Food Safety and Technology: Impact on Consumers and In Depth

1. Food Safety and Technology:Impact on Consumersand In Depth

2. Why Is Food Safety Important? Food-borne illness: illness transmitted from food or water that contains an infectious agent, poisonous substance, or a protein causing an immune reaction • 76 million Americans report food-borne illness each year • Many more cases go unreported • 300,000 hospitalizations per year • 5,000 deaths per year

3. Government Regulators Multiple government agencies are involved in ensuring the safety and quality of the food supply • United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) • Oversees meat, poultry, and eggs • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) • Promotes/educates the public about health and safety • Tracks food-borne illness outbreaks

4. Government Regulation Agencies

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6. Government Regulators Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) • Regulates use of pesticides and herbicides • Establishes water quality standards Food and Drug Administration (FDA) • Regulates food standards for all food products (except meat, poultry, and eggs) and bottled water • Regulates food labeling and enforces pesticide and herbicide use regulations

7. Food Production • Has become increasingly complex • Oversight has decreased • More foods are mass produced • Ingredients come from various sources • Contamination can occur at any point from farm to table

8. Food Production

9. Causes of Food-Borne Illness Two types of food-borne illness • Food infections • Illness resulting from eating food contaminated with living organisms • Food intoxications • Illness resulting from eating food in which microbes have secreted toxins (poisons)

10. Causes of Food-Borne Illness Bacteria and viruses are the most common microbes causing food-borne illnesses; other sources of contamination include helminths, fungi, and prions Of the bacteria, the most common food contaminants are • Campylobacter jejuni • Salmonella • Escherichia coli

11. Causes of Food-Borne Illness

12. Causes of Food-Borne Illness Other microbes causing illness include • Viruses such as hepatitis A, hepatitis E, and Norwalk virus • Helminths or worms, such as tapeworms, flukes, and roundworms • Giardia, causing a diarrheal illness called giardiasis • Protozoaare most commonly the cause of water-borne illness • Fungi (yeast and mold) cause food spoilage

13. Causes of Food-Borne Illness Some microbes cause illness by secreting toxins • Clostridium botulinum produces botulism toxin, which blocks nerve transmissions to muscle cells • Toxins can be neurotoxins (damage the nervous system) or enterotoxins (damage the gastrointestinal tract) • Fungi produce mycotoxins (an example is aflatoxin produced by moldy crops)

14. Body’s Defense Against Microbes • Antimicrobial enzymes in saliva • HCl in stomach (strong acid environment) • Vomiting and diarrhea help expel the microbes • Immune system is activated • Generalized inflammatory response: nausea, fatigue, fever, muscle cramps • At risk are children under 10, the elderly, pregnant women, and people who are immunocompromised or undergoing chemotherapy

15. Preventing Food-Borne Illness When preparing foods at home, be sure to • Wash hands and kitchen surfaces often • Separate foods to prevent cross contamination • Chill foods to prevent microbes from growing • Cook foods to their proper temperature

16. Preventing Food-Borne Illness

17. Preventing Food-Borne Illness

18. Preventing Food-Borne Illness • Foods should be cooked thoroughly to kill microbes • Leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator for a limited period of time • Food should be thawed slowly in the refrigerator • Wash hands and kitchen surfaces often • When shopping, purchase refrigerated and frozen foods last

19. Preventing Food-Borne Illness

20. Preventing Food-Borne Illness

21. Preventing Food-Borne Illness When eating out • Eat at restaurants that look clean • Insist that food be cooked thoroughly When traveling • Avoid raw foods, salads, unpasteurized milk, and uncooked fruits and vegetables • Only drink bottled water or soda, boiled beverages such as tea, and fermented drinks such as beer and wine

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23. Preventing Food Spoilage Spoilage can be prevented by many natural techniques • Salting or sugaring • Drying the food • Smoking • Cooling

24. Preventing Food Spoilage More modern techniques include • Industrial canning • Pasteurization • Aseptic packaging • Chemical preservatives (BHT, propionic acid, sulfites, nitrites) • Irradiation • Genetic modification

25. Preventing Food-Borne Illness

26. Residues on Foods Various chemicals can persist and even accumulate in foods These residues can include • Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) • Insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides • Growth hormone

27. Bioaccumulation of Persistent Pollutants

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29. Persistent Organic Pollutants Persistent organic pollutants: chemicals released into the atmosphere from industry, agriculture, automobiles, and waste disposal • Found in virtually all categories of foods • Include • Mercury and lead • PCBs • Dioxins

30. Pesticides Pesticides are used to help protect against crop losses, reduce the incidence of disease, and increase crop yields • Most common are insecticides, herbicides, and fungicides • Can be natural or synthetic • Can remain as toxins on foods • Regulated by the EPA

31. Growth Hormones and Antibiotics Recombinant bovine growth hormone (rBGH) is a genetically engineered growth hormone given to cows • Increases muscle mass; decreases fat • Increases milk production • One-third of all U.S. dairy cows receive rBGH • Risks to humans are still being studied

32. Organic Foods Organic foods are grown without the use of synthetic pesticides • Standards for organic production are regulated by the USDA • 100% organic: only organic ingredients • Organic: 95% of ingredients are organic • Made with organic ingredients: 70% or more of ingredients are organic

33. In Depth: Global Nutrition Malnutrition: a state of poor nutritional health that can be improved by adjustments in nutrient intake • Undernutrition: people do not have enough to eat • Overnutrition: consumption of more energy than the body expends

34. Global Nutrition Undernutrition occurs around the world but is most severe in sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia • Increasingly seen in developed areas In wealthy nations • Due primarily to unequal distribution of food to the poor

35. Causes of Undernutrition • Natural disasters: drought, floods, tsunamis • War • Overpopulation • Poor farming practices • Lack of infrastructure • Disease • Unequal distribution

36. Undernutrition Around the World

37. Health Problems from Undernutrition Increased infant and childhood mortality • Increased vulnerability to infection • Macronutrient deficiencies • Micronutrient deficiencies • Poor work capacity

38. Acute and Long-Term Effects of Malnutrition

39. Overnutrition: Obesity • Growing problem in developing nations • Nutrition transition: a shift in dietary patterns toward greater food security, variety, and energy density • Consumption of more processed and high-energy foods than traditional foods as financial resources become available

40. Malnutrition in the United States Food insecurity:unable to obtain enough food to meet physical needs every day • 11% of U.S. households • In households below U.S. poverty level (<$19,806 for a family of four in 2005), 36% experience food insecurity

41. Malnutrition in the United States

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43. Global Solutions to Malnutrition • Encourage breastfeeding • Immunization • Sustainable agriculture; self-supporting food production • Transgenic crops

44. Local Solutions to Malnutrition • Food Stamp Program • Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) • School Lunch and Breakfast Program • Summer Food Service Program • Find new ways to get involved

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