What are the primary food safety issues?

The first time I heard about safety was in college. I found the subject fascinating because I could apply what I had studied in my Microbiology classes. I was responsible for attending a Salmonella outbreak case in Saint Paul. A tomato allegedly caused this case.  In the case study, 200,000 people become ill. I realized that food safety goes beyond a microbiological analysis in a laboratory since we are talking about human disease processes.  This experience helped me learn that food contamination entails the loss of prestige of the company that consumers may have, and therefore, affect its closure.

 

"Company X carries out a product recall procedure of a certain batch, due to the probability of being contaminated with X bacteria since it can cause serious health risks": a phrase that any company could be afraid of if it had to face. Therefore, applying for safety programs in food-producing companies -from their suppliers to the final consumer - is a priority. Health and quality of life could be at risk from consuming contaminated products.

• Economic problems: Food contamination has repercussions on the economy of the company's collaborators, of the families affected by the consumption of this product, and the governments involved. According to the World Health Organization, $110 billion in productivity and medical expenses are lost each year due to problems related to foodborne illness. because of unsafe food in low- and middle-income countries. (April 2020). By affecting the productivity of individuals, foodborne diseases hurt the development of the economy of the countries, by affecting the health and trade systems.
• Legal problems: We must also consider the legal problem in which the company finds itself due to illness or even the death of people. Globalization is implicit in different areas and of course in food as well. The products are marketed in different countries, so the government, companies, and consumers must legally establish the marketing conditions so that the final consumer has food safety.
• Health problems: The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) frequently details cases of probable food contamination. In addition, we can mention a long list of products that have been affected for import and export. Although, the microorganisms with the highest frequency of reports of foodborne illnesses are E. coli, Salmonella, Listeria. We find many chemicals that can potentially cause poisoning, for example, agrochemicals, heavy metals, preservatives, dyes, disinfectants, glues. Also found in a standard way, fragments of glass, metal, wood, and even pins have been reported.

Generating food safety plans helps reduce risks of food contamination, favors the maintenance of preventive controls, reduces expenses in operations since the processes are standardized. In addition, it favors international marketing by complying with legal requirements and gives confidence to the consumer since preventive measures are applied.

The company’s management must maintain a commitment to food safety and favor implementing programs that satisfy the customers. The final consumer health and well-being reflects a company that is committed to generating food safety.

Rebeca Macazaga Álvarez, Master in Biological Sciences.

“I collaborate in the Restaurants team in the development of operating procedures for companies that want to implement HACCP systems. I have experience in the food safety area since 2008, in hazard analysis, training, implementation, and second-party audits.”