Food Science and Contamination

Food: articles used for food or drink for humans or other animals

  • Something we consume for nourishment, aroma, or taste


Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act

  • Dietary supplement:

    • Intended for ingestion

    • intended to supplement the diet

  • Dietary ingredient: includes vitamins and minerals; herbs and other botanicals, amino acids; that are part of the food supply; probiotics (no legal definition)


Botanical Drugs

  • Drug products that include or may be derived from plant materials, algae, macroscopic fungi, etc.

  • intended for use in diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease in humans

  • Ex: “dragons blood” tree contains Crofelemer, an antidiarrheal drug


Other Food Terms

  • Organic

    • Regulated term

    • USDA regulated

    • Produced in accordance with National Organic Program

    • Evidence for label

  • Natural: NOT a regulated term

  • Plant-based: NOT a regulated term


Food and Drug Administration

  • The Jungle by Upton Sinclair: catalyst for forming of the FDA→ started these discussions

  • 1906: Federal Food and Drugs Act

    • Gave lawmakers the ability to regulate food

    • law prohibited the addition of any ingredients that would substitute for food, conceal damage, pose a health hazard, or constitute a filthy or decomposed substance

  • 1938: Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act

    • Protects customers by prohibiting adulterated and misbranded products

    • establishing safety and labeling requirements

    • requiring pre-market review for certain products

    • gave FDA enforcement tools to address violations.

  • Regulation

    • Foods (dietary supplements, bottled water, food additives, infant formula, other food products)

    • Drugs

    • Biologics

    • Medical devices

    • Cosmetics

    • Veterinary products

FDA’s Role in Regulation of Medicinal Plant Products

  • Regulates food and ingredients

  • Oversees approval of botanical drugs (only 4 approved)

  • Enforces laws and regulations governing dietary supplements

    • Does NOT have authority to approve dietary supplements before they are sold

    • Does NOT approve label claims

Adulteration

  • Law prohibits distribution and sale of adulterated dietary supplements

  • Adulteration= contains unsafe, poisonous, filthy, decomposed, or unauthorized substance; was produced or held under unsanitary conditions, or had its composition improperly altered

  • Ex: melamine in pet food sold in US


Food Safety Hazards:

  • Physical, chemical, and biological

  • Physical

    • Stones, gravel collected in roots

    • Glass fragments from broken light fixtures, lab glassware

    • Metal fragments

    • Hard plastic pieces

    • Plant thorns, sharp stems, and hard seed or pit fragments when unexpected

  • Biological

    • Bacterical pathogens (salmonella typhi, campylobactor, botulinum, etc.)

    • Norovirus— number one cause of food-borne illness

  • Chemical

    • Natural plant toxins

    • Pesticide residues

    • heavy metals

    • Mycotoxins

    • cleaning and sanitizer residues