Food Safety: Biological Contamination and Allergens

Serving Safe Food

  • Forms of contamination are a concern for food safety.

Management Considerations

  • Identifying the most challenging cause of foodborne illness to control as a manager.
  • Pathogens are difficult to control because they can't be seen or tasted.
  • Limiting pathogens requires:
    • Tight control of time and temperature.
    • Proper sourcing of food.

Plans For Today

  1. Describe symptoms of foodborne illness.
  2. Categorize foodborne microorganisms and allergens by type, source, and effect.
  3. Identify ways to prevent illness from biological contamination.

Foodborne Microorganisms and Allergens

  • Includes spores.

TCS Foods

  • TCS stands for Time/Temperature Control for Safety.
  • Foods where pathogens grow well, necessitating tight time and temperature control:
    • Milk and dairy products
    • Meat (beef, pork, lamb)
    • Fish
    • Baked potatoes
    • Tofu and soy protein
    • Sliced melons, tomatoes, greens
    • Shell eggs
    • Poultry
    • Shellfish and crustaceans
    • Heat-treated plant foods (cooked rice, beans, and vegetables)
    • Sprouts and sprout seeds
    • Untreated garlic and oil mixtures

Biological Contamination

  • Types of biological contamination:
    • Bacteria
    • Viruses
    • Fungi
    • Parasites

Common Symptoms of Foodborne Illness

  • Diarrhea
  • Vomiting
  • Fever
  • Nausea
  • Abdominal cramps
  • Jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes)
  • Onset times vary (30 minutes to 6 weeks), depending on the illness.
  • A pathogen can cause illness or produce a toxin.

Main Sources of Contamination

  • Contaminated animals, plants, water, air, and dirt
  • Food handlers
    • Fecal-oral route
    • Sneezing or vomiting on food/food contact surfaces
  • Cross-contamination from contaminated surfaces to food

FDA’s Big Six

  • These are the highly infectious agents.
    • Shigella spp.
    • Bacteria
    • Source: Human, flies, fecal matter
    • Transmitted via foods handled by workers.
    • Especially TCS foods or foods that contact contaminated water.
    • Salmonella Typhi
    • Bacteria
    • Source: Humans
    • Causes typhoid fever
    • Found in ready-to-eat foods and beverages
    • Non-typhoidal Salmonella (NTS)
    • Bacteria
    • Source: Farm animals (natural in animal GI tracts)
    • Found in poultry, eggs, meat, milk, produce (tomatoes, peppers, cantaloupe)
    • Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC)
    • Bacteria
    • Source: Cow intestines, humans
    • Found in ground beef, contaminated produce
    • Hepatitis A
    • Virus
    • Source: Human feces, contaminated water
    • Transmitted via fecal/oral route; causes jaundice
    • Found in ready-to-eat food, seafood from contaminated water
    • Norovirus
    • Virus
    • Source: Human feces, contaminated water
    • Transmitted via fecal/oral route
    • Found in ready-to-eat food, seafood from contaminated water
  • There are 40 kinds of bacteria, viruses, parasites and molds that cause a foodborne illness

Control Measures for Bacteria and Viruses

  • Bacteria:
    • Follow cooking temperatures closely.
    • Do not use contaminated food.
    • Exclude employees confirmed ill or with active vomiting and diarrhea.
    • Emphasize handwashing and avoiding cross-contamination
  • Virus:
    • Exclude ill employees (confirmed Hep A or with vomiting/diarrhea for Norovirus).
    • Use approved vendors for seafood.
    • Avoid bare-hand contact with RTE (ready-to-eat) foods.

Parasites

  • Require a host to live and reproduce.
  • Source: Seafood, wild game, food processed with contaminated water (e.g., produce).
  • Prevention:
    • Purchase food from approved, reputable suppliers.
    • Cook food to required minimum internal temperatures.
    • Freeze fish correctly if serving raw or undercooked (manufacturer's responsibility).

Fungi

  • Types: Yeasts, mold, and mushrooms
  • Some molds and mushrooms produce toxins.
  • Throw out moldy food (unless mold is a natural part of the food).
  • Purchase mushrooms from approved, reputable suppliers.

Biological Toxins

  • Naturally occur in certain plants, mushrooms, and seafood.
  • Seafood toxins:
    • Produced by pathogens found on certain fish (tuna, bonito, mackerel, mahi-mahi).
    • Histamine produced when fish is time-temperature abused.
    • Occur in certain fish that eat smaller fish that have consumed the toxin (ciguatera from snapper, grouper, amberjack).
    • Shellfish and oysters may contain marine algae that have a toxin.
  • Symptoms and onset times vary.
    • General symptoms: Diarrhea or vomiting, neurological symptoms including tingling in extremities, reversal of hot and cold sensations, flushing of the face and/or hives, difficulty breathing, heart palpitations.
  • Toxins cannot be destroyed by cooking or freezing. Use reputable suppliers.

Allergens

  • A naturally occurring protein in a food or ingredient that some people are sensitive to.
  • Allergic reaction occurs when enough of an allergen is eaten.
  • Symptoms: nausea, shortness of breath/wheezing, hives/itchy rash, swelling of body/face, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain.
  • Reactions can be mild or severe.
    • Severe symptoms are called anaphylaxis, leading to death.
  • There are 8 common food allergens.
  • Prevent illness by avoiding cross-contact.

Tasks of a Manager

  • Knowledge and monitoring:
    • Knowing what causes pathogens to grow and what can destroy them.
    • Observing staff closely for illness and knowing the appropriate corrective action.
    • Monitoring production for controlling FATTOM (Food, Acidity, Temperature, Time, Oxygen, Moisture).
    • Documenting and responding to foodborne illness outbreaks and recalls.
    • Watching for unusual behaviors that may indicate deliberate contamination (ALERT).

Learning the Biological Contaminates

  • Considerations:
    • Compare how the different biological contaminates are similar and how do they differ.
    • What is needed for them to grow?
    • How do they spread?
    • What foods are they commonly found contaminating?
    • What actions destroy them? Are they able to be destroyed?
    • What are the preventative measures or corrective actions?

What is Next?

  • Review each of the biological contaminants (each of the bacteria, viruses, parasites, etc.) and be clear on the source, symptoms, primary foods affected, and ways to control the spread of each
  • Describe methods of being a safe food handler