Food hygiene

• Food is a potential source of infection and is

liable to contamination by microorganisms, at
any point during its journey from the producer
to the consumer. Food hygiene, in its widest
sense, implies hygiene in the production,
handling, distribution and serving of all types of
food. The primary aim of food hygiene is to
prevent food poisoning and other food-borne
illnesses, which can be grouped under the
following headings.
• The importance of surveillance of food-
borne diseases has been underlined in the
WHO Sixth General Program of Work . The
most important international program
carrying out activities in the field of food
hygiene is the Joint FAO/WHO food
Standards Program
Classification of Food – borne Illnesses
Bacterial diseases (infections & Typoid fever, paratyphoid fever,
intoxications) Salmonellosis, Staphyloccal
intoxication,
Cl. perfringens illness Botulism
b. cereus Food Poisoning
e. coli diarrhoea
non-cholera vibrio illness
V. parahaemolyticus - infection,
streptococcal infection, Shigellosis,
Brucellosis
Viral diseases Viral hepatitis, Gastroenteritis

Parasites Taeniasis, Hydatidosis, Trichinosis,

Ascariasis, Amoebiasis, Oxyuriasis
Classification of Food – borne Illnesses

Chemical poisons Pesticides, heavy metals

(arsenic, lead, cadmium,
etc.)

Food toxins Lathyrism, Epidemic dropsy,

Aflatoxins
Milk Hygiene

• Milk is an efficient vehicle for a great

variety of disease agents: The sources of
infection or contamination of milk may be
(1) The dairy animal (2) human handler
or (3) the environment, e.g.,
contaminated vessels, polluted water,
flies, dust, etc.
Milkborne Diseases

• A joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on milk hygiene classified

milk -born diseases:
• 1. Infections of animals that can be transmitted to man:
• Primary importance –
• Tuberculosis
• Brucellosis
• Streptococcal infections
• Staphylococcal enterotoxin poisoning
• Salmonellosis
• Q Fever
•
Milk born diseases

• Lesser importance –
• Cowpox
• Foot and mouth disease
• Anthrax
• Leptospirosis
• Tick-borne encephalitis
 Infections primary to man tat can be transmitted through milk:
• Typhoid and paratyphoid fevers
• Shigellosis
• Cholera
• Enteropathogenic Escherichi coli
• Non-diarrhoeal diseases
• Streptococcal infections
• Staphylococcal food poisoning
• Diphtheria
• Tuberculosis
• Enteroviruses
• Viral hepatitis
Clean and Safe Milk

• The safety and keeping quality of milk are

related to its microbial content. The first
essential in the production of clean and safe
milk, therefore, is a healthy and clean animal.
Milk from a healthy udder contains only a few
organisms, and these are relatively unimportant.
Secondly, the premises where the animal is
housed and milked should be sanitary. The milk
vessels must be sterile and kept covered. The
water supply must be bacteriologicaly safe.
• Milk handler must be free from communicable
diseases, and before milking they must wash
their hands and arms. Where possible, milking
machines must be used. Milk should be cooled
immediately to below 10°C after it is drawn to
retard bacterial growth. In the production of
good quality milk, cleanliness of all containers
and equipment in which milk is handled is very
important.
Pasteurization of milk

• Pasteurization may be defined as the

heating of milk to such temperatures and
for such periods of time as are required to
destroy any pathogens that may be
present while causing minimal changes in
the composition, flavor and nutritive value
(WHO). There are several methods of
pasteurization.
• Milk is kept at 63-66°C for at least 30
minutes, and then quickly cooled to 5°C.
• “High Temperature and Short Time Method” Milk
is rapidly heated to a temperature of nearly 72°C,
is held at that temperature for not less than 15
seconds, and is then rapidly cooled to 4°C. This is
now the most widely method. Very large
quantities of milk per hour can be pasteurized by
this method. (3) UHT Method: Also known as
“Utra High Temperature Method”. Milk is rapidly
heated usually in 2 stages (the second stage
usually being under pressure) to between 125°C,
for a few seconds only. It is then rapidly cooled
and bottled as quickly as possible.
MEAT HYGIENE

• The term “meat” includes various

tissues of animal origin. The diseases
which may be transmitted by eating
unwholesome meat are: (1) TAPE WORM
INFESTATIONS: Tinea soliu, T. saginata,
Trichinella spiralis and anthrax,
actinomycosis, tuberculosis and food
poisoning.
Meat Inspection

• Animals intended for slaughter are subjected to proper antemortem

and postmortem inspection by qualified veterinary staff. The
principal causes of antemortem rejection of animals are emaciation,
exhaustion, pregnancy, sheep-pox, foot-rot, actinomycosis,
brucellosis, febrile conditions, diarrhoea and other diseases of an
infectious nature rendering meat unfit for human consumption. The
main causes of the postmortem rejection are cysticercus bovis, liver
fluke, abscesses, sarcocystis, hydatidosis, septicaemia, parasitic and
nodular infections of liver and lungs, tuberculosis, cysticercus
cellulosae, etc…(112). The characteristics of good meat are that it
should be neither pale pink nor a deep purple tint, firm and elastic
to touch, should not be slimy and have an agreeable
Slaughter Houses

Location: Preferably away from residential areas.

Structure: Floors and walls up to 3 feet should be impervious and easy to
clean.
Disposal of wastes: Blood, offal, etc… should not be discharged into public
sewers but should be collected separately.
Water Supply: should be independent, adequate and continuous.
Examination of animals: Antemortem and postmortem examination to be
arranged. Animals or meat found unfit for human consumption should be
destroyed or denatured.
Miscellaneous: animals other than those to be slaughtered should not be
allowed inside the shed.
Storage of meat: Meat should be stored in fly-proof and rat-proof rooms; for
overnight storage, the temperature of the room shall be maintained below
5°C. 8) Transportation of meat: Meat shall be transported in fly-proof
covered vans.
Fish

• Fish deteriorates or loses its freshness

because of autolysis which sets in after
death and because of the bacteria with
which they become infected. Stale fish
should be condemned. The signs of fresh
fish: 1) it is in a state of stiffness or rigor
mortis, 2) the gills are a bright red and
3) the eyes are clear and prominent
EGG

• Although the majority of freshly laid

eggs are sterile inside, the shells become
contaminated by faecal matter from the
hen. Microorganisms including pathogenic
Salmonella can penetrate a cracked shell
and enter the egg(48).
FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

• Fruits and vegetables constitute another important

source for the spread of pathogenic organisms,
protozoan and helminthes. These infections are a
serious menace to public health where sewage is used
for growing vegetables. The vegetables which are
consumed raw in the form of salads pose a problem in
food sanitation. People should be educated to wash the
vegetables before eating then raw. Vegetables which
are cooked and eaten are free from this danger.
SANITATION OF EATING PLACES

• (1) Location: Shall not be near filth or open drain,

stable, manure pit and other sources of nuisances.
• (2) Floors: To be higher than the adjoining land, made
with impervious material and easy to keep clean. (
• 3) Rooms: (a) Rooms where meals are served shall
not be less than 100 sq. feet and shall provide
accommodation for a maximum of 10 persons. (b)
Walls up to 3 feet should be smooth, corners to be
rounded; should be impervious and easily washable. (
• c) Lighting and ventilation – ample natural lighting facilities aided
by artificial lighting with good circulation of air are necessary. (4)
Kitchen: (a) Floor space minimum 60 sq. ft. (b) window opening
to be 25 percent of floor area. (c) Floor to be impervious, smooth,
easy to keep clean and non-slippery. (d) Doors and windows to be
rat-proof, fly-proof, and of the self-closing type. (e) Ventilators 2
percent of the floor area, in addition to smoke pipes. (5) Storage of
cooked food: Separate room to be provided. For long storage,
control of temperature is necessary. (6) Storage of uncooked
foodstuffs. Perishable and non-perishable articles to be kept
separately in rat-proof and vermin-proof space; for storage of
perishable articles temperature control should be adopted.
• ) Furniture: Should be reasonably strong and
easy to keep clean and dry. (8) Disposal of
refuse: To be collected in covered, impervious
bins and disposed of twice a day. (9) Water
supply: To be an independent source,
adequate, continuous and safe. (10) Washing
facilities: To be provided. Cleaning of utensils
and crockery to be done in hot water and
followed by disinfection.
Food Handlers

• Food sanitation rests directly upon the state of personal

hygiene and habits of the personnel working in the food
establishments. Proper handling of foods, utensils and
dishes together with emphasis upon the necessity for
good personal hygiene are of great importance. The
infections which are likely to be transmitted by the food
handlers are diarrheas, dysenteries, typhoid and para-
typhoid fevers, entero-viruses, viral hepatitis, protozoa
cysts, eggs of helminthes, strepto and staphylococcal
infections and salmonellosis.
• The first essential is to have a complete medical
examination carried out of all food handlers at the time
of employment. Any person with a history of typhoid
fever, diphtheria, chronic dysentery, tuberculosis or any
other communicable disease should not be employed.
Persons with wounds, otitis media or skin infections
should not be permitted to handle food or utensils. The
day to day health appraisal of the food handlers is also
equally important; those who are ill should be excluded
from food handling. It is also important that any illness
which occurs in a food handler's family should at once
be notified.
• Education of food handlers in matters of personal hygiene, food
handling, utensils, dishwashing, and insect and rodent control is the
best means of promoting food hygiene. Many of the food handlers
have little educational background. Certain aspects of personal
hygiene are therefore required to be continually impressed upon
then: (a) Hands: The hands should be clean at all times. Hands
should be scrubbed and washed with soap and water immediately
after visiting a lavatory and as often as necessary at other times.
Fingernails should be kept trimmed and free from dirt. (b) Hair:
Head covering should be provided particularly in the case of females
to prevent loose hair obtaining entrance to food-stuffs. (c) Overalls:
Clean white overalls should be worn by all food handlers. (d)
Habits: Coughing and sneezing in the vicinity of food, licking the
fingers before picking up an article of food, smoking on food
premises are to be avoided.
ADULTERATION OF FOODS

• Adulteration of foods consists of a large number

of practices - mixing substitution, abstraction,
concealing the quality, putting up decomposed
foods for sale, misbranding or giving labels and
addition of poisons. Some forms of adulteration
are injurious to health, eg., adulteration of
mustard oil with argemone oil. But for the most
part food adulteration has an economic rather
than a sanitary significance eg., addition of
water to milk.
FOOD FORTIFICATION

• the process whereby nutrients are added

to foods to maintain or improve the quality
of the diet of a group, a community or a
population’.
FOOD ADDITIVES

• The concept of adding “non-food’ substances to

food products is not new. Pickling is an ancient culinary
practice aimed at preserving food articles such as
mango, lime and amla for fairly long periods by the
addition of salt and spices. Modern science of food
technology employs more than 3,000 substances – some
natural (eg., saffron, turmeric) and others artificial or
synthetic (eg., saccharin, sorbic acid) known as ‘food
additives’. Majority of the processed foods such as
bread, biscuits, cakes, sweets, confectionary, jams,
jellies, soft drinks, ketchup, all contain food additives.
FOOD ADDITIVES

• Food additives are defined as non-nutritious substances which are

added intentionally to food, generally in small quantity, to improve
its appearance, flavour, texture or storage properties(116). The
definition also includes animal food adjuncts which may result in
residues in human food and components of packing materials which
may find their way into food(117).
• The food additives may be classified as colouring agents (eg.,
saffron, turmeric), flavouring agents (eg., vanilla essence),
sweeteners (eg., saccarin), preservatives (eg., sorbic acid, sodium
benzoate), bleaching agents (eg., chlorine) acidity imparting agents
(eg., citric acid acetic acid), etc..(115). Uncontrolled or
indiscriminate use of food additives may pose health hazards among
consumers.