TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE FOOD SYSTEM

Abstract

The paper addresses the terms "food safety", "food security" and "food system", from the position of commodity science (in Polish: towaroznawstwo) and economic sciences. The various descriptions of these items in literature are reviewed. Food safety has been described as opposite to food risk. Hence the authors discuss the differences in perception of food risk by customer, producer/supplier and official agencies. The objective safety of food risk (biological, chemical and physical) is measured by producers and official agencies but not by customers. Food security is a mix of availability, access, utilization and stability of supply over time. It is understood by a set of voluntary, obligatory and supplementary systems under inspection and control of official institutions on the local, regional or global level. Set of various expected and possible activities to ensure sustainable food system (SFS) in future has been proposed by the authors.