Conclusion
Shared Responsibility: Safer Food

Many revolutionary and beneficial changes have occurred in the food industry in recent years, but although consumers are increasingly aware of the connection between food and health, they tend to take the safety of the food they eat very much for granted.

Food safety is best ensured by the shared responsibility of everybody involved with food from the professional to the consumer. All along the food chain, various procedures and good practices are implemented to ensure that the food which reaches the consumer's table is fit for consumption, that the risks of contamination are minimised so that the population as a whole is healthier from the benefits of safe quality food. But responsibility for food safety should not only be the priority of professionals in the food industry. There are rules and procedures to guide the professionals, but the consumer is equally responsible in order to ensure the safety of food in the home.

The best way to practice food safety is to be well-informed about the basics of food: natural processes and, especially, the hazards to food from chemicals - both those naturally occurring and those coming from the environment.

Ultimately, everyone benefits from being better informed about food safety. As Farm to Fork has repeatedly emphasised in the foregoing pages, food safety is of necessity a shared responsibility.