Resource Management - Food safety and Hygiene

FOOD CONTAMINATION

There are three main ways in which food can come contaminated, they are:

Physical contamination:

• can occur at any time of production.
• Includes pieces of metal or plastic entering the food, or things that were supposed to have been removed e.g. pips, stones, stalks etc.
• Pests can also contaminate food with droppings.

Chemical Contamination

• Includes metal residues, pesticides, cleaning materials.
• Careless use of chemicals leads to food contamination.
• Farmers which use pesticides put chemicals in the food.
• Food additive quanities needs to be carefully considered also.

Micro-organism Contamination

• Food changes durring storage.
• This process can affect the colour, flavour, texture and appearance of food -  mostly colour changes are harmless.
• Changes caused by micro-organisms and enzymes.
• Micro-organisms include yeasts, viruses, mould and bacteria.
• Bacteria which are harmful are called Pathogenic bacteria 

Food spoilage by Micro-organisms

Moulds

• Moulds are tiny plants or fungi which grow on the surface of food.
• Produce spores which travel in the air.
• Prefer warm moist conditions.
• Can be used for good e.g. cheese such as stilton.
• Generally mouls are harmless but some contain mycotoxins which can be dangerous.
• Mycotoxins are naturally occurring toxins produced by moulds.

Yeasts

• Do not cause food poisoning but can cause food spoilage.
• Found naturally in environment, and require warm moist conditions to reproduce.
• Yeasts are essential for the production of bread, wine and beer.

Viruses

• Not usually considered to be a living organism as they consist of genetic material.
• Can cause disease as they destroy living cells.
• Viruses carried around by humans, animals, birds, water and sewage.
• The Hepatitis A virus can be passed on in food thorugh infected food handlers.

Bacteria

• Bacteria are single-celled micro-organisms found in water, air, soil, people and animals.
• They are essential in the production of yoghurt and cheese.
• Probiotic drinks contain 'helpful' bacteria and claim to have health benefits.
• To multiply they require warm, moist, food conditions.
• Spoliage bacteria -  this bacteria affects the quality of the food product and sometimes makes it unsafe to eat.
• Pathogenic bacteria - Pathogenic bacteria includes salmonella, staphylococcuss, clostridium.
• Food-borne disease - illnesscaused by eating food contaminated by harmful substances.

Food posioning

• Can be caused by pathogenic bacteria, but also can be caused by viruses, chemicals, and metals contaminating the food substance.
• Can also be contaminated by posionous plants and animals.
• Two ways in which bacteria can make you ill - by eating the live bacteria or eating the toxin they produce.

Eating pathogenic bacteria

• Bacteria enters to stomach and intestine and multiplies, this is how the most common pathogenic bacteria causes illness.
• Some bacteria…