Food Safety Fundamentals and Food Hazards

Vocabulary flashcards covering core food safety definitions, hazards, conditions for bacterial growth, temperature rules, and Philippine food safety regulations.

Food Safety

The assurance that food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared and/or eaten according to its intended use.

Food Suitability

The concept that concerns whether a food product is acceptable for human consumption without necessarily presenting a health danger.

Food Hygiene

The conditions and measures necessary for ensuring both the safety and suitability of food at all stages of the food chain.

Contamination

The unintended presence of harmful organisms or substances in food.

Hazard

Any substance in food that can cause illness, injury, or harm.

Biological Hazard

A danger to food safety caused by disease-causing microorganisms such as bacteria, molds, yeasts, viruses, or fungi.

Chemical Hazard

A danger to food safety caused by chemical substances, especially cleaning agents, pesticides, and toxic metals.

Physical Hazard

A danger to food safety caused by particles such as glass chips, metal shavings, bits of wood, or other foreign matter.

Allergen

A substance that causes an allergic reaction.

Direct Contamination

The contamination of raw food items or the plants or animals from which they come in their natural settings or habitats.

Cross-Contamination

The transference of hazardous substances, mainly microorganisms, to food from another food or surface such as equipment, worktables, or hands.

Foodborne Illnesses

Diseases, usually either infectious or toxic, caused by agents that enter the body through the ingestion or consumption of contaminated food.

Foodborne Disease Outbreak

An incident where two ($2$) or more people experience a similar illness after eating a common food.

Pathogens

Bacteria or other microorganisms that are dangerous when consumed by humans.

Intoxications

Foodborne illnesses that occur when a pathogen produces toxins in food before it is consumed.

Infections

Foodborne illnesses caused when viable food pathogens survive through the host's stomach into the intestine.

Toxin-Mediated Infection

A foodborne illness caused by eating food containing harmful microorganisms that produce a toxin once inside the human body.

Bacterial Growth

The reproduction of bacteria and the increase in the number of organisms.

Lag Phase

The initial resting period during bacterial growth, lasting from $1$ to $4\text{ hours}$, where bacteria adjust to new conditions and very little growth occurs.

Log Phase

The period of accelerated bacterial growth following the lag phase.

Stationary Phase

The phase of bacterial growth that lasts until bacteria crowd others within their colony, creating competition for food, space, and moisture.

Decline Phase

The negative-growth phase during which bacteria die at an accelerated rate.

Temperature Danger Zone (TDZ)

The temperature range from $41^\text{o}\text{F}$ to $135^\text{o}\text{F}$ ($5^\text{o}\text{C}$ to $57^\text{o}\text{C}$) in which disease-causing bacteria multiply rapidly.

Water Activity ($A_w$)

A measure of the amount of water that is not bound to the food and is available for bacterial growth, measured on a scale of $0$ to $1.0$.

Viruses

Microscopic organisms smaller than bacteria that require a living host to reproduce and do not multiply in food.

Parasites

Microscopic creatures that need to live on or inside a living host to survive and take nourishment from their host.

Fungi

Single-celled to multicellular organisms including yeasts, molds, mildews, and mushrooms.

Minimum Internal Cooking Temperature

The internal temperature for a food product at which microorganisms are killed when held for a specified period.

Four-Hour Rule

A rule stating that food must not remain in the Temperature Danger Zone for a cumulative total of more than $4\text{ hours}$ between receiving and serving.

Convenience Food

Any food product that has been partially or completely prepared or processed by a manufacturer.

First In, First Out (FIFO)

A storage method where deliveries or stocks are rotated to ensure older items are used first by moving them to the front.

Republic Act No. 10611

Also known as the Food Safety Act of 2013, an act passed to strengthen the food safety regulatory system in the Philippines to protect consumer health.

Presidential Decree No. 856

Also known as the Code on Sanitation of the Philippines, promulgated in 1975 to direct public health services toward protecting and promoting people's health.