Challenges in Food Safety Sometimes the foods we love and count on for good health are contaminated with germs that cause sickness and can even be deadly. More progress is needed to protect people and reduce foodborne illness in America. New challenges to food safety will continue to emerge, largely because of:

Changes in our food production and supply, including more imported foods. Changes in the environment leading to food contamination. New and emerging bacteria, toxins, and antimicrobial resistance. Changes in consumer preferences and habits. Changes in the tests that diagnose foodborne illness.

What is the most common food safety issue?

Top 10 Food Safety Issues 1. Improper Hand Washing Wet hands with warm water, apply soap, and rub hands together for a minimum of 20 seconds. Good hand hygiene is the first line of defense in preventing foodborne illness.2. Improper Sanitation Keep foodservice equipment and surfaces clean using proper washing and sanitizing procedures.3.

Ground and Whole Poultry: 165˚FWhole Cut Beef, Pork, Lamb: 145˚FGround Meat: 155˚F

Vegetables, Rice, etc: 135˚F Seafood: 145˚F 5. Confusing Labeling Any food item not stored in its original packaging must be labeled to avoid confusion. Cooked products should be labeled with a “Use by” date.6. Washing Meat & Poultry Bacteria in raw meat and poultry can spread to sink and countertops causing cross-contamination.

• Instead, handle raw products properly and cook to correct internal temperature.7.
• Untrained Employees Each kitchen staff member should be regularly given training and reminders on proper cleaning and sanitizing protocols.8.
• Unsafe Food Holding Keep hot food hot, and cold food cold.
• Bacteria that cause food poisoning multiply quickest in the “Danger Zone” – between 40˚F and 140˚F.9.

Sick Employees Preparing Food Food workers should stay home when sick and for at least 24-48 hours after symptoms stop. Symptoms include but are not limited to: diarrhea, fever, and sore throat.10. Unsafe Food Storage Raw foods, such as meat, should never be stored above ready-to-eat foods like fresh fruit, salads, or desserts.

What is the number one cause of food insecurity?

Poverty, unemployment, or low income. Lack of affordable housing. Chronic health conditions or lack of access to healthcare. Systemic racism and racial discrimination.

What are the 4 factors that influence food security?

Literature Summary – Food insecurity is defined as a household-level economic and social condition of limited or uncertain access to adequate food.1 In 2020, 13.8 million households were food insecure at some time during the year.2 Food insecurity does not necessarily cause hunger, i but hunger is a possible outcome of food insecurity.3 The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) divides food insecurity into the following 2 categories: 1

Low food security : “Reports of reduced quality, variety, or desirability of diet. Little or no indication of reduced food intake.” Very low food security : “Reports of multiple indications of disrupted eating patterns and reduced food intake.”

Food insecurity may be long term or temporary.4, 5, 6 It may be influenced by a number of factors, including income, employment, race/ethnicity, and disability. The risk for food insecurity increases when money to buy food is limited or not available.7, 8, 9, 10, 11 In 2020, 28.6 percent of low-income households were food insecure, compared to the national average of 10.5 percent.2 Unemployment can also negatively affect a household’s food security status.10 High unemployment rates among low-income populations make it more difficult to meet basic household food needs.10 In addition, children with unemployed parents have higher rates of food insecurity than children with employed parents.12 Disabled adults may be at a higher risk for food insecurity due to limited employment opportunities and health care-related expenses that reduce the income available to buy food.13, 14 Racial and ethnic disparities exist related to food insecurity.

In 2020, Black non-Hispanic households were over 2 times more likely to be food insecure than the national average (21.7 percent versus 10.5 percent, respectively). Among Hispanic households, the prevalence of food insecurity was 17.2 percent compared to the national average of 10.5 percent.2 Potential factors influencing these disparities may include neighborhood conditions, physical access to food, and lack of transportation.

Neighborhood conditions may affect physical access to food.15 For example, people living in some urban areas, rural areas, and low-income neighborhoods may have limited access to full-service supermarkets or grocery stores.16 Predominantly Black and Hispanic neighborhoods may have fewer full-service supermarkets than predominantly White and non-Hispanic neighborhoods.17 Convenience stores may have higher food prices, lower-quality foods, and less variety of foods than supermarkets or grocery stores.16, 18 Access to healthy foods is also affected by lack of transportation and long distances between residences and supermarkets or grocery stores.16 Residents are at risk for food insecurity in neighborhoods where transportation options are limited, the travel distance to stores is greater, and there are fewer supermarkets.16 Lack of access to public transportation or a personal vehicle limits access to food.16 Groups who may lack transportation to healthy food sources include those with chronic diseases or disabilities, residents of rural areas, and some racial/ethnicity groups.15, 16, 19 A study in Detroit found that people living in low-income, predominantly Black neighborhoods travel an average of 1.1 miles farther to the closest supermarket than people living in low-income predominantly White neighborhoods.20 Adults who are food insecure may be at an increased risk for a variety of negative health outcomes and health disparities.

For example, a study found that food-insecure adults may be at an increased risk for obesity.21 Another study found higher rates of chronic disease in low-income, food-insecure adults between the ages of 18 years and 65 years.22 Food-insecure children may also be at an increased risk for a variety of negative health outcomes, including obesity.23, 24, 25 They also face a higher risk of developmental problems compared with food-secure children.12, 25, 26 In addition, reduced frequency, quality, variety, and quantity of consumed foods may have a negative effect on children’s mental health.27 Food assistance programs, such as the National School Lunch Program (NSLP); the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program; and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), address barriers to accessing healthy food.28, 29, 30, 31 Studies show these programs may reduce food insecurity.29, 30, 31 More research is needed to understand food insecurity and its influence on health outcomes and disparities.

Future studies should consider characteristics of communities and households that influence food insecurity.32 This additional evidence will facilitate public health efforts to address food insecurity as a social determinant of health.

What makes a food high risk?

High-risk foods – London Borough of Bromley This leaflet is for all food businesses, including those involved in catering, food production, food preparation, retail premises, restaurants, pubs, cafes, and fast-food shops. What are high-risk foods? Foods that are ready to eat, foods that don’t need any further cooking, and foods that provide a place for bacteria to live, grow and thrive are described as high-risk foods.

cooked meat and fishgravy, stock, sauces and soupshellfishdairy products such as milk, cream and soya milkcooked rice

How do bacteria multiply on food? In the right conditions bacteria can multiply very quickly and, depending on the type of bacteria and the conditions, can double in number every 10 to 20 minutes. These multiplying bacteria cells take nutrients from their surroundings through the cell wall and also excrete waste products (known as ‘toxins’) that can poison people when eaten.

proteinmoisturewarmthneutral ph conditions (not too acid or alkaline)enough time to multiply

For example, bacteria can easily multiply on a raw chicken but we would not describe this as a high-risk food, unless you intended to eat it raw. However, a cooked chicken has already been prepared and cooked and is now meant to be eaten without any further action.

1. If the chicken is contaminated after this point it could result in food poisoning and other food-related illnesses, and so may be described as a high-risk food.
2. An apple may contain a lot of moisture but doesn’t have enough protein to encourage bacteria to grow, so would not be described as a high-risk food.

How do I prevent or control food contamination? Once food is high risk you must protect it from contamination – both direct and indirect. An example of direct contamination may be from raw food touching cooked food in a fridge or on a work surface. An example of indirect contamination could be using a knife to cut cooked meat straight after using it to cut raw meat, without first cleaning it properly.

1. Another example would be if a food handler touches raw food or scratches themselves and then handles cooked food.
2. A cloth you use for many different things can indirectly cross-contaminate from raw to cooked foods.
3. Controlling the temperature of high risk foods FREEZING Freezing will stop the bacteria that cause food poisoning from multiplying.

You should set a freezer so the temperature of the food is kept at or below -18°C. Bacteria will start to multiply again once the food is defrosted. REFRIGERATIONKeeping food in the fridge will slow the rate at which bacteria multiply. You should set your fridge to operate from 1°C to 4°C to make sure food temperatures don’t rise higher than 8°C.

It is a legal requirement that your fridge temperature is below 8°C. You should wrap all stored food and keep raw and cooked food apart. You should keep raw food stored below cooked food – if possible you should keep raw food and cooked food in separate fridges. Ideally, you should keep a fridge marked ‘Raw meat only’ in an area away from where you prepare and process cooked food.

Preventing cross-contamination LINEAR WORKFLOW To minimise the risk of cross-contamination, you should design a kitchen or food preparation area so you can prepare raw food away from ready-to-eat food (high-risk foods). This means separate work surfaces, food-preparation sinks, machinery and utensils.

1. The term ‘linear workflow’ means checking food through the kitchen or processing area in a continuous flow from its raw to cooked stages (a process also known as ‘dirty to clean’).
2. Equipment such as slicers, chopping boards and knives should all be cleaned thoroughly and disinfected after being used for raw meat and vegetables, before they are used to prepare ready-to-eat foods.

COLOUR CODINGYou can use colour coding to help you and your staff follow the rules by separating equipment for different uses. Colour coding is often used for chopping boards but you can also use it for knife handles, cloths, and even food-preparation areas. HAND WASHINGAs the ‘business operator’ (the business operator is often the business owner) you must provide adequate hand-wash facilities with basins or sinks that are only used for washing hands. They must have a supply of hot and cold water, a supply of soap, (preferably liquid soap in a dispenser) and drying facilities (preferably disposable paper towels with a foot-operated bin).

• You should train your staff to use these facilities and monitor them to make sure they continue to use them regularly.
• DISPLAY AND HANDLINGHigh risk food that is displayed should be protected from the customer as much as possible – trained staff should serve and package it.
• Areas where cooked and raw foods are offered for sale should both have separate utensils, scales and display areas.

Staff working in these areas should make sure they use strict techniques to make sure that cross-contamination doesn’t happen. You should use different staff for each area if you can. If you can’t do this, you should have strict hand-washing practices in place.

You and your staff can wear gloves but you should change them between areas and tasks. You should remember that, if you use gloves, they are to protect the food from the handler, not to protect the handler from the food. Gloves are not an alternative to hand washing. You should change your gloves as often as you would wash your hands.

More information You will find further guidance in our other leaflets on this website. Information can also be found on the website.

Alternatively, contact your local environmental health service for advice. Please note This leaflet is not an authoritative interpretation of the law and is intended only for guidance.© 2023 itsa Ltd.

: High-risk foods – London Borough of Bromley

What is the biggest risk to the food industry?

5. Risks from contaminated prodution lines and storage – Contamination and spoilage one of the biggest business risks in food and beverage industry. During the production stage, ingredients, packaging material, and manufacturing equipment are all susceptible to contamination,

• There can be some infestations/infection in the input material (pests, fungus, bacteria, etc.).
• Contamination can also be in water used in production or other purposes, packaging could also have damages, or contamination (dust, smoke, and so on).
• This not only means a loss of money, but also without thorough inspections and quality control procedures, they can enter the production process and cross-contaminate all elements of the production line,

Poor logistic practices can also pose risks to ingredients. Since the industry mainly works with perishable items, storage conditions and timing can create a lot of risks at the beginning. Schedule disruption and prolonged storage time can push past the material’s expiry date.

• Inadequate storage facilities or transportation services open up the chance for dust, smoke, bacteria, and other types of contamination.
• Moreover, in certain areas or during long haul transportation, the power supply to the cold storage could be cut (due to lack of fuel or black-outs), which can cause spoilage to the ingredients.

Bad employee hygiene is another risk, especially during the Covid-pandemic, the risk of viruses on the packaging was a major concern. Without proper protective equipment and procedures, employees can infect the production line while performing tasks.

Jack Gloop