Microbial Food Problems (Final) Flashcards
How high is the risk of foodborne pathogen contamination in foods of animal origin compared to the level of pathogen presence in animal production systems and how do these microbial risks compare with other causes of human health risk?
Describe the difference between human perception of risk and statistically derived assessment of risk.
Perception/fear = recognition of media reporting consequences, but not reality that risk to die from X is very low.
Statistical probability of risk = risk can be calculated & factual, doesn’t align with how people feel, don’t escalate or diminish it- just states what truly is happening = reality.
Why are there large differences between reported cases of foodborne disease and estimates of risk of foodborne disease?
Why are some infections with “foodborne pathogens” not associated with food?
Many infections from foodborne pathogens do not originate from food.
Most common ‘foodborne’ pathogen spreads human-to-human via contamination during handling & preparation (can be prevented w/o intervention with livestock).
Risks of infection are complex & depend on food handling in service industries and on cooking practices than on livestock handling & harvest.
Most notorious food disease risks are much lower than some of those less publicized.
What are the roles that different federal agencies play in the avoidance of chemical residues?
Antibiotic residues = levels set by FDA-CVM.
Other drugs- anthelminthics, hormones, analgesics… = levels set by FDA-CVM
Other chemicals – pesticides, insecticides, feed chemical = levels set by EPA
AVOID: set tolerance levels and monitor.
USDA-FSIS monitor & enforces residue tolerance limits for meat production.
Where are the critical control points for managing food chemical residues?
Residues monitored at harvest/slaughter or at milk processing plant.
Residues controlled/prevented during production (feedlot) phase.
What can be done at the harvest and processing level to avoid chemical residues in food products of animal origin?
Define the different potential uses of antimicrobials in food producing animals - i.e. prophylactic, therapeutic, metaphylactic, growth promoting.
THERAPEUTIC (common): infection is ongoing with clinical signs or lab data indicating infection.
PROPHYLACTIC (common): infection anticipated or risk warrants preventive therapy to avoid infection in face of contamination (pre surgery).
METAPHYLAXIS: data indicates infection is likely underway prior to overt signs of disease- longer wait for infection to establish = less useful antibiotic will be (rep issues in feedlot).
GROWTH PROMOTION= producing animals to improve efficiency of growth = illegal now.
