FOOD SAFETY

Foodborne and common disease

Foodborne disease is caused by consuming contaminated foods or beverages.  Many different

disease-causing microbes, or pathogens, can contaminate foods, so there are many different
foodborne infections.  In addition, poisonous chemicals, or other harmful substances can cause
foodborne diseases if they are present in food. 

More than 250 different foodborne diseases have been described.  Most of these diseases are
infections, caused by a variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can be foodborne.  Other
diseases are poisonings, caused by harmful toxins or chemicals that have contaminated the
food, for example, poisonous mushrooms.   These different diseases have many different
symptoms, so there is no one "syndrome" that is foodborne illness.  However, the microbe or
toxin enters the body through the gastrointestinal tract, and often causes the first symptoms
there, so nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and diarrhea are common symptoms in many
foodborne diseases. 

Many microbes can spread in more than one way, so we cannot always know that a disease is
foodborne.  The distinction matters, because public health authorities need to know how a
particular disease is spreading to take the appropriate steps to stop it.  For example,
Escherichia coli O157:H7 infections can spread through contaminated food, contaminated
drinking water, contaminated swimming water, and from toddler to toddler at a day care
center.  Depending on which means of spread caused a case, the measures to stop other cases
from occurring could range from removing contaminated food from stores, chlorinating a
swimming pool, or closing a child day care center. 

Foodborne illness (also foodborne disease and colloquially referred to as food poisoning)[1]
is any illness resulting from the consumption of contaminated food.

There are two types of food poisoning: infectious agent and toxic agent. Food infection refers to
the presence of bacteria or other microbes which infect the body after consumption. Food
intoxication refers to the ingestion of toxins contained within the food, including bacterially
produced exotoxins, which can happen even when the microbe that produced the toxin is no
longer present or able to cause infection. In spite of the common term food poisoning, most
cases are caused by a variety of pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites that contaminate
food,[2] rather than chemical or natural toxins.

A pathogen, (from Greek πά θος pathos "suffering, passion", and γἰγνομαι (γεν-) gignomai
(gen-) "I give birth to") an infectious agent, or more commonly germ, is a biological agent that
causes disease to its host.[1][2] There are several substrates and pathways whereby pathogens
can invade a host; the principal pathways have different episodic time frames, but soil
contamination has the longest or most persistent potential for harboring a pathogen.

The body contains many natural orders of defense against some of the common pathogens
(such as Pneumocystis) in the form of the human immune system and by some "helpful"
bacteria present in the human body's normal flora. However, if the immune system or "good"
bacteria is damaged in any way (such as by chemotherapy, human immunodeficiency virus
(HIV), or antibiotics being taken to kill other pathogens), pathogenic bacteria that were being

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held at bay can proliferate and cause harm to the host. Such cases are called opportunistic
infection.

Some pathogens (such as the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which may have caused the Black
Plague, the Variola virus, and the Malaria protozoa) have been responsible for massive
numbers of casualties and have had numerous effects on afflicted groups. Of particular note in
modern times is HIV, which is known to have infected several million humans globally, along
with the Influenza virus. Today, while many medical advances have been made to safeguard
against infection by pathogens, through the use of vaccination, antibiotics, and fungicide,
pathogens continue to threaten human life. Social advances such as food safety, hygiene, and
water treatment have reduced the threat from some pathogens.

Not all pathogens are negative. In entomology, pathogens are one of the "Three P's" (predators,
pathogens, and parasitoids) that serve as natural or introduced biological controls to suppress
arthropod pest populations.

 Mycobacterium tuberculosis — the causative agent of most cases of tuberculosis

 Mycobacterium leprae — the bacterium that causes leprosy (Hansen's disease)
 Yersinia pestis — pneumonic, septicemic, and the notorious bubonic plagues (aka "Black
Death")
 Rickettsia prowazekii — the etiologic agent of typhus fever
 Bartonella spp.
 Spanish influenza virus

Food Lavel

In 1990, the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act went into effect. The USDA and the FDA
designed the requirements so that consumers would have useful information about the food
they eat. But how do you make sense of a food label?

According to the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act, all food labels must contain the
following information:

 Common name of the product

 Name and address of the product’s manufacturer
 Net contents in terms of weight, measure or count, and:

Ingredient List – Lists the ingredients in descending order of predominance and weight. In
Krispy Krunchies, the ingredients are listed at the bottom of the label. As you can see, the
predominant ingredient is corn, next is oil, then cheese, etc.

Serving Sizes – Each package must identify the size of a serving. In Krispy Krunchies, one
package contains one serving. The nutritional information given on the label is based on one
serving of the food.

Nutrition Facts – each package must identify the quantities of specified nutrients and food
constituents for one serving. From this information, you can gleam some very useful
information. The most important thing to remember is this:

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  1 gr. fat = 9 calories
 1 gr. protein = 4 calories
 1 gr. carbohydrate = 4 calories
 1 gr. alcohol = 7 calories

New Trends Food packaging

• Packs for preseasoned meat and poultry or for making fajitas exemplify packaged foods that
are easy to prepare.

• Portability is best represented by packaged goods that fit a cup holder or that can be
microwaved.

• Self-heating cans, like Wolfgang Puck’s latte, are another product with a focus on
convenience. Soup and baby food may also be appropriate products for a self-heating can.

• Canmakers are trying to differentiate with resealable features, and shaped cans for products
like soups. There have been developments in bottle shapes that are more rectangular or square
to better fit into refrigerator doors.

• More products are moving from rigid to flexible. People want to use a pouch because it’s a
more compact package. But you do see some shift over to rigid from flexible in salty snacks.

• There have been more aseptic applications in the last few years. These probably take [market
share] from rigid and flexible packs because they don’t need refrigeration [prior to opening].
Many also have reclosable tops for convenience.

• Retorted flexible packages, such as those for tuna and other seafood, are becoming more
accepted in the market.

• Fresh produce is an area where there’s a need for advanced films. A head of lettuce packed in
a standard film is a commodity item. Precut salads now use specialty films that can keep the
product from browning for a longer time. —Jim Butschli

Genetically-modified foods

The term GM foods or GMOs (genetically-modified organisms) is most commonly used to refer
to crop plants created for human or animal consumption using the latest molecular biology
techniques. These plants have been modified in the laboratory to enhance desired traits such
as increased resistance to herbicides or improved nutritional content. The enhancement of
desired traits has traditionally been undertaken through breeding, but conventional plant
breeding methods can be very time consuming and are often not very accurate. Genetic
engineering, on the other hand, can create plants with the exact desired trait very rapidly and
with great accuracy. For example, plant geneticists can isolate a gene responsible for drought
tolerance and insert that gene into a different plant. The new genetically-modified plant will
gain drought tolerance as well. Not only can genes be transferred from one plant to another,
but genes from non-plant organisms also can be used. The best known example of this is the
use of B.t. genes in corn and other crops. B.t., or Bacillus thuringiensis, is a naturally occurring
bacterium that produces crystal proteins that are lethal to insect larvae. B.t. crystal protein

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genes have been transferred into corn, enabling the corn to produce its own pesticides against
insects such as the European corn borer. For two informative overviews of some of the
 techniques involved in creating GM foods, visit Biotech Basics (sponsored by Monsanto)

Wastewater

Wastewater is any water that has been adversely affected in quality by anthropogenic
influence. It comprises liquid waste discharged by domestic residences, commercial properties,
industry, and/or agriculture and can encompass a wide range of potential contaminants and
concentrations. In the most common usage, it refers to the municipal wastewater that contains
a broad spectrum of contaminants resulting from the mixing of wastewaters from different
sources.

Sewage is correctly the subset of wastewater that is contaminated with feces or urine, but is
often used to mean any waste water. "Sewage" includes domestic, municipal, or industrial
liquid waste products disposed of, usually via a pipe or sewer or similar structure, sometimes
in a cesspool emptier.

The physical infrastructure, including pipes, pumps, screens, channels etc. used to convey
sewage from its origin to the point of eventual treatment or disposal is termed sewerage.

Wastewater or sewage can come from (text in brackets indicates likely inclusions or
contaminants):

 Human waste (fæces, used toilet paper or wipes, urine, or other bodily fluids), also
known as blackwater, usually from lavatories;
 Cesspit leakage;
 Septic tank discharge;
 Sewage treatment plant discharge;
 Washing water (personal, clothes, floors, dishes, etc.), also known as greywater or
sullage;
 Rainfall collected on roofs, yards, hard-standings, etc. (generally clean with traces of oils
and fuel);
 Groundwater infiltrated into sewage;
 Surplus manufactured liquids from domestic sources (drinks, cooking oil, pesticides,
lubricating oil, paint, cleaning liquids, etc.);
 Urban rainfall runoff from roads, carparks, roofs, sidewalks, or pavements (contains
oils, animal fæces, litter, fuel or rubber residues, metals from vehicle exhausts, etc.);
 Seawater ingress (high volumes of salt and micro-biota);
 Direct ingress of river water (high volumes of micro-biota);
 Direct ingress of manmade liquids (illegal disposal of pesticides, used oils, etc.);
 Highway drainage (oil, de-icing agents, rubber residues);
 Storm drains (almost anything, including cars, shopping trolleys, trees, cattle, etc.);
 Blackwater (surface water contaminated by sewage);
 Industrial waste
 industrial site drainage (silt, sand, alkali, oil, chemical residues);
o Industrial cooling waters (biocides, heat, slimes, silt);
o Industrial process waters;

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 o Organic or bio-degradable waste, including waste from abattoirs, creameries,
and ice cream manufacture;
o Organic or non bio-degradable/difficult-to-treat waste (pharmaceutical or
pesticidal manufacturing);
o extreme pH waste (from acid/alkali manufacturing, metal plating);
o Toxic waste (metal plating, cyanide production, pesticide manufacturing, etc.);
o Solids and Emulsions (paper manufacturing, foodstuffs, lubricating and hydraulic
oil manufacturing, etc.);
o agricultural drainage, direct and diffuse.

Wastewater Treatment

There are numerous processes that can be used to clean up waste waters depending on the
type and extent of contamination. Most wastewater is treated in industrial-scale wastewater
treatment plants (WWTPs) which may include physical, chemical and biological treatment
processes. However, the use of septic tanks and other On-Site Sewage Facilities (OSSF) is
widespread in rural areas, serving up to one quarter of the homes in the U.S. The most
important aerobic treatment system is the activated sludge process, based on the maintenance
and recirculation of a complex biomass composed by micro-organisms able to absorb and
adsorb the organic matter carried in the wastewater. Anaerobic processes are widely applied
in the treatment of industrial wastewaters and biological sludge. Some wastewater may be
highly treated and reused as reclaimed water. For some waste waters ecological approaches
using reed bed systems such as constructed wetlands may be appropriate. Modern systems
include tertiary treatment by micro filtration or synthetic membranes. After membrane
filtration, the treated wastewater is indistinguishable from waters of natural origin of drinking
quality. Nitrates can be removed from wastewater by microbial denitrification, for which a
small amount of methanol is typically added to provide the bacteria with a source of carbon.
Ozone Waste Water Treatment is also growing in popularity, and requires the use of an ozone
generator, which decontaminates the water as Ozone bubbles percolate through the tank.

Disposal of wastewaters from an industrial plant is a difficult and costly problem. Most
petroleum refineries, chemical and petrochemical plants [2][3] have onsite facilities to treat their
wastewaters so that the pollutant concentrations in the treated wastewater comply with the
local and/or national regulations regarding disposal of wastewaters into community treatment
plants or into rivers, lakes or oceans. Other Industrial processes that produce a lot of waste-
waters such as paper and pulp production has created environmental concern leading to
development of processes to recycle water use within plants before they have to be cleaned
and disposed of.[4]

Importance of Hygiene

Though circumstances were admittedly difficult at the time, it seems that the importance of the
hygiene unit in the safeguarding of the health of the Division was not fully appreciated. When
conditions were the most difficult in the history of the Division from the sanitation point of
view, 4 Field Hygiene Section was allowed to remain at its weakest—depleted in numbers,
without equipment and without transport, and, until August, dispersed among medical units.
The unit was not re-equipped with vehicles until the end of October, when it was sited next to 1
NZ CCS, and the whole unit did not rejoin the Division until it was in the Bardia area.

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It is recognised, however, that the steady supply of fly-traps and poisons, latrine lids, and the
constant inspections by the hygiene personnel diminished the number of flies and checked the
incidence of excremental disease. On 10 September the ADH 13 Corps stated that the sickness
rate in the Division was the lowest in 13 Corps' area. This position contrasts with that
obtaining in the enemy lines.

The enemy's deficiencies in hygiene and sanitation, with consequent deterioration in the health
of his troops, played an important part in the outcome of the Battle of Alamein. A captured
enemy report of 13 October from the headquarters of Panzerarmee to Field Marshal Rommel
(then in Germany) stated: ‘The personnel situation has deteriorated considerably, and
reinforcements have been page 374 few. The sickness rate has been particularly high in 164 Lt.
Div. At present all its regimental commanders and adjutants are ill, and some companies are
under the command of NCOs.… It is hoped however that the position will gradually improve,
especially in the case of jaundice.’

General Alexander, in a despatch published in The London Gazette on 5 February 1948, said:

These arrivals (of enemy reinforcements) which averaged about 5,000 men a week, 1 were
unable to keep pace with the very heavy sick rate. Possibly owing to the congestion of troops
on the ground, greater than ever known before in the desert, and to an inadequate medical and
sanitary organisation, especially among the Italians, diseases such as Dysentery and infective
jaundice were extraordinarily prevalent among the Axis troops. Some units suffered up to as
much as 25 per cent of their strength. Thanks to the efficiency of our own medical services our
sickness did not rise above normal for the time of the year, and to nothing like the extent on the
enemy side of the line. The most prominent Axis casualty was the Army Commander. Rommel
had been in poor health since August, and in September he left for Germany, technically on
leave. It appears, however, that he was not intended to return and he was replaced by General
Stumme.

Types of Hygiene

It has many aspects: personal hygiene (proper living habits, cleanliness of body and clothing,
healthful diet, a balanced regimen of rest and exercise); domestic hygiene (sanitary
preparation of food, cleanliness, and ventilation of the home); public hygiene (supervision of
water and food supply, containment of communicable disease, disposal of garbage and sewage,
control of air and water pollution); industrial hygiene (measures that minimize occupational
disease and accident); and mental hygiene (recognition of mental and emotional factors in
healthful living).

Food Hygiene Regulations

The first food hygiene regulations were introduced in the UK in the 1950's following public
concern about the poor standards of food hygiene that prevailed at that time.

Since that time there have been significant changes in the UK food hygiene regulations in the
1960's, 1970's and 1990's. The current food hygiene regulations are actually European Union
Regulations. These regulations are the European Food Regulations EC Regulation 852/2004.
Their implementation was enacted by the Food Hygiene (England) Regulations 2005 and
similar regulations in the rest of the UK.

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These food hygiene regulations are intended to help bring about harmonisation of the laws
governing food control across the European Union, enabling trade in food and food services to
be conducted across national borders.

These EU based food hygiene regulations came into force in Britain on 1st January 2006 and
have largely the same requirements as the old UK regulations. The one major departure is that
the 2005 Regulations demand that all food businesses have in place a written Food Safety
Management System based on HACCP principles, with appropriate records.

The use of a HACCP based food safety management systems now underpins most food hygiene
regulations across the world. Those charged with enforcing food hygiene regulations usually
concentrate on evaluating the effectiveness of a food business's HACCP system.

So whilst historically, food hygiene regulations were mainly concerned about the cleanliness of
people, equipment and premises the emphasis of modern regulations is on the systems in place
for food handling, preparation, and storage.

This is not to say that modern food hygiene regulations do not address the issue of cleanliness,
they certainly do, but over the last 50 -60 years legislators have come to realise that a dirty
floor is less important than the temperature at which a meat pie is stored or the risk of cross-
contamination to a salad.

Microorganism

Many of the properties of microorganisms make them suitable for use in wastewater
treatment. A through knowledge of the different physical and chemical functions of
microorganisms is essential to an understanding of liquid waste processing technology.

1. Microorganisms use fermentation reactions (protein) to perform complex synthesis

under normal temperature and pressure. Hence equipment based on microorganism
reactions is simpler than equipment employing physico-chemical reactions and
processes, and makes it possible for complex reactions to be driven efficiently.
2. Among living organisms, microorganisms are characterized by rapid proliferation rate,
and are capable of rapidly converting substances. (The volume of oxygen consumed by
microorganisms is millions of times that required by humans, on a per-unit-weight
basis.) .
3. Microorganism's process materials contained in wastewater, which cannot be
decomposed by other means.
4. Microorganisms regulate themselves so as to form an organic layer suitable for
processing liquid waste. (Self-regulating function).
5. Microorganism reactions are safe, and pose no danger of secondary pollution.

Virulent strains of E. coli can cause gastroenteritis, urinary tract infections, and neonatal
meningitis. In rarer cases, virulent strains are also responsible for hæmolytic-uremic syndrome
(HUS), peritonitis, mastitis, septicemia and Gram-negative pneumonia.[17]