Improvement of food safety

The global nature of the food supply and world food trade have made food quality and food safety international issues. Hence, since its inception, the World Health Organization (WHO) has been working toward the improvement of food safety. In partnership with the Lood and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (LAO), WHO provides for the Secretariat of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC). The latter Commission is responsible for all matters pertaining to the implementation of the Joint LAO/WHO Lood Standards Program. 

Apart from the challenges to be faced in the near future in food science and nutrition already described above (e.g., the production of new functional foods with scientifically proved claims the improvement of food safety, quality, and traceability the development, production, and monitoring of new transgenic foods, including the so-called second-generation GM crops environmental sustainability, etc.), there are other interesting trends and opportunities that can be anticipated for Foodomics that are described below. 

The potential for smart packaging for improvement of food quality and safety is very high. Although sensory evaluation is essential in the early stages of development, there is an important role for sensory evaluation simultaneously with analytical assessments of new materials in contact with food systems. New materials or novel applications of materials may deliver value in improved sensory quality or create unexpected sensory impact that may not be interpreted from analytical chemical or physical methods of assessment. 

O Sullivan, L., Ross, R.P., and Hill, C. 2002. Potential of bacteriocin-producing lactic acid bacteria for improvements in food safety and quality. Biochimi 84 593-604. 

The basic function of food proteins is to keep us alive and healthy. The importance of the quality of proteins for food and medical uses was recognized many years ago. However, the meaning of protein quality [1] has been a subject of great polemic ever since. Much remains to be learned for the understanding of the role of proteins in food. Knowledge of the influence of structure on functional properties and biological activities of proteins is essential for their rational use in foods and for the improvement of the safety of food proteins. 

D. Improvement of the Safety of Foods by SH-Containing Amino Acid Enrichment of Peptides... 

Once the team is assembled and a leader has been elected, the first task of the team is to conduct a needs assessment. The needs assessment will include a review of current food policies and procedures so that gaps and areas requiring improvement may be identified. Once the strengths and weaknesses are identified, the team will need to lay out a plan for action. Implementing a plan will depend on several factors, such as the budget and other resources available to the school however, many of the items may be implemented over time and may be of little or no cost. While improving school food safety reduces liability, it can also reduce absenteeism and lower other costs such as hiring substitute teachers. 

It should become clear from this review that calorimetry, (high pressure) DTA, and DSC give relevant, reproducible data that are of great importance in many fields of food technology, because this information characterizes the food globally. From the basics of food technology it is easy to understand that calorimetric techniques help in quality control, improvement of food characteristics, development of new operations, and process safety [127-134]. 

There are so many properties, other than safety, which make phosphates ideal substances for the improvement of foods that they cannot all be discussed. A few of the more interesting will be highlighted. The acidity of phosphoric acid in soft drinks is known to most persons. The acidity of phosphates as leavening agents is also well known. 

To further improve the general safety standards, the Delaney Clause was included in the Pood Additives Amendment of 1958. The Delaney Clause states that no food additive or color additive can be deemed safe if it has been found to induce cancer when ingested by humans or animals (23). The Clause acts as an absolute prohibition on the use of any additive found to cause cancer without any regard for whether, or to what extent, the substance is hazardous to human health. As scientific advances continue, both in the realm of food technology and analysis of previously undetected contaminants, the... 

Kamat, A. et al.. Potential application of low dose gamma irradiation to improve the microbiological safety of fresh coriander leaves. Food Control, 14, 529, 2003. 

Multon, J., Ed., Analysis of Food Constituents, John WUey Sons, New York, 1996. CIE, Technical Report Improvement in Industrial Colour-Difference Evaluation, Pnblication 142-2001, Commission Internationale de I Eclairage, Vienna, 2001. Watson, D.H., Food Chemical Safety, vols. 1 and 2, CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, 2002. King, S., Gates, M., and Scalettar, L., Eds., Current Protocols in Food Analytical Chemistry, John Wiley Sons, New York, 2001. 

The concept of risk assessment requires a profound understanding of food dynamics and technological conditions that may impact the risk levels of certain hazardous compounds. It requires that scientific information and data are collected to underpin conclusions about risk levels. Risk assessment can be used to scientifically underpin the selection of hazards that must be covered by a quality or safety assurance system (e.g., HACCP) that will improve the reliability of the system. 

Reinemann, D. J., Gouws, P., Cilliers, T., Houck, K., and Bishop, J. R. (2006). New methods for UV treatment of milk for improved food safety and product quality. ASABE Paper Number 066088. ASABE. 

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