Food+safety

=Food Safety = Human beings have long practiced food decontamination and preservation by drying, freezing, cooking, fermenting, and seasoning food. After germs were discovered, better food handling methods and innovations like pasteurization were developed and have reduced inci­dences of food-borne diseases significantly. Today there are even additives that help prevent spoilage and rules about diseased plants and animals entering into the food chain. The use of high energy irradiation to kill microbes in food ? first evaluated in the U.S. in 1921 as a way to kill trichinae (worms) in pork ? is also approved for use in 40 countries. A number of factors can affect the safety of food and, although food production is highly regulated ? especially in developed countries ? standards and monitoring efforts are not equal across countries. The distance food travels from where it was grown to market is also a safety consideration: longer distances can increase the risk of spoilage as well as opportunities for pathogens to come into contact. While the food supply has never been safer, concern over food safety has been heightened due to increased reporting of outbreaks and growing worldwide emphasis on consumer health. The food supply is at most risk from viruses, bacteria, fungi, insects and other pests that prey on crops and livestock animals. Some pathogens carried on food also pose a risk to humans; the most serious of these are //Campylobacter//, //Salmonella//, and //E. coli O157:H7//. The abundance, quality, and even availability of plants used for food are due in large part to an increased understanding and management of plant diseases. Some crop diseases limit what can be grown in certain areas. Growing plants in a new environment, including new varieties, can also make them more susceptible to pathogens. Pathogens can also migrate into new habitats, causing great damage. The infamous potato blight which began as a local pest of the wild relative of the potato in Mexico is one example. There are also viral and bacterial threats to livestock populations and, to a lesser extent, the humans that care for them or consume them. The three that appear most often in the public eye are BSE (more popularly known as mad cow disease), avian (bird) flu, and foot and mouth disease. Mad cow affects the brains of animals and can only be spread when one eats the brain matter of an infected animal. By contrast, bird flu and foot and mouth disease are highly contagious viruses. When an outbreak is discovered, those animals infected are immediately killed to control the spread of the virus. Humans can also carry and transmit the diseases without even realizing it. It is rare, however, for human carriers of the foot and mouth virus to become infected with the disease. The first case of avian flu in humans was reported in 1997, although there were several worldwide pandemic influenza outbreaks in the 20th century all with roots in the avian influenza virus. A flu vaccine is now available for birds, although many poor farmers are not able to afford it. There is still some concern that avian flu strains could mutate into new versions highly infectious to humans. If such were to occur, the worst case scenario would be a worldwide pandemic prior to the availability of vaccines and anti-viral medications.   Gateway to Government Food Safety Information

This gateway provides links to fact sheets, studies, and reports on food safety issues.  Foodborne Illness

The Centers for Disease Control summarizes frequently asked questions about food borne illnesses ranging from ?How does food become contaminated?? to ?How do public health departments track food borne diseases??  Animal Health

The Department of Agriculture's website contains a wealth of information on animal diseases, the proper treatment of farm animals, and other health research.  Avian Influenza

The World Health Organization posts regular updates on the number of reported cases of 'bird flu' in both birds and humans. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Foot and Mouth Disease

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">The UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs hosts current situation reports, affected-area maps, and an in-depth foot and mouth fact sheet, as well as additional technical information. []