Refers to limiting the presence of those hazards, whether chronic or acute, that may make food injurious to the health of the consumer. Food safety involves producing, handling, storing, and preparing food in such a way as to prevent infection and contamination in the food production chain and to help ensure food quality and safety.
Food safety
Proper sanitation practices provide the foundation that food safety assurance systems are built upon. Poor hygiene and sanitary practices can contribute to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses and cause injury.
Food Sanitation:
Food Hygiene: Refers to the conditions and measures necessary to ensure the safety of food from production to consumption. Lack of adequate food hygiene can lead to foodborne diseases and death of the consumer.
The Five Key Principles of Food Hygiene according to WHO:
Prevent contaminating food with pathogens spreading from people, pets, and pests.
Separate raw and cooked foods to prevent contamination of cooked foods.
Cook foods for the appropriate length of time and at the proper temperature to kill pathogens.
Store food at the proper temperature.
Use safe water and raw materials.
Food Suitability: Concerned with the intrinsic characteristics of the product, namely taste, smell, texture, and presentation characteristics, that can change with the presence of spoilage microbes (bacteria, yeast, and mold).
WHO: Founded in 1948, WHO is the United Nations agency that connects nations, partners, and people to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable—so everyone, everywhere, can attain the highest level of health.
Food Security: A condition related to the availability of food supply to groups of people and individuals' access to it. It involves food availability, access, and utilization.
Food Safety Risk Analysis: An emerging discipline which serves as the methodological basis for assessing and managing risks associated with food hazards.
Risk Assessment: Helps the facility decide on the level of risk for each hazard. It should provide complete information to allow the risk management team to make the best possible decisions.
HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point): Developed through an effective and efficient risk assessment. It aims to focus on hazards that might affect a food product or raw ingredients in a processing operation.
Occupational Safety and Health (OSH): Can be important for moral, legal, and financial reasons. All organizations have a duty of care to ensure that employees and any other person who may be affected by the companies undertaking remain safe at all times.
Biological Hazards: Hazards that can occur from multiple sources. Pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, and molds are harmful microorganisms that can reach high levels in food.
Chemical Hazards: Include naturally occurring chemicals, chemicals added via water, and agricultural chemicals like pesticides, antibiotics, and heavy metals.
Physical Hazards: Include objects naturally present in the food, objects occurring in agriculture, and objects added during processing like glass or metal.
Fire Hazard: Cooking fires are the primary cause of home fires and home fire injuries.
Ergonomics: The science of designing the workplace to fit the worker, reducing injuries.
Risk: An uncertain event or condition that, if it occurs, has a positive or negative effect on a project’s objectives.
Opportunity: If it helps.
Threat: If it hinders.
Risk Management: Refers to the practices, policies, and procedures designed to minimize or eliminate unacceptable risks.
Sanitation: A foundation for food safety assurance.
Proper sanitation: practices provide the foundation that food safety assurance systems are built upon.
Poor hygiene and sanitary: practices can contribute to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses and cause injury.
Engineering Controls: Engineering controls are physical changes to the way tasks are done - for example, re-designing workstations or modifying equipment to make it safer or more ergonomic.
Administrative Controls: Administrative controls are changes to the way work is organized and performed. This can include planning, organizing, and scheduling of resources and staffing. Safe work practices and procedures are an important form of administrative control.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): PPE provides protection against hazards.
Fire Hazard: Cooking fires are the primary cause of home fires and home fire injuries. The majority of cooking equipment fires start with the ignition of common household items (i.e., wall coverings, paper or plastic bags, curtains, etc.).
What is Workplace Violence: Workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the worksite.
Safe Work Practices: Written safe work practices provide employees with instructions on how to carry out specific tasks and how to protect themselves against known hazards.
Moral: It is the idea that no-one should have to risk their health for the sake of work, and that any risks at work can reduced or eradicated altogether.
Economic: "If someone is injured at work, then it can cost the whole society a great deal of money."
Legal: Firms are legally required to invest in occupational health and safety in order that they never face legal proceedings resulting from an injury in the workplace.
"Food Poisoning": refers to any illness involving a combination of symptoms like nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. However, the term "Food Poisoning" is misleading because it groups all food-related illnesses by symptoms, rather than by the pathogens that caused the illness (e.g., toxins, bacteria, or viruses).
Foodborne illnesses are defined as diseases, usually either infectious or toxic in nature, caused by agents that enter the body through the ingestion of food.
True or False Statements
WHY IS SANITATION IMPORTANT?
Here are several reasons why sanitation and safe food handling practices are important in the commercial kitchen:
Sanitation is a legal requirement
Sanitation helps prevent food poisoning outbreaks
Sanitation helps maintain food quality
Sanitation protects your brand
SANITATION: A Foundation for Food Safety Assurance
Proper sanitation practices provide the foundation that food safety assurance systems are built upon. Poor hygiene and sanitary practices can contribute to outbreaks of foodborne illnesses and cause injury.
SANITATION: A Foundation for Food Safety Assurance
Major food safety incidents have common characteristics and include biological, chemical, or physical hazards. They occur throughout the food system and have occurred globally, often resulting from one or a combination of factors including:
Contaminated raw materials
Errors in transportation, processing, preparation, handling, or storage
Packaging problems
Food tampering/malicious contamination
Mishandling
Changes in formulation or processing
Inadequate maintenance of equipment or facilities
Addition of incorrect ingredients
WHAT IS FOOD HYGIENE?
Food hygiene refers to the conditions and measures necessary to ensure the safety of food from production to consumption. Food can become contaminated during slaughtering, harvesting, processing, storage, distribution, transportation, and preparation. Lack of adequate food hygiene can lead to foodborne diseases and death of the consumer.
The Five Key Principles of Food Hygiene according to WHO:
Prevent contaminating food with pathogens spreading from people, pets, and pests.
Separate raw and cooked foods to prevent contamination of cooked foods.
Cook foods for the appropriate length of time and at the proper temperature to kill pathogens.
Store food at the proper temperature.
Use safe water and raw materials.
WHAT IS FOOD SUITABILITY?
Food suitability is concerned with the intrinsic characteristics of the product, namely taste, smell, texture, and presentation characteristics, that can change with the presence of spoilage microbes (bacteria, yeast, and mold). Suitability ensures that the food is "acceptable" for human consumption.
WHAT IS FOOD SAFETY?
Food safety refers to limiting the presence of those hazards, whether chronic or acute, that may make food injurious to the health of the consumer. Food safety involves producing, handling, storing, and preparing food in such a way as to prevent infection and contamination in the food production chain and to help ensure food quality and safety.
FOOD SAFETY
A Global Problem Every day, in every country, people fall ill from the food they have eaten. These foodborne illnesses are caused by dangerous microorganisms and/or toxic chemicals. The World Health Organization (WHO) has recognized that foodborne illnesses:
Are a problem in developing and developed countries alike;
Place a burden on healthcare systems;
Seriously affect infants, young children, the elderly, and those who are already ill;
Spawn a vicious cycle of diarrhea and malnutrition;
Undermine the economy and national development efforts, as well as international trade.
WHAT IS WHO AND WHAT ARE THEY RESPONSIBLE FOR?
Founded in 1948, WHO is the United Nations agency that connects nations, partners, and people to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable—so everyone, everywhere, can attain the highest level of health.
WHO's mandate includes advocating for universal health care, monitoring public health risks, coordinating responses to health emergencies, and promoting health and well-being.
WHAT IS FOOD SECURITY?
Food security is a condition related to the availability of food supply to groups of people and individuals' access to it. Food security is often defined in terms of food availability, access, and utilization. Famine and hunger are both rooted in food insecurity. Chronic food insecurity translates into a high degree of vulnerability to famine and hunger.
Causes of Food Insecurity
The most common causes of food insecurity in Africa and other developing countries include:
Drought and other extreme weather events
Pests, livestock diseases, and other agricultural problems
Climate change
Military conflicts
Corruption and political instability
Rapid population growth
LAWS AND AGENCIES PERTAINING TO FOOD SAFETY AND REGULATIONS
International Laws
Acts and regulations applicable to the food industry are concerned with:
Production or sale of unsafe, unfit, or substandard food
Contamination of food
Sanitation of food premises, equipment, and personnel
Food safety practices including temperature control
Control of food poisoning and foodborne diseases