Food Safety Flashcards
The federal government sets standards and establish regulations for:
- safe handling of food and water
- information included on food labels
What is the food and drug act?
outlines proper and safe import, export, transport, and sale of food products across Canada
What do Health Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations do?
provide specific regulations that keep our food safe
What is the Canadian Food Inspection Agency?
- Federal body that regulates use of additives, packaging materials, and
agricultural chemicals
- Inspects food processing and storage facilities
- Monitors domestic and imported foods for contamination
- Investigates outbreaks of food-borne illness
- Monitors food at different points in the supply chain, from where food is
grown to where it is sold
What is Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP)?
- A food safety system
- Required for food manufacturers, processors, and distributors
- Analyzes food production, processing, and transport
- Goal: identifies potential sources of contamination and points where measures can be taken to prevent contamination
- Monitors these critical control points
What are the 7 steps of HACCP?
- conduct a hazard analysis
- identify the critical control points
- establish critical limits
- establish monitoring procedures
- establish corrective action
- record keeping
- verification procedures
What happened in 1996 Scotland?
- E. coli found in deli meats from butcher
- 400 ill, 21 dead
- using same knives to handle raw and cooked meat
What happened with XL Foods Alberta?
- Canadian Food Inspection Agency issued an alert that the products may be contaminated with E. coli
- plant shut down for nearly a month
- massive recall
Define food borne infection.
- caused by pathogens that multiply in the human body
- Usually from consumption of a large number of pathogens that cause
infection or produce toxins in the body
Define food borne intoxication.
- caused by consuming food containing toxins produced by pathogens
- Can be caused by food containing only a few pathogens if they have
produced enough toxin
What is the most common cause of food borne illness in Canada?
salmonella bacteria
Name some common sources of salmonella.
- poultry and eggs are the foods most commonly contaminated - contaminated meat - dairy products - seafood - fresh produce - cereal
How can we prevent salmonella?
killed by heat; thoroughly cook foods likely to
be contaminated
What is the leading cause of acute bacterial diarrhea in developed countries?
campylobacter jejuni bacteria
Name common sources of campylobacter jejuni bacteria.
- undercooked chicken
- unpasteurized milk
- untreated water
How can we prevent campylobacter jejuni bacteria?
- grows slowly in cold temperatures and is killed by heat
- carefully store and thoroughly cook foods likely to be contaminated
Some ____ strains are harmless; others can cause serious food borne infection.
E. coli
E. coli O157:H7 produces a toxin causing…
- abdominal pain
- bloody diarrhea
- fatal kidney failure
Name some common sources of E. coli.
fecal contamination of water or food (example: meats and produce)
How do we prevent E. coli?
thoroughly cook foods likely to be contaminated, wash raw produce
Name sources of botulism.
- acid prevents the germination of Clostridium botulinum spores
- foods that are low in acid
How can we prevent botulism?
- discard bulging cans
- cook foods for at least 10 minutes
What are noroviruses?
group of viruses
What do noroviruses cause?
- gastroenteritis (“stomach flu”)
- infection spreads easily from one person to another
Name some common sources of noroviruses.
- eating food contaminated with virus or touching
contaminated surface and then putting fingers in mouth - shellfish can be
contaminated in water polluted with feces
How can we prevent noroviruses?
cooking destroys noroviruses
What does Hep A cause?
- liver inflammation
- jaundice
- fever
- nausea
- fatigue
- abdominal pain
- can require months of recovery but does not require treatment nor
cause permanent liver damage
What are parasites?
organisms that live at the expense of others
How can we prevent parasites?
- killed by thorough cooking
- if raw fish is consumed, parasitic infections can be avoided by eating fish that has been frozen
Prion is short for:
proteinaceous infectious particle
What are prions?
Pathogenic protein that causes deadly, degenerative brain diseases such
as spongiform encephalopathies
What is Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)?
deadly neurodegenerative disease in cattle
Name symptoms of mad cow disease.
mood swings and numbness progressing to dementia and death
Most cases of food borne illness are caused by
food prepared at home
How can we practice food safety?
- never mix cooked and raw meat
- don’t marinate raw and cooked meat with same sauce
- heat foods to recommended temperatures
- cooked foods kept hot until served
- refrigerate cooked food ASAP
- leftovers only kept for a few days
- store food in refrigerator or freezer
