This document discusses food safety and suitability. It defines food safety as assuring food will not cause harm when prepared and eaten as intended. Food suitability means food is acceptable for consumption as intended. The document outlines Kenya's food safety laws and why ensuring food safety is important. It identifies biological, chemical and physical hazards and contaminants that can compromise food safety. Specific hazards discussed include bacteria, viruses, parasites, chemicals, allergens, toxins, metals and foreign materials. The sources and controls for various hazards are explained.
1. Food safety Food suitability
• Assurance that food will not cause harm
to the consumer when it is prepared
and /or eaten according to its intended
use
• Assurance that food is
acceptable for human
consumption according to its
intended use
Food safety versus food suitability
2. • All food processors have
a legal obligation to
process safe foods
• In Kenya food safety
issues are mainly
covered under cap 242
(public health act) and
cap 254 (food drugs and
chemical substances
act)
• Production of food injurious
to health
• Sale/ possession of unsafe
food
• False/misleading
description
• Sale of food of incorrect
nature or poor quality
Offences under these laws
Why food safety?
3. • Provide food which is
safe and suitable for
consumption
• Ensure consumers have
clear and easily
understood information
to enable them to
protect food
• Maintain confidence in
internationally traded
food
Role of food processor in ensuring food safety
4. • Any biological, chemical or physical, matter, or
substances not intentionally added to food which
may compromise food safety or suitability
Contaminant (Hazard)- Definition
5. • Present the greatest and
broadest danger
• Many hundreds or thousands of
consumers can be affected
• Some illnesses can be quite
serious, even fatal.
• Soil
• Water
• Air
• Animals
• Rodents
• Native contamination
• Food handlers
• Cross contamination
• Illnesses
Sources of biological contamination
Biological hazards
7. Infective food poisoning
▪ Food becomes contaminated with
certain bacteria.
▪ Bacteria then grow in the food
▪ When consumed (bacteria) grow in the
gut to cause illness
Toxic food poisoning
▪Bacteria grow in the food and produce
toxins
▪Toxins are separate and distinct from
bacteria
▪Eating food containing these toxins results
in food poisoning
Hazardous bacteria cause two types of food poisoning
8. • Chemical contamination can happen during growing of the
raw materials through to consumption of the finished
products.
• The main chemical hazards in food products are
– Cleaning chemicals
– Pesticides
– Allergens
– Toxic metals
– Plasticizers and packaging migration
– Chemical additives
Chemical hazards
9. • The most significant chemical hazards
• Problems can be prevented by: -
– Use of non-toxic food grade cleaning chemicals
– Design and management of appropriate sanitation
procedures.
– Post-cleaning equipment inspections
– Adequate training of staff
Chemical hazards- Cleaning chemicals
10. • Pesticides control or kill pests and include the
following: -
– Insecticides
– Herbicides
– Fungicides
– Bird and animal repellents
– Food storage protectors
– Wood preservatives
– Industrial/domestic hygiene products
– Masonry biocides
– Rodenticides
Chemical hazards- Pesticides
11. • Pesticide controls include: -
– Strict control on the pesticides that can be used
– Residue limits that are acceptable.
– Knowledge of all pesticides applied to all raw
materials at any stage in their production, storage,
handling, and preparation
– Knowledge of permitted pesticides
– Knowledge of maximum safe residue in each case
– Avoid cross-contamination with pesticides at any
stage in food production.
Chemical hazards- Pesticide control
12. • Some food components can cause an allergic or food intolerance response in
individuals
• Major allergens include
– Peanuts (groundnuts)
– Tree nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews)
– Eggs
– Milk products
– Shellfish
• More minor allergens include
– Soybeans
– Wheat gluten
– Certain colourings
– Sulphite
– Other tree nuts not listed above
Chemical hazards- Allergens
13. The control options include: -
– Raw material control
– Process control
– Effective cleaning of equipment
– Proper labelling highlighting
potentially allergenic components
Chemical hazards- allergen control
14. • The most significant sources of toxic metals
to the food chain are: -
– Environmental pollution
– The soil in which food stuffs are grown
– Equipment, utensils and containers for
cooking, processing and storage
– Food-processing water
– Chemicals applied to agricultural land
Metals of concern are: -
▪Tin (from tin containers)
▪Mercury in fish
▪Cadmium and lead, both from environmental
pollution
▪Others are:
▪ arsenic,
▪aluminium,
▪
▪copper,
▪zinc,
▪antimony and bismuth
Chemical hazards- toxic metals
15. ⚫ Just as for any other chemical hazard there is need to: -
⚫ Understand the particular risk of toxic metals to your
products
⚫ This is likely to be associated with the:
◦ raw materials,
◦ metal equipment and
◦ finished-product packaging
Chemical hazards- control of toxic metals
16. ⚫ Certain plasticizers and other plastics additives are
toxic
⚫ They are of concern if they are able to migrate into
food
⚫ Knowledge of current issues for both food packaging
and plastic utensils.
Chemical hazards- plasticizers & packaging migration
17. Used to:
⚫ Make products safe and hygienic
⚫ Assist in processing
⚫ Increase nutrients e.g. vitamins
Their use governed by regulation in almost all countries in the world.
⚫ Careless or unnecessary use of additives poses a potential hazard and is controlled by: -
◦ Special storage in covered, designated labelled containers
◦ Safe operating practices and written additive instructions
◦ Validation of levels through usage rate, sampling and testing
Chemical hazards- chemical additives
18. ⚫ Foreign material items are food safety
hazards if:
◦ Items are sharp and could cause
injury;
◦ Items are hard and could cause
dental damage’
◦ Items are capable of blocking the
airways and causing choking.
• Foreign matter in food include:
• Metal
• Glass
• Stone
• Wood
• Plastic
• Pests
• Intrinsic hazards
Physical hazards
19. ⚫ Many physical hazards can be controlled effectively as part of GMP
procedures.
⚫ This means that some hazards can be “designed out” by the correct level of
control in the pre-requisite program
⚫ This removes the need to repeat the same foreign materials hazard control
at every step
Physical hazards
20. ⚫ Glass may be present in the raw materials, e.g. as foreign material from the growing sites, or
the raw material container.
⚫ Containers made from glass are avoided wherever possible and kept out of the processing
area
⚫ Personnel are prevented from bringing any glass items into production area
⚫ Sight glasses or glass gauges on equipment are avoided.
⚫ Glass light fittings should always be sheathed with plastic to prevent product contamination if
shattering occurs.
Physical hazards- Glass
21. ⚫ In the product from the raw material or during production
⚫ To avoid the hazard ensure that: -
◦ Equipment is properly maintained
◦ All engineering work is properly supervised
◦ Raw materials delivered in metal containers are opened carefully and outside the main
production area if possible.
◦ All products are metal detected and / or passed over a magnet at least once and this is
at, or as close to, the end of production or filling as possible.
◦ Metal detectors and magnets are carefully chosen and calibrated
Physical hazards- Metals
22. ⚫ Usually as a result of raw material contamination
⚫ Stones can most easily be prevented by: -
◦ Careful choice of raw material supplied
◦ Removal through the use of sieving /
filtration, floatation tanks and centrifugal
separators.
Physical hazards- Stones
23. ⚫ Sharp splitters of wood could be a hazard to the consumer
⚫ Wooden crates and pallets are avoided where possible
⚫ Where wood has to be used it must not be allowed access to production areas
⚫ Hold in separate raw materials handling and outer packaging areas.
⚫ Prevent personnel form bringing any wooden items into production areas
⚫ When it is not possible to keep wood out of the production area, it is obtained from an
approved source and handled in a controlled manner to prevent any splintering
Physical hazards- Wood
24. ⚫ Often used to replace other potential physical hazards, such as glass and wood
⚫ Hard plastics shards e.g. from broken equipment guards, can also be hazardous.
⚫ Soft plastic is also used as packaging or protective clothing such as aprons and gloves.
⚫ Soft plastic used during process is often brightly coloured (often blue) to assist with its
identification
⚫ While more shatter proof than glass, implement similar breakage control procedures for
hard, brittle plastic as for glass
Physical hazards- Plastics
25. ⚫ Includes bones in meat/fish products, nut shells
and extraneous vegetable matter
⚫ Control options include the use of X-ray detectors
but costly
⚫ Careful sorting procedures often used
Physical hazards- Intrinsic physical hazards
26. The introduction or occurrence of a
contaminant (hazard) in a food or food
environment
+ =
Contamination- Definition
