Food Safety and Security: Discussion 10

The effects of an animal disease outbreak in the United States or internationally, could have far reaching and devastating results. People would be less trustworthy of the food sources, putting our trust in food at risk. People would get sick, some would potentially die. It could spread to other people in some cases. The environment is affected by humans. We can do things that are more kind to the environment than others. Food uses a lot of energy to create. There are a lot of steps on the way, and many of those steps can be contaminated. It is simpler to prevent a hazard rather than to have to deal with the consequences of an outbreak. Microbial, chemical, radiation and physical hazards all need to be monitored and considered. Whether it is cattle raised on a farm, chickens in a coop, fish in the fishery or wheat in a field, the food needs to be kept healthy, pest and disease free. This means there should be a food safety system in place and in practice. 

If it made it out of the country, it would reflect badly on the United States. HACCP methods help mitigate issues and prevent outbreaks. Food safety practices are being adopted by governments and this ensures the food is safe even across country borders. There is a mutual agreement that the trading country will have a set of standards equivalent to the country they are trading with before completing the trade. The International Organization for Standardization makes volunteer international standards for 162 countries and it is based in Switzerland with over 19,500 internationally accepted standards. These are considered good rules to go by to ensure the meat supply remains healthy. The meat could go to another country and be harder to track and may make people very sick. Some people may be more equipped than others to withstand the rigors of disease, contaminants or illnesses.

If there is something found to be wrong it could reflect in media issues and the brand being seen as a bad company. It could seriously cost issues and damage sales. We are always learning more about what can cause an out break or make people sick. Proper storage of food, in particular meat and other perishables is important. Educating the consumer on how to safely prepare the food is important. There should be regular testing and standardization. The tests are best done through a variable sample since we cannot test 100%. It has bankrupted companies and impacted hundreds more. It costs a huge amount of money and makes people ill. 

When examining what takes place before the animal makes it to slaughter, it is very important to consider the health and condition of the animal. Pre-harvest controls should be set in place with good management being there to make interventions when necessary. For instance, reducing fecal shedding is important and the animals should be kept in a clean environment. Some more techniques used may be probiotics, vaccines, chemicals/viruses to target specific bacteria and more. There should be all efforts to reduce contaminations, including medicines by observing the proper withdrawl time and chemicals. Animals should be kept in areas free of disease and contaminants. Tests and screens may be necessary. The animals should be verified as clean by an inspector pre-slaughter. Once the animals is harvested, it should be appropriately and immediately packaged or stored.