can not be handled or prepared properly, and among them include fresh foods, fish, meats and poultry.
Approximately 75% of new human infectious diseases have appeared in the last 10 years were caused by bacteria, viruses and other pathogens that emerged in animals and animal products. Many of these human diseases are related to the handling of domestic and wild animals for food production.
IMPORTANCE IN THE INTERNATIONAL TRADE
international trade in food, specifically the quality and safety, are rapidly becoming a key success factor. The new rules are described in the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) and Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT).
Under these rules, resources are required to demonstrate that the health measures used are legitimate and compliance of domestic products do not discriminate against foreign products. The importer or the exporter required to meet foreign company, while also ensuring compliance with their suppliers in the previous links of the production chain, and for demonstrating that they have satisfied the requirements, and implemented it is equivalent.
The safety of imported food requires better controlled without establishing unnecessary barriers to goods, with sufficient infrastructure to more consistently identify foods that do not meet national requirements, as is Mexico's trading partners monitor exports Mexican. Deficiencies in the control of imported food, real or not, are matters that domestic producers designated as unfair trade and adversely affect the confidence of society in the Mexican government. SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
The contribution of the sectors involved in production, industry, distribution, sale and preparation of food and beverage gross domestic product is great. Any process that alters the way they work producers, processors and handlers, retailers or food service providers need to consider the social dimension of the population engaged in food chains and the consumer, ie the entire population of Mexico.
practices for food processing and preparation at any level required to preserve the balance between changes to integrate better hygiene and safety control of food offered and the satisfaction of taste and appearance of the dish to the consumer. That's why the change in hygiene practices of the people involved in the food supply needs to be influenced from the early stages of their teaching for the changes leading to improved food safety on a sound and comprehensive Mexican culture. Consumers allocate a significant portion of their money on food purchases. These are among the major pleasures of life, not only to eliminate hunger but as part of their individual and cultural life of the community.
foods are the result of a chain of transactions that are initiated in the field, on the farm, in the lagoon or the sea, when the food still are not, continue with its transformation in the early stages, are sometimes subject to industrial processing, sometimes with her sale to the consumer and ends when once prepared at home or in an establishment are finally consumed.
According to INEGI survey data of 2000 the number of workplaces where activities relating to food is great. The number of units of production, processing, distribution or sale of food is 5.3 million "workplaces." Possibly due to the easy access to consumers and low technology requirements and investment in working capital and fixed assets prevailing in Mexico, there are many small businesses (with 15 or fewer employees), representing: 99% of those engaged in farming, forestry and fishing, 95% of dedicated processing of foodstuffs, beverages and snuff, 91% of those dedicated to the wholesale trade of food, with 99% of those engaged in food retailing, 94% of those working in the service of preparing and selling food and and beverage establishments, 100% of those engaged in preparing and selling food in public and at home. Micro enterprises are those with more limitations, the major deficiencies, including those of health literacy, are numerous and have a limited number of consumers. The medium and large companies, ie those with over 51 employees, representing only 0.6% of the total universe of workplaces. Are generally those with the highest number of consumers, which have developed greater administrative and technical capacity to solve problems to achieve and maintain their competitive position. Have greater awareness of quality and safety of their products. They are usually those with the greatest export potential and are careful in their quality control systems.
are also seeking certification of their products, processes or systems to meet the requirements of the importing country and are the more pressure the government to allocate resources to meet their needs and, paradoxically, is estimated to represent less risk. Employees who work in food production chains to supply safe food required to follow good health practices systematically. Training, skills development and the generation of a positive attitude to achieve can receive in the workplace, however the chances of receiving in the microenterprises is very small. So it seems that the few chances that the worker is exposed a la educación de manejo higiénico es la educación primaria. El uso de la infraestructura educativa primaria para exponer al alumno a la información y formación que pueda cambiar sus hábitos de selección, preparación y conservación de los alimentos es de las únicas forma viables que el país tiene para crear una cultura sanitaria que cambie profundamente la situación actual de la inocuidad de los alimentos en México.
La globalización y el comercio de alimentos aumentan la probabilidad de que se produzcan incidentes internacionales con alimentos contaminados. Los productos e ingredientes alimentarios importados son frecuentemente en todos los países. La existencia de sistemas más robust monitoring of food safety in the exporting countries can enhance security both locally and border health.
REGULATION, CONTROL AND HEALTH PROMOTION EXISTS
In Mexico, regulation, control and health promotion of the products, facilities and services, is the set of preventive actions carried out by the health authority to control law based on health, human habitat conditions, establishments, activities, processes and products that may pose risks to the health of the population, and to encourage attitudes parallel, values \u200b\u200band appropriate behaviors of individuals and companies to encourage responsible participation in the interest of individual and collective health.
The legal foundation of the Mexican regulatory system for food, is the General Health Law issued in 1984. The legal base developed since then has gradually fill the gaps that hinder the implementation of health control. The process of decentralization of public health services started in 1986 was completed in 1999, has allowed more nimbly address local health needs.
From 1992 he developed an efficient model of official Mexican standards development, involving active industry, commerce, consumers, academia and all government agencies involved. Additionally, the participation of these same actors in the sub-committees of Codex Alimentarius has improved substantially, which is reflected in an increasingly proactive performance of the Mexican delegations in the International Codex Committees. The regulatory system developed from 1991 with the purpose of control and health promotion consistent, uniform and without deviation, progress has been made to combat the historical shortcomings of the health regulations, such as the lack of management and improvisation, poor regulations, untying with the epidemiological needs, insufficient trained and motivated personnel, lack of adequate equipment and poor laboratory sufficient to sustain the activity.
suddenly eliminated premarket authorization and adapted the technology quality management to the role of government and the progress of information technology to promote continuous improvement. Organized health checks to avoid the discretionary application of the health authority to better manage resources and extend coverage. Improved wages and instrument training system, training and supervision.
The system was designed to monitor risk-based random empirical establishments and products, providing information representative sample of establishments and products monitored and simultaneously to meet the contingencies and health emergencies, complaints and requests from individuals through the program run. The implementation of the system of health monitoring products and services throughout the country has been gradual.
So far, the disease control is a function of government that caters exclusively, but not limited to, the Health Secretariat (SSA). In its operation coordinate, complement, federal, state and jurisdiction in their respective levels of competition. It carries out the control and health promotion mainly manufacture, importation, distribution, marketing and supply of food, raw materials and inputs. However, little has been done in relation to primary production, specifically foods that are eaten fresh or with little processing.
Mexico, like other countries has not had an integrated program to achieve food safety, which has resulted in various sectors that have traditionally been neglected, as is the case of agricultural production where there had implemented systems designed to mitigate microbiological, chemical and physical.
HISTORICAL PARTICIPATION OF OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES
Additionally there are other federal government agencies have the legal authority to promote and encourage the development of various sectors of the economy related to food. The Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food (SAGARPA) in 1951 established the sanitary control of slaughter facilities and meat processing system through the Federal Inspection Type (TIF), mainly for export promotion. Since 1988, by agreement with the SSA, the SAGARPA assumed responsibility for the control of imports Meat and meat products.
Later in 1993 through the issuance of the Federal Animal Health Act, was empowered to carry out sanitary control of other products of animal origin, through private testing agencies accredited by SAGARPA itself.
Since 1997, when the U.S. government announced the development of sanitary measures to restrict the entry of food not complying with safety requirements, SAGARPA developed an aggressive building program called Integrated Technology Development Program for Food Quality (PIDTCA) aimed at fostering among the producers and packers, mainly fruits and vegetables, the importance of their safety and the implementation of good agricultural and sanitary practices.
Also in 1990 the National Fisheries Institute began a program with the assistance of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to prepare coaches to promote the implementation of HACCP systems. The Ministry of Economy, formerly Department of Trade and Industry, based on the Federal Law on Metrology and Standardization adopted in 1992, promoted a practical mechanism for the development of mandatory standards (NOM) and voluntary standards (NMX), the Entity Mexican Accreditation (EMA) and body private third party, such as labeling verification units trade and health, supporting the fair trade component of disease control.
CREATION OF THE NATIONAL FOOD SAFETY
Given the strategic nature of food safety, the Federal Government agreed to establish the National System of Food Safety, so as to converge the efforts of the SSA and SAGARPA, with the aim to ensure the sanitary quality of food, and provide healthy food and the national population and subsequently expand and maintain the international market for agricultural products, livestock and fisheries Mexican. In July 2001, SSA created the Federal Commission for Protection Against Health Risks (COFEPRIS), with the intention of integrating exercise all the functions of sanitary control, ie drugs, medical equipment and other inputs for health, environmental and occupational health as well as food, beverages, perfumes and beauty products, alcohol and snuff, through an agency to unify and harmonize the policies of the SSA in these areas, and that has technical autonomy , administrative and operational so as to make decisions with greater speed, efficiency and flexibility, provided the scientific basis.
Moreover SAGARPA has created the National Service for Food Safety and Food Quality (SENASA), the address which is responsible for the operational aspects in the control and regulation in the area of \u200b\u200blivestock production, agriculture and fisheries, with special focus on food safety.
In this context, is to create the National Food Safety System, which will aim to coordinate the work of each of the units under their respective jurisdictions in order to monitor the production and procurement and to processing and marketing of food, so as to ensure their safety.
This vein, it is necessary to develop actions to promote good practice from the beginning with a basic approach for prevention and control of inputs and finished products so as to detect the dangers they present a risk and take measures to prevent or eliminate their presence. Risk management, where necessary, will be jointly and risk communication will be coordinated within the Food Safety System. Essential part of this approach is the participation of state and municipal governments and of course, consumers and NGOs.
The implementation strategy is under study. It has considered the option of issuing SENASICA health authority through amendments to the General Health Law or take advantage of the existing legal framework to promote a system of inspection and certification officially recognized by the federal authority (COFEPRIS), and integrating SENASICA and other third parties in monitoring and control. The scheme will eventually develop requires strong communication and participation of the parties involved to make this a balanced, consistent and effective.
Finally, the evaluation of the proposed approach should combine epidemiological findings regarding the ETA, the development of preventive measures and strengthening international markets for Mexican products. CONCLUSION
Responsibility for food safety, especially those who have undergone some process has historically gone to the Ministry of Health. The system of regulation and sanitary control of foods that operates in Mexico for several years, is based on the level of risk that provides the setting and the particular product, optimizing resources, ie, distributing more emphasis on those which is often associated with foodborne diseases.
This has been implemented in a decentralized manner throughout the country by the states, representative of the universe by providing information secure while allowing treat emergencies, health emergencies, complaints and requests to support the export to certify to the health authorities of other countries that food is safe and quality. However, in the global context is clear that food safety is a result of the care and control you have in each of the stages of the processes suffering from production to consumption, resulting in a culture of prevention and promoting good practice to contend with the risks arising from the root.
Therefore, the participation plant and animal health authorities is essential in building an integrated system in which there is coordination of the parties involved.
The Mexican Federal Government has decided to establish the National Food Safety System at the crossroads of the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food, through decentralized bodies in the health sector the Commission Federal Health Risks and phyto the National Animal Health and Food Safety, whose main objective is the coordination of their performance to ensure proper regulation and food control. Everyone can contribute to food safety as it may be contaminated in any link of the chain from production to consumption. All participants in the supply chain must take steps to maintain the safety of food from producer to consumer, through the processor and marketer. CONSULTANT GROUP
Injac MIC R &
Tel 01 (33) 36293999
alvarocame@yahoo.com.mx
cocame28@hotmail.com
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