Managing and improving food safety starts with a good understanding of the substances that make food unsafe. Knowledge of these substances and of the negative effects they can cause to consumers' health is essential to enable a proper food safety risk assessment. Regardless of how self-evident this may be, it is certainly not simple. The assessment of adverse health effects caused by hazards, such as bacteria or chemical substances, is mainly the domain of physicians and toxicologists,...
More DescriptionManaging and improving food safety starts with a good understanding of the substances that make food unsafe. Knowledge of these substances and of the negative effects they can cause to consumers' health is essential to enable a proper food safety risk assessment. Regardless of how self-evident this may be, it is certainly not simple. The assessment of adverse health effects caused by hazards, such as bacteria or chemical substances, is mainly the domain of physicians and toxicologists, and does not relate directly to the knowledge and expertise of the average food business. Familiarity with, for example, the fact that an infection caused by Listeria monocytogenes has a higher death rate than Salmonella is certainly not widely spread. Yet, we have learned a lot in recent years. Since the legal obligation to apply HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points), knowledge about hazards in the food sector has grown significantly. Many, though far from all, food businesses now have a clear view of their hazards. These businesses keep their eyes and ears open for information about hazards, both new and already known. They follow legislative developments and remain alert, via various channels, to the hazards that arise in the sector. They constantly search for information related to hazards that are relevant to their raw materials, processes and products. Knowing that safety and quality of food products are the basis of the services offered by Précon, the company has developed an extensive database of food-related hazards. The database contains information about a large number of potential hazards in different raw materials, ingredients and consumer products. All hazards mentioned in European and Dutch legislation, including associated products, are included in the database. Furthermore, those hazards that are not mentioned in these laws, but are recognized as 'traditional risks' such as Clostridium botulinum in canned food and Salmonella spp. in cacao and chocolate, are considered. In addition, certain emerging hazards like norovirus and perchlorate are addressed. The present guide 'Food safety hazards' relates to the part of the database that describes the adverse effects on human health; this enables the user to compare the effects of hazards with each other. The purpose of this guide is to provide support to food safety managers for assessing the severity (effect) of hazards. It provides limited information about the probability (likelihood) of hazards, since this is mainly determined by specific situations in the companies. On the other hand, the severity of harmful effects on health is determined, at first, by the nature of the hazard and then by the condition or susceptibility of the consumer. Food businesses cannot do anything about this. This guide contributes to spreading the knowledge and consensus about the severity of adverse health effects. The hazards are presented in a clear and concise way, without going into too many details. We hope that you will enjoy and frequently use this guide, perhaps not to read in one go, but to use it as reference material. Although a large part of the content of this guide will not change, we intend to update it should the content fall behind the developments in the field of food safety hazards. Should this guide present shortcomings, we are open to comments and suggestions, and of course we will be glad to assist you with advice and support. On behalf of the editors and staff of Précon, Marcel TijhuisManaging Director Précon Consulting Group B.V.