View source for 13. Food safety, food safety testing

Food safety

* Definition: The scientific discipline describing handling, preparation and storage of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness
* Five key principles of food hygiene (according to WHO)
*# Prevent contaminating food with pathogens
*# Separate raw and cooked foods
*# Cook foods for appropriate length of time and at appropriate temperature to kill pathogens
*# Store food at the proper temperature
*# Use safe water and safe raw materials
* Food-borne illness
** Bacteria
*** Campylobacter jejuni
*** Salmonella
*** Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli
** Bacterial toxins
*** Staphylococcus aureus toxin
*** Clostridium botulinum toxin
*** Bacillus cereus toxins
*** Clostridium perfringens toxin
** Fungal toxins
*** Aflatoxin
** Viruses
*** Enterovirus
*** Hepatitis A
*** Norovirus
*** Rotavirus
** Parasites
*** Helminths (flatworms)
**** Taenia solium/saginata
*** Nematodes (roundworms)
**** Trichinella
*** Protozoa
* In Hungary: National Food Chain Safety Office is responsible for national food safety
* Labelling
** “Best before” – a date after which the food ''may'' lose quality, but does not imply any serious health problems
** “Use by” – a date after which it’s no longer legal to sell the product due to serious risk of food-borne illness
* Taenia solium/saginata
** Pigs/cows eat eggs -> we eat pork/beef -> flatworms grow to multiple meters in the small intestine
* Trichinellosis – trichinella spiralis
** Hosts
*** Pig
*** Wild boar
** Trichinella adults invade intestinal wall of pig -> enter pig muscles -> lay larvae in the muscles -> pork is consumed by humans -> larvae grow to adults -> invade intestinal wall of human -> enter human muscles
** Symptoms:
*** GI symptoms, myalgia, facial oedema.
*** Symptoms resolve after 4 – 7 weeks
** Prevention
*** Trichinoscope – a special device for detecting trichinella larvae in meat
*** Appropriate heating of food – 20-30 min at 60℃
* Aflatoxin
** Produced by Aspergillus species
** Causes cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma
** Only produced in warm, humid environments

[[Category:Public health 4 - Preventive medicine]]