Food Safety

Is this a
Contradiction?
What are the
Risks?
 Listeria
Cryptosporidium

BSE Salmonella

Mercury

PCBs
Botulism
Dioxins
 Public Perceptions….
Public perception of food safety is
often in contrast to the facts.

For example, food additives come well

up the list of general concerns about
food safety, whereas microbiological
contamination of foods comes towards
the end of the list.

In reality, bacterial contamination of

food is a daily risk to human health and
life.
Humans Spread Germs!

By……
 Principal sources of food poisoning
in the UK
%age of total outbreaks
Source of Outbreak (approximate)

Catering Premises
including Restaurants, Hotels, Cafes, Public 53
Houses and Canteens
Institutions
including Nurseries, Nursing Homes, Residential 21
and Care Homes, Hospitals and Schools

Catered Functions
5
in Halls and Outside Events

Other
including farms, retailers (not specified) and 21
private houses (not specified)
PHL 2001/02
 Sometimes the most
Innocent looking Foods can
be the most
DANGEROUS
For centuries we have known that some staple
foods can be harmful if not correctly prepared.
 Red kidney beans, which are now common in
salads, are poisonous unless cooked
sufficiently to destroy a toxin.

 Potatoes which have been exposed to light and

form green patches can contain a very
poisonous substance called solanine.
 Cassava, a staple carbohydrate source in West
Africa, needs a process of soaking and
fermentation to render it safe.

Untreated cassava is associated with two diseases

– amblyopia ( a form of blindness) and atoxic
neuropathy (a degenerative disease).
Many individuals suffer from allergies or
intolerances to common foods such as:

Wheat Nuts
Soya Fish
Milk Shell-fish
 British and European food law is based on
the primary objectives of:
 A high level of protection of human life and
health.
 The protection of consumers’ interests.

 Fair practices in food trade.

Specifically the law requires that food must

not be placed on the market if it is unsafe
either by being injurious to health or being
unfit for human consumption.
The professional food
scientist’s and technologist’s
primary responsibility is to
ensure that food is as safe
as possible within the current
state of scientific knowledge
and that all the relevant
requirements of food law are
met.
Food scientists and technologists have a
legal and moral obligation to ensure that
food is as safe as reasonably possible
“from farm to fork”.
This requires a detailed knowledge of all
the factors that can affect the safety of
the foods for which they are responsible.
Over the years a number of procedures
have been developed to ensure the food is
safe and not at risk of contamination at all
stages of production, packaging and
distribution.
How is this done?
 Firstly
It is a legal requirement that all food
additives, food packaging contact
materials and all new food ingredients
and new production processes are
subjected to an official independent
scientific assessment of their risk to
human health.
These requirements now also apply to
fruits and vegetables used in other
parts of the world.
No additives, new food ingredients or new
process can be used unless there is official
approval.
 Food ingredients and additives are evaluated
for:
 Short-term toxicity (poisoning).
Long-term toxicity (e.g. potential for inducing
cancer or any effects on the foetus).
Allergenicity (potential to produce allergic
reactions).
Secondly
There are very strict laws in force covering
food quality including those on:
Chemical contaminants from environmental sources
(lead, arsenic, dioxins, polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons etc.).
Pesticides and agricultural chemical residues.
Veterinary drug residues (e.g. in meats).
Microbiological (bacterial and fungal) contamination.
Microbiological toxins.
Certain chemicals produced in foods by interactions
of ingredients during processes (e.g. 3-MCPD).
There are also strict laws on the use of
foods and food ingredients made from
genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
 Good Manufacturing Practice
(GMP)
 Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP)
consists as a series of guidelines aimed at
ensuring that food and drink products are
consistently manufactured to a quality
appropriate to their intended use.
 GMP Guidelines cover all aspects of food
production, distribution and storage and
provide details of how the appropriate
controls should be set up and maintained.
 GMP
 GMP Guidelines are all embracing and cover a
number of requirements, such as:
o Appropriately trained people.
o Control of current raw material and packaging
materials.
o Appropriate premises and space.
o Suitable and properly maintained equipment.
o Appropriate storage and transport facilities.
o Control measures defined by hazard analysis.
 GMP

Effective Effective
Manufacturing Food
Operations Control

Quality Quality
Control Assurance
 Hazard Analysis Critical Control
Point - HACCP
HACCP is now a compulsory procedure which
requires:
A full analysis of the potential food hazards in
a food business (e.g. microbiological, chemical
and foreign matter contamination).
Identification of the points in the operations
where such hazards could occur.
Deciding which of the identified points are
critical to food safety (critical points).
 HACCP
HACCP is now a compulsory procedure which
requires:
Identifying and implementing effective
control and monitoring procedures at the
critical points.
Reviewing the hazards and critical points at
periodic intervals and particularly when any
change occurs to the operation.
HOWEVER,
there are always new challenges to
food safety, particularly as our
scientific knowledge increases:
3-MCPD
acrylamide
new strains of bacteria
Despite these challenges we
strive to make our food supply
as safe as reasonably possible.
But is our food really
safe …