43
DEC 2017 FOOD FOCUSTHAILAND
STRONG
QC & QA
Major Foodborne IllnessesandCauses
Foodborne illnesses areusually infectious or toxic innature
and caused by bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical
substancesentering thebody throughcontaminated foodor
water.
Foodborne pathogens can cause severe diarrhoea or
debilitating infections including meningitis. Meanwhile,
chemical contaminationcan lead toacutepoisoningor long-
term diseases, such as cancer.
Foodborne diseases may lead to long-lasting disability
anddeath.Examplesofunsafe food includeuncooked foods
of animal origin, fruits and vegetables contaminated with
faeces, and raw shellfish containingmarine biotoxins.
Bacteria
Salmonella, Campylobacter
, and
Enterohaemorrhagic
Escherichia coli
are among the most common foodborne
pathogens thataffectmillionsofpeopleannually–sometimes
with severe and fatal outcomes. Symptoms are fever,
headache, nausea, vomiting, abdominal painanddiarrhoea.
Examplesof foods involved inoutbreaksofsalmonellosisare
eggs,poultryandotherproductsofanimal origin.Foodborne
cases with
Campylobacter
are mainly caused by rawmilk,
raw or undercooked poultry and drinking water.
Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli
is associated with
unpasteurizedmilk, undercookedmeat and fresh fruits and
vegetables.
Listeria
infection leads tounplannedabortions inpregnant
women or death of newborn babies. Although disease
occurrence is relatively low, listeria’ssevereandsometimes
fatal health consequences, particularly among infants,
childrenand theelderly, count themamong themost serious
foodborne infections.
Listeria
is found inunpasteuriseddairy
products and various ready-to-eat foods and can grow at
refrigeration temperatures.
Vibrio cholerae
infects people through contaminated
water or food. Symptoms include abdominal pain, vomiting
and profuse watery diarrhoea, which may lead to severe
dehydrationandpossiblydeath.Rice,vegetables,milletgruel
andvarious typesofseafoodhavebeen implicated incholera
outbreaks.
Antimicrobials, suchas antibiotics, areessential to treat
infections caused by bacteria. However, their overuse and
misuse in veterinary and humanmedicine has been linked
to theemergenceandspreadof resistantbacteria, rendering
the treatment of infectious diseases ineffective in animals
andhumans.Resistantbacteriaenter the foodchain through
theanimals (e.g.Salmonella throughchickens).Antimicrobial
resistance is one of themain threats tomodernmedicine.
FoodSafety:APublicHealthPriority
Unsafe food poses global health threats, endangering
everyone. Infants, young children, pregnant women, the
elderly and those with an underlying illness are particularly
vulnerable.Everyyear220millionchildrencontractdiarrhoeal
diseases and 96,000dies.
Unsafe food creates a vicious cycle of diarrhoea and malnutrition,
threatening thenutritional statusof themostvulnerable.Where foodsupplies
are insecure, people tend to shift to less healthy diets and consumemore
“unsafe foods” – inwhichchemical,microbiological andother hazardspose
health risks.
TheSecond InternationalConferenceonNutrition (ICN2), held inRome
in November 2014, reiterated the importance of food safety in achieving
betterhumannutrition throughhealthynutritiousdiets. Improving foodsafety
is thus a key in achieving Sustainable Development Goals. Governments
shouldmake food safety a public health priority, as they play a pivotal role
in developing policies and regulatory frameworks, establishing and
implementingeffective foodsafetysystems that ensure that foodproducers
and suppliers along the whole food chain operate responsibly and supply
safe food to consumers.
Food can become contaminated at any point of production and
distribution, and the primary responsibility lies with food producers. Yet a
large proportion of foodborne disease incidents are caused by foods
improperlypreparedormishandledat home, in foodserviceestablishments
ormarkets. Not all foodhandlersand consumersunderstand the roles they
must play, such as adopting basic hygienic practices when buying, selling
and preparing food to protect their healthand that of thewider community.
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For a full “FoodSafety” fact sheet reviewedonOctober 2017, pleasego to
