Food safety

Question

This piglix contains articles or sub-piglix about Food safety

Answer 1

Five-second rule

The five-second rule is a western food hygiene concept, that states that there is a five second window to pick up food (or sometimes cutlery) after it has been dropped and thus exposed to contamination. Some may truly believe this assertion, whereas most people employ the rule as an amusing social fiction that allows them to eat a dropped piece of food, despite the potential reservations of their peers. The "rule" has been scientifically proven false.

The time of origin of the myth is unclear. Some refer to it as the three-second rule.

The five-second rule has received some scholarly attention. It has been studied as both, a public health recommendation and a sociological effect.

In 2003, Jillian Clarke of the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign found in a survey that 56% of men and 70% of women surveyed, were familiar with the five-second rule. She also determined that a variety of foods were significantly contaminated by even brief exposure to a tile inoculated with E. coli. On the other hand, Clarke found no significant evidence of contamination on public flooring. For this work, Clarke received the 2004 Ig Nobel Prize in public health. A more thorough study in 2006 using salmonella on wood, tiles, and nylon carpet, found that the bacteria were able to thrive under dry conditions even after twenty-eight days. Tested after eight hours of exposure, the bacteria was still able to contaminate bread and bologna in under five seconds. But a minute-long contact increased contamination about tenfold (especially tile and carpet surfaces). The researchers at the Rutgers University also debunked this theory by dropping watermelon cubes, Haribo strawberry gummies, plain white bread, and buttered bread from a height of five inches on to the ground. The surfaces selected were slathered in Enterobacter aerogenes. The surfaces used were carpet, ceramic tile, stainless steel and wood. The food was left on the surface in intervals of 5, 30 and 300 seconds. The scientists assessed the amount of E.aerogens transferred between surface and food. Since Bacteria tended to be attracted to moisture, wet food had more risk to have bacteria transferred then dry food. To the surprise of the researchers, carpet transferred fewer bacteria than steel or tile. Wood was hard to pin down. It showed a large variation. The scientists concluded that five-second rule is a “significant oversimplification” for the chance of bacteria to be transferred in real life.

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Answer 2

Food contact materials

Food contact materials are materials that are intended to be in contact with food. These can be things that are quite obvious like a glass, a can for soft drinks, but also machinery in a food factory or a coffee machine.

Food contact materials can be constructed from a variety of materials like plastics, rubber, paper, coatings, metal etc. In many cases a combination is used; for example a carton box for juices can include (from the inside to the outside): plastic layer, aluminium, paper, printing and top coating.

During the contact of the food contact materials with the food, molecules can migrate from the food contact material to the food. Because of this, in many countries regulations are made to ensure food safety.

The international symbol for "food safe" material is a wine glass and a fork symbol. The symbol identifies that the material used in the product is safe for food contact. This includes food and water containers, packaging materials, cutlery etc. The regulation is applicable to any product intended for food contact whether it be made of metals, ceramics, paper and board, and plastics. Use of the symbol is more significant in products which should be explicitly identified whether food safe or not, i.e. wherever there is an ambuiguity whether the container could be used to hold food stuff. The symbol is used in North America, Europe and parts of Asia. It is mandatory for products sold in Europe after the Framework Regulation EC 1935/2004.

In plastic containers, over and above the prescribed resin identification codes (viz; , , , ), the food safe assurance is required because the resin identification codes do not explicitly communicate the food safe property (or more significantly, the lack of it).

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Answer 3

Food contaminant

Food safety

Food contamination refers to the presence in food of harmful chemicals and microorganisms which can cause consumer illness. This article addresses the chemical contamination of foods, as opposed to microbiological contamination, which can be found under foodborne illness.

The impact of chemical contaminants on consumer health and well-being is often apparent only after many years of processing.Prolonged exposure at low levels (e.g., cancer). Chemical contaminants present in foods are often unaffected by thermal processing (unlike most microbiological agents). Chemical contaminants can be classified according to the source of contamination and the mechanism by which they enter the food product.

Agrochemicals are chemicals used in agricultural practices and animal husbandry with the intent to increase crops and reduce costs. Such agents include pesticides (e.g., insecticides, herbicides, rodenticides), plant growth regulators, veterinary drugs (e.g., nitrofuran, fluoroquinolones, malachite green, chloramphenicol), and bovine somatotropin (rBST).

Environmental contaminants are chemicals that are present in the environment in which the food is grown, harvested, transported, stored, packaged, processed, and consumed. The physical contact of the food with its environment results in its contamination. Possible sources of contamination include:

There are many cases of banned pesticides or carcinogens found in foods.

There is a heavy stigma attached to the presence of hair in food in most societies. There is a risk that it may induce choking and vomiting, and also that it may be contaminated by toxic substances. Views differ as to the level of risk it poses to the inadvertent consumer.

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Answer 4

Food defense

Food defense is the protection of food products from intentional contamination or adulteration by biological, chemical, physical, or radiological agents. It addresses additional concerns including physical, personnel and operational security. This is in contrast to food safety, which is based on accidental or environmental contamination, and food security, which deals with individuals having access to enough food for an active, healthy life. These three terms are often conflated. Food protection is the umbrella term encompassing both food defense and food safety.

Along with protecting the food system, food defense also deals with prevention, protection, mitigation, response and recovery from intentional acts of adulteration.

Food defense events can generally be categorized into three types. These could be carried out by a disgruntled employee, sophisticated insider, or intelligent adversary with a specific goal in mind. This goal may be to impact the public, brand, company or the psycho-social stability of a group of people depending on the type. However an event may contain aspects of more than one category.

These events include intentional contamination by a disgruntled employee, insider or competitor with the intention of damaging the brand of the company, causing financial problems from a widespread recall or sabotage, but not necessarily with the goal of causing widespread illness or public harm. These internal actors often know what procedures are followed in the plant, and how to bypass checkpoints and security controls.

An example of a disgruntled employee is the contamination of frozen foods produced by a subsidiary of Maruha Nichiro Holdings with malathion, a pesticide. The contamination is speculated to have occurred because the employee was dissatisfied with pay and benefits. The contamination resulted in a recall of 6.4 million potentially tainted products. Nearly 1,800 people are estimated to have been affected, and public confidence in food quality was shaken.

The reach and complexity of the food system has caused concern for its potential as a terrorist target.

The first and largest food attack in the US is the 1984 Rajneeshee bioterror attack. 751 individuals were poisoned in The Dalles, Oregon through the contamination of salad bars with Salmonella with the intention of affecting the 1984 Wasco County elections.

The FDA's working definition of EMA is

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Answer 5

Food microbiology

Food safety

Food microbiology is the study of the microorganisms that inhabit, create, or contaminate food, including the study of microorganisms causing food spoilage. "Good" bacteria, however, such as probiotics, are becoming increasingly important in food science. In addition, microorganisms are essential for the production of foods such as cheese, yogurt, bread, beer, wine and, other fermented foods.

Food safety is a major focus of food microbiology. Pathogenic bacteria, viruses and toxins produced by microorganisms are all possible contaminants of food. However, microorganisms and their products can also be used to combat these pathogenic microbes. Probiotic bacteria, including those that produce bacteriocins, can kill and inhibit pathogens. Alternatively, purified bacteriocins such as nisin can be added directly to food products. Finally, bacteriophages, viruses that only infect bacteria, can be used to kill bacterial pathogens. Thorough preparation of food, including proper cooking, eliminates most bacteria and viruses. However, toxins produced by contaminants may not be liable to change to non-toxic forms by heating or cooking the contaminated food due to other safety conditions.

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Answer 6

Food poisoning

Food safety

Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and colloquially referred to as food poisoning) is any illness resulting from the food spoilage of contaminated food, pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate food, as well as chemical or natural toxins such as poisonous mushrooms and various species of beans that have not been boiled for at least 10 minutes.

Symptoms vary depending on the cause, and are described below in this article. A few broad generalizations can be made, e.g.: The incubation period ranges from hours to days, depending on the cause and on how much was consumed. The incubation period tends to cause sufferers to not associate the symptoms with the item consumed, and so to cause sufferers to attribute the symptoms to gastroenteritis for example. Symptoms often include vomiting, fever, and aches, and may include diarrhea. Bouts of vomiting can be repeated with an extended delay in between, because even if infected food was eliminated from the stomach in the first bout, microbes (if applicable) can pass through the stomach into the intestine via cells lining the intestinal walls and begin to multiply. Some types of microbes stay in the intestine, some produce a toxin that is absorbed into the bloodstream, and some can directly invade deeper body tissues.

Foodborne illness usually arises from improper handling, preparation, or food storage. Good hygiene practices before, during, and after food preparation can reduce the chances of contracting an illness. There is a consensus in the public health community that regular hand-washing is one of the most effective defenses against the spread of foodborne illness. The action of monitoring food to ensure that it will not cause foodborne illness is known as food safety. Foodborne disease can also be caused by a large variety of toxins that affect the environment.

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Answer 7

Food safety risk analysis

A food safety risk analysis is essential not only to produce or manufacture high quality goods and products to ensure safety and protect public health, but also to comply with international and national standards and market regulations. With risk analyses food safety systems can be strengthened and food-borne illnesses can be reduced. Food safety risk analyses focus on major safety concerns in manufacturing premises—not every safety issue requires a formal risk analysis. Sometimes, especially for complex or controversial analyses, regular staff is supported by independent consultants. A risk is like eating out someone's butt! It could be really good or really bad but you won't know until you try. Therefore, by doing it your taking a risk.

Risk analysis is defined for the purposes of the Codex Alimentarius Commission as "A process consisting of three components: risk management, risk assessment, and risk communication."

Risk management is defined for the purposes of the Codex Alimentarius Commission as "The process, distinct from risk assessment, of weighing policy alternatives, in consultation with all interested parties, considering risk assessment and other factors relevant for the health protection of consumers and for the promotion of fair trade practices, and, if needed, selecting appropriate prevention and control options."

As defined by the Codex Alimentarius Commission and adopted by international food safety commissions, food safety risk assessment is "The scientific evaluation of known or potential adverse health effects resulting from human exposure to foodborne hazards." The most important aspect of risk assessment in relation to food safety is that it should be rooted in scientific data. Sources of data should be assembled in a systematic manner and should stem from valid scientific studies and communities across the world. A proper risk assessment can be described as being objective and unbiased, with absolute transparency. When at all possible, the assessment should remain independent of risk management as to preserve the integrity of the science and not have influence from regulatory policy and values. All assumptions made throughout the assessment should be well documented by the risk manager and should strive to be as objective, biologically realistic, and consistent as possible. As with any risk assessment performed, incomplete data or gaps in information create degrees of variability and uncertainty. In accounting for these factors, an extensive description of uncertainties in the risk estimate and their origins should be provided, as well as, descriptions of how assumptions being made can increase or decrease the uncertainty of results in the risk assessment. To increase the validity of a risk assessment, it is recommended that the assessment remain open for peer review and editing by food safety and science communities. A proper risk assessment is a constantly revolving process consisting of the following steps: (i) hazard identification, (ii) hazard characterization, (iii) exposure assessment, and (iv) risk characterization.

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Answer 8

Food testing strips

Food testing strips are products that help determine whether or not food contains bacteria that can cause foodborne illness. These products can typically be used on food, water, and hard surfaces, and are often designed for quick and easy home and commercial use.

Currently, there are two categories of food testing strips on the market.

One type of food testing strip is an assay enzyme reactant test. This test requires the food testing strip to be dipped into a blended mixture of food or test samples, distilled water and a reagent. These strips are designed specifically to detect those strains of E.coli and Salmonella that are harmful to humans.

A second type of food testing strip is a gram-negative swab, which is usually administered directly to the food itself. Gram-negative swabs generally work faster than enzyme reactant strips, but they differ in that the gram-negative swabs are designed to detect a broad group of organisms, not just those that can cause foodborne illness in humans.

The enzyme reactant test strips react when the buffer solution breaks the bacterial wall. This breach releases enzymes, which react upon contact to the enzyme test strips.

The gram-negative reactant activates when components of the gram-negative cell wall or specific enzymes are present, causing the swab itself to change color. This is not directly indicative of the presence or absence of human pathogen in the test sample.

People are now working on new ways to enhance these pathogen strips with silk pills and new nano-fiber technology.

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Answer 9

Food spoilage

Spoilage is the process in which food deteriorates to the point in which it is not edible to humans or its quality of edibility becomes reduced. Various external forces are responsible for the spoilage of food. Food that is capable of spoiling is referred to as perishable food.

Harvested foods decompose from the moment they are harvested due to attacks from enzymes, oxidation and microorganisms. These include bacteria, mold, yeast, moisture, temperature and chemical reaction.

Bacteria can be responsible for the spoilage of food. When bacteria breaks down the food, acids and other waste products are created in the process. While the bacteria itself may or may not be harmful, the waste products may be unpleasant to taste or may even be harmful to one's health.

Yeasts can be responsible for the decomposition of food with a high sugar content. The same effect is useful in the production of various types of food and beverages, such as bread, yogurt, cider, and alcoholic beverages.

Signs of food spoilage may include an appearance different from the food in its fresh form, such as a change in color, a change in texture, an unpleasant odor, or an undesirable taste. The item may become softer than normal. If mold occurs, it is often visible externally on the item.

"food poisoning", and more properly as "foodborne illness".

A number of methods of prevention can be used that can either totally prevent, delay, or otherwise reduce food spoilage.

Food rotation system uses the first in first out method (FIFO), which ensures that the first item purchased is the first item consumed.

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Answer 10

Food sampling

Food sampling is a process used to check that a food is safe and that it does not contain harmful contaminants, or that it contains only permitted additives at acceptable levels, or that it contains the right levels of key ingredients and its label declarations are correct, or to know the levels of nutrients present.

A food sample is carried out by subjecting the product to physical analysis. Analysis may be undertaken by or on behalf of a manufacturer regarding their own product, or for official food law enforcement or control purposes, or for research or public information.

To undertake any analysis, unless the whole amount of food to be considered is very small so that the food can be used for testing in its entirety, it is usually necessary for a portion of it to be taken (e.g. a small quantity from a full production batch, or a portion of what is on sale in a shop) – this process is known as food sampling.

In most cases with food to be analysed there are two levels of sampling – the first being selection of a portion from the whole, which is then submitted to a laboratory for testing, and the second being the laboratory’s taking of the individual amounts necessary for individual tests that may be applied. It is the former that is ‘food sampling’: the latter is analytical laboratory ‘sub-sampling’, often relying upon initial homogenisation of the entire submitted sample.

Where it is intended that the results of any analysis to relate to the food as a whole it is crucially important that the sample is representative of that whole – and the results of any analysis can only be meaningful if the sampling is undertaken effectively. This is true whether the ‘whole’ is a manufacturer’s entire production batch, or where it is a single item but too large to all be used for the test.

Factors relevant in considering the representativeness of a sample include the homogeneity of the food, the relative sizes of the sample to be taken and the whole, the potential degree of variation of the parameter(s) in question through the whole, and the significance and intended use of the analytical result.

Food manufacturers and producers would need to satisfy themselves that any sample taken for analysis is sufficiently representative of the food for the analytical result to be meaningful. This is true whether the data are to be used as the basis of labelling declarations, assurance of compliance with legislative or other standards, monitoring of production as part of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), or for routine quality control.

In the United Kingdom although various guidance is available, either from manufacturers’ associations or from sources of standards such as British Standards Institution (such as British Standard BS6001), some of which may be relevant to certain food types. It is largely down to manufacturers to make their own evaluations of need and suitability. This must be translated into an assessment both of sample portion size and number, and the frequency of taking samples.

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