Health-Organizations

At the world level

The World Health Organization (WHO) Food Safety Department provides scientific advice for organizations and the public on issues concerning the safety of food. It serves as a medium linking the food safety systems in countries around the world. Food safety is currently one of WHO’s top ten priorities. Food Safety is one of the major issues in our world today, and the Organization calls for more systematic and aggressive steps to be taken to reduce the risk of foodborne diseases significantly.

This Network is intended to complement and support the existing WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), which includes a Chemical Alert and Response component.

At your local level

It is not possible for us to list all the local health organizations all over the world. Most developed countries have a body of government whose job is to guarantee consumer safety. Wikipedia provides a list of health organizations by country: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_food_safety_organisations

Again, it all depends on your country regulation, but for example, in Canada, food inspectors routinely visit food premises within the county to:

• conduct routine inspections
• do re-inspections; and
• follow-up on complaints and suspected foodborne illnesses.

During inspections, Public Health Inspectors look at:

• food storage temperatures, hot and cold
• cooking, reheating and cooling times and temperatures of food
• personal hygiene of employees, including good hand hygiene
• food production methods and procedures
• the flow of food through receiving, storage, preparation, and service
• dish and equipment washing and sanitizing procedures
• food sources
• pest control
• methods of garbage collection, holding and disposal
• cleanliness of floors, walls, ceilings, equipment, and other surfaces.