Food Safety Quiz: Preventing Food-Borne Illness

Announcements

• DAP Part 2 deadline extended to Friday, November 15th
• Study Guide for Exam 3 available at the bottom of the home page

Food-Borne Illness & Food Safety

• Speaker: Margaret Slavin, PhD, RDN, Associate Professor, Nutrition and Food Science, University of Maryland, College Park

Agenda

• Why care about food-borne illness?
• How does food-borne illness occur?
• Common causes of food-borne illness
• What can you do to prevent food-borne illness?

Why Should We Care About Food-Borne Illness?

• Food-borne illnesses are common
• CDC estimates 1 in 6 Americans experience it annually (48 million in the U.S.)
• Significant numbers of hospitalizations (128,000) and deaths (3,000)

Selected Recent Large FBI Outbreaks (2008-2024)

• E. coli O157:H7 outbreak (McDonald's Quarter Pounders, October 2024) - Symptoms, hospitalizations, and deaths included.
• Listeria in deli meat (various dates and products) - Number of hospitalizations and deaths included.
• Salmonella contamination in cantaloupes, Hepatitis A in smoothies
• Other outbreaks: eggs, peanut butter, tomatoes/salsa

What Causes a Food-Borne Illness?

• Consuming contaminated food or drink with bacteria, viruses, parasites, or toxins
• Microbes or toxins enter the body through the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.
• Initial symptoms include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea

What Happens in a Food-Borne Illness?

• Illness onset can be hours, days, or weeks after consumption
• Bacteria can cause illness in several ways:
  • Foodborne infection: bacteria multiply and invade the intestinal wall (Salmonella)
  • Toxin-mediated infection: bacteria reside in the GI tract and produce toxins which cause harm (E. coli)
  • Foodborne intoxication: bacteria produce toxins and release them into food prior to consumption

Estimates of Food-Borne Illness

• CDC estimates 1 in 6 Americans affected annually (48 million in the U.S.)
• 128,000 hospitalizations
• 3,000 deaths

Who is Most at Risk?

• Elderly
• Very young children and infants
• Pregnant women and their fetuses
• People with compromised immune systems (e.g., immunosuppressant medications, HIV/AIDS, cancer patients)

How Does a Food-Borne Illness Happen?

• Contamination can occur at any point in the food production chain
• Several stages of food handling are potential points of contamination.

Where Does Food Get Contaminated?

• Production (e.g., contaminated water used in irrigation)
• Processing (e.g., microbes on food-contact surfaces)
• Distribution (e.g., refrigerated food left at unsafe temperatures)
• Preparation (e.g., cross-contamination between raw and ready-to-eat foods)
• A contaminated person can contaminate food (fecal-oral route).

A Common Source of Contamination

• An infected person can contaminate food via the fecal-oral route

Another Reason Why: Bacterial Proliferation

• Bacteria require nutrients, water, and warmth to grow.
• Most grow best in the "danger zone," temperatures of 40°F to 140°F
• Pathogenic bacteria do not multiply above 140°F and do not multiply if the food is below 40°F (except Listeria).

Why Foodborne Illness is So Common

• Mishandling of food
• Preference for food cooked "rare" foods
• Increased number of older adults and use of immunosuppressant medications
• Centralized food production
• Increased ready-to-eat foods

What Foods Are Most at Risk?

• Raw and undercooked animal foods (meat, poultry, eggs, unpasteurized milk, seafood)
• Deli meats
• Raw vegetables, fruits (leafy greens and sprouts).

What Are the Common Causes of FBI?

• The top five bacterial causes of foodborne illness include Norovirus, Salmonella (non-typhoidal), Clostridium perfringens, Campylobacter, Staphylococcus aureus.
• Other causes of foodborne illness include Toxoplasma gondii, E. coli O157, Vibrio.
• Viral causes include Hepatitis A, Norovirus, and others (list the other viral causes in the notes)

Bacterial Causes of Foodborne Illness

• Several different bacteria cause FBI. The note includes names of various bacteria, sources, time of illness onset, duration of illness, and symptoms.

Viral Causes of FBI

• Several different viruses cause FBI. Includes names of various viruses, sources, time of illness onset, duration of illness, and symptoms.

Parasites

• Parasites can cause foodborne illness.
• Protozoa and helminths (Tapeworms, Trichinella spiralis) are examples.

What Is Being Done About FBI?

• Historical efforts (e.g., the Food and Drug Act) aimed at protecting the food supply
• Current challenges/outbreaks are larger and more extensive
• Agencies involved in preventing and monitoring foodborne illness (USDA, FDA, EPA, CDC)

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act

• Signed into law in 2011
• Aims to prevent foodborne illness
• New inspection and compliance tools
• Increased standards for imported foods

Agencies Responsible for Monitoring U.S. Food Supply

• List and describe roles of USDA, FDA, EPA, and CDC

What Can (Should) You Do?

• Clean (wash hands and surfaces)
• Separate (avoid cross-contamination)
• Cook (cook food to proper temperature)
• Chill (refrigerate foods promptly).

Specific Instructions for Clean, Separate, Cook, Chill

• Detailed information provided
  • Cleaning, separating, cooking, and chilling food

Summary

• Foodborne illness is common
• Contamination happens in various stages of the food production process
• For safe food, follow good food handling practices, pay attention to recalls, and use Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill practices.

Test your knowledge on food-borne illness and food safety with this informative quiz. Learn about the causes, prevention strategies, and the importance of food safety in your daily life. Stay informed about recent outbreaks and their impacts on public health.