FABS 452 Midterm Practice

USASK/UOFS

MODULE 1

CONTINUE!

Quality Assurance (QA)

System that ensures food consistently meets safety and quality standards

Food Safety (definition)

Assurance that food will not cause harm when prepared or eaten as intended

Primary goal of food safety systems

Minimize risk to consumers

HACCP

Preventive system that identifies, evaluates, and controls food safety hazards

TQM (Total Quality Management)

Management approach focused on continuous quality improvement

Codex Alimentarius

International food standards protecting consumers and supporting fair trade

Risk assessment

Scientific process used to evaluate food safety risks

Who is responsible for food safety

Government, industry, and consumers

Effect of globalization on food safety

Increased trade complexity and outbreak impact

Harmonization of standards

Alignment of food safety regulations across countries

Commodities (food trade)

Mass-produced foods like grains, meat, dairy, and oils

Four main factors affecting food safety

Globalization, demographics, technology, emerging hazards

Demographic effects on food safety

Aging populations, allergies, travel, diet diversity

RTE foods

Ready-to-eat foods requiring no further cooking

Consumer food trends

Minimally processed, organic, easy-to-prepare foods

Big 8 allergens

Milk, soy, egg, gluten, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, seafood

Biological food hazards

Bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungal toxins

Chemical food hazards

Pesticides, drugs, additives, cleaners, allergens

Physical food hazards

Glass, metal, wood, foreign objects

Unconventional food hazards

Prions

Sources of food hazards

Raw materials, processing steps, infected animals or people

Fungal mycotoxins examples

Aflatoxins (peanuts), trichothecenes (cereals)

Major bacterial pathogens

Salmonella, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, Campylobacter

STEC (EHEC)

Shiga toxin–producing E. coli causing severe illness

Non-O157 STEC (Big 6)

O26, O45, O103, O111, O121, O145

Salmonella enterica

Pathogen with >2,600 serovars

Salmonella illness types

GI illness, enteric fever, invasive disease

New food processing technologies

Irradiation, MAP, high pressure, nanomaterials

MAP (modified atmosphere packaging)

Packaging that alters gas composition to extend shelf life

Smart packaging

Packaging that monitors time, temperature, pH, or spoilage

New food testing methods

PCR, molecular analysis, antibody reactions

CDC foodborne illness estimate (US)

~48 million cases per year

Hospitalization & death burden

~90% caused by 7 major pathogens

Economic cost of foodborne illness

~$77 billion per year

Burden of Illness Pyramid

Model showing underreporting of foodborne illness from exposure to confirmed cases

Base of illness pyramid

Exposures in the general population

Top of illness pyramid

Cases reported to health departments or CDC

Why foodborne illness is underreported

Not all ill people seek care, get tested, or are reported

Emerging food hazards

Hazards newly appearing or increasing in incidence or range

Reasons hazards emerge

Mutation, globalization, new detection methods, lifestyle changes

Zoonoses

Diseases transmitted from animals to humans

MAP (Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis)

Emerging pathogen linked to Johne’s disease and Crohn’s disease

Concern with MAP in milk

Some cells may survive pasteurization

HTST pasteurization standard

High-temperature short-time treatment of milk

Heat resistance significance

Higher heat or longer time increases microbial reduction

Food fraud

Intentional adulteration causing new health risks

Clean labeling risk

Removal of preservatives may reintroduce hazards

Fusion foods risk

New ingredient combinations with unknown hazards

Protein alternatives concern

New hazards due to novel processing methods

Prions

Infectious proteins causing fatal neurodegenerative diseases

Examples of prion diseases

BSE, CJD, scrapie, chronic wasting disease

BSE

Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (mad cow disease)

nv-CJD

Human disease from BSE crossing species barrier

Role of government in food safety

Protect consumers and enforce food laws

Government trade responsibility

Ensure imported food is safe

Role of industry

Produce safe food and follow regulations

Role of consumers

Practice safe handling, storage, and cooking

Fight BAC principles

Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill

Role of science

Identify hazards and conduct risk assessments

Risk assessment

Science-based evaluation of food safety risks

Risk management

Decisions and controls applied by governments and industry

Risk communication

Sharing risk information with the public

Food safety standards purpose

Minimize risk and support global trade

Why standards vary

Different national laws and risk tolerance

Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC)

FAO/WHO body setting international food standards

Purpose of Codex

Protect consumer health and ensure fair trade

Codex legal status

Not law, but often basis for legislation

SPS Agreement

Prevents unjustified food safety barriers to trade

TBT Agreement

Prevents technical regulations from restricting trade unfairly

Codex Alimentarius

Collection of international food standards protecting consumer health and supporting fair trade

Main objective of Codex

Protect consumers and facilitate fair practices in food trade

What Codex covers

Processed, semi-processed, and raw foods and food processing materials

Codex provisions include

Microbiological norms, additives, residues, labeling, sampling, and risk analysis

Examples of Codex standards

Grain, meat products, dairy, fruits and vegetables, cocoa, mineral water

Codex risk assessment principle

Must be based on sound science and free from management influence

Risk analysis components

Risk assessment, risk management, risk communication

Risk assessment

Scientific evaluation of hazards and exposure to estimate risk

Hazard identification

Identifying biological, chemical, or physical hazards

Exposure assessment

Estimating how much of a hazard people consume

Hazard characterization

Evaluating severity of illness and pathogen characteristics

Risk characterization

Combining hazard and exposure data to estimate overall risk

Risk communication

Exchange of information between stakeholders

Microbial risk assessment factors

Contamination levels, processing, storage, distribution, and preparation

Intrinsic factors affecting microbes

pH, water activity, oxidation-reduction potential

Precautionary principle

Lack of full scientific certainty should not delay action if serious harm is possible

Microbial criteria

Limits defining acceptable presence or levels of microorganisms in food

Purpose of microbial criteria

Define acceptability of a food lot

Who uses microbial criteria

Regulatory agencies and food businesses

Microbial testing methods

Must use official or recognized analytical methods

AOAC

Organization providing recognized analytical testing methods

Compendium of Analytical Methods

Health Canada reference for microbiological testing methods

Sampling objective

Sample must represent the entire food lot

Proper sample handling

Aseptic collection and correct temperature during transport

Two-class sampling plan

Presence or absence determines acceptability

Three-class sampling plan

Acceptable, marginal, and unacceptable categories

Health risk 1

Serious adverse health effects or death possible

Health risk 2

Temporary or non-life-threatening health effects

Health risk 3

Indicates breakdown of hygienic practices

Purpose of microbial sampling

Verify HACCP effectiveness, not replace it