Laws on Food: Food Regulations Essay Example

Introduction

Food safety refers to the surety that food will not possible have any threat to anyone who takes it when it is being made or when it is eaten for the purpose that it is meant for (World Health Organizatio 1). Hazards as a result of food can be physical, microbiological or even in a chemical form and often invisible to the eye. Food safety involves ensuring that food remains safe at whatever stage of the food chain right from when they are being produced to when harvesting is taking place, during the processing process, distribution, storage until the time of preparation and consumption. Ensuring that food is safe is a very complex process which has to begin right from the farm until the consumer level. Food Agriculture Organization is the only international organization that oversees all the aspects of the food chain. It partners with the World Health Organization (WHO) whose mandate is to oversee and ensure that it establishes and maintains good relationships with the public sector.

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Importance of Food Safety

Putting efforts towards the achievement of food safety is very vital since it helps in reducing the risk and protecting the spread of illnesses that may come as a result of when people feed on food that is not fit for consumption (Daskalov 476). It helps in preventing those that consume food from being at risk of conditions that can negatively affect their health or lead to loss of life.

Safety Principles

As food is moved from farms until the time it gets home, it may be handled severally, and this compromises the safety of the food that is being moved. People can reduce the contaminants in their homes and help in ensuring that the food that is consumed is safe by putting measures that will ensure that food is handled safely. Four basic principles of food safety closely work to minimize the occurrence of illnesses that come as a result of when safety in food is compromised. They include the following: Clean, Separate, Cook and Chill.

a) Clean

Different microbes which include viruses and bacteria can find their way in the kitchen premises, on our hands, on the shopping bags that we use, chopping boards and eventually get into the food that is to be consumed in what referred to as Cross-contamination. When we practice washing of our hands, it will significantly help because the contamination of food with microbes from raw animal products is prevented (Meng, and Doyle 263). Ensuring that surfaces are cleaned frequently is essential in reducing contamination. To reduce contaminants and microbes in food, all the products should be rinsed thoroughly regardless of where they are grown or purchased.

Hands

Washing of hands should be done before and even after preparing food especially after you have handled raw meat, eggs, poultry, seafoods, etc. They should be washed using water and soap. Also, washing hands is recommended after visiting the bathroom, coughing, and sneezing, changing diapers, attending to a sick person, touching animals and handling waste materials.

Surfaces

The surfaces of the kitchen such as sinks, tables and also utensils should be kept clean all the time. Using water that is hot and soapy will significantly help in maintaining a high hygiene standard for the surfaces and hence ensuring that food safety is maintained.

Food

Fresh fruits and vegetables should be rinsed thoroughly with clean water before they are consumed, cut or cooked. When washing them one should not use any soap or detergent. They should then be dried with a clean towel to get rid of any bacteria that could still have been left during the time washing was taking place.

b) Separate

To prevent the spread of food borne illnesses, it is crucial that when handling food we put the ones that are ready for consumption differently from the ones that a raw. Right from the time of purchasing, preparing and serving food, there should be much attention to ensure that they are separated in every step (Friedman 4516). Foods that are raw such as seafood, meat, and poultry products should be packed separately from the others during shopping

c) Cook and chill

Food should be cooked at the recommended safe minimum internal temperature to enable the harmful microbes that are present are destroyed. The instructions of the manufacturer should be followed on the amount of time that is needed for food to be ready for consumption (Grunert 379).

Factors Affecting Food Safety

Food essential in the daily lives of human beings, yet it has become a threat to the health of human beings in various situations around the world in cases where the food that was consumed was not safe leading to various illnesses (Hall, Vally, and Kirk 642). Some of the factors that increase the potential threats that occur as a result of food include the following. Practices used in agriculture, Low standard of hygiene along the food chain, wrong use of chemicals, raw materials that are contaminated, not putting preventive measure when processing and preparing food, improper storage of food and water among others (Yapp, Charlotte, and Robyn 42). The above issues are put into three categories which include the hygiene of food, the hygiene of the people that are handling the food and the hygiene of the kitchen where the food is being prepared.

a) Hygiene of food

The hygiene level of food usually depends on different factors. Some of them include buying of foods that are of low quality, those that are not fresh any longer, subjecting the food in conditions that are favorable for them, storing the food in unconducive environments and using the wrong methods, not separating the cooked foods from those that are raw

b) The Hygiene of those who handle Food

The people who work towards the processing of food should undergo medical check-up regularly to ensure that they do suffer from any diseases that can contaminate the food (Molins 11). The employer should ensure that the workers exercise high levels of cleanliness both at a personal level and when they are in the process of handling food.

c) The hygiene of the kitchen

The level of hygiene that is maintained in the kitchen premises greatly determines whether the food prepared there is safe for people to consume (Redmond, Elizabeth, and Christopher 153). According to studies that are conducted in various kitchens, it becomes evident that some of them do not comply with the food code that they are supposed to meet. This means that they pose a threat to the safety of food being prepared there.

Current & Emerging Issues in Food Safety

A lot of issues related to food safety have emerged, and they have attracted a lot of attention from different areas such as the government, research, regulatory bodies among others. The issues include the following:

a) Illnesses

Around the world, Illnesses resulting from food contamination have been experienced raising a lot of concern on the safety standards of food being consumed. The Illnesses have burdened people economically due to the cost incurred at providing health care to those that are affected by them. Also, losses have been experienced by the companies that are identified to have caused contamination of any food due to the restrictions imposed on them and hence reducing trade.

b) Food aldulteration

Food Adulteration occurs when the quality of a given food is reduced through removing an important component in it or even adding others that are not required. This act has become very common in the world today putting people's health at risk of consuming such products. Lot has to be done so that we can put an end to this action. If anyone is found guilty or food adulteration, they should face severe consequences (Costello et al. 1699).

c) Climate change

To be able to tackle the possible consequences that climate change can have on food safety, it is vital to clearly understand the microbiological related hazards, the conditions that favor their occurrence and then identifying the measures that can be put in place in preventing them effectively.

Works Cited

Costello, Anthony, et al. "Managing the health effects of climate change: lancet and University College London Institute for Global Health Commission." The Lancet 373.9676 (2009): 1693-1733.

Daskalov, Hristo. "The importance of Aeromonas hydrophila in food safety." Food control 17.6 (2006): 474-483.

Friedman, Mendel. "Chemistry, biochemistry, and safety of acrylamide. A review." Journal of agricultural and food chemistry 51.16 (2003): 4504-4526.

Grunert, Klaus G. "Food quality and safety: consumer perception and demand." European review of agricultural economics 32.3 (2005): 369-391.

Hall, G., Vally, H., and Kirk, M. Foodborne Illness: Overview, International Encyclopedia of Public Health, 638-653.

Meng, J., and M. P. Doyle. "Emerging issues in microbiological food safety." Annual review of nutrition 17.1 (1997): 255-275.

Molins, Ricardo A., ed. Food irradiation: principles and applications. John Wiley & Sons, 2001.

Redmond, Elizabeth C., and Christopher J. Griffith. "Consumer food handling in the home: a review of food safety studies." Journal of food protection 66.1 (2003): 130-161.

World Health Organization. Diet, nutrition, and the prevention of chronic diseases: report of a joint WHO/FAO expert consultation. Vol. 916. World Health Organization, 2003.

Yapp, Charlotte, and Robyn Fairman. "Factors affecting food safety compliance within small and medium-sized enterprises: implications for regulatory and enforcement strategies." Food Control 17.1 (2006): 42-51.