Food Safety Management - Coursework Example

FOOD SAFETY MANAGEMENT Department Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 0 Introduction 3 2.0 Food Contamination Sources and the Ways to Control and prevent them 3 2.1 Controls Available to Prevent Food Contamination 3 2.2 Different Sources of Contamination 5 2.3 Evaluation of Food Preservation Methods 8 3.0 Prevention Systems, Control and Food management System 9 3.1 Methods for the Safe Storage of Food 9 3.2 Importance of Personal Hygiene, Cleaning, Disinfection and Pest Control 11 3.3 Importance of Hygienic Design of Premises and Hygiene Training 13 3.4 Food hazard Risk Assessment, Food safety Control System and Applicable legislation 15 4.0 References 19 1.0 Introduction Food safety can be defined as “the assurance that foods will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared and eaten according to its intended use” (van Kleef et al 2009 p.138). It is therefore an assurance that certain activities implemented to establish confidence that safety requirements in terms of structure, system, procedure and steps shall comply with the set standards. It is also important to note that food safety emphasizes on “harm” which differentiate the safety aspect from quality aspects of food that make food unfit for human consumption without necessarily causing danger to health. Food safety management therefore calls for cooperation between different participants along the food supply chain and with the role of each participant clearly defined. This paper focuses on food safety management with specific attention to different sources of food contamination and the way they are controlled and prevented. The objective of this paper is to explore the importance of the effectiveness of the prevention systems, control and food safety management systems. Through academic research and exploration of scientific research, this paper seeks to meet its objectives. 2.0 Food Contamination Sources and the Ways to Control and prevent them 2.1 Controls Available to Prevent Food Contamination The first step in preventing physical and chemical contamination of food is for the quality assurance personnel to inspect food on delivery for any signs of contaminants. After receiving safe foods or raw materials, they should be stored according to the standard operating procedures. A proper pest control system should be put in place to keep away rodents, insects and their wastes away from store. In this regard, regular fumigation as well as inspection is vital. Ensuring chemicals are stored separately in a chemical store and labeled properly and their additions to food monitored and recorded are important in preventing chemical contamination (van Kleef et al 2009 p.138). Employee hygiene is also important and the managers and supervisors should ensures that employees wear hair nets, dust coats and do not wear jewelry in food processing and storage areas. The employees and personnel working in food production and storage areas should also avoid using loose personal protective clothing (PPEs) and any other writing materials such as pen, paper, and gloves among others. Training of employees on hygiene, safety and sensitizing them on food safety management procedures is also important in ensuring that they follow procedures in all the tasks they are carrying out (Gerba et al 2014 p.53). Employees should be aware of the importance of maintaining good personal hygiene such as washing hands after visiting the toilets or handling raw foods. Regular inspection of machines and consequent maintenance is also important since it helps in detecting and removing loose or broken parts to prevent metals or glass parts of machines from getting into food during production. The inspections should also confirm that the temperature gauges are working well and the sanitization of the food preparation surfaces can be done effectively. A standard procedure for CIP (Cleaning in Place) should be implemented, monitored, verified and validated for all food processing equipment. While production is going on, personnel preparing foods should not handle raw and processed foods at the same time in order to prevent cross-contamination of food. Microbes are major causes of food contamination and must be controlled in order to guarantee food safety. Stopping microbial growth is therefore important in preventing both food infection and intoxication which we will discuss into details in the next section. Bacterial growth can be stopped by subjecting food to a certain heat treatment. Depending on the target microorganism, specific heat treatment can be offered that kill the microbes and keeps the quality of food in terms of nutrients. After heating food at a specific temperature regime, it is important to pack and cool immediately to avoid cross contamination. It is also important to keep processed food at refrigeration temperatures. 2.2 Different Sources of Contamination Food contamination refers to the process through which food that is fit for human consumption changes to unfit due to the addition of foreign materials. Contaminants do not only lead to food safety threat but also leads to loss of food because such food cannot be consumed. Prevention of food contamination is therefore important in promoting food safety as well as preventing loss of food which may result into serious financial consequence for an organization. In order to put the right controls for food contamination, it is first prudent to understand the various forms of food contamination. Food poisoning can occur when contaminated food is eaten. Sources of food contamination can be grouped into three main categories namely physical, chemical and microbiological contaminants. However, most food poisoning is caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, fungi and viruses. Physical contamination of food refers to the presence of physical objects in food. Physical contaminants may include a range of physical objects but the most common ones are jewelry, metals, writing utensils, pieces of glass, wood, dirt, packaging supplies, paint chips, rodent feces and dead insects. Prevention of these physical contaminants should be reinforced along the supply chain and everybody should be involved (Gerba et al 2014 p.54). However, at the premises it is important to put control measures as well beginning from when the raw materials or food is received, processed and distributed to consumers. Chemical contamination of food occurs when chemicals are not properly used during food production, improper packaging, food storage or improper storage of chemicals. It is also important to note that chemical contamination of food can also occur when food additives are used beyond the standard requirements such as those chemicals used in cleaning and sanitizing the plants. Additions of chemicals to food occur when chemicals such as cleaning agents, pesticides and sterilizing agents are added to food by mistake (Gerba et al 2014 p.55). Chemical migration may also occur when toxic chemicals migrate from processing equipment or packaging containers such as cans or tins into food. Absorption of undesirable odors is sometimes common when foods are not properly packed. For instance, eggs can easily pick up fish oduors if they are stored together. The other potential source of chemical contamination of food is water. Water is used in many stages of preparations for all foods and thus must be portable. Water is a potential source of dangerous chemicals because it is an excellent solvent for most chemicals hence many chemicals can easily dissolve in it and pollute the water supplies (Hobbs et al, 2007 p.62). Among the toxic substances that may get into water are heavy metals such as mercury, lead and cadmium and other chemicals such as benzene, polychlorinated phenyls and chloroform. The toxic substances can either contaminate our water supplies from the industrial waste or from the pesticides. Microbial contamination of food refers to the presence of unwanted microorganisms in food. It is important to make it clear at this point that certain microorganisms are good when they are present in food since they help in development of flavor and taste such as in the processing of yoghurt and fermented foods. Unlike chemical and physical contaminants, microbial contaminant changes the food itself leading to spoilage (Hobbs et al, 2007 p.69). For instance, microbial growth on food changes the structure, texture, flavor and taste of food by consuming part of the food and subsequently producing metabolites. Many of these changes in food are caused by spoilage microorganisms and makes food unpleasant to eat but not necessarily unsafe. However, certain microorganisms bring about unpleasant changes in food by producing certain toxic metabolites that can cause illness. This kind of illness is referred to us foodborne illness. Foodborne illness is often caused by the present of pathogens in food. It is however important to note that the pathogens that cause foodborne illness cause undesirable changes in food do not necessarily since they often cause food to be unsafe before there are visible signs of food spoilage. The pathogens that cause foodborne illnesses can be classified into two: infection or Intoxication. Food infection refers to the foodborne illness caused by the microorganisms themselves and commonly bacteria. Food infection occurs when microbes release digestive enzymes which irritate the body tissues thus result into illness (Hobbs et al, 2007 p.75). In this regard, symptoms exhibited results from the organisms feeding on the host and hence there is need for many organisms to cause illness. Examples of food infections includes: listeriosis caused by Listeria Monocytogenes, and Salmonellosis caused by Salmonellae. Food infection can be cured by killing the microbes present in food through heat treatment of food. The second type of foodborne illness is food intoxication which involves the production of toxin by the pathogens. Unlike in food infection, food intoxication is caused by a toxin and not the presence of the microbes themselves. In this regard, killing the microbes after intoxication may not make the food safe. It is also important to note that unlike food infection, the severity of food intoxication depends on the amounts of toxins present and not the microbial present. Examples of microorganisms that cause food intoxications are: Staphylococcus Aureus, Clostridium Perfrignens, Escherichia Coli and Clostridium Botulinum (Hobbs et al, 2007 p.70) 2.3 Evaluation of Food Preservation Methods The evaluation of food preservation methods is based on the ability of the method to deliver safe, stable and high quality foods after the process. Food preservation methods can be categorized into two main groups; heat treatment methods and non-heat treatment methods. Heat treatments methods can either be pasteurization or sterilization. Pasteurization is the processing of heating food to between 60 – 1000C and keeping food at this temperature for specific period before cooling and packing (Karel & Lund, 2003 p.167). This method results into denaturation of enzymes and killing of pathogens. However, certain microorganisms may resist these temperatures thus pasteurization requires a combination of other food preservation methods. Unlike pasteurization, sterilization temperatures results into killing of all microorganisms present in food. Food that is sterile do not have even single microbe and is packed aseptically to prevent cross-contamination. This method is common in dairy, soft drinks, water, fruits and canning industry. Heat treatments can be combined by refrigeration to ensure effective preservation system. Refrigeration is limited by the fact that low temperatures only deactivate microbes and enzymes thus there is tendency for food spoilage when there is power black outs or when the refrigerator is malfunctioning (Karel & Lund, 2003 p.187). Regular monitoring of refrigeration temperatures is therefore very critical in ensuring food is well preserved. Non temperature methods are fermentation, drying and use of preservatives. Fermentation is also used together with refrigeration since there is need to deactivate fermentation microbes once the right acidity has been obtained. Fermentation results into high acidity in food which inhibits microbial growth and lowers enzyme activity. This method is common in dairy and beverage industries. It is however important to note that at higher temperatures, microbial multiplication is likely to occur thus leading to spoilage and must be refrigerated or pasteurized. Drying is also used commonly within the industry and domestic homes as a method of food preservation. Drying preserve food by reducing its water content hence result into low water activity for both enzyme and microbial growth. This method is common in cereals, beverages, pasta, fruits and vegetables (Karel & Lund, 2003 p.360). 3.0 Prevention Systems, Control and Food management System 3.1 Methods for the Safe Storage of Food After processing or production, food is often stored for a period of time before distribution or serving. Proper storage of food is therefore important in ensuring that the quality and safety of food is maintained and till it reaches the consumer. Temperature controlled storage facilities is one of the most and commonly used storage system for many foods whether commercially or domestic. As discussed in the previous section, microorganisms are capable of growing at certain temperatures thus controlling the temperatures of storage facilities is important in controlling the growth of microbes as well (Karel & Lund, 2003 p.265). We have to store our food under effective temperature controlled system to prevent microbial multiplication which can easily cause food intoxication or food infection as discussed in the earlier section. Temperature controlled storage facilities would include refrigerated store, dry food store, high temperature holding equipment and deep freezers. Dry food store is used to store foods that do not spoil at room temperatures. The store should be kept hygienically and protected from pests and insects, moisture and excessive heat. The store should also be kept airy and well lit to avoid hiding of insects. The ideal temperature for a dry store should be between 150C to 210C. However, as Motarjemi & Lelieveld (2004 p.670) states, to achieve optimal shelf life for all products, the temperature should be lowered to 100C with a relative humidity of between 50-60%. The materials used for making floors, walls, doors and containers should be easy to clean and shelves and cupboards should provide for good circulation of air. The doors should be self-closure to protect foods from dampness. Foods that are recommended for dry food store are: sugar, roots and tubers, cereal grains, flour, canned foods, hydrogenated fats, jiggery, fresh fruits and vegetables. Temperatures and moisture is very vital for the grains since high temperatures and moistures could result into growth of fungal microbes which may lead to Aflatoxin contamination. Refrigerated stores are kept at relatively lower temperatures and include cold rooms, walk-in chillers and domestic refrigerators. Food storage under refrigeration systems ensures a lower temperature which retards the growth of bacteria (Fuller, 2000 P.197). It is however important to note that if damage has already occurred in food which was kept at higher temperatures, it is not possible to reverse that damage. The lower temperatures also deactivate enzymes thus they cannot act on the food during storage. Refrigerated stores are suitable for the storage of perishable foods such as raw fish, poultry, milk, beef, meat, cooked cereals, fruits and vegetables. The recommended refrigeration temperatures are 1-40C and should not go higher than that. It is therefore important to install a temperature gauge and a monitoring and recording system in order to regularly confirm that the system is working well. The refrigerator should be well cleaned during defrosting especially when it is also empty. Operators should avoid leaving the doors open for long or placing foods into the refrigeration store as it affects the efficiency. The freezer store is operated more or less the same as a refrigeration store only that the temperatures are relatively lower to preserve food for longer periods. In freezer stores, food flavor and color is better preserved especially when it is blast frozen (Gerba et al 2014 p.53). It is however important to note that only high quality and safe foods should be stored in a freezer store since it does not improve on the quality of stored food. As stated by Motarjemi & Lelieveld (2014 p.671), many microbes are capable of surviving the deep freezers for years or months thus temperature control and monitoring is equally important to prevent fluctuation. The ideal temperature for a deep freezer is between -60C and -300C and should be maintained within this range all the time. 3.2 Importance of Personal Hygiene, Cleaning, Disinfection and Pest Control Personal hygiene plays a key role in promoting safe food processing, packaging, storage and distribution for consumption. Practicing high standards of personal hygiene helps in preventing food contamination. According to Motarjemi & Lelieveld (2014 p.680), all healthy human beings carry millions of microorganisms including both spoilage and pathogenic bacteria. These organisms are commonly present around the nose, hair, mouth and cloths and by touching unhygienic ally, individuals can easily transfer these microorganisms into food. This may result into food intoxication or infection hence cause food illness. Good personal hygiene is also important in promoting the business products among customers because all customers want to buy from staffs who consider hygiene seriously in what they are doing. Personal hygiene requires individuals to clean their hands thoroughly every time after visiting the toilets, touching body parts, smoking, break or after handling raw food. Staffs handling foods should have the required attire and should not work when there are sick or carry jewelry to the work station. It is therefore important to train and sensitize staff on the importance of personal hygiene. Disinfectants are also important in promoting personal hygiene especially for staff who are directly involved in handling of food such as manual preparation or packaging. In this regard, staffs are encouraged to disinfect their hands regularly say in an interval of ten minutes. Disinfectants are often used in processes that limits frequent wetting of hands thus frequent hand washing is not desirable. However, disinfectants should be used according to the manufactures specifications and must be food grade. Food processing activities result into spillages as well as food coming into contact with processing equipment and machines. It is therefore important to effectively clean and sanitize food contact surfaces to prevent food contamination. Cleaning is basically done in two steps, the first step is the use of detergents to remove food debris, soil and any other solid material that is present on the food contact surface. The second step involves rising with portable water in order to remove the detergent and the suspended debris on the surface. After cleaning, surfaces often look clean, however, it is important to sanitize the surfaces in order to kill pathogens and reduce the microorganisms on the contact surfaces to acceptable safe levels. However, depending on the nature of food to be produced, a further step may be required to eliminate all microorganisms present on food contact surfaces. Sterilization process involves the destruction of all microorganisms on food contact surfaces. Sterilization is often used on food equipment and machinery that uses other microorganisms as ingredients such as yeast production and fermentation processes. Pest control plays a key role in food premises since it ensures pests are prevented from contaminating raw materials, intermediate products or finished products in the stores. Pests reproduce so fast thus pose a significant risk to food safety if they are not managed well. Pest control is important in preventing food and food contact surfaces contamination by germs, bacteria, toxins, fecal matter. Apart from causing harmful effects on food, pests can also accelerate food spoilage by consuming part of food and leaving it to decay. This kind of food is normally disposed thus result into financial losses. Pest control and management system is therefore important to ensure food safety. Pest management can be done effectively by coming up with a pest management plan that outlines what to be done, how, when, where and by whom. 3.3 Importance of Hygienic Design of Premises and Hygiene Training The design of food production and processing premises play a key role in either reducing or increasing chances of food contamination. The design should be made such a way that food and personnel movements do not result into contamination of food. It is also important to note that effective design of premises ensures that unsanitary activities such as preparation of raw materials, weighing, cleaning and grading do not take place next to sanitary activities such as processing and packaging of finished products. The design should also include adequate space for preparing food and should consider the number of employees as well as the customers. As stated by Hobbs et al (2007 p.167), congestion of rooms may limit the application of sanitation processes thus may lead higher risk of food contamination. Floors should be impervious to facilitate cleaning and a proper drainage system must be designed within the premises in order to reduce cross contamination from the environmental sources. Other areas include water supplies, ventilation, lighting, waste water management, toilet facilities and the design of food processing equipment with a CIP system to enhance cleaning of food contact surfaces. Training is described as a fundamental important activity in the food hygiene system. Food hygiene raining is critical in promoting awareness among the food handling staff on their responsibilities and roles in promoting food safety (Hobbs et al 2007 p.168). Employees handling food require the skills and knowledge necessary to enable them handle food hygienically. It is also important to help employees appreciate their role in protecting food from contamination and the consequences of such food contamination on health. The personnel handling food must get adequate instructions and directions from their supervisors and managers. However, this can only happen when the supervisors and the managers are well trained and have adequate knowledge necessary to make judgment on potential food safety risks before taking the right action. In view of the above, it is important for companies to implement training programs for all employees which should also include training needs assessment. Training should also include control of food contaminations as well as monitoring procedures like coding and shelf life, packaging systems, storage and handling, processes activities, monitoring of critical control points (CCP) and prerequisite programs. 3.4 Food hazard Risk Assessment, Food safety Control System and Applicable legislation Food hazard risk assessment refers to the scientific based approach that includes the identification of the hazards, characterization of the hazards, exposure assessments, and risk characterizations. Hazard risk assessment emphasizes on the qualitative approach to decision making processes thus relies on both the qualitative and numerical expressions of risks. It is therefore important to acknowledge the various aspects of this definition with respect to Codex Alimentarious Commission (CAC, 2004). Risk assessment is a systematic processes based on scientific evidence involving four steps. It is also important to note that Risk assessments addresses uncertainty about the risk in a well logically documented manner which can either be descriptive, qualitative, quantitative or both. Hazard Identification is the first step in hazard risk assessment process. Hazards are biological, physical or chemical agents that have potential of causing harm to food when present in food in substantial amounts. Risk assessors duty in hazard identification is to provide scientific evidence and prioritize hazards based on its scientific nature. The second step is hazard characterization which involves the development of a comprehensive and complete profile of the hazards. This must include the extent of the adverse health effects associated with the hazard. This can be achieved through quantitative and qualitative research of dose response relationships (Fischoff, 1995 p. 138). The third step in hazard risk assessment is exposure assessment which is useful in providing more information on the presence of hazards in the products. As stated by Fischoff (1995 p. 138), exposure assessment “combines information on the prevalence and concentration of the hazardous material in the consumer’s food supply and environment, and the likelihood that the consumer will be exposed to various quantities of this material in their food” (Fischoff, 1995 p. 139). These provide more information on the concentration and prevalence of hazards as well as estimate the number of pathogens in a serving of food or additive added. The exposure assessments also consider the various relevant, processing steps, packaging, storage, distribution and handling practices. The fourth step in risk assessment is risk characterization which considers the evidence got from the above three steps in order to come up with the estimates of the degree of severity of the adverse health effects associated with a given population. This includes the consequences of the exposure to a hazard hence help in identifying data gaps, uncertainties and assumptions that are important for risk managers in making informed decision. This Paper Meets the Assessment for Merit Effective judgments have been made based on factual information and data supported by evidence. Different articles have been explored before settling on the relevant to food safety management. The paper begin by outlining the broader view of the subject topic, food safety outlining major issues then narrowing to specific problems and their solutions. The problems such as food poisoning has been effectively explored and variables; physical, chemical and microbiological contamination as well as prevention have been exhaustively discussed with conclusions made supported from the scientific sources of evidence. Effective approaches such as critique analysis of different arguments and options necessary to answer research questions have been applied. This is evidenced by a broader approach to answering all the questions. The design of this essay also applies appropriate solutions, present them and communicate appropriate findings in a logical and coherent manner coupled with sub headings for each finding. Merit Descriptors Assessment criteria for Merit the learner can: Met Where M1 identify and apply strategies to find appropriate Solutions Effective judgments have been made 3-4,8-9 Complex problems with more than one variable have been explored 9-15 An effective approach to study and research has been applied 3 M2 Select/ design and apply appropriate solutions Relevant theories and techniques have been applied 3,8,9,15 A range of methods and techniques have been applied 3-5,9-11 A range of sources of information has been used 18-19 The selection of methods and techniques/sources has been justified 3 The design of methods/techniques has been justified 3-15 Complex information/data has been synthesized and processed appropriate learning methods/techniques have been applied 9-15 M3 Present and Communicate appropriate findings The appropriate structure and approach has been used 2 Coherent, logical development of principles/concepts for the intended audience 3-15 A range of methods of presentation have been used and 3-15 Technical language has been accurately used 3-15 Communication has taken place in familiar and unfamiliar audiences and appropriate media has been used 3-15 ` 4.0 References CAC, 2004, Report of the thirty-sixth session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene, Washington DC, 29 March to 3 April 2004. ALINORM 04/27/13 Fischoff, B 1995, “Risk perception and communication unplugged: Twenty years of process”, Risk Analysis, 15, 137-145 Fuller, GW 2000, Food, Consumers, and The Food Industry: Catastrophe Or Opportunity, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press Gerba, C, Sapers, G, & Matthews, K 2014, The Produce Contamination Problem : Causes And Solutions, Burlington: Elsevier Science Hobbs, B, Little, C, & McLauchlin, J 2007, Hobbs Food Poisoning and Food Hygiene, London: Hodder Arnold. Karel, M, & Lund, D 2003, Physical Principles of Food Preservation: Revised and expanded. New York: Marcel Dekker Motarjemi, Y, & Lelieveld, H 2014, Food Safety Management: A Practical Guide For the Food Industry, Burlington: Elsevier Science. Van Kleef, E, Ueland, Ø, Theodoridis, G, Rowe, G, Pfenning, U, Houghton, J, van Dijk, H, Chryssochoidis, G, & Frewer, L 2009, Food risk management quality: Consumer evaluations of past and emerging food safety incidents, Health, Risk & Society, 11, 2, pp. 137-163 Read More