Food Safety and Risk Management Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering food hazards, contamination types, foodborne illnesses, bacterial growth phases, sanitation rules, convenience food guidelines, and food safety regulations.

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/consumption of contaminated food.

Foodborne Disease Outbreak

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

Pathogens

Bacteria or microorganisms that are dangerous when consumed by humans.

Intoxications

Foodborne illnesses caused when a pathogen produces a toxin(s) while growing in food before it is eaten.

Infections

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

Toxin-Mediated Infection

Foodborne illness caused by eating food that contains harmful microorganisms that will 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 resting period during which very little bacterial growth occurs when bacteria adjust to new conditions, lasting from $1$ to $4\text{ hours}$.

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 $57^\text{o}\text{C}$) where most disease-causing bacteria multiply rapidly.

Temperature Abuse

The condition applied to food items that have not been heated to a safe temperature or kept at an improper temperature.

Water Activity (Aw)

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

Viruses

Microorganisms much smaller than bacteria that require a living host to grow and 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

Organisms ranging from single-celled to multicellular that include yeasts, molds, mildews, and mushrooms.

Minimum Internal Cooking Temperature

The internal temperature for a food product at which microorganisms are killed and at which the product must be held for a specified period to be safe.

Four-Hour Rule

A foodservice 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 storing method or principle where stock is rotated so that older deliveries are used before newer ones.

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 regarding food safety aspects that make food unfit for human consumption without necessarily presenting a danger to health.

Food Hygiene

The conditions for ensuring both the safety and suitability of food.

Food Safety Act of 2013 (RA No. 10611)

An act passed to strengthen the food safety regulatory system in the Philippines to protect consumer health and facilitate market access.

Food Safety Regulation Coordinating Board (FSRCB)

A board established to monitor and coordinate the performance and implementation of food safety regulation mandates of the DOH, DA, DILG, and LGUs.

Code on Sanitation of the Philippines (PD No. 856)

A decree promulgated on December 23, 1975, directing public health services toward protecting and promoting the health of the Filipino people.