Who is popular today?

KANISA GEORGE

We live in a world where almost everything we do requires a risk balance assessment. When we consider the odds matched against inherent dangers, many of us would quickly forego skydiving and opt instead for an aeroplane ride.
Simply being in a vehicle carries potentially high risks. This is reduced by the use of regulations governing road safety and generally agreed-upon best practices. Because of this, many drivers don’t think about the potential dangers associated with operating a vehicle.
When it comes to living life on the edge, the dangers are magnified. Yet, many of us ignore seemingly mundane activities that sometimes carry high risks we aren’t sensitised enough to acknowledge.
Human existence would be void without food, medicine and the 21st-century demand for lifestyle products. Because many of us don’t get the recommended daily intake of vitamins and nutrients, we use supplements to keep us on track. In truth, it’s easier to grab a protein bar on the go than to prepare a healthy breakfast.
The world of technology has made life somewhat straightforward, and we now embrace a culture rooted in instant fixes. But how much do we know about these products, and how well are they regulated?
In 2020, the World Health Organization estimated that 600 million – almost one in ten people in the world – fell ill after eating contaminated food, with 420,000 dying every year. As the international body on all things health, food-safety regulation is one of WHO’s main priorities.
Besides the well-known issues surrounding food safety, concerns have grown over chemicals intentionally used in food over the last few decades. Some companies use chemicals, such as pesticides, animal drugs and other agrochemicals, during food production. These, along with various food additives and contaminants resulting from food manufacturing and processing, can adversely affect health.
The WHO believes that governments should make food safety a public health priority, as they play a pivotal role in developing policies and regulatory frameworks and establishing and implementing effective food safety systems.
In Trinidad and Tobago, agencies, legislations and policies were created to standardise manufacturing and distribution practices, ensuring quality control and chemical composition of products and food.
The Food and Drugs Act Chapter 30:01 provides guidance and regulations that dictate food safety and engages in quality control of drugs and other cosmetic products. Section 7 of the act is a mechanism used to help maintain food standards. It states that where a standard has been prescribed for a food, any person who labels, packages, sells or advertises any article in such a manner that it is likely to be mistaken for the food, is, unless the article complies with the prescribed standard, guilty of an offence.
Having a “perfectly beat face” is a trend that requires a vast array of products that, contains on average, at least a dozen chemicals. According to the Environmental Working Group, women use an average of 12 products a day, containing about 168 different chemicals. Some of these items, they proffered, contain at least six hormone-altering chemicals, and regulation doesn’t always cover how these chemicals are presented in products.
Section 14 of the act deals with cosmetics and prohibits the sale of harmful or unsanitary products. It states that where a standard has been prescribed for a cosmetic, any person who labels, packages, sells or advertises any article in such a manner that it is likely to be mistaken for the cosmetic is, unless the article complies with the prescribed standard, guilty of an offence.
But even with regulations and laws in place, how can we be sure that implementation is being effected to ensure our safety?
The Chemistry, Food and Drug Division under the Ministry of Health is responsible for administering the Food and Drugs Act and Regulations. Supported by committees, this body decides on issues that deal with drug and cosmetic standards and food-related issues such as labelling and other matters connected with the manufacturing and distribution of food. This division is tasked with ensuring the safe quality of an equitable standard for consumers of food, drugs, cosmetics and medical devices and safety, and the proper management and acceptable standards for pesticides and toxic chemicals.
Notably missing from the equation is public education. We are constantly told of the dangers of raw fish or poorly-stored vegetables.
But we aren’t equipped with enough information about the chemicals in some foods and the effect they may have on our bodies or the possibility of skin disease when unregulated products are used. Ask yourself this: are you fully sensitised about the risks associated with some products, and what are you doing to minimise your exposure?
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