Food Safety-WHAT IS IT?

Food Safety

According to the University of Rhode Island, Food Safety Education:-

Food safety can be defined as “Protecting the food supply from microbial, chemical (i.e. rancidity, browning) and physical (i.e. drying out, infestation) hazards or contamination that may occur during all stages of food production and handling-[growing, harvesting, processing, transporting, preparing, distributing and storing]. The goal of food safety monitoring is to keep food wholesome.”
Food safety also includes foods that will not cause sickness or harm to the consumer when it is prepared, served and eaten according to its intended use.

When food is not safe to consume, this may then lead to food borne illness or food poisoning which is caused by consuming contaminated food. In other words, food borne illness is transmitted to humans by contaminated food.

Contaminated food is where the food with the presence of pathogenic bacteria, toxins, viruses, parasites or in short, presence of harmful substances or microorganisms. Improper handling of food, preparation or storage of food is one of the main reasons why contamination occurs. Food can become contaminated from chemical, physical or biological sources. Food borne illness can also be caused by accidentally consuming food that is contaminated with chemicals substances such as cleaning solutions and sanitizers. Foreign particles, like glass or metal can also cause food to be contaminated.

Those who are at greater risks of getting food borne illness are the infants, young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people who are ill. This is mainly because their immune systems may not be able to fight off the bacteria and viruses that cause the illness. Thus, these people should be served with food that is safe to consume and avoid eating foods that are raw or not fully cooked.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,Surveillance Report for 1993-1997, there are five of categories of contributing factors directly relate to food safety concerns which are also called foodborne illness risk factors. They are:
- Food from Unsafe Sources
- Inadequate Cooking
- Improper Holding Temperatures
- Contaminated Equipment
- Poor Personal Hygiene

In order to prevent foodborne illneses, it is important that several steps should be taken in order to ensure that the food is safe to consume. Most importantly,good personal hygiene should be practiced by the person who handles food. Personal hygiene is the way a person maintains their health, appearance and cleanliness especially hand washing. Also, proper food handling, preparation and storage conditioned should be practiced and monitored regularly.

The application of Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles is also important to prevent foodborne illness.

HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points and is a Food Safety methodology that relies on the identification of Critical Control Points (CCP's) in food production and preparation processes. The CCPs are the closely monitored in order to ensure that food is safe for consumption.

HACCP has been a successful process offering not only safe food but also advantages like :
· Reduction in product loss
· Increase in product quality
· Consistency in product preparation
· Increase in employee awareness and participation in food safety

In conclusion, food safety includes providing safe food to consumers with the application of well practiced personal hygiene, food preparation, and storage and also the application of systems like HACCP to ensure that the food product is of good quality and safe to consume.

References

U.S Food and Drug Administration.(2006). Foodborne Illness. Retrieved April 3, 2007 from http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~mow/foodborn.html

University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension. (N.S).Food Safety Education. Retrieved April 2, 2007 from http://www.uri.edu/ce/ceec/food/factsheets/glossary.html

IOWA State University Extension. (2007). Food Safety Lessons. Retrieved April 2, 2007 from http://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/Lesson/L1/L1p1.html

Institute of Food Science and Technology. (2007). Advisory Statements-Food Safety. Retrieved from http://www.ifst.org/site/cms/contentCategoryView.asp?category=127

HACCP Now. (2007). What is HACCP? Retrieved April 3, 2007 from http://www.haccpnow.co.uk/WhatIsHACCP.asp