Food safety versus food security in a world of famine

The article presents aspects of interference between food security, as a priority objective of global security, in general and security of each state, in particular, with food safety, regulated by increasingly demanding norms. These legal food safety regulations, which can be exaggerated in some situations, are further exacerbating food waste, to the detriment of the population from Earth who is suffering of famine. The purpose of the research is to reveal the negative situation created by the tightening of regulations regarding food safety and food security. The necessity of the population, from developed countries, to be completely safe in terms of food safety, has created habits of food waste, both at industrial level and at household consumption. Around 88 million tons of food are wasted annually in the EU, with associated costs estimated at 143 billion euros. Wasting food is not only an ethical and economic issue but it also depletes the environment of limited natural resources. All actors in the food chain have a role to play in preventing and reducing food waste, from those who produce and process foods (farmers, food manufacturers and processors) to those who make foods available for consumption (hospitality sector, retailers) and ultimately consumers themselves. The food waste does not refer nowadays only to the remains from the consumers’ table or those resulting from handling and storing the food products. As a paradox, this waste arrived currently to translate into excessive care for their own safety, by exaggerating the food safety measures. The maximum limits admitted for different contaminants is almost constantly changing and sometimes these shifts are only the expression of excessive care and concern somehow selfish of the people from the developed countries.