THE ROLE OF FOOD CONTROL AUTHORITIES IN LIMITING THE SUPPLY OF UNSAFE FOOD PRODUCTS TO THE LOCAL MARKET

Abstract

In General, two Iraqi ministries are concerned with controlling food and limiting the supply of unsafe food products to local markets: The Ministry of Health, Department of Public Health, and the Ministry of Planning, Central Organization for Standardization and Quality Control. Current research was conducted to determine the effectiveness of the control authorities in limiting the supply of unsafe food products to the local market. A survey was conducted between 2020-2022 by collecting data from the aforementioned departments consisting food samples that failed in quality control tests. Testing in accredited laboratories was done according to the applicable Iraqi standard specifications. The study showed that there are still many food products on the local market unsafe for human consumption and may cause diseases when consumed, thus, food control authorities and the Iraqi food safety administration should be more stringent to preserve consumer health.