Chapter 12: Food Safety Concerns

Discuss the food safety educators' four simple actions for reducing the risk of food-borne illness.

(Clean) Wash hands and utensils to avoid spreading bacteria when preparing food. (Separate) Use different cutting boards for meat, poultry, seafood, and veggies. (Cook) You can't tell it's done by how it looks! Use a food thermometer. (Chill)Keep the fridge at 40 °F or below to keep bacteria from growing.

Aflatoxins are the most common sources of food-borne illness in the United States. True or false?

(False) Food-borne illness resulting from aflatoxins rarely occurs in the United States.

In case of an emergency, it is not safe to drink the water in an undamaged water heater. True or false?

(False) In case of an emergency, you can drink the water stored in an undamaged water heater.

The USDA recommends that a beef steak be cooked until its internal temperature is at least ________.

145ºF

The USDA recommends that a salmon steak be cooked until its internal temperature is at least ________.

145ºF

Before you prepare food or after you use the bathroom, wash your hands with hot soapy water for at least ________ seconds to cleanse them thoroughly.

20 sec

Explain how to prepare home-canned, low-acid foods that are safe to eat.

All low-acid foods should be sterilized at temperatures of 240° to 250°F, attainable with pressure canners operated at 10 to 15 PSIG.

Which of the following foods is not a likely source of food-borne pathogens?

Commercially-canned peaches

Explain how cross-contamination of food occurs.

Cross-contamination occurs when microorganisms (bacteria, parasites, viruses)are transferred from a food where they occur naturally to one where they do not naturally occur.

Proper Temperature of Foods

Danger zone: According to HHS and USDA, most microbes grow well when food temperatures are between 40o F to 140o F.

________ are vermin than often transmit pathogens to food.

Flies

Jacob's Asiatic Meat Company, which is located in California, imports meat, poultry, and pork products from several Asian countries and distributes the products for sale throughout the United States. Jacob's company is subject to the regulations of the ________.

Food Safety and Inspection Service

Irradiation

Food irradiation preserves food by using a high amount of energy to kill pathogens.

Kevin and Neill spent a couple of days camping next to a lake in a national park. While at the campsite, they swam in the lake and noticed several trees near their campsite had been damaged by beavers. A couple of weeks after they returned home, both young men began to lose weight and have abdominal pain and diarrhea. Based on this information, the emergency room doctor who treated Kevin suspected his patient had become infected with ________.

Giardia

Explain when a person who has a food-borne illness should seek professional medical help.

If they have: • Severe intestinal pain • Fever (temperature above 102° F) • Bloody bowel movements • Prolonged vomiting that reduces fluid intake • Diarrhea that lasts more than 3 days (adults) • Dehydration

Discuss ways that pathogens can contaminate human foods.

In general, high-risk foods: • Warm• Moist• Protein-rich• Neutral or slightly acidic pH

Identify the most common cause of food-borne disease outbreaks in the United States.

In the U.S., norovirus is the most common cause of food-borne illness outbreaks. Signs & symptoms include stomach pain, diarrhea, and vomiting.

Explain why it is incorrect to call a food-borne illness the "flu" or "stomach flu."

Influenza is caused by specific group of viruses that infect the respiratory tract. •FBI Generally do not have respiratory signs and symptoms

Discuss pesticides, including the pros and cons of their use.

Insecticides: control or kill insects • Rodenticides: control or kill mice and rats • Herbicides: destroy weeds • Fungicides: limit spread of fungi

After a natural disaster, it is safe to drink the fluid from ________.

Intact cans of fruit, melted ice cubes that are in the freezer

Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS)

List of ingredients used before 1958 that were thought to be safe • Exempt from safety testing • GRAS list substances are not classified as additives

You have a high risk of developing traveler's diarrhea when you visit ________.

Mexico City, Mexico

Identify nations where visitors are most likely to develop traveler's diarrhea.

Mexico and other parts of Central America Most of Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and South America

Explain why ground meat and poultry often are sources of food-borne illness.

Most raw poultry contains Campylobacter. It also may contain Salmonella, Clostridium perfringens, and other bacteria.

________ infection is the most common food-borne illness in the United States.

Norovirus

Which of the following statements is true? Using a microstrainer filter is the best way to remove viruses from impure water. The water in swimming pools is safe to drink. Boiling water for several minutes is not an effective means of purification. People who travel to Central and South America have a high risk of developing traveler's diarrhea.

People who travel to Central and South America have a high risk of developing traveler's diarrhea.

The following substances were detected in a can of food. Which of the substances is an unintentional food additive?

Pesticide residues

How Safe Are Pesticides?

Pesticides have the potential to harm humans, animals, and the environment.

Which of the following foods is likely to be a source of Salmonella?

Raw Chicken

Which of the following foods is not a likely source of food-borne pathogens?

Ready To- Eat cereal

Describe typical signs and symptoms of food-borne illness.

Signs and symptoms include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and intestinal cramps.

Which of the following food preservation methods is the most effective for destroying pathogens, including viruses?

Sterilization

Identify government agencies that are responsible for ensuring the safety of the food supply in the United States.

U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Agriculture (USDA) regulate food industry

Identify unintentional food additives.

Unintentional food additives are substances that get into foods accidentally. • FDA cannot ban unintentional additives.

Identify foods that are often sources of pathogens or their toxins.

Unpasteurized (raw) milk and dairy products. Soft cheese made with unpasteurized milk, such as queso fresco, feta, Brie, Camembert. Raw fruits and vegetables (such as sprouts). Ready-to-eat deli meats and hot dogs. Refrigerated pâtés or meat spreads. Refrigerated smoked seafood.

A ________ is simply a piece of genetic material coated with protein.

Virus

Which of the following foods often is not a common source of food-borne pathogens?

White Bread

Food-borne infection

illness that results when a pathogen in food inflames the intestinal tract or other body tissues

Fungi

live on dead/decaying matter

Viruses

microbe consisting of a piece of genetic material coated with protein • Invade living cells to reproduce

Parasitic worms

obtain nourishment from living in a host

Shelf life

period of time that a food can be stored before it spoils

Sterilization

process that kills or destroys all microorganisms and viruses

Bacteria

simple, single-celled microorganisms

Protozoa

single-celled microorganisms that have a more complex cell structure than bacteria

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS)

• Enforces food safety laws for domestic and imported meat and poultry

FDA

• FDA regulates nearly all food sold in interstate trade. • Establishes standards for safe food manufacturing• HACCP

The best way to tell if a food is safe to eat is to smell it. True or false?

(False) Smelling a food is not a reliable way to test its safety.

Certain fungi, such as button mushrooms, are safe to eat. True or false?

(True) Certain fungi, such as button mushrooms, are safe to eat.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the proper use of pesticides in the United States. True or false?

(True)The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the proper use of pesticides in the United States.

Discuss ways to prevent traveler's diarrhea.

Avoid food that has been sitting on a buffet. Eat raw fruits and vegetables only if you have washed them in clean water or peeled them. Only drink beverages from factory-sealed containers, and avoid ice because it may have been made from unclean water.

Discuss conditions that favor the survival and multiplication of food-borne pathogens.

Poor personal hygiene Improper food handling Vermin

Food intoxication

illness that results when poisons produced by certain microbes contaminate food and irritate the intestinal tract

A farmer wants to control crop pests by using biologically based pesticides to attract and trap insect pests. This method of pest control is a form of ________.

integrated pest management

direct food additives

substances added for a specific reason. product consistency, emulsified or agents improved or maintain nutritional value

A farmer in Iowa wants to control crop pests by using integrated pest management techniques. Based on this information, the farmer will use ________.

viruses that attack a variety of weeds

Food Preservation Methods

• Heating• Adding salt or sugar• Smoking• Curing• Chilling/freezing• Drying• Fermenting• Canning• Irradiating

Indirect food additives

• Indirect additives enter food but have no purpose. • Contaminants

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA):

• Monitors quality of drinking water • Regulates toxic substances and wastes Local and state health departments

Explain how to reduce the risk of food-borne illness when purchasing, preparing, cooking, and storing foods and beverages

• Select frozen foods and highly perishable foods, such as meat and fish, last. • Check "best by" dates on perishable foods. • Purchase only pasteurized milk, cheese, and fruit and vegetable juices. • Pack meat, fish, and poultry in separate plastic bags.

Emergency Food Supply

• Store at least a 3-day supply of food for emergency use. • Choose foods that have a long storage life, require no refrigeration, or cooking. • Store a manual can opener, paper plates, and eating utensils.

Pathogens

disease-causing agents

Food-borne illness

disorder that is caused by consuming disease-causing agents in food or water

Delaney Clause

prevents manufacturers from adding a new compound to foods that causes cancer at any level of intake. • Does not apply to pesticide residues

Discuss the purpose of pasteurization.

process in which packaged and non-packaged foods are treated with mild heat, usually to less than 100 °C, to eliminate pathogens and extend shelf life.

Fermentation

process used to preserve or produce a variety of foods, including pickles and wine

Emergency Water Supply

• Store at least one gallon of water/person/day. Keep a 3- to 5-day supply. • Keep water in a cool place and in sturdy plastic containers. • Change stored water every 6 months.

Identify foods that are high risk for supporting pathogens.

• Warm • Moist • Protein-rich • Neutral or slightly acidic pH