FOOD3017 In-Semester Exam

What is the principle of food safety?

Food won’t cause harm when consumed according to intended use.

What is the principle of food security?

Planned contamination of food as a result of malicious intent

What are the four types of hazards?

Microbiological, chemical, physical, allergenic

What are the types of bacterial infection methods?

• Infection

• Intoxication

• Toxicoinfection

What are the types of microbiological hazards?

• Bacterial

• Mycotoxins (mould)

• Virus transmission

• Parasites

What are some sources of microbiological hazards?

• Animal/human excreta

• soil

• raw meat, eggs, milk etc.

• pests

What are some control methods for microbiological hazards?

• Temperature controls

• approved suppliers

• trained staff

What are some sources of physical hazards?

• raw ingredients

• building/equipment

• notice boards

• food handlers

What are some controls for physical hazards?

• decant before storage

• staff training

• PPE

What are some sources of chemical hazards?

• deliveries (chemical pesticides, cleaning)

• migration from packaging

• cleaning

• storing chemicals in unmarked containers

What are some controls for chemical hazards?

• approved suppliers

• wash fruit/veg

• chemicals delivered separately

• food safe packaging

What allergies are recognised by FSANZ in Australia?

• peanuts

• tree nuts

• soy

• milk

• eggs

• sesame

• fish

• crustaceans

• molluscs

• lupin

• wheat

What are the three classifications of methods used to prevent biologically caused foodborne illness?

• Prevent/minimise contamination (before)

• Prevent/minimise growth of hazard (during)

• Eliminate/reduce hazard (after)

How can you prevent/minimise contamination?

• GMP

• Minimise contact with contaminated soil, water, etc.

• Thoroughly clean all food contact surfaces

• Use appropriate cleaning chemicals

How can you prevent/minimise growth of hazards?

• prevent proliferation

• Monitor temperature danger zones

  • 4hr/2hr rule

    • <2hrs, use immediately or store <5°C

    • 2 to 4hrs, use immediately

    • >4hrs, dispose of

How can you eliminate/reduce biological hazards?

• heating (effective combined with other methods eg. smoking/drying)

• Irradiation

• Depends on:

  • type of treatment

  • type of food

  • type of microbiological hazard

What are the three food safety management systems?

• HACCP

• TACCP

  • threat assessment and critical control points

  • prevention of intentional adulteration

• VACCP

  • vulnerability assessment and critical control points

  • prevention of financially motivated adulteration

How is an intolerance difference to an allergy?

• Not an immune response

• Involves digestive system

• eg. Lactose and lactose, deficiency/ lactose malabsorption

• not anaphylactic (except sulphite and benzoate)

• generally tolerated in small amounts

What are some symptoms of an intolerance?

• Stomach pain

• bloating

• gas

• diarrhoea

• IBS

• headaches, nausea

What are some common intolerances?

• Lactose

• Gluten

• Salicylates

• Vasoactive Amines

• Suplhites

• MSG

• Aspartame

What is involved in a lactose intolerance?

• insufficient lactase to digest

• Bloating, gas, diarrhoea, general discomfort

What is involved in a gluten intolerance?

• abnormal immune response when gluten consumed

• gut inflammation

• Gut upset

What is involved in a salicylate intolerance?

• triggers hives by directly acting on skin mast cells

• natural and structurally similar salicylates (eg. aspirin) can worsen hives

• found in herbs, spices, fruit and vegetables

What is involved in a vasoactive amines intolerance?

• Vasoactive amines such as tyramine, seratonin and histamine can expand small blood vessels, resulting in:

  • flushing

  • migraines

  • nasal congestion

• found in pineapple, banana, baked meat, vegetables, wine, avocados, citrus, chocolate, cheese

What is involved in a sulphites intolerance?

• can release suplhur dioxide, when breathed incan irritate lungs and trigger anaphylaxis in asthmatics

• naturally occuring but also added to prevent enzymatic browning in dried fruits

What is involved in an aspartame intolerance?

• PKU sufferers and pregnant women cannot metabolise phenylanine in aspartame

  • can cause brain damage

What are the principles of an allergy?

• Exposure to a protein that triggers an immune response in sensitive individuals

• Specific immune response triggered by Immunglobulin E (IgE)

• Influenced by gut microbiology and maternal diet

• Relationship with genetics and early exposure

• Usually a protein or glycoprotein

• Timing and location affected by digestion

What is involved in an allergic reaction?

• drop in blood pressure, hives, eczema, asthma

• immunological cascade

• minutes to 2 hours onset of symptoms

• anaphylaxis

What symptoms are involved in apaphylaxis?

• tingling in mouth

• hives

• swelling

• vomiting and abdominal pain

• difficulty breating

• nausea

• loss of consciousness

• death

What allergies are more frequent in adults and children

• Children

  • egg

  • milk

  • peanut

  • soy

  • fish

• Adults

  • peanut

  • tree nut

  • shellfish

  • fish

  • wheat

What is coeliac disease?

• Chronic autoimmune disease triggered by gluten proteins where T-cells damage intestinal lining

  • atrophy of vili results in decreased absorption and deficiencies

• more prevalent than lgE mediated allergy

• can be non-coeliac sensitivity, FODMAPs

How are allergens regulated and when must they be declared?

• No safe amount or tolerance level

• acceptable risk

• Alibi labelling

• must be declared if allergen is:

  • an ingredient

  • an ingredient of a compound food

  • an additive

  • a processing aid

How should manufacturers deal with allergens?

• implement allergy management plan

• train staff

• responsibly handle unintentional presence

• provide accurate info on allergen status of product

What is the responsibility of importers in allergen management?

• provide accurate information

• advise suppliers of FSANZ requirements

What are the three principles of allergen management?

• controls/training within establishments

• accurate ingredient statements

• precautionary label statements when necessary

What is the allergen management process?

• identify allergen

• consider impact

• identify/control risk

• have robust process that manages all risk

• validation and verification (ongoing)

What are tools to effectively manage allergies?

• make list of ingredients/risks

• map process

  • GMPs

  • SOPs

  • Operator knowledge

• Segregation and separation

  • time/space

  • designated lines

  • separate facilities

  • colour coding

  • effective cleaning between batches

• Cleaning

  • validated and verified

How can cleaning procedures be assessed?

• visual inspection (not validation)

• ATP/protein swabs

  • colour change are qualitative

  • only assesses easily reached areas

  • not specific to allergen residue

  • impacted by cleaners and surfactants

What are some considerations when validating allergen cleaning?

• allergens used and likely load

• form of allergen

• point of introduction to the process

• process flow impact

• ease of detection

What are some causes of poor allergen management?

• cleaning failure

• unexpected allergenic ingredients

• label mismatch

• staff

• supply chain

• time/financial pressures

What are some solutions to allergen management in the industry?

• awareness

• collaboration

• broad approach to food integriity

• modelling

• technology

How does the definition of quality differ by stakeholder?

• Consumer

  • subjective

    • taste

    • appearance

    • value

    • reputation

• Production manager

  • consistency and control

    • microbiological

    • nutritional

    • packaging

    • shelf life

• Regulator

  • Compliance and consumer protection

What is the general concept of quality?

• Product fit for purpose

• Meets company/consumer requirements/expectations

• consistency is key

What are the dimensions of quality?

• legal (FSANZ)

• nutritional

• health

• technological

• sensory

• sustainability

What are the results of poor quallity?

• recalls

• customer complaints

• lost sales

• reputation damage

• regulatory action

• food waste

What are the aspects of the quality paradigm?

• Quality management (QM)

• Quality assurance (QA)

• Quality Control (QC)

What are the principles of quality management?

• Strategic, organisation wide strategy

• Sets direction

What are the principles of quality assurance?

• preventative

• Process focussed

• builds systems

• consistency focus

• Getting it right the first time

• Eg.

  • SOPs

  • training programs

  • HACCP plans

  • supplier approval plans

What are the principles of quality control?

• detective

• product focussed

• measures outcomes

• eg. finished product testing

What is quality policy?

• expresses management commitment

• defines quality objectives

• guides decision making

• communicates expectations to staff

• often public

What are quality systems?

• structure, procedures, responsiblities and resources needed to achieve quality objectives

• set of documented procedures and rules that assure conformance

• eg.

  • HACCP

  • ISO 9001

  • SQF

What is total quality management?

• Management philosophy grounded on:

  • customer focus

  • employee involvement

  • continuous improvement

What are some quality improvement tools?

• PDCA

• Fishbone diagram

• 5 Why’s

• Pareto

What is the PDCA model?

• Plan (Identify problem and set plan)

• Do (Implement plan)

• Check (analyse results to confirm effectiveness)

• Act (adopt if successful or modify and repeat)

How is a Fishbone diagram used?

• Determine root cause of problem

• implement action

• has problem on right side and branches of causes on left

• Generally 5 M’s causes

  • machine

  • material

  • man power

  • measurement

  • method

How is a pareto analysis used?

• Used to achieve greatest improvement with least effort

• 80:20 principle

• vital few, trivial many

• list in order, plot, eliminate causes, go to next

How are statistical models used in quality improvement?

• minimise defective output using statistic methods

• random sampling

• process quality control

What are the benefits of quality management?

• improved consistency

• increased customer satisfaction

• reduced waste

• better compliance

• stronger market access

What are some challenges of quality management?

• impatience

• lack of commitment

• lack of understanding

• vested interests

• variable/incomplete QA/QC

What is an audit?

A systematic and independant evaluation to determine if activities and results comply with planned arrangements.

What are audits used for?

• Find weaknesses

• verify compliance

• improve consistency

• build customer confidence

What are the types of audits?

• First party (internal)

• Second party (customer/supplier)

• Third party (independent body)

What are the elements of an audit?

• auditor

• audit process

• audit management

What skills does an auditor require?

• technical and scientific knowledge

• Food safety / QA systems knowledge

• auditing skills

• professional conduct

What types of evidence are used in an audit?

• interviews

• records

• lab results

• observations

What are the main stages of the audit process?

• planning

• organisation

• checklist

• audit meeting

• on-site audit

• corrective action requests (CARs)

• exit meeting

• verification

What are the classifications of non-conformances?

• Minor

  • limited impact

• Major

  • significant failure

• Critical

  • Immediate safety risk

What are corrective action requests?

• formal notice when process, product or system fails to meet established requirements

• must be documented

  • provide supporting evidence

• require corrective action

What is audit management used for and what does it include?

• Used to ensure that the business has an effective system in place to manage the audit process

• May include:

  • Staff meetings to address findings

  • procedures to address CARs

  • Management review to ensure CARs are resolved

How are CARs followed up?

• reviewing documents

• verify corrective action

• re-audit

• increase monitoring

• suspend certification or operations

What are the benefits of standards in compliance?

• common language

• defined requirements

• benchmarks

• customer confidence

Why are standards important in compliance?

• reduced errors

• better systems

• improved efficiency

• improved customer confidence

• objective benchmarks (audit)

What are specifications in compliance and where can they be sourced from?

• measurable requirements for product, ingredient, process or package

• blueprint for product

• define quality

  • how measured

  • acceptable limit

• can be sourced from:

  • legal

  • company/financial

  • customer

  • technical

What are legal requirements in compliance?

• federal (FSANZ)

• state (food standards code, food hygiene regulations, safe food qld)

• local (food hygiene, BCC)

What are codes of practice?

• voluntary industry guidelines

• industry specific

• implemented to prevent legislation

• mandatory if legislated

What is certification in compliance?

• Independent confirmation that management sustems meets recognised standard

• Assessed by third party bodies

• JAS-ANZ

Whast are the benefits of certification?

• customer expectations

• market access

• retailer requirements

• reputation

• export opportunities

What are the stages of the certification process?

1. Application

2. Gap analysis/pre-assessment

3. Document review

4. Assessment visit

5. CARs

6. Application granted (not permanent)

7. Surveillance audits

What is confidence interval?

Used to estimate where true population parameter lies (usually mean), 95% confident mean falls between a and b.

What is a tolerance interval?

• Estimate range in which data points will lie

• x% confident y% of values will fall between a and b.

What is the process capability index and how is calculated.

• Statistical measure that checks if a process can make products within certain limits

Explain the concept of HACCP?

• A systematic approach to BCPA hazards

• Zero tolerance to food safety failure

• preventative rather than reactive

  • how to stop unsafe product from ever being made

What are the benefits of HACCP?

• Improved food safety

• continuous enhanced process control

• increased market access

What are the classifications of HACCP steps?

• Prerequisite Programs (PRPs)

• Preliminary Tasks

• 7 Principles

What are prerequisite programs (HACCP)?

• foundation for HACCP

• Includes

• General conditions

  • GMPs

  • sanitation

  • staff training

  • GHPs

  • SSOPs

  • cleaning schedules

  • chemical control

  • traceability and recall systems

What are the five preliminary tasks of HACCP?

1. Assemble the HACCP team

2. Describe the product

3. Identify intended use

4. Construct flow diagram

5. Verification of flow diagram

What is the HACCP team?

• the group that oversees implementation and maintenance of the HACCP program

• multi-disciplinary

• individuals with expertise

• HACCP trained person

What is involved in describing the product (HACCP)?

• General characteristics of food

• detail of processing and manufacturing method used

• distribution method

What is involved in identifying the intended use of the product (HACCP)?

• Normal use of the product

• Intended consumers (if general or vulnerable)

• Product readiness

• Forseeable misuse

What is involved in constructing a flow diagram (HACCP)?

• Outlining all steps involved in the manufacturing process

• sequential steps with inputs and outputs

• note critical parameters

What is involved in verifying the flow diagram (HACCP)?

• Walk through site to verify accuracy and completeness

• Check all production times and movements

• signed off and dated

What are the seven principles of HACCP?

1. Hazard analysis

2. Identify CCPs

3. Establish critical limits

4. Monitoring CCPs

5. Establish corrective action procedures

6. Establish procedures for verification and validation

7. Documentation and record keeping

What is hazard analysis and what should it include?

• Identification of all hazards likely to cause injury or illness if uncontrolled

• All BCAP hazards

• natural or processing caused

• looks at:

  • ingredients

  • intended use

  • equipment

  • handling methods

  • distribution

What is involved in identifying CCPs?

• Steps where control is essential to control hazard and can’t be corrected later

• Questions:

  • Can hazard be controlled by PRPs?

  • Do control methods for hazard exist at this step?

  • Will subsequent steps eliminate hazard?

  • Can this step eliminate hazard?

What is involved in establishing critical limits?

• set min/max of which BCAP parameter must be controlled at CCP to prevent/limit hazard

• distinguish safe/unsafe operations at CCP

• eg.

  • time

  • temp

  • physical dimensions

  • pH

  • aw

What are critical limits based on?

• regulatory standards

• literature

• expert guidelines

• experimental results

How can CCPs be monitored?

• visually

• sensory

• physiochemically

• microbiologically

What are the two types of CCP monitoring?

• continuous

• non-continuous

What is continuous CCP monitoring?

• live information

• constantly monitored

• preferred where feasible

What is non-continuous CCP monitoring?

• Batch or time based frequency

• visual or manual observations

• question of when to monitor

• need reliable frequency and procedure

• statistics important