[page 16] [Veterinary Science Development 2013; 3:e4] Veterinary education on fostering food safety and governance achieving a healthy nation in Bangladesh M. Mufizur Rahman, S.M. Lutful Kabir Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Bangladesh Abstract Since veterinary medicine plays an impor- tant role in assuring a nation's food safety, therefore the present status of our food safety, where large numbers of consumers in Bangladesh have become victims of consum- ing adulterated foods, needs to be enhanced and governed by the guideline of veterinary and public health educators. This article high- lights the need of an integrated collaborative approach between academicians and govern- ment officials for the creation and dissemina- tion of food-safety teaching driving force to mitigate food borne diseases, ensure food safety, control mischievous and fraudulent adulteration – all destined to a harmonious national health strategic action plan. Veterinary education is very effective for cor- rect implementation of the stable to table con- cept and best serves the public when it is updated on current market needs of food prod- ucts and measures protecting animal health. Universities in Europe and USA have adjusted their veterinary medicine curricula during the past few years. Experts predicted determinant changes by 2020 that would influence the work of the veterinarians. All of them are in favor of placing food quality and food safety and public health as the highest priorities in future vet- erinary education. In Bangladesh, Universities and Veterinary Colleges are producing quali- fied Veterinary Food Hygienists to deal with matters of health and demands for consumers’ food protection. The veterinary education blends veterinarians with strong capacity to advocate the assurance of food quality and safety from farm to fork. Government in collab- oration with veterinary food hygienist should advocate academic and field covered science- based food safety system. It is hoped that in the near future Bangladesh will come forward with veterinary public health responsibilities incor- porated in national food safety program. The concerned authorities in collaboration with international public health authority like WHO should establish a center for food safety, food quality control, and zoonoses. Introduction In recent days due to indiscriminate adulter- ation and uncontrolled appearance of adulter- ated foods in markets and elsewhere, the pub- lic as well the government of Bangladesh is greatly concerned about food safety, and there is a growing realization that we are ill equipped to handle major food-borne illness outbreaks. The public has started to question the quality of foods, as they are appearing in increasing numbers in supermarkets and retail grocery stores. Food safety has now become an important topic as large numbers of consumers in Bangladesh have become vic- tims of consuming adulterated foods. Some of the examples are presented below: i) Using of dead chicken meat by certain so called elegant restaurants; ii) Selling of sweets mixed with health hazardous substances; iii) Soaking of mangoes and other fruits in chemicals; iv.) using of chemicals to ripen bananas; v) adding formalin to fish and milk; vi) offering of local beef at exorbitant price with false tag in the name of California Beef or Texas Beef and recently anthrax infected meats are eaten that definitely pose high health hazard risk. Since veterinary medicine plays an impor- tant role in assuring the safety of any nation's food supply, therefore the present status of our food safety needs to be enhanced and governed by the guideline of veterinary and public health educators with newly emerging resource for food-safety educational materials in tune with the Directives of the Government Officials empowered with the application and manage- ment of food safety and vested with power to wipe out the emerging and reemerging public health threat. This article highlights the imperative need of an integrated collaborative approach between academicians and Government officials for the creation and dis- semination of food-safety teaching driving force to be applied to mitigate food borne dis- eases, ensure food safety, control mischievous and fraudulent adulteration – all destined to develop a harmonious nation health strategic action plan. The academicians of veterinary education of Bangladesh have been long expe- riencing and promoting designs to dissemi- nate and develop materials for an integrative veterinary food safety management, but unfor- tunately due to failure of the government to recognize their competency, these veterinari- ans are not given opportunity or engaged to play key role in food safety and public health issues. It is however accepted by the WHO and public health related agencies all over the world that the public health veterinarians do possess the capacity to advise government, food industries, professional groups and build consumers’ awareness on the effectiveness of food safety management and controls. In the present paper concern has been expressed about the public health veterinarians profiling work force and activities needed to adequately address the scientific, technological, social, political and economic challenges facing glob- al and regional food safety and public health. The significance of veterinary education with respect to food safety Ensuring people safe food has been the major task of veterinarians since the inception and development of the veterinary profession in the 18 th century. Today the veterinary pro- fession is the only health profession that includes food safety as a significant part of instruction. 1 Qualified veterinary food hygien- ists and public health veterinarians can play leading as well as professional roles in vitaliz- ing and strengthening QC and QA programs of food safety and food hazards, in controlling zoonoses, incorporating plans for the social and economic development of the country and undertaking collaborative activities with multi- disciplinary national and international agen- cies. Veterinary medicine that concerns a wide range of animal species, encompasses a broad Veterinary Science Development 2013; volume 3:e4 Correspondence: S.M. Lutful Kabir, Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh 2202, Bangladesh. Tel. +880.91.67401-6 - Fax: +880.91.61510 E-mail: lkabir79@gmail.com Key words: veterinary education, food safety, gov- ernance and healthy nation. Acknowledgments: the authors wish to thank the colleagues of the Department of Microbiology and Hygiene, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Bangladesh will Agricultural University, Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh for critically reading the manuscript and giving appreciation. Contributions: the authors contributed equally. Received for publication: 2 January 2013. Revision received: 7 March 2013. Accepted for publication: 10 March 2013. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial 3.0 License (CC BY- NC 3.0). ©Copyright M.M. Rahman and S.M. Lutful Kabir, 2013 Licensee PAGEPress srl, Italy Veterinary Science Development 2013; 3:e4 doi:10.4081/vsd.2013.e4 Non-commercial use only