Food Safety and Foodborne Disease Surveillance Systems Proceedings of an Iranian-American Workshop (2006) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
Pages 76-93
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 76... ...
TRADITIONAL FOOD SAFETY SYSTEMS NO LONGER SUFFICE Food safety is an essential public health issue for all countries. Foodborne diseases present a real and formidable problem in both developed and developing countries, causing great human suffering and significant economic losses.
|
From page 77... ...
The focus of traditional food safety systems has often been on hygiene, inspection, and end-product control. These systems may include food laws and regulations, food control management, inspection and laboratory services, and mechanisms for information, education, and communication.
|
From page 78... ...
78 FOOD SAFETY AND FOODBORNE DISEASE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS Persistent Food Safety Pervasive Problems Complex Changing Traditional Food Safety Systems Re-emerging Persistent Food New hazards Safety Problems hazards Adverse Effects on Human Health FIGURE 1 Shortcomings of traditional food safety systems. Although traditional food safety systems have been somewhat effective in reducing food hazards in the past, they are unable to detect and resolve many current problems and deal effectively with the full range of complex, persistent, and pervasive challenges confronting different parts of the food chain (see Figure 1)
|
From page 79... ...
These populations are often more vulnerable to many of the modern food safety hazards. The increasing importance of international trade makes it likely that many of these trends will continue to spread around the world.
|
From page 80... ...
. Risk analysis provides a means to strengthen the ability of traditional food safety systems to meet current challenges.
|
From page 81... ...
It will also be necessary to develop and improve other essential components of food safety systems, such as national food safety policies and infrastructure, food legislation and inspection services, laboratories, epidemiological surveillance of foodborne diseases, monitoring systems for chemical and biological contamination, and the update and harmonization of standards. RISK ANALYSIS IS A PARADIGM Risk analysis is more than an activity.
|
From page 82... ...
In other words, risk analysis supports the best decision possible given the state of our understanding of the problem and of current social values. As data gaps are filled and understanding improves or as values change, risk analysis recognizes that the next solution may differ from the current one.
|
From page 83... ...
The definitions adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission are the ones most commonly used in the international food safety community. Nonetheless, it can be instructive to consider informal definitions of the risk analysis tasks as well as the formal definitions.
|
From page 84... ...
RISK MANAGEMENT Risk analysis activities usually begin with the risk manager. Risk management can be defined informally as the work required to answer the following questions: · What questions do we want the risk assessment to answer?
|
From page 85... ...
Risk assessment can be defined informally as the work required to answer these following questions: · What can go wrong? · How can it happen?
|
From page 86... ...
Internal communications are those interactions between risk managers and risk assessors that are critically important to the risk analysis process. External risk communication tasks involve the members of the risk management team, their stakeholders, and other interested parties external to the food safety organization that is doing the risk analysis.
|
From page 87... ...
Exposure Assessment The qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation of the likely intake of biological, chemical, and physical agents from food as well as exposures to other sources if relevant. Risk Characterization The qualitative and/or quantitative estimation, including attendant uncertainties, of the probability of occurrence and severity of known or potential adverse health effects in a given population based on hazard identification, hazard characterization, and .
|
From page 88... ...
Countries need to have the essential foundations of a food safety system in place, including adequate food laws and regulations, a national food control strategy, effective inspection and laboratory services, scientific and technical capacity, infrastructure, foodborne disease surveillance, epidemiological data, food monitoring, and mechanisms for integrating this information with education, and communication. Knowledge about risk analysis.
|
From page 89... ...
To provide the scientific evidence necessary for the successful incorporation of risk analysis into a modern food safety management system. The information gathered through surveillance and monitoring is critical to the conduct of risk assessments.
|
From page 90... ...
Several strategies (NRC, 2003) in public health surveillance may be helpful to the risk analysis process.
|
From page 91... ...
The data acquired from these techniques needs to be made available in a timely and effective manner to support the risk analysis paradigm. The detection of pathogenic microorganisms is needed to enhance food safety for consumers and to minimize the potentially adverse economic impact on producers resulting from false-positive tests.
|
From page 92... ...
2000. Emerging Microbiological Food Safety Issues: Implications for Control in the 21st Century.
|
From page 93... ...
2001. Global surveillance of foodborne disease: Developing a strategy and its interaction with risk analysis.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.