Lecture 58 - Epidemiology 10 (Food Safety) Flashcards
what is “food safety”
the conditions and practices that preserve the quality of food to prevent contamination and foodborne illness
what federal agencies are involved with food safety
- USDA-FSIS
- FDA
- CDC
USDA-FSIS and food safety
- inspect all meat and poultry products before entering commerce
- continuous inspection of meat packing plants
- on-site inspection of meat animals before and after slaughter
- pre-approves labels
State meat and poultry inspection programs
limited to meat and poultry products produced and sold within the state
FDA and food safety
regulates foods other than meat, poultry, and egg products
CDC and food safety
- conducts foodborne illness surveillance
- investigates outbreaks
- implements and assesses systems to improve food safety along the production chain
- non-regulatory role
what are 3 significant food safety challenges
- antimicrobial resistance spread
- complicated food production chain with many opportunities for contamination
- culture-independent diagnostic tests that do not produce isolates
who is at a greater risk of foodborne illnesses
- adults > 65 y/o
- children under 5 y/o
- immunosuppressed
- pregnant individuals
National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS)
collects information about enteric bacteria from humans, retail meats, and food animals
provides data on emerging AMR, mechanisms of spread, etc.
FoodNet
- active surveillance
- surveys of labs, physicians, and general population
- population-based epidemiologic studies
what is food security
access by all people at all times to enough food for an active and healthy lifestyle
- food must be available
- every person must have access
- food utilized must fulfill nutritional requirements
- food access and availability are stable
