DOI: 10.14457/tu.the.2014.324
title: Identification and control of food-borne illnesses under the food act B.E. 2522

description: As commonly known that food is one of the basic bodily needs, consumers have the right to expect that food they purchase and consume will be safe and of high quality. The government agencies, in turn, should take measure to ensure that all food, whether locally produced or imported, freely sold on markets, is safe and consistent with national food safety standard.For domestic consumption, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized by the Food Act B.E. 2522 to protect and prevent consumers from food hazards. However, the Act has failed to serve the Thai FDA officers with appropriate tool to detect and control of the food hazards in every part of Thailand. Detecting and controlling food safety problems largely depend upon whether it can follow a food product’s movement through the food supply chain. In this case, appropriate tool to access all relevant information associated with the food should be implemented in support of the Thai FDA’s operations. Notwithstanding, section 43 of the Act provides inappropriate control powers to acquire food information held by the food operators. At the same time, the Act lacks of record-keeping requirement to identify a food product’s movement across the food supply chain.Nowadays, food identification and control can be achieved most effectively by the principle of prevention throughout the food supply chain. As guided by the CODEX, the introduction of preventive measures at all stages of the food production and distribution chain, rather than only inspection and rejection at the final stage, making better economic sense. This is because suitable strategy is to entrust food producer and operator with primary responsibility for food safety. The preventive measure includes the application of risk analysis, the application of HACCP and GMP, and the surveillance system and response plan and traceability concept.Several countries are now developing their own control system to promptly detect and control the food hazards. Instead of using a traditional approach as usual, they turn into a new preventive approach applied in line with the integrated approach 'From the Farm to the Fork' specifically including transparency, risk analysis, prevention, the protection of consumer interests as well as traceability concept. With the publication of the General Food Law, the European Union has made a new legal framework laying down the principles to ensure a coherent approach and to fix the principles, obligations and definitions that apply in the field of food safety. As a member states, traceability requirement becomes effective for all food business operators throughout UK. Article 18 establishes a clear record-keeping requirement that demonstrates who has responsibility to maintain record, what information should be enabled and how to deal with the ono-compliance. Based on risk analysis approach, the Food Standards Act 1999 also provides the procedure in place to allow for competent officer to have access to food-related information held by food operators. Similar to the UK, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FD&C Act) enables the USFDA to better protect public health and focus more on preventing food safety problems rather than relying primarily on reacting to problems after they occur. The FD&C Act provides important new tools for inspection and compliance so that USFDA can trace the food product backward and toward through the entire food supply chain. The Act designates an obligation on food operators to maintain the record on food suppliers from who and to whom a product has been supplied. Moreover, according to section 414, the USFDA is enabled with the ability to access the record which includes all the records related to food adulteration and its widespread use.After studying the principles of modern food control system and all relevant laws in both the UK and the US, the problems of identification and control of food hazards under the Food Act B.E. 2522 should be responded by expanding the competent officer’s control powers covering in most areas of the Thai FDA’s operations. The inspectional authority under section 43 of the Act should include the power to request the food-related information or other assistances from food business operators. At the same time, by the virtue of section 5 and section 6(7) of the Act, the Act should set the provision to establish a new food business operators’ responsibility for maintaining information that can identify food product’s movement throughout the food supply chain. As the final, food-borne diseases will be fully detected and controlled.