Ensuring Safe Food From Production to Consumption (1998) / Chapter Skim
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3. The Changing Nature of Food Hazards: Cause for Increasing Concern
3. The Changing Nature of Food Hazards: Cause for Increasing Concern
Pages 51-62
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From page 51... ...
The committee recognizes the growing concern for controlling the microbiological hazards related to food, but believes that government attention must also be addressed to chemical and physical hazards. This chapter is organized in two parts: the first describes major changes that affect the epidemiology of infectious foodborne disease, and the second describes examples of potential chemical hazards which have emerged in part from some of the same changes in the food supply.
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From page 52... ...
The General Accounting Of flee estimates that in 1995 one-third of all fresh fruit consumed in the United States was imported (GAO, 1998~. Food imports have increased bow because of lower production costs in foreign countries and because of consumer demand for year-round supplies of fruits and vegetables that have limited growing seasons in Me United States.
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From page 53... ...
As a result, appreciation of simple but critical food safety techniques, such as washing hands and utensils and storing foods at optimal temperatures, has likely diminished. Individual food tastes and preparation styles are brought to the United States from around the world, and the increasing ethnic diversity of the American population may affect food safety in several ways.
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From page 54... ...
Meals are also prepared as takeout foods from supermarkets and convenience stores; many of these meals include one or more cold food items, such as delicatessen sandwiches and salads that require extensive food handling and are not cooked before consumption. These changes have led to an increase in the number of people handling food and the potential for an increase in the transmission of foodborne diseases from food handlers to consumers.
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From page 55... ...
First, no comprehensive populationbased studies of gastrointestinal illness in the community have attempted to determine what proportion of these illnesses is due to consumption of contaminated food and what proportion is from other sources. Second, foodborne illness can cause clinical conditions not characterized by gastrointestinal symptoms, such as congenital toxoplasmosis, hemolytic uremic syndrome, salmonella-associated septicemia, and invasive Listeria infections (Morris and Potter, 1997~.
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From page 56... ...
Young children today are likely to be exposed to a broader range of foodborne diseases than was true a generation ago, because families eat out or take prepared food home more often and children receive more community and out-of-home care at younger ages. Elderly persons are particularly susceptible to illness from foodborne disease, and the number of the elderly in the United States is increasing rapidly.
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From page 57... ...
The increasing number of people with immunosuppressive diseases, such as human immunodeficiency virus, also contributes to the public health importance of food safety. CHANGES IN CHEMICAL HAZARDS ASSOCIATED WITH THE FOOD SUPPLY Changes in our society and our food supply have raised new concerns about food chemical safety.
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From page 58... ...
The Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994 eased restrictions on certain statements of nutrition support made for supplements and exempted them from the safety approval requirement applicable to conventional food additives. That legal change helped spur the growing market for supplements of all types, including herbal products, and raises food safety concerns.
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From page 59... ...
This new technology might offer improvements in food safety through increased resistance to molds that produce food mycotoxins or through lower levels of allergenic proteins, fatty acids, or other undesirable components of food. However, there are important differences between countries in how food products Tom genetically modified organisms are regulated.
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From page 60... ...
Potential candidates for evaluation include constituents of some food packaging materials, pesticides, and natural food constituents, such as genestein in soy. Some groups have recently asked whether chemical safety assessments provide adequate safety margins to protect children (Guzelian et al., 1992; NRC, 1993~.
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From page 61... ...
SUMMARY FINDINGS: The Changing Nature of Food Hazards · Changes in the risk of infectious foodborne disease are due primarily to: changes in diet, increasing use of commercial food service and in food eaten or prepared away from home, new methods of producing and distributing food, new or re-emerging infectious foodborne agents, and the growing number of people at high risk for foodborne illnesses due to: increasing number of elderly, and increasing number of people with depressed immunity or resistance to infection. · Changes in chemical hazards associated with the food supply must be monitored and evaluated; these include: increased use of dietary supplements and herbal products without requirements to meet specified safety standards; new food components that mimic attributes of traditional food components; introduction of new food technologies and .
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