Food Safety in the Home
Zach Bowe
5/5/14
Each and every year millions of people become sick because of food poisoning and other food related illnesses. Many of these illnesses can easily be prevented by properly cooking and handling food in the kitchen. Unfortunately, many people around the world are unaware of the consequences that can occur from contaminated and undercooked food. It is important for every individual who is planning on making a meal in their life (virtually everyone) to understand how to properly prepare their meal.
Ever since human beings have walked this earth they have been eating food and preparing meals. There really is no exact date as to when man first began to cook their meals but whenever that revelation occurred it would change the way humans look at food forever. Now let us fast forward a few hundred thousand years to the 21st century, these days food safety has become a huge priority at the national level. Many programs and departments have been created to bring the public’s attention to this issue. The most notable agency in regards to food safety is the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is responsible for protecting the overall public health of American citizens by regulating foods, among others. More specifically the FDA oversees almost everything we put into our bodies, legally that is. The FDA is responsible for recalling contaminated food, regulating dietary labels, etc . So how does this agency pertain to food safety in the home? The answer is quite simple; virtually everything that the average American will eat for dinner has most likely been regulated by this agency. They are responsible for protecting what we put into our bodies, whether we want to admit it or not, we are trus...
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...gerate immediately after cooking. Another safe way of keeping food fresh after cooking is freezing. If a food is frozen after it is cooked it can last much longer than refrigerated food .
If all of the four steps are followed accordingly, a person can decrease their chances of obtaining a food borne illness and even something as simple as a common cold. Eating is something that we do multiple times a day, it is very important that we take these steps very seriously because we may not just be harming only ourselves but others as well. As individuals we must do our part by ensuring that we properly handle and prepare our meals. It is also important that departments like the FDA and USDA do their part in the process as well. If our food is regulated and monitored and we do our part, there is a very good chance that we can avoid getting sick and live healthier lives.
To give background on the FDA and USDA for better understanding the USDA is responsible for meat and poultry, while the FDA is responsible for dairy, seafood, and vegetables. The USDA was founded in 1862 to encourage food creation in the United States (Sherrow 15). Dr. Peter Collier was the first person to suggest rules and laws for the safety of our food (Sherrow 15). Congress passed the Meat Inspection Act in 1890. The Act made the USDA inspectors inspect all pig products (Sherrow 15). In 1906 the Comprehensive Meat Inspection Act was passed. The act assigned inspectors from the UDSA to the United States’ 163 slaughter houses. In the slaughter houses the meat needed to be inspected before and after slaughter (Sherrow 15-16). The FDA is also responsible for protecting food from terrorists and anyone who wants to try to harm the public (Wilson). The FDA oversees 167,000 farms in the United States and 421,000 worldwide farms. The FDA only has 1,100 inspectors to inspect those farms (Wilson). The number of inspections done by the FDA went from 4,573 in 2005 to 3,400 in 2006 (Sherrow 34). According to the Center of Science in the Public Interest the FDA has no authority for prev...
On January 4, 2011 President Obama signed into law The Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). This law has shed new light on the safety and security of our food supply. The last update to the food safety laws in the United States was in 1938. The food safety modernization act pays special attention at trying to modernize the food safety policies in the United States in hopes to prevent problems and concerns before they happen. As we all know, most of our food comes from overseas or sometimes from your neighboring state. The food products travel by car, truck, airplane, boat, or even train. We are all very happy to be receiving our bananas from Costa Rica and all of our other fresh fruits and vegetables that are imported into the United States, but we never stop to think about what pathogens are contaminating our produce and other foods on the way over and if they are safe for us to eat. In an article by Neal Fortin, he states that the law also gives the FDA new standards to hold imported foods to the domestic food standards and it also encourages the FDA to establish and develo...
Michael Pollan makes arguments concerning the eating habits of the average American. Pollan suggests, in spite of our cultural norms, we should simply “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.”
The Federal Drug and Food Administration, or FDA, began in 1906 as part of the Pure Food and Drug Act. The 1906 Act was passed due to a culmination of bills passed that were focused on severe abuses in the consumer market. Laws and guidelines were created by the FDA to monitor food safety. Product manufacturing facilities are inspected to show they are in compliance with these laws and guidelines. The FDA does not, however, test to see if food is safe for human consumption. The manufacturers are responsible for testing food, and then give their results to the FDA for inspection. Unfortunately testing done on food today does not show us the long term effect of new additives and chemical compound. It may take several years for a new chemical or additive to cause side effects...
Washing hands comes on the top of the list. Even though contaminated food seems fine to us that doesn't mean that its perfect. The best way to make sure you kill all the bacteria in your food is by thoroughly cooking it. However, there is a certain temperature for every food at which the bacteria in it can be destroyed such as pork-71°C and dishes involving eggs-74°C. Some other tips to reduce the risk factor are to keep raw food away from other foods at all times, always use warm-soapy water to wash hands, clean utensils or knives, consume leftover within four days and make sure that your refrigerator is clean after all it is better to be safe than
Nutritionism and Today’s Diet Nutritionism is the ideology that the nutritional value of a food is the sum of all its individual nutrients, vitamins, and other components. In the book, “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan, he critiques scientists and government recommendations about their nutritional advice. Pollan presents a strong case pointing out the many flaws and problems that have risen over the years of following scientific studies and government related warnings on the proper amount of nutrients needed for a healthy diet. Pollan’s main point is introducing science into our food system has had more of a negative impact than a positive one, we should go back to eating more of a traditional diet. I believe food science has given us
Foodborne diseases are among the most widespread public health problems. Yet only a small proportion of these illnesses come to the notice of health services, and even fewer are investigated. In developing countries even fewer cases are counted, primarily because of poverty and lack of resources for food safety management and food control services. In spite of underreporting, increases in foodborne diseases in many parts of the world and the emergence of new or newly recognized foodborne problems have been identified (Tauxe, 2002).
America is a capitalist society. It should come to a surprise when we live like this daily. We work for profit. We’ll buy either for pleasure or to sell later for profit. It should come to no surprise that our food is made the same way because we are what we eat. We are capitalist that eat a capitalist meal. So we must question our politics. Is our government system to blame for accepting and encouraging monopolies?
Food is a basic requirement for life but unsafe food is slow poison. Thus safe food is not a luxury but a natural wish. Food safety is an important part of human right to food. Be it unsafe food served as mid-day or unsafe food sold in market they violate a very basic human right. Food safety according to World Health Organisation (WHO) is the assurance that food will not cause harm to the consumer and covers contamination by chemical and biological agents and concerns about inherent food nature. The aim of this paper is to discuss constitutional perspective of right to food safety. The word food safety finds nowhere mention in the Constitution of India. However Entry 18 in List III of the Constitution empowers both Parliament and the State legislature to enact law on food adulteration. And in this regard various laws have been made. Every citizen has fundamental right to safe food as Article 21 guarantees right to life while Article 47 cast a duty upon State to raise level of nutrition and public health. Food safety and standard is an important condition for enjoyment of right to life and public health.
Food matters. Nevertheless, food safety in China is worse than what you thought; you can never imagine how toxic it is. Although there are variety choices of restaurant for us to eat nowadays, many people still choose to eat at home. Not only to save money, but also be sensible for their own health. Think about our situation now, we can constantly buy meats that we think is fresh and yummy, but who knows if it’s healthy and safe? Is it truly what you want? What materials will the restaurant serves you? Food safety affects people a lot. Nowadays, especially in China, many citizens are already despair in this affair. Food safety is one of the most principal issues to the entire world; as one of the most important feature in everybody’s life,
Food safety is an increasingly important public health issue. Governments all over the world are intensifying their efforts to improve food safety. Food borne illnesses are diseases, usually either infectious or toxic in nature, caused by agents that enter the body through the ingestion of food. “In industrialized countries, the percentage of people suffering from food borne diseases each year has been reported to be up to 30%. In the United States of America, for example, around 76 million cases of food borne diseases, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, are estimated to occur each year.” (Geneva 2)
Keeping the refrigerator at a temperature of 40 ° F or less, and the freezer at 0°F, to slow the growth of bacteria. Most importantly good hand washing is key and vital for good food safety sanitation, diarrhea and other foodborne illnesses can be cut in half with just kids and staff maintaining their hands clean. Proper Storage of food after cooking is important in preventing the spread of bacteria from raw foods. Which is why it is best that raw foods should usually be store at the bottom of the fridge in order to avoid juices from dripping onto other foods or fruits. Foods should always be covered, wrapped, and stored in airtight containers in order to protect the food from
In America, many are not aware of the inequalities that exist in the Food Service. The food service sector has at least 125,951 companies and approximately 12 million employees with almost 7 million foreigners. This sector includes individually owned restaurants, mid-priced chains, quick service (fast food), hotels, and beverage establishments. Food service plays a major role in institutional establishments like schools, hospitals, prisons and meals on wheels. They cater to the tastes of their particular customers and are often leaders of food innovation. In the food service, we find: bartenders, wait staff, hosts, busboys, chefs, cooks, managers, and dishwashers .The food service workers perform a variety of customer service, food preparation and cleaning tasks, all that which are very important to keep a business running. More concerning , some of the major working conditions that foodservice workers face with daily is no health benefits and significantly low wages. These employees working in the food industry make it possible for millions of people to enjoy food in restaurants but are not being treated or appreciated fairly.
Nowadays, refrigeration and freezing had become the most popular method for food preservation. It is a desirable way to preserve food because at low temperatures which around –10°C to –25°C, chemical reactions very slowly thus it will make the bacteria in food hard to survive.
Handling, processing, and preparation such as (cooking, cooling, reheating, holding/service) should be controlled to ensure that the food is not contaminated in any way.