Acknowledging these current changes and perspective towards food safety; and based on the course syllabus recommended by ICAR, New Delhi; a detailed book entitled “Food Safety and Standards - Laws, Tools and Management Systems” is compiled by editors Dr. Vijayalakshmi D. and Dr. Barbhai Mrunal D. This book has brought together experts from different universities and organizations, who have covered various topics of food safety; for the benefits of students, and research scholars.

Food safety and hygiene has been an age-old concern. However, today it has become an important aspect due to the rise in foodborne illnesses for the past few decades globally. It is estimated by WHO that annually 600 million suffer from foodborne diseases as a result of unsafe food consumption while 4,20,000 deaths are recorded globally.

History of food safety starts with knowledge about food hazards. The term “safe food” can be defined from different angles since the end users are highly heterogeneous. However, the accumulating data and day by day emerging information aboutfood borne diseaseslead to a boom in public awareness about food safety. Food safety can be defined as “The strategies and activities aimed to protect foods from biological, chemical, physical, and allergenic hazards that may occur during all stages of production, distribution, and consumption” (Paperella, 2020). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), unsafe food,which contains hazardousmicroorganisms or chemicals, causesmore than 200 ailments, ranging from diarrhoea to malignancies among which diarrhoea is common. 

Food is essential for human survival. It provides the required energy and vital nutrients for sustainable growth and development. With the increase in population and awareness, the demand for nutritious, fresh and healthy food also increases. Although adequate food is produced in order to meet the increased demands, it fails to reach the consumers in need due to food Food Storage and Preservation Practices   35 wastage and spoilage occurring during various stages of harvesting, food production, storage and transportation. Gajanana et al., (2009) stated that there is a mammoth wastage of food post-harvest. It is estimated that 20 to 60 % of produce are wasted during and after post-harvest. 

Safe, wholesome and nutritious food is vital for sustenance, good health, food and nutritional security and augmentation of sustainable development of an individual. Also, safe food helps in the growth of the national economy and enhances the trade and tourism sector. Foods that are unsafe containing various kinds of microorganisms can cause chronic diseases or illnesses varying from diarrhea to cancer.

Growing population has increased the demand on food supply. Providing safe and hygienic food to the population is an essential consideration. Food safety systems and tools need to be in place to assure safe food, until which the food businesses would not flourish or be able to build their reputation. Food safety systems and management tools are important as they assist food business organizations to build confidence in people regarding food safety.

Liberalized economies and evolving businessstrategies push variousindustries to achieve a competitive edge both in the domestic and international markets. Food industry especially, works on the bedrock of quality of products and services in order to attract and retain customers. In this new world of economic order, customers can select from wide range of products and services that are available in the market.

A healthy life is ensured by having access to safe, nutritious and balanced food. World health organisation (WHO) ensures its contribution in developing food safety systems that are sustainable to reduce health risks from farm to consumer. Thus, safe food, its quality and consumer protection are the priorities of this organisation (FAO and WHO, 2021)

Food safety is a discipline ensuring safe consumption of food without any injuries to human health. It is multifaceted and influenced by various factors including, food processing, handling and practices, consumer demand and their knowledge, globalization of world food trade, changes in food consumption pattern (Chen et al., 2020).

Water is an essential component of all living things. Although once believed as a resource with a never-ending supply, it has now been understood that water is becoming increasingly scarce and therefore a proper management is necessary to keep a sustainable food production (Kannan & Anandhi, 2020). A continuous and safe supply of water is indispensable for the food industry where it has numerous applications along the agriculture and food production processes.

All food legislation is predicated on the food law, which protects public health and consumers’ regarding food. The regulation is applied to stages beginning from producing the food, processing and finally distributing the food and feed, apart from domestic use by consumers.

Appealing packaging isthe current trend which influences consumer’s decision to purchase foods. These trends have evolved in the last four decades due to constant and drastic changes in the food packaging processes and mechanisms. These changes have shifted the focus of food packaging from the basic function of containment to extending shelf life.

Nutraceutical is a broad term which represents any substance extracted from food sources with additional health benefits alongside the good nutritional value already present in them. The nutraceutical term was originated by Stephen De Felice in 1989.

At present, food and nutrition security are the prime aspects which need to be addressed in an efficient way. It has been projected that by 2050 the global population will reach 9.2 billion which in turn enhances annual demand for agricultural products by 1.1 per cent from 2005 to 2050 (McKenzie and Williams 2015).

Food provides a sense of wellbeing and comfort and makes people feel good. In this world of a growing population, the need for affordable, safe and good quality food is rising constantly. On the other hand, there is growing awareness of customers who demand that food be produced and supplied hygienically in socially responsible and eco-friendly ways.