Veterinarians and food safety

Since the early days of veterinary science, vets have played an important part in protecting public health through controls over the safety of food of animal origin. Traditionally, public health has been treated as a topic separate from the mainstream veterinary subjects of diagnosis and treatment of animal disease. However, there is now increasing awareness of the interconnection between animal and human health, and between the work of vets in production animal practice and those in food safety and other disciplines, as Kenneth Clarke explains.