Experts describe food safety problems in term of hazards with those hazards categorized as chemical, microbiological or physical property that can cause a food to be unsafe.
Microbiological pathogens are the most common biological hazards, and they can cause infections and intoxications.
The analysis of hazards requires the assessment of two factors with respect to any identified hazard; i.e., the likelihood that the hazard will occurs and the severity if it does occur.
However, pesticides and additives have been prominent subjects for the media which may lead some people to focus on those hazards more than others.
In reviewing illness that results from the microbiological hazards, it must be known that bad food is not always apparent to the eye.
It is the ingestion of unseen microorganisms in contaminated food, moreso than the consumption of spoiled food, with visible damage to the eating quality of food, that is the primary cause of foodborne illness.
People do die from microbiological hazards, but deaths due to consuming pesticide residues or food additives are rare.
Water is a food, and also is subject to microbial contamination. Some pathogen such as Cryptosporidium parvum, are more waterborne than foodborne.
What are food hazards?
The Most Popular Post
-
The recommended daily allowance (RDA) for sodium is a critical dietary guideline aimed at promoting overall health and preventing chronic di... -
Potassium is the largest intracellular cation in the body. Ninety-eight percent is stored intracellularly. Hypokalemia, low blood potassium,...
-
In Europe, the sausages were known as Frankfurter wurst and Vienna wurst, but the wurst part - which means sausage - was dropped soon after ...
-
Food contamination by various agents can result in over 250 distinct foodborne diseases, posing a significant public health and economic cha... -
Diabetes mellitus is a prevalent disease in the Western world, affecting an estimated 4 to 5% of the population. In the European Union, arou...