FOOD SAFETY PT 1

Question 1

what does the CDC investigate

Answer 1

causes of food borne illness outbreaks

Question 2

how many estimated forborne illness outbreaks each year

Answer 2

48 mil illnesses, 128,000 hospitalizations, 3000 deaths

Question 3

how many food borne illnesses originate in restaurants (and where do the rest originate)

Answer 3

60% in restaurants; the rest traced to the home

Question 4

what is food defense

Answer 4

protecting food from external pathogen (like in airports, etc)

Question 5

whats food adulteration

Answer 5

intentionally debasing the quality of food by either adding or replacing the food substances with undeclared alternative components, or by the removal of some valuable components. This is usually done to lower the cost or increase the bulk of a given food product.

Question 6

whats the FDA responsible for

Answer 6

oversight of more than 2.8 trillion dollars in consumption of food, medical products and tobacco

Question 7

what do FDA regulated products account for

Answer 7

about 20 cents of every dollar spent by US consumers

Question 8

what does the FDA regulate

Answer 8

78 percent of the US food supply; everything we eat except for meat, poultry and some egg products

Question 9

describe the symptoms of a food borne illness

Answer 9

gastroenteritis, nausea, ab cramps, diarrhea, and vomiting

Question 10

what does the severity of a food borne illness depend on

Answer 10

causative agent, amount consumed, age, susceptibility of immune system

Question 11

who is most vulnerable to foodbourne illnesses

Answer 11

very young, very old, and immunocompromised

Question 12

what are the three types of food hazards

Answer 12

biological (bacteria, molds, viruses, etc); chemical (toxins, pesticides, cleaners); physical (glass, bone, metal, etc)

Question 13

describe bio hazards

Answer 13

organic materials or living organisms; severity varies; from mild Gi distress to death

Question 14

what happens to most bio hazards during cooking

Answer 14

killed or inactivated

Question 15

what causes more than 90% of food borne illnesses

Answer 15

bacteria

Question 16

describe pathogenic and beneficial bacteria

Answer 16

only 4% of bacteria is pathogenic; many bacteria beneficial for food production

Question 17

what are the three types of illnesses caused by pathogenic bacteria

Answer 17

infection; intoxication/poisoning; toxin-medicated infection

Question 18

describe infection caused by pathogenic bacteria

Answer 18

caused by ingesting bacteria that grow, replicate and colonize the host’s intestine (E. coli)

Question 19

describe intoxication/poisioning by pathogenic bacteria

Answer 19

caused by bacteria growing on food and releasing toxins that cause the illness; food is already contaminated with the toxin

Question 20

describe toxin-medicated infection

Answer 20

bacteria enter intestine first and then start to produce toxin once in the intesine

Question 21

whats listeria monocytogenes

Answer 21

food infection with 20-35% fatality; can grow without O and survive in wide range of Phs and temps; majority of cases caused by RTE poultry

Question 22

describe treatment for listeria monocytogenes

Answer 22

in 2006, FDA approved first bacteriophage addictive to kill strains of LM; combination of bacteriophages sprayed on food

Question 23

describe clostridium botulinum

Answer 23

food intoxication; incidence low but illness severe; can grow without O; form protective spores that produce neurotoxin; one of the most toxic substances; most cases caused by improperly home-canned foods (especially low-acid foods)

Question 24

describe E. coli

Answer 24

normal inhabitants of digestive tract; most strains harmless or beneficial

Question 25

describe harmful E. coli

Answer 25

E. coli O157:H7 can cause toxin-mediated infection; undercooked hamburger is most common meat source; carcass becomes contimanted when killed -> undercooked beef allows it to survive -> bacteria lives in colon and produces toxins (shiva toxin)

Question 26

what do molds do

Answer 26

produce mycotoxins -> cause food intoxication; visible; some cacrinogenic; exhibit bloom

Question 27

whats alfatoxin

Answer 27

most potent liver carcinogen known; found in peanuts; thrive at room temp and need less moisture than bacteria; breads, jams, salty meats, cheese are at risk foods (sometimes a good thing????idk)

Question 28

when should foods with mold be eaten

Answer 28

certain cheeses that depend on healthful mold for flavor, texture, color; hard cheeses can be cut on inch from mold; soft cheeses cannot be eaten with mold

Question 29

describe viruses + name the two most common types

Answer 29

need living cell to multiply (unlike bacteria); all food borne viruses transmitted via oral-fecal route;Hep A and norovirus (stomach flu)

Question 30

describe hep A

Answer 30

occurs when food s contained with fecal matter; shellfish - eaten with digestive tracts intact

Question 31

describe norovirus

Answer 31

stomach flu; up to 58% of food borne illness in US; spread via contained shellfish, food handlers, contaminted water

Question 32

describe parasites + name two types

Answer 32

need hosts to survive; not common in US; roundworms + protozoa

Question 33

describe roundworms

Answer 33

trchinella spirals; undercooked pork primary sources
herring worms or cod worms: undercooked or raw fish

Question 34

describe protozoa

Answer 34

guardia llamblia: most common parasitic infection; contained water
toxoplasma gondii: raw meat

Question 35

describe parasitic inactivation in food

Answer 35

cooking at core temp 60-75 C for 15-30 minutes
efficacy of freezing to inactivate is highly variable

Question 36

are there standard methods for parasitic inactivation evulation

Answer 36

no

Question 37

whats gamma irradiation at >1.0-10kGy

Answer 37

effective for parasites in FoAO

Question 38

what are parasitic stages sensitive to

Answer 38

2-5% NaCl, often augmented by lowering pH

Question 39

what are prions

Answer 39

infectious protein particle that doesn’t contain DNA or RNA; example is mad cow disease

Question 40

describe mad cow disease

Answer 40

prions travel up spinal cord to brain; creates holes in brain that lead to loss of coordination, convulsions and ultimately death; incubation period can be months, years, or decades

Question 41

describe prion outbreaks + thoughts around them

Answer 41

lots of controversy; old livestock practices were to killl sick animals and feed remains to other cattle, which would likely sicken humans
USDA has tight regulations - complete removal of CNS tissue and banned use of rendered carcasses as feed