Food safety

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Food safety is a scientific discipline describing the handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards. Food can transmit disease from person to person as well as serve as a growth medium for bacteria that can cause food poisoning. In developed countries there are intricate standards for food preparation, whereas in lesser developed countries the main issue is simply the availability of adequate safe water, which is usually a critical item.[1]

Contents

[edit] Basic practices

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Fundamental requirements to maintain sanitary hygiene with food handling and preparation include use of clean water in food preparation; insuring excellent personal hygiene of food preparation personnel; separation of raw meat from cooked meat. Access to abundant high quality water is paramount since the water will be used for sanitizing cookware and utensils as well as for handwashing of employees and for use in the food preparation itself.

Other specific guidelines are:

  1. Keep the temperature of hot food above 140 °F / 60 °C and keep the temperature of cold food below 40 °F / 4 °C. Food should not sit at intermediary temperatures (defined as 40-140 °F / 4-60 °C) for more than 2 hours.
  2. Use an instant-read thermometer with a food-safe probe attached, to measure the internal temperature of cooked meats.
  3. Wash meat, fruit, and vegetables thoroughly before use. (although some sources (http://www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines/dga2005/document/html/chapter10.htm) suggest washing meat spreads bacteria, that would otherwise be killed in the cooking process.
  4. Do not cook or otherwise prepare and serve food if feeling unwell or being HIV and Hepatitis virus carriers. It is the best practice of employing health certified food and service workers.

In addition to the above, more detailed information on personal hygiene, professional food handling, cross contamination prevention and pest control can be found elsewhere [2], [3], [4], [5]

[edit] Hygienic accessories

To maintain food and cooking hygiene, the use of, but not limited to following items may also be necessary [6]

[edit] Regulatory agencies

[edit] UK regulation

[edit] HACCP guidelines

The UK Food Standards Agency[8] publishes recommendations as part of its Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) programme. The relevant guidelines at http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/csctcooking.pdf state that:

"Cooking food until the CORE TEMPERATURE is 75 °C or above will ensure that harmful bacteria are destroyed.
However, lower cooking temperatures are acceptable provided that the CORE TEMPERATURE is maintained for a specified period of time as follows :

  • 60 °C for a minimum of 45 minutes
  • 65 °C for a minimum of 10 minutes
  • 70 °C for a minimum of 2 minutes"

[edit] UK Department Of Health

Previous guidance from a leaflet produced by the UK Department Of Health “Handling Cooked Meats Safely A Ten Point Plan” also allowed for:

  • "75 °C for a minimum of 30 seconds
  • 80 °C for a minimum of 6 seconds"

as well as the above. Secondary references for the above may be found at:

Note that recommended cooking conditions are only appropriate if initial bacterial numbers in the uncooked food are small. Cooking does not replace poor hygiene.

[edit] US regulation

[edit] Federal-level regulation

In the United States, federal regulations governing food safety are fragmented and complicated, according to a February 2007 report from the Government Accountability Office.[9] There are 15 agencies sharing oversight responsibilities in the food safety system, although the two primary agencies are the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which is responsible for the safety of meat, poultry, and processed egg products, and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is responsible for virtually all other foods.

[edit] State and local regulation

A number of states have their own meat inspection programs that substitute for USDA inspection for meats that are sold only in-state.[10] Certain state programs have been criticized for undue leniency to bad practices.[11]

However, other state food safety programs supplement, rather than replace, Federal inspections, generally with the goal of increasing consumer confidence in the state's produce. For example, state health departments have a role in investigating outbreaks of food-borne disease bacteria, as in the case of the 2006 outbreak of E.coli O157:H7 from processed spinach.[12] Health departments also promote better food processing practices to eliminate these threats.[13]

In addition to the US Food and Drug Administration, several states that are major producers of fresh fruits and vegetables (including California, Arizona and Florida) have their own state programs to test produce for pesticide residues.[14]

Restaurants and other retail food establishments fall under state law and are regulated by state or local health departments. Typically these regulations require official inspections of specific design features, best food-handling practices, and certification of food handlers.[15] In some places a letter grade or numerical score must be prominently posted following each inspection.[16] In some localities inspection deficiencies and remedial action are posted on the Internet.[17]

[edit] Consumer labeling

[edit] UK labels

Food stuffs in the UK have one of two labels to indicate the nature of the deterioration of the product and any subsequent health issues:

Best before indicates a future date beyond which the food product may lose quality in terms of taste or texture amongst others, but does not imply any serious health problems if food is consumed beyond this date (within reasonable limits).

Use by indicates a legal date beyond which it is not permissible to sell a food product (usually one that deteriorates fairly rapidly after production) due to the potential serious nature of consumption of pathogens. Leeway is provided by producers in stating use by dates so that products are not at their limit of safe consumption on the actual date stated. This allows for the variability in production, storage and display methods.

[edit] US labels

With the exception of infant formula and baby foods which must be withdrawn by their expiration date, Federal law does not require expiration dates. For all other foods, except dairy products in some states, freshness dating is strictly voluntary on the part of manufacturers. In response to consumer demand, perishable foods are typically labeled with a Sell by date.[18] It is up to the consumer to decide how long after the Sell by date a package is usable. Other common dating statements are Best if used by, Use-by date, Expiration date, Guaranteed fresh <date>, and Pack date.[19]

[edit] Codex Alimentaurius

In 2003, Codex Alimentarius published a document on this subject which serves one of guidelines to food safety [20].

[edit] See also

Main articles: Hygiene, Food, and Cooking

[edit] References

  1. ^ I. A. Shiklomanov, Appraisal and Assessment of World Water Resources, Water International 25(1): 11-32, 2000
  2. ^ Thrall, Lacie. The Basic Principles of Food Safety. Retrieved on 4 December 2007.
  3. ^ Food and Drug Administration. Managing Food Safety: A HACCP Principles Guide for Operators of Food Establishments at the Retail Level. Retrieved on 4 December 2007.
  4. ^ Minnesota Department of Agriculture. Cook-Chill Food Safety Principles. Retrieved on 4 December 2007.
  5. ^ University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Cooperative Extenstion Service. Cleaning, Sanitizing & Pest Control in Food Processing, Storage and Service Areas. Retrieved on 4 December 2007.
  6. ^ Food Standards Agency. Safer food, better business for caterers. Retrieved on 24 November 2007.
  7. ^ Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures
  8. ^ Food Standards Agency - Homepage
  9. ^ GAO-07-449T, Federal Oversight of Food Safety
  10. ^ State Meat Inspection Programs.
  11. ^ USDA Allowed State Meat Inspection Programs To Operate Even After Finding Cutting Boards Contaminated With Old Meat And Soot-Like Residues On Swine Carcasses.
  12. ^ State Health Department announces test results: Match genetic fingerprints to E. coli outbreak, Press Release, October 12, 2006.
  13. ^ CDHS Education Training Unit
  14. ^ Pesticides and food: How we test for safety. California Department of Pesticide Regulation, June 2003.
  15. ^ New York Restaurant Inspection Information
  16. ^ NYC Health Dept. Launches Restaurant Cleanliness Certificate
  17. ^ A Guide to Food Safety Practices in Virginia Restaurants
  18. ^ Expiration, Use-by, and Sell-by Dates, Part 1: Expiration dating is not federally required on all products
  19. ^ Expiration, Use-by, and Sell-by Dates, Part 2: Deciphering food expiration codes can be tricky.
  20. ^ Codex Alimentarius. Codex Alimentarius and Food Hygiene. Retrieved on 15 October 2007.

[edit] Further reading

  • Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety, ISSN: 1541-4337 (electronic) 1541-4337 (paper), Blackwell Publishing
  • Food Control, ISSN: 0956-7135, Elsevier
  • Food and Chemical Toxicology, ISSN: 0278-6915, Elsevier
  • Food Policy, ISSN: 0306-9192, Elsevier
  • Journal of Food Protection, ISSN 0362-028X, International Association for Food Protection
  • Journal of Food Safety, ISSN: 1745-4565 (electronic) ISSN: 0149-6085 (paper), Blackwell Publishing
  • Journal of Foodservice, ISSN: 1745-4506 (electronic) ISSN: 1748-0140 (paper), Blackwell Publishing
  • Sensing and Instrumentation for Food Quality and Safety, ISSN: 1932-9954 (electronic) ISSN: 1932-7587 (paper), Springer
  • Internet Journal of Food Safety, ISSN: 1930-0670, International Association for Food Safety/Quality

[edit] External links

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