In the first part of this survey (“Foodborne Parasites: An Insidious Threat to Food Safety and Public Health”), we looked in depth at common pathogenic parasites behind foodborne illness outbreaks and assessed the extensive geography of their origin and prevalence. In this concluding part, we look in detail at industry and regulators’ approaches to preventive control and eradication in response to this expansive threat to the global food supply system and its consumers.
When determining the shelf life of meat products, it is important to consider how the growth of both spoilage organisms and pathogenic bacteria can be prevented, while at the same time keeping a keen eye on the sensory quality of the product.
Foodborne parasitic diseases are often overlooked or neglected in various food safety control schemes, even though they are known to pose a severe threat to human health and are notoriously difficult to detect, diagnose, and treat. This truth may account for this class of foodborne disease-causing agents being left out of the risk assessment equation.
International standards for food contaminants must be based on sound science and food safety risks so as to not adversely impact access to global markets.
Food safety stories are essential to communicate lessons learned and share the practical experiences of food safety professionals to enhance the effectiveness of food safety training.
As Chairman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy, Congressman Krishnamoorthi initiated an investigation into toxic metals in baby food to find alarming levels from a variety of companies. In response, the Congressman has introduced the Baby Food Safety Act. In addition, the FDA responded to the Oversight investigation by introducing their “Closer to Zero” campaign, but the campaign does not go far enough nor fast enough.
Given the large number of contamination events involving the contamination of frozen vegetables with Listeria, are suppliers of these products able to control other harmful microorganisms from contaminating their products?