Food Safety– A General View

Food safety is defined as the protection of food supply from microbial, chemical and physical hazards or contaminations that are likely to occur in food industries during the process of growing, harvesting, processing, transporting, distributing and storing. It ensures the food is kept wholesome at all times. Threats to food safety come from various sources such as environmental and industrial pollution, agricultural practices, food production practices and cultural practices of consuming raw and undercooked food. The threats include:

• Microbial hazards such as Salmonella , E-coli, Listeria and Vibrio cholera in undercooked food. Symptoms include abdominal pain, fever, vomiting and diarrhoea.
• Chemical toxins such as dioxins and polychlorinated bephenyls (PCBs) found in pesticides.
• Antibiotics in animal feeds which may lead to the transfer of antibiotic resistance to human pathogens.
• Genetically Modified (GM) foods. There are criticisms against GM food that is said to cause environmental hazards and risk of human health.

In 2002 The World Health Organisation (WHO) Global Strategy for Food Safety developed 5 keys to safer food, They are:

• Keep clean— Washing of hands, sanitising of utensils and cleaning of kitchen areas before food preparation.
• Separate raw and cooked— Separate utensils and containers used for raw and prepared food.
• Cook thoroughly— Make sure foods are cooked to 70°C and cooked foods are reheated thoroughly.
• Keep food at safe temperatures— Do not keep cooked food in danger zone (5°C—60°C) for more than 2 hours.
• Use safe water and raw materials— Clean fresh foods with clean and treated water and consume them within the given date.

In Malaysia, food safety is the main responsibility of the Department of Food Safety and Quality, commonly known as Bahagian Kualiti dan Keselamatan Makanan or BKMM. It is a department under the Ministry of Health Malaysia with a core objective to protect consumers from food-borne illnesses and deception in preparation, retailing, and usage of food. They make that food obtained is safe and food provided by traders are free from hazards. BKMM scientists work in laboratories of the general health department, chemical department, doping centre, veterinarian department and nuclear department to ensure food safety.

Sources: http://fsq.moh.gov.my
http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/008/j3110e.htm
http://www.who.int/foodsafety/publications/general/en/terrorist.pdf