There is something rotten in our food supply. There are problems with everything; from how it is grown or raised, to how it is prepared, transported and, ultimately, put on our dinner tables. Each year, unsafe food causes disease in at least 2 billion people worldwide. And the situation is getting worse. The weekly epidemiological record, a report put out by the World Health Organisation, says: 'While some countries have made great strides in controlling the food-borne disease burden, globally, this number [of people suffering food-borne illness] is growing.' Food-borne diseases that infect a large number of people - like cholera, salmonella, E.coli, or bird flu and mad cow disease - receive most publicity. But it is the less-glamorous, day-to-day cases of food poisoning and infection that cause most illness. In Asia, about 700,000 people die every year from diseases caught by eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water. It is still so common that we barely notice it, or report on it. Many more people are left with long-term disability - heart, liver or bowel problems, poor growth, and even brain damage. So, what has gone wrong? Food poisoning, contaminated food and tainted water are all problems we have long known about, and should have the information and technology to prevent. To try to find some answers to this question, food safety regulators and experts from around the world met in Bangkok last week. And what did they come up with? One thing stood out. According to a WHO report: 'Better organisation and communication between authorities along the entire food chain, and with consumers, could significantly reduce [the problem], making food safer for consumers around the world.' But what does this mean? Are there not huge departments dedicated to food safety, volumes and volumes of rules, and armies of food inspectors checking, testing, and filing reports all the time? Yes and no. There are, indeed, lots of people doing studies, inspecting, and filing lots of reports. But our food chain is now global. So a report in one place may never get to, or have any impact on, the place where the food is eventually eaten. Or, while it may have been safe and thoroughly inspected in one place, it may have sat on a wharf, been left on a supermarket shelf at the wrong temperature, handled by someone with dirty hands, or been chopped on a dirty board. And all those things may have happened in different countries or even regions. Tracking down the problem makes looking for a needle in a haystack seem easy. So, if the inspectors are fighting a losing battle, and the rules do not work, what else can be done? The WHO has decided that one answer is to get us all involved. Officials have launched a campaign entitled Five Keys to Safer Food. It is certainly not rocket science, but simply a list of the things we know we should do: wash our hands before touching food; separate raw and cooked food; cook food thoroughly; keep food refrigerated; and use safe (uncontaminated) water and safe raw materials. By cleaning up our act, we may, therefore, be stopping our food killing us. The last of the five keys - keeping raw materials, water and food safe - is the hardest for individuals to do, and it is here that we depend on our governments and food safety regulators to do a better job. One promising development is the formation of the International Food Safety Authorities Network - 102 countries have joined so far - which aims to improve the ability of countries and authorities to respond jointly to food-related emergencies. We can only hope that there will be fewer emergencies for them to deal with. Margaret Cheng is a Hong-Kong based medical writer