Describe The Relationship Between Food Safety & Course (Term Paper Sample)

Surname
Name of Professor
Course
Institution
Date
Food Safety
Introduction
According to the U.S National Library of Medicine, food safety refers to the scientific techniques that are utilized in the preparation, handling, storage as well as distribution of food (MedlinePlus). Food is a critical factor of life whose safety is of paramount significance. Food safety enhances the quality of life by ensuring that people ingest only the secure food items. Effective food safety ensures that people do not get the food-borne diseases. The food-borne diseases occur when people consume contaminated food. Contamination of food occurs due to improper handling, preparation as well as storage of food. Throughout the process of food distribution, there are various environmental aspects that interact with the food and increase the risks of safety concerns. For instance, the food has to be cleaned; the containers, hands, utensils as well as fruits and vegetables ought to be cleaned. Moreover, a food-borne disease outbreak occurs if two or more cases of the disease are reported after ingestion of a common food. Food-borne disease outbreaks significantly affect the lives of people due to the costs of management, overwhelming patient levels, and increased mortality rate. Therefore, it is significant to enhance food safety techniques to reduce the chances of emergence of the food-borne diseases.
The relationship between food safety & Course
Food safety is significant in any health-related courses such as medicine, nursing, and nutrition as well as disaster management. Food safety is significant in the control of the spread of diseases and health conditions that can be spread through food. For instance, some microbes develop in contaminated food and spread diseases to human beings. As the food is moved from one place to another it interacts with different environmental factors such as high temperatures and moisture that may increase its chances of getting contamination and hence increase the risks of food poisoning. Furthermore, some of the disease-causing microorganisms may be spread to the human being via contaminated food. For instance, cholera is a dangerous disease that is caused by a bacteria (Vibrio cholera) that invades food materials.
The control of the spread of the food-borne diseases, as well as the medication for the same, is costly. Therefore, there should be different government institutions as well as independent bodies that regulate the food safety. Different countries have different agencies that deal with the food safety issues. For instance in the United States of America, the FDA; the Food and Drug Administration is charged with the responsibility of enforcing food safety. For this reason, the agency is in charge of ensuring that the food is secure enough for human consumption. Therefore, the agency is responsible for labeling, analysis as well as licensing the food products and food companies. Hence, the organization has the power to ban, authorize, or legalize the sale, distribution or production of certain food. The existence of such organizations assists in improving the health standards of the people by mitigating the food-related health risks.
Food safety is related to nutrition in the sense that, different foods have different nutritional values. The different nutritional values of every food are significant in the growth and development. There are several foods that are related to the lifestyle diseases. Therefore, food safety is also related to the nutritional value of food so that the food can be free from increasing the risks of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, coronary diseases, and obesity. Since all the above-mentioned factors have financial, economic as well as political implications, there is a need to embark on efficient food safety techniques.
Environmental Applications
Environmental aspects such as temperature, moisture, and microorganisms play significant roles in the maintenance of food safety. By controlling the environmental factors, food safety is enhanced and hence improve the quality and health benefits of foods.
For instance, during storage; the temperature is maintained within an appropriate range that prevents the food from going bad. The perishable food items such as meat, milk as well as vegetables are properly stored by refrigeration. Refrigeration involves the use of chillers and coolers to lower the temperatures to the levels that inhibit the growth of the microorganisms such as bacteria. Moreover, during the transportation and distribution of the perishable foods, refrigeration is also used to enhance food safety. Refrigeration not only prevents the food from going bad and improve the safety but also lowers the risks of loss especially to the food companies (USDA).
Other techniques used in storage of food include the use of canning. Canning uses several techniques such as high-acid levels for vegetables, and low-acid levels for meat. The food in the cans has the capacity to remain safe for about eighteen months.
During the preparation of food that includes cooking, packaging, processing as well as serving, a high level of hygiene is needed. Therefore, the environment in which food is handled needs to be clean. The food handlers ought to clean their hands, their premises as well as disinfect the packaging counters and wrappers. Moreover, the chopping boards, as well as utensils used to handle food ought to be clean and free from any contamination. The environment needs to be safe enough to ensure that the food does not come into contact with the factors that raise the risk levels such as the presence of poisonous chemicals, disease-causing agents, as well as very hot temperatures that can perpetuate spoilage. In some instances, the moisture content needs to be maintained at lower levels. For instance, if one is dealing with dry foods such as cereal products, it is essential to maintain low moisture levels. Moistures supports the development of microbes that cause food spoilage. The microbes may lead to the destruction of the food and hence lead to spread of diseases and other health risks (USDA).
The waste management involves the handling of leftovers as well as other human wastes. In the context of food safety, the leftovers and human wastes need to be disposed of appropriately to avoid their contact with the food that is being consumed. Improper disposal of the food leftovers and human wastes may lead to contamination of water and food and eventually lead to spreading of the food-borne disease. A clean environment free from waste products ensures that the food is secured and safe for human consumption (USDA).
Reasons for the interest in food safety
It’s reasonable to ask, “Why food safety is significant?” to answer this question, one has to consider examples of food safety disasters in the past as well as their impacts. The food consumed is subjected to several health hazards such as heavy metals, agro-chemicals, preservatives, food-additives, as well as human wastes and antibiotics. Therefore, having policies and laws that govern the food safety is significant in enhancing food safety (Wamanji).
In the process of food preservation, preparation as well as production, the food gets in contact with pesticides, agrochemicals as well as antibiotics. Since the consumers are either ignorant or lack the capacity to scrutinize the originality and safety of the food, such foods end up being eaten. In the long run, the people experience health hazards such as cancers and other health implications that could have been avoided if food safety was enhanced. Moreover, the health issues that arise from unsafe food products such as cancer are expensive to handle and may be fatal. Some chemicals such as aflatoxin are highly toxic and develop in improperly handled food products. For instance, the contamination of food by aflatoxin in Malaysia has a long history of recurring incidents. The most susceptible foodstuffs include the spices, peanuts, cereals as well as their products. In some instance, the aflatoxin contaminations have been fatal. For instance, in 1988, 13 children died due to an outbreak of aflatoxin contamination in Perak, Malaysia. The dietary exposure to aflatoxin is related to the development of the liver cancer. Therefore, the Malaysian population falls at a high risk of developing the liver cancer as a result of high to moderated exposure to aflatoxin. For this reason, Malaysia embarked on the measurement of the aflatoxin levels to control the spread of the toxin. Extensive research has been established throughout the country with the collaboration of global partners. The research aims at dissemination of information concerning the methods of control, prevention and intervention of the aflatoxin menace (Sabran Mohd-Redzwan). The consumers need to trace the origin of food products before purchasing to ensure that they are safe. Otherwise, the consumers fall into the risk of eating foods that contain pesticides and other harmful chemicals that deteriorate their health.
Recommendations
According to the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005 (USDA), it is necessary to avoid the foods that are contaminated with toxins, harmful parasites, bacteria, and viruses. Moreover, it is also important to avoid the physical, and chemical food contaminants that jeopardize health. There are...