Chapter 14

Food Safety and Technology: Impact on

Consumers
Why is Food Safety Important?
Food-borne illness: symptoms or illness from
food or water that contains an infectious agent
or toxic substance
76 million Americans report food-borne illness each
year
Many more cases go unreported
300,000 hospitalizations per year
5,000 deaths per year
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, eggs

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Promotes/educates the public about health and safety
Tracks food-borne illness outbreaks
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
Why is Food Safety Important?
Food spoilage can be from enzymes naturally
found in the food or from microbes that
colonize the food
Factors which affect enzyme activity and
microbial growth include:
Oxygen
Light
pH
Humidity
Temperature
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)
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
Campylobacter jejuni
Causes of Food-Borne Illness
Other microbes causing illness include:
Viruses such as hepatitis A, hepatitis E, Norwalk
virus
Helminths or worms, such as tapeworms, flukes, or
roundworms
Giardia, causing a diarrheal illness called giardiasis
Fungi (yeast and mold) cause food spoilage
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 mycotoxin (an example is aflatoxin
produced by moldy crops)
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
Preventing Food-Borne Illness
When preparing foods at home, be sure to
Wash hands and kitchen surfaces often
Separate foods to prevent cross contamination
Cook foods to their proper temperature
Chill foods to prevent microbes form growing
Preventing Food-Borne Illness
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
When shopping, purchase refrigerated and
frozen foods last
Preventing Food-Borne Illness
Preventing Food-Borne Illness
Preventing Food-Borne Illness
Thoroughly cooking food destroys microbes but
toxins may remain in the food
Preventing Food-Borne Illness
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
Preventing Food Spoilage
Spoilage can be prevented by many natural
techniques
Salting or sugaring
Drying the food
Smoking
Cooling
Preventing Food Spoilage
More modern techniques include
Industrial canning
Pasteurization
Aseptic packaging
Chemical preservatives (BHT, propionic acid,
sulfites, nitrites)
Irradiation
Genetic modification
Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)
Food Additives
Additives can be natural or synthetic
Natural food additives include beet juice, salt, and
citric acid
Many other additives are synthetic chemicals
added to food
Additives can be used for preservation, flavor, color,
increasing nutrient content, texture, controlling
moisture content
Over 3,000 are currently used in the United States
Food Additives
Flavorings
Flavoring agents such as essential oils or spices are
used to replace flavor lost during processing
Flavor enhancers do not have flavor of their own
but accentuate the natural flavor of food
Monosodium glutamate (MSG)
Food Additives
Colorings
Beet juice (red), beta carotene (yellow), and
caramel (brown) are natural coloring agents

Vitamins and minerals

Vitamin E, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), vitamin D,
iodine
Food Additives
Other food additives include:
Texturizers, stabilizers, thickening agents, and
emulsifiers change the consistency of processed
foods
Humectants or desiccants maintain the proper
moisture levels
Bleaching agents change the color of food
Food Additive Safety
Federal legislation regulates food additive use
1958 Delaney Clause: no food additive can be used
that is shown to cause cancer
1985 Adverse Reaction Monitoring System (ARMS):
FDA monitors complaints about food additives
Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS): list of
additives determined to be safe
Residues on Foods
Various chemicals can persist and even
accumulate in foods

These resides can include

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)
Insecticides, herbicides, fungicides
Growth hormone
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
Includes:
Mercury and lead
PCBs
Dioxins
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 a toxin on foods
Regulated by the EPA
Growth Hormones
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
Organic Foods
Organic foods are growth 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
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