Food Safety and Security: Discussion 3

The six points of the food production chain and where contamination is likely to occur are Production, Cleaning, Processing, food Company Production, Distribution and Preparation. Production is when the plants and food are grown and the wild foods are harvested. Infection could be spread from animals. Chickens, pork and other animals could get some sort of infection or parasite during production. Contaminated water or soil during collection of food may make it contaminated before it is harvested, such as with grains or other grown vegetables. This pre-harvest contamination could be toxins or it could be infectious agents introduced into the water or soil. Sea creatures, such as fish, may ingest sea creatures. These sea creatures could have toxins or infections which could spread to the consumer.

Cleaning processes could spread disease. Contaminated water is one such example. Sometimes in commercial chicken production places, eggs are cleaned first. Sometimes milk is pasteurized. Some chickens are cleaned and even cleaned with something like bleach after it is plucked. Processing is the stage where food is changed into what we recognize as food. Contaminated water once again could spread problems onto food. Ice in cleaning or packing is another example of where contaminations could be introduced. Sometimes, peanut butter is contaminated due to inadequate or unclean storage conditions. Sometimes raw peanuts cross-contaminate the roasted peanuts and can cause contamination. Contamination during the slaughter with intestines or debris from the coat may taint food such as meats.

Food company production is where it is processed into pre-packaged foods. Sometimes this means that they go through additional cleaning and processing before they are made into food. Storage could prove to be a problem at this time and contamination from repeating any of the prior steps. Processing food into pre-packaged food has its own risks especially when handling different types of foods, such as meats and vegetables.

Distribution is getting the food to the food service facility or to the home. Bacteria can grow if refrigerated items are left on a loading dock for a long time in warm weather for instance. This is only an example, as food can be contaminated through equipment, packaging, inadequate sanitary conditions and more. The risk of food contaminants through pathogens should also be carefully prevented.

Preparation is getting the food ready to eat, such as to the consumer, restaurant or other facility. A food preparation worker who is sick and they do not wash their hands after using a toilet, blowing their nose, touching their face, smoking or other ways can spread pathogens and contaminants. Cross contamination through vegetable and meat being introduced to each other through knives or cutting boards should be monitored and prevented. In the fridge, meat juice can drip onto other foods that may be served raw. This could be a potential source of contamination. Storage is important in each of the aspects of the food chain.