Food Contamination - How it Happens and How to Prevent itWays to Recognize, Prevent, and Understand the Effects of Food Contamination By Ian Walters [website] from Raleigh, NC on January 23, 2006 Category: Food Contamination Food Contamination What is Food Contamination? Food contamination happens when food is exposed to the primal suspect which is bacteria, and this can happen as a natural process, or due to human error or neglect. We know for a fact that we live in a microbial world and the risk of food contamination, from food production to food preparation, is very high. How Does Food Contamination Happen? Food borne microbes are present in healthy animals (usually in their intestines) raised for human consumption. Meat and poultry carcasses can become contaminated during the process of slaughter by contact with the intestinal contents. The same story goes with fresh fruits and vegetables; the possibility of this food category being contaminated is there. If the fruits and vegetables are washed from a contaminated water source with animal manure or human sewage, then there is the risk of contamination is at hand. Another way of food contamination would be through hand contact with food from an infected person. This may occur anytime, anywhere. It may be during slaughtering, processing or even while choosing meat or vegetables by hand in supermarkets and similar places. As mentioned, the possibility is vast. At home, in the kitchen, contamination may occur with the use of a contaminated knife or chopping board not properly washed. Even cooked food can become re-contaminated when touched by contaminated raw food or drippings from the same contaminated food. These drippings are called pathogens. Raw foods from animal origin are prone to food contamination: raw meat and poultry, raw eggs, non-pasteurized milk, and raw shellfish. Because shellfish strain microbes from the sea over many months, they are particularly likely to be contaminated if the presence of pathogens in the seawater is evident. Foods that are stored in bulk with many individual animals, such as bulk raw milk, pooled raw eggs, or ground beef, are particularly dangerous because if a pathogen is present in any one of the animals, the pathogen may contaminate the whole batch. Fruits and vegetables consumed in its raw form are also of particular concern. Washing only decreases, but does not eliminate the possibility of contamination. Hence, with the vast possibility of food contamination, we should be more careful when handling and preparing our food. |
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