June 1, 2024

WHAT IS FOOD SAFETY?

Food safety (or food hygiene) is used as a scientific method/discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potential health hazards.

June 2, 2024

WHY SHOULD WE BE HYGIENIC WITH FOOD?

Food can transmit pathogens, which can result in the illness or death of the person or other animals. The main types of pathogens are bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungus. Food can also serve as a growth and reproductive medium for pathogens.

June 3, 2024

FOOD SAFETY ISSUES AND REGULATIONS CONCERNS

Major issues affecting food safety and regulations include;
1. Agriculture and animal husbandry practices.
2. Food manufacturing practices.
3. Food additives.
4. Novel food.
5. Genetically modified foods.
6. Food labeling.
7. Food contamination.

June 4, 2024

WHAT IS FOOD CONTAMINATION:

Food contamination happens when foods are corrupted with another substance. It can happen In the process of production, transportation, packaging, storage, sales, and cooking process. Contamination can be physical, chemical, or biological or a combination of two or more types of contaminants.

June 5, 2024

TYPES OF FOOD CONTAMINATION:

PHYSICAL: When a foreign object enters food, it is a physical contaminant, Physical contaminants (or ‘foreign bodies’) are objects such as hair, plant stalks or pieces of plastic and metal, glass or pests, jewelry, dirt, and fingernails.

CHEMICAL; Chemical contamination happens when food is contaminated with a natural or artificial chemical substance. Common sources of chemical contamination can include: pesticides, herbicides, veterinary drugs, contamination from environmental sources (water, air or soil pollution), cross-contamination during food processing, migration from food packaging materials, presence of natural toxins, or use of unapproved food additives and adulterants.

BIOLOGICAL: It happens when the food has been contaminated by substances produced by living creatures, such as humans, rodents, pests or microorganisms. This includes bacterial contamination, viral contamination, or parasite contamination that is transferred through saliva, pest droppings, blood or fecal matter. Bacterial contamination is the most common cause of food poisoning worldwide.

June 6, 2024

SAFE FOOD HANDLING PROCEDURES TO OBSERVE (FROM MARKET TO CONSUMER):

The five key principles of food hygiene, according to W.H.O. are;
-Prevent contaminating food with pathogens spreading from people, pets, and pests.

-Separate raw and cooked foods to prevent contaminating the cooked foods.

-Cook foods for the appropriate length of time and at the appropriate temperature to kill pathogens.

-Store food at the proper temperature.

-Use safe water and safe raw materials.

June 7, 2024

WHY IS FOOD SAFETY INSPECTION IMPORTANT:

Health protection measures, specifically food safety inspections, play a crucial role in preventing food borne illnesses, can take different forms at various stages of the food production system, Food safety inspection involves analyzing food samples to determine composition, contamination levels, or quality, particularly in the case of imported foods or those entering the consumer market. Additionally, traditional food safety inspection includes evaluating food handling practices and production environments, commonly applied in the food retail sector, food manufacturing, farms, and slaughterhouses. Inspectors often employ observational and qualitative methods to assess food handling practices and identify potential contamination risks.

June 8, 2024

FOOD CONTAMINATION: MAJOR CHALLENGES OF THE FUTURE.

This issue of Foods is dedicated to discuss the microbial, chemical and physical contamination challenges of food products. Food contaminants have several routes throughout the supply chain (farm to fork) to enter and make a food product unfit for consumption. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized food contamination as a global challenge in several documents and reports, It is clearly acknowledged in a statement: “food contamination that occurs in one place may affect the health of consumers living on the other side of the planet”. Therefore, consumption of contaminated foods causes illness in millions of people and many die as a result of it. This scenario makes “food contamination” a serious issue. The list of food contamination challenges is very long and keeps growing, these include:

1. Contamination of fresh produce emerging as a major food safety challenge where pathogens are passed on during harvesting through contact with contaminated equipment, transport containers, knives and tools, and human hands and gloves or from supply chain by direct contact with fecal waste during farming, such as wastewater irrigation and the use of biosolids or animal manure as fertilizer. 

2. The emergence of antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARB) is now accepted a potential threat to both public and environmental health and the WHO has already proposed a global strategy to address the challenge. Previously the clinical arena was the major culprit; however, the overuse of antibiotics in food production is making the situation more complicated. 

3. Intentional food contamination refers to the deliberate addition of a harmful or poisonous substance to food products e.g preservatives, sweeteners etc. It is a criminal act and also known as food fraud. Foods that have been intentionally contaminated are unsafe to eat and can make consumers seriously ill. Therefore, it is also equally important to address the challenge of fraudulent food contamination.

Finally, I would emphasize that ensuring the supply of safe food products is important to protect public health and the food industry.