Food safety report tackles emerging problems in a complex food chain
consumers make it unlikely that the consumer marketplace will ever
be entirely free of dangerous organisms, according to a new report
by the Institute of Food Technologists.
The evolving characteristics of food, technology, pathogens and consumers make it unlikely that the consumer marketplace will ever be entirely free of dangerous organisms, according to a new report by the Institute of Food Technologists.
The report, Emerging Microbiological Food Safety Issues: Implications for Control in the 21st Century was presented at the IFT's International Food Safety and Quality Conference and Expo in Atlanta this week.
The research revealed that despite significant success at improving food safety, the current science on which safety is based does not sufficiently protect consumers from the emerging issues of a complex food supply.
The report was based on specialist research in foodborne pathogens and microbial evolution, foodborne illness, food production and processing, testing methods and regulatory measures.
To gain the greatest measure of food safety, the report stresses the necessity of implementing flexible food safety measures in order to utilise as quickly as possible the latest scientific information as it evolves. It further urges manufacturers, regulatory and public health agencies and allied organisations to develop partnerships to improve risk assessment and food safety management.
The report made several recommendations to minimise food safety risks. In particular, it urged that international coordination of food safety efforts be encouraged, noting that global food trade has the potential to introduce pathogens to new geographic areas.
Comprehensive surveillance, to include animal health and the processing environment, was deemed necessary to improve the current safety levels. Indeed, while new processing and packaging technologies offer potential for improving the quality and shelf-life of food, these processes "may change the microbial ecology, resulting in potential negative effects that must be assessed the whole way along the food chain."
The report noted that while science plays a fundamental role in food safety, further research is essential to understand more about microbial ecology and virulence sufficiently well to anticipate future microbial hazards and construct barriers to disease.
The report is published on the IFT website.
