FOOD HAZARDS

A food safety hazard refers to any agent with the potential to cause adverse health consequences for consumers. Food safety hazards occur when food is exposed to hazardous agents which result in contamination of that food. Food hazards may be biological, chemical, physical, allergenic, nutritional and/or biotechnology-related.

Hazards may be introduced into the food supply any time during harvesting, formulation and processing, packaging and labelling, transportation, storage, preparation, and serving.

Biological Hazards

Biological hazards occur when hazardous or pathogenic organisms are introduced to food and thus pose a food safety concern to consumers. Biological hazards include bacteria, viruses and parasites of public health significance.

Biological hazards can be introduced to food from the environment (e.g. soil bacteria, agricultural run-off) or from inadequate sanitation practices and cross contamination during transportation, handling, processing, and storage (e.g., poor food hygiene practices). The type and magnitude of microbial growth is determined in part by the nature of the food, package conditions and storage environment.

Chemical Hazards

Chemical hazards occur when chemicals are present in foods at levels that can be hazardous to humans. Contamination may occur through various pathways:

• The environment (air, soil, water),
• Intentional use of chemicals, such as pesticides and veterinary drugs,
• Manufacturing processes,
• Addition of food additives.

In the food industry, there are various types of chemical hazards, some notable ones include:

• Mycotoxins
• Natural Toxins
• Marine Toxins
• Environmental Contaminants
• Food Additives
• Processing-induced chemicals
• Pesticides/Agricultural Products and
• Veterinary Drug Residues

Physical/Extraneous Material Hazards

Extraneous material covers all materials (excluding bacteria and their by-products (toxins), viruses and parasites) which may be found in a food that are foreign to that particular food. These materials are usually non-toxic but are associated with unsanitary conditions of production, processing, handling, storage and distribution of food. Some examples of extraneous materials that may be found in food are insects, hair, metal fragments, pieces of plastic, wood chips and glass.

Allergenic Hazards

An allergen is any protein that is capable of producing an abnormal immune response in sensitive segments of the population. Allergic reactions to food usually involve IgE antibodies. Symptoms of an allergic reaction can range in severity from a skin rash or slight itching of the mouth, to migraine headaches, to anaphylactic shock and death. The type and severity of an allergic response is determined by many factors, including dosage, route of administration, frequency of exposure, and genetic factors. This is not to be confused with a food intolerance which is an abnormal physiological response to a specific food. Symptoms of food intolerance may include cramps, diarrhoea and bloating.

Nutritional Hazards

Nutrients are essential to maintain good health and pertain to a group of substances which includes carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals.

Food fortification refers to the addition of one or more nutrients (vitamins, minerals, and amino acids) to a food product and plays an important role in ensuring the health of Canadians. Adding vitamins and minerals to food helps:

• protect Canadians against nutritional deficiencies - for example, requiring all milk to be fortified with vitamin D virtually eliminated childhood rickets since the 1970s;
• maintain and improve the nutritional quality of the Canadian food supply - for example, enriching flour with B vitamins and iron replaces those same nutrients lost in processing;
• reduce the risk of diet-related chronic diseases - for example, fortification contributes to adequate intakes of calcium and vitamin D which help build strong bones and may reduce the risk of osteoporosis.