Universitate de Stiinte Agronomice si Medicina Veterinara

Facultatea de Medicina Veterinara

Specializarea: Controlul si Expertiza Produselor Alimentare
REFERAT la disciplina:
limba engleza
TITLUL:
The importance of food safety
Student: Paun Nicoleta Elena
Anul: 3
Grupa: 4303
Anul universitar 2015-2016
Semestrul I

Food safety is about handling, storing and preparing food to prevent infection and help to make

sure that our food keeps enough nutrients for us to have a healthy diet. Unsafe food and water
means that it has been exposed to dirt and germs, or may even be rotten, which can cause
infections or diseases such as diarrhoea, meningitis, etc.
These diseases can make people very sick or even be life threatening. When people are sick, they
are weak and would have difficulty working or concentrating at school. Some of these infections
also make it difficult for our bodies to absorb the nutrients they need to get healthy. Unsafe or
stale foods also deteriorate and be of poor quality, which means they lose nutrients and so we do
not get enough of what we need for a healthy diet. So unsafe food can also lead to poor nutrition.
The great majority of people will experience a food or water borne disease at some point in their
lives. This highlights the importance of making sure the food we eat is not contaminated with
potentially harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, toxins and chemicals.
Good food hygiene isnt just something for restaurants to worry about. Its important to know
how to prepare food safely and hygienically in the home too.
There are four important elements to good food hygiene:cleaning, storing,preparing,cooking.
Foodborne illnesses are a burden on public health and contribute significantly to the cost of
health care. A foodborne outbreak occurs when 2 or more cases of a similar illness result from
eating the same food.1 In 2006, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) received
reports of a total of 1,270 foodborne disease outbreaks, which resulted in 27,634 cases of illness
and 11 deaths.
A foodborne outbreak indicates that something in the food safety system needs to be improved.
The food safety system includes food:
Production; Processing; Packing; Distribution/Transportation; Storage; Preparation
Public health scientists investigate outbreaks to control them and to learn how to prevent similar
outbreaks in the future. Success is measured in part through the reduction in outbreaks of
foodborne illnesses.
Foodborne illness is a preventable and underreported public health problem. It presents a major
challenge to both general and at-risk populations. Each year, millions of illnesses in the United
States can be attributed to contaminated foods. Children younger than age 4 have the highest
incidence of laboratory-confirmed infections from:
Campylobacter species; Cryptosporidium species; Salmonella species;
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli O157; Shigella species; Yersinia species
People older than age 50 are at greater risk for hospitalizations and death from intestinal
pathogens commonly transmitted through foods.3 Safer food promises healthier and longer lives,

less costly health care, and a more resilient food industry.

Understanding Food Safety:
Many factors determine the safety of the Nations food supply. Improper handling, preparation,
and storage practices may result in cases of foodborne illness. This can happen in processing and
retail establishments and in the home.
Social Determinants of Food Safety:
Fewer consumers grow and prepare their own food, preferring instead either to use convenience
foods purchased in supermarkets that can quickly be prepared or assembled, or to eat in
restaurants. This gives them less control over the foods they eat.
The processing and retail food industries continue to be challenged by:
Large employee populations that have high rates of turnover
Nonuniform systems for training and certifying workers
Ability to rapidly traceback/traceforward food items of interest
In addition, changes in production practices and new sources of food, such as imports, introduce
new risks.
Physical Determinants of Food Safety:
Food hazards can enter the food supply at any point from farm to table. Many foodborne hazards
cannot be detected in food when it is purchased or consumed. These hazards include microbial
pathogens and chemical contaminants. In addition, a food itself can cause severe adverse
reactions. In the United States, food allergy is an important problem, especially among children
under age 18.
10 facts on food safety:
1.More than 200 diseases are spread through food.
Millions of people fall ill every year and many die as a result of eating unsafe food. Diarrhoeal
diseases alone kill an estimated 1.5 million children annually, and most of these illnesses are
attributed to contaminated food or drinking water. Proper food preparation can prevent most
foodborne diseases.
2.Contaminated food can cause long-term health problems.
The most common symptoms of foodborne disease are stomach pains, vomiting and diarrhoea.
Food contaminated with heavy metals or with naturally occurring toxins can also cause long-term
health problems including cancer and neurological disorders.

3.Foodborne diseases affect vulnerable people harder than other groups.

Infections caused by contaminated food have a much higher impact on populations with poor or
fragile health status and can easily lead to serious illness and death. For infants, pregnant women,
the sick and the elderly, the consequences of foodborne disease are usually more severe and may
be fatal.
4.There are many opportunities for food contamination to take place
Todays food supply is complex and involves a range of different stages including on-farm
production, slaughtering or harvesting, processing, storage, transport and distribution before the
food reaches the consumers.
5.Globalization makes food safety more complex and essential.
Globalization of food production and trade is making the food chain longer and complicates
foodborne disease outbreak investigation and product recall in case of emergency.
6.Food safety is multisectoral and multidisciplinary
To improve food safety, a multitude of different professionals are working together, making use
of the best available science and technologies. Different governmental departments and agencies,
encompassing public health, agriculture, education and trade, need to collaborate and
communicate with each other and engage with the civil society including consumer groups.
7.Food contamination also affects the economy and society as a whole.
Food contamination has far reaching effects beyond direct public health consequences it
undermines food exports, tourism, livelihoods of food handlers and economic development, both
in developed and developing countries.
8.Some harmful bacteria are becoming resistant to drug treatments.
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing global health concern. Overuse and misuse of
antimicrobials in agriculture and animal husbandry, in addition to human clinical uses, is one of
the factors leading to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Antimicrobialresistant bacteria in animals may be transmitted to humans via food.
9.Everybody has a role to play in keeping food safe.
Food safety is a shared responsibility between governments, industry, producers, academia, and
consumers. Everyone has a role to play. Achieving food safety is a multi-sectoral effort requiring
expertise from a range of different disciplines toxicology, microbiology, parasitology, nutrition,
health economics, and human and veterinary medicine. Local communities, womens groups and
school education also play an important role.

10.Consumers must be well informed on food safety practices.

People should make informed and wise food choices and adopt adequate behaviors. They should
know common food hazards and how to handle food safely, using the information provided in
food labelling.
As part of its global strategy to decrease the burden of foodborne diseases, WHO identified the
need to communicate simple global health messages based on scientific evidence to train all types
of food handlers, including consumers.
The core messages of the Five Keys to Safer Food are:
keep clean; separate raw and cooked; cook thoroughly; keep food at safe temperatures;
use safe water and raw materials.
The Five Keys to Safer Food explain the basic principles that each individual should know all
over the world to prevent foodborne diseases. Over 100 countries have reported using the Five
Keys to Safer Food. As a result, thousands of food handlers, including consumers, are
empowered to prevent foodborne diseases, make safe and informed choices and have a voice to
push for a safer food supply.
To ensure the same understanding in practice along the full chain - from farm to table WHO has
developed additional Five Keys materials directed to rural people who grow fruits, vegetables
and fish for their own use or for sale on local markets. WHOs objective is to target those who
usually do not have access to food safety education despite the important role they have in
producing safe food for their community.