Food safety

 Definition: Guaranteeing that food or foodstuff does not hazard

consumers’ health or life (neither short-term, nor long-term), IF those
are treated (stored, prepared and consumed) according to the rules
(normal use)
 Food: any substance or product (whether processed, partially
processed or unprocessed), intended to be, or reasonably expected
to be ingested by humans
Food safety
 Definition: Guaranteeing that food or foodstuff does not hazard
consumers’ health or life (neither short-term, nor long-term), IF those
are treated (stored, prepared and consumed) according to the rules
(normal use)
 Does not hazard consumers: Does not have any adverse effect
(short-term or long-term)
Food safety
 Definition: Guaranteeing that food or foodstuff does not hazard
consumers’ health or life (neither short-term, nor long-term), IF those
are treated (stored, prepared and consumed) according to the rules
(normal use)
 Short-term effects: Acute food-borne infections and food
poisoning which appear right after the consumption of food, e.g.
diarrhoea, vomiting, fever etc.
 Long-term effects: Adverse effects due to chemicals (fertilizers,
performance enhancers, additives, processing aids) accumulated in
the human body e.g. inflammatory diseases, cancer etc.
Hazards influencing food safety
 External influence
Hazards influencing food safety
 External influence
 Food contaminants:
 Contaminants of technological origin (e.g. metals)
 Environmental contaminants (Al, As, Cd, Cu, Sn, Pb, Hg, etc.)
 Harmful substances of natural origin (e.g. plant alkaloids)
Hazards influencing food safety
 External influence
 Food contaminants
 Food ingredients and treatments:
 Aroma substances, smoke aromas
 Additives („E”)
 Enzymes
 Solvent residues
 Ionizing radiation
Hazards influencing food safety
 External influence
 Food contaminants
 Food ingredients
 Specific hazards:
 Physical hazards (any foreign material e.g. glass, metal,
plastic, wood, hair etc.)
 Chemical hazards (pesticide residues, detergent residues,
toxic elements, antibiotics etc.)
 Biological hazards (insects, rodents etc.)
 Microbiological hazards (bacteria, virus, parasites)
Factors influencing toxicity
 Dosage:
 LD50
 LC50
 LD50/30
 LD100
 NOEL
 NOAEL
Factors influencing toxicity
 Dosage
 Duration of the effect:
 Acute
 Subacute
 Chronic
Factors influencing toxicity
 Dosage
 Duration of the effect
 Route of the exposure
 Host
 Environment
 Toxin
Basic routes of human exposure
 Oral exposure
 Inhalation exposure
 Dermal exposure
 Intravenous exposure
 Intramuscular exposure
Factors influencing response to effects
 Age
 Nutritional status
 Body weight
 Sex
 Individual susceptibility
 Decreased sensitivity
 Increased sensitivity
 Habituation
Symptoms can be…
 Reversible symptoms
 Irreversible symptoms
 Adaptive change
 Destruction
Who’s vulnerable?
 Infants/children
 Elderly people
 Pregnant women/breastfeeding
mothers
 Immunosuppressed people
 Travellers
 Consumers suffering from
allergy/intolerance
 Significant part of our society
 More serious symptoms!
 Aims:
 Proper food preparation and
control
 Targeted information for
these groups
 Reduction of regarding
symptoms
Chemical hazards
 More sensitive to any
contamination
 Low body weight + high
consumption  more
contaminants
 Hazards of baby food: salt,
melamine
 Strict limits! (pesticide residues,
mycotoxins)
Microbiological harads
 Immature immune system  lower infective dose
 Decreased immunoglobulin and acid production
 Slow peristalsis
 Shortage of micronutrients  malnutrition and diarrhoea
 Breastfeeding  developing immune system
 Most dangerous pathogens: E. coli, Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella
typhii, Cronobacter spp., Clostridium botulinum (honey!),
Campylobacter jejuni, Campylobacter coli, Shigella spp., Rotavirus,
Giardia lambia, Cryptosporidium hominis, Cryptosporidium lambia
Proper nutrition of infants
 First months - breastmilk
nutrition:
 perfect composition
 easily digestable
 contains immunizing
substances
 hygienic
 prevents allergy
 provides optimal teething
Proper nutrition of infants
 After 4-6 months – fruits, vegetables, potatoes
 Breastmilk does not cover nutritional needs anymore
 Spoon
 Cereal with milk (after 6 months)
 Teething  various nutrition
 Eggs (after 9 months)
Proper nutrition of children
 Under 6 years:
 Cover nutritional needs  development, health, prevention of
diseases
 Plenty of food of plant origin
 Less food of animal origin
 Small amount of fats
 School kids:
 4-5 meals a day, importance of breakfast!
 Avoid sweets and fast food
 Proper amounts of food  prevent obesity
Proper nutrition of adolescents
 Risk of improper nutrition (lack of iron, too much fat and energy)
 Lifestyle  unbalanced nutrition, fast food, missing meals
 Regular meals with the proper amount of nutrients
 Regular exercise!
Microbiological hazards
 General decline
 Low secretion of gastric acid
 Slow peristalsis
 General health status
 Lifestyle
 Acute/chronic conditions 
higher susceptibility to infections
 Deterioration of immune system
Microbiological hazards
 Most dangerous pathogens:
 Listeria monocytogenes
 Vibrio parahaemolyticus
 EHEC
 Salmonella spp.
 Campylobacter spp.
 Clostridium perfringens
 Staphylococcus aureus
 Norovirus
Nutritional aspects
 Decaying digestion and adsorption, decreased appetite
 Decreasing active body weight (muscles and organs), more fat
 Less movement and exercise  less energy required by the same need
 Obese but underfed  diabetes
 Solution:
 Meat and meat products, eggs, cheese  sources of protein and iron
 Brown bread, pastas, vegetables  sources dietary fibers
 Regular water intake!
 Risk of diabetes
 Hormonal changes
 Altered immunity
 Increasing amount of
extracellular liquids
 Most dangerous pathogens:
Listeria monocytogenes,
Toxoplasma gondii, Salmonella
typhii, Campylobacter jejuni,
Hepatitis A
Nutritional aspects
 Basic aim: Provide the proper quality and quantity of nutrients for the
fetus!
 Increasing weight of organs (uterus, breasts) and fat
 Underfed women  premature birth or low weight after birth 
higher susceptibility to infections and hyperintensivity reactions (later)
 Nutritional needs increase in proportion to the weight of the fetus
 Increasing demands for energy
Nutritional aspects
 Basic foodstuffs:
 Bread and cereal products
 Pastas, potatoes
 Fruits, vegetables
 Milk and dairy products, meat products  risk of pathogens (Listeria,
Toxoplasma)
 Fish  Proper intake of fatty acids
 Eggs  Salmonellosis
 Less salt, more liquids!
Nutritional aspects
 Proper amount of protein
 Meat: 3-5 times/week
 Fish: 2 times/week
 Salads, fruits, vegetables: every day
 Food rich in folic acid  prevent birth defects
 Avoid alcoholic beverages, smoking and medications containing retinol
 5-6 meals a day (small amounts)
 Vegetarians: shortage of Fe, Ca, cobalamin and some proteins  not
recommended!
Who are these people?
 Result of illness, treatment or
medication:
 HIV/aids patients
 Transplant patients
 Cancer patients (chemotherapy,
irradiation)
 Autoimmune diseases
 Immunosuppressive therapy
patients
 Malnutrition
 Etc.
Microbiological hazards
 Decreased immune functions  higher susceptibility to infections
 Immune system is inadequate to combat pathogens
 Most dangerous pathogens:
 Salmonella spp.
 Campylobacter spp.
 HIV + malaria
 Toxoplasma gondii
 Listeria monocytogenes
 Clostridium botulinum  injecting drug users!
Hazards
 New pathogens  vaccine if
available!
 Unknown source and quality of
drinking water  boiled/bottled
water
 Unknown source of milk and dairy
products, meat and meat products
 avoid unpasteurized, raw and
undercooked
 Contaminated vegetables? 
washing, peeling
 Special meals  contaminations,
toxins
Allergy
 Increased sensitivity of the immune system
 Caused by food or foodstuff
 Specific, reproducible symptoms
 Main causes:
 Getting into contact with new allergens during the early childhood
 Getting into contact with a high amount of allergen during the early
childhood
 Consuming allergen compounds in high quantities
Allergens
 Thermostable proteins
 Resistant to digestion
 Cause symptoms of skin, intestines, respiratory organs
 May cause anaphylactic shock  death
 Most common allergens in Hungary: cow milk, eggs, wheat, fish, nuts
 Cross-reactive allergens: similar chemical structure to other allergens,
e.g. cow milk  beef, other types of milk (goat, sheep)  higher risk!
Occurence
 Lack of comprehensive data
 Adults: 1-3%
 Based on questionnaires: 3,5%
 Children <3 years: 6-8% (eggs, cow milk, nuts)
 May be grown out in many cases
Factors influencing occurence
 Industrialization 
 Increasing environmental pollution
 Global food trade  allergens may spread
 New technologies in food preparation: unknown effects
 Cross-reactions with other allergens
 Lack if important information (consumers)
 Potential allergenic effect of GMO-s (missing information)
 Geographical environment (other allergens)
 Nutritional habits (fish)
Allergen compounds which must be
indicated on the label in the EU
 Cereals containing gluten (wheat,  Celery
barley, rye, oat etc.)  Mustard
 Shellfish  Sesame
 Eggs  Molluscs
 Fish  Lupine
 Nuts  Sulhpur-dioxide and sulphites
 Soy
 Milk and dairy products, lactose
 Peanut
Intolerance
 Specific, reproducible symptoms without any immune reaction
 Similar occurence to allergy
 Caused by compounds of food (natural or added)
 Could be caused by the lack of enzymes (lactase) digestion in the
large intestine accompanied by bloating
 Alcohol  aldehyde dehydrogenase
Gluten intolerance
 Caused by proteins of wheat, barley, rye and oat
 Damaging intestinal villous
 Adsorption problems
 Congenital defect
 Life-long
 Infants:
 Breastmilk nutrition until 6 months (exclusively!)
 Lack of breastmilk  hypoallergenic baby food
 Probiotics, prebiotics  developing intestinal flora
 Breastfeeding women: avoid food containing allergens!
Hazards
 Food preparation technologies  more food contains allergens
 GMO-s: Foreign proteins  new allergens!
 Gene manipulation also provides the possibility of eliminating the gene
regions responsible for the allergic reactions
Possible solutions
 Digestion of allergen proteins by enzymatic reactions (fermentation,
germination, hydrolysis, protein modification)
 Modification of protein/peptides by heat treatments and HHP
 Influencing allergenic potential: environment, treatments, food
preparation technologies
 Gene manipulation
 Selection of plant/animal species based on their molecular data
 Influencing the immune reaction after consumption of allergens:
vaccines, probiotic bacteria
How to avoid allergens?
 Avoid the food itself  not easy, complex food may contain allergens
by ingredients
 Importance of labelling! 1169/20011/EC regulation!
 Indicating allergens: regardless the quantity of the allergen!
 Who’s responsible?  food business operators
 Importance of official food control
 No limit values except for gluten (20-50 mg/kg)
Thank you for your
attention!