L11 Food Safety

The assets of a product brand drives industries to?

• ensure its safety

• advertise its values

• monitor hazards in its production

• all of the above

• none of the above

all of the above

What are endogenous plant toxins?

naturally present within the food/plant

• usually only put as much to prevent microbes from living on them

• dosage is important to consider

What are two examples of endogenous plant toxins?

1) ricin

2) saponins

Wha are ricins?

• endogenous toxin found in broad bean protein

• sufficiently toxic → bioterrorist agent meaning that it can kill dozens/hundreds of people in a single application if found in the water supply

What are saponins?

• not super toxic → need a lot

• membrane perturbant/dissolvant (could even melt brain)

What are endogenous allergens?

when our immune system attacks us and causes collateral damage when exposed to a substance

Describe the endogenous allergen cycle for someone that is allergic to peanuts.

• peanut enters the system

• antigen-presenting cells take up peanut allergies

• t cells are activated and this triggers an immune cascade

• beta cells make peanut specific antibodies which are then primed to attack (turning into mast cells when exposed to a peanut)

  • during an allergic reaction, mast cells release histamines and other factors causing symptoms such as breathing difficulties and hives

What did we discover about those who are predisposed to certain food allergies?

avoiding them can cause the development of the allergy

• took children who were predisposed to a peanut allergy and half of them were purposefully exposed to the allergen whereas the other half were prevented from coming into contact

  • kids who were exposed earlier were less likely to become allergic

In principle, the protection of the public from acute threats from food is most effectively managed by?

the food industry

What are exogenous toxins?

toxins that are not naturally occurring in food materials but rather are present due to contamination

What is an example of an exogenous toxin?

1) mycotoxins

What are mycotoxins?

• class of molds that occurs when you get food materials that are stored in a facility with excess humidity

Describe a case in which mycotoxins were found in food?

Kenya 2005

• 125 died from mycotoxin poisoning caused by contaminated maize that was stored in a facility with excess humidity

Describe which foods contain innate nutrient deficiency? What have we done to prevent this nutrient deficiency?

corn contains niacin (essential nutrient), however it is unavailable to humans as the plant clings onto it so tightly

• have done corn nixtamalization in order to mitigate it

What occurs during corn nixtamalization?

alkali treatment of corn

• done by Native Americans initially with fire ash

• increases niacin bioavailability

What are exogenous pathogens?

pathogens that found their way on food, not naturally occurring

• ex: salmonella in poultry

What is a chronic food hazard?

an unbalanced nutritional diet/composition → development/presence of deleterious components

• also often linked with infectious disease (ex: COVID)

The isomerization of glucose to fructose produced what unintended consequence?

• an acute health hazard

• a chronic health hazard

• a decrease in heart disease

• all of the above

• none of the above

a chronic health hazard

Are consumers knowledgeable about the hazards associated with the food supply?

no

• worried about the wrong things (opposite concerns compared to regulatory agencies such as the FDA and CDC)

From least to most concern, list the food hazards that the regulatory agencies such as the FDA and CDC are most worried about?

food additives → pesticide residues → natural toxicants → environmental → nutritional → microbiological

From least to most concern, list the food hazards that the public and news media are most worried about?

microbiological → nutritional → environmental → natural toxicants → pesticide residues → food additives

Why is there so much misinformation surrounding food safety?

most of the information the average person asks about food come from the people who make it themselves

• ex: Nature Valley Granola Bar Ad

How does the Nature Valley Granola Bar Ad spread misinformation about food?

slogan: “The energy bar nature intended”

• when the truth is that nature is out to get us

The safety of foods is threatened by what?

• microbial metabolites, microbes themselves, plant metabolites, insect metabolites/co-pathogens, environmental toxicants , and man made chemicals

The food industry would be an appropriate protector form chronic illness if?

customers knew more about what they were eating

Have food borne toxicants and adulterants always been regulated?

for the most part, food borne toxicants and adulterants have been aggressively regulated since the 19th century

• one of the most universally successful political actions of the federal government

What was the first federal food law?

Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906

• proposed by Theodore Roosevelt due to the intentional coloring of margarine

• rewritten in 1938

What is the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938?

provided a definition of adulterated food (section 402)

• stated that a food may be deemed to be adulterated if it has 1) subtracted value, and 2) inferiority concealed

What are tolerances in terms of food safety? When did the idea of dose as tolerance get introduced into the law?

tolerances are legal levels of “adulterants” in food

• levels must be deemed harmless to the consumer and technologically unavoidable

• got introduced in 1938

What is the Pesticide Chemical Amendment of 1954?