Moment of Truth: Safer Food Needed to Prevent the Apocalypse of Antibiotic Resistance in India

In India today, we can find different varieties of superfoods and staples sitting on local grocery shop shelves. How safe are these foods as they pass through complex supply chains from farms in villages and towns, traversing multiple countries in their journey from the farm-to-table?

In a globalized world, food safety is critical to ensure our food remains free from adulteration, contamination, and foodborne illnesses, which kill 420,000 people globally (WHO), 30% of which are children under five years of age. Moreover, India is home to nearly 195 million undernourished people (including 47 million children) due to chronic malnutrition. Surprisingly, this malnutrition is not simply due to lack of food or poor diet, but rather because of unhygienic agricultural practices. These practices make food unsafe and cause life-threatening foodborne diseases, including untreatable infections by resistant bacteria.