Food Supply Contamination

Extracted Attributes

• Type of Hazard

  Physical

• Mitigation Strategy

  Bioplastics (alternative to industrial plastics)

• Cause of Contamination

  Intentional adulteration

• Source of Contamination

  Deliberate

• Effect of Chemical Hazards

  Delayed symptom onset

• Chemical Contaminant Example

  Microplastics

• Effect of Phthalates/Microplastics

  Endocrine disruption

Timeline

• Chemical contaminants, including environmental pollutants, heavy metals, mycotoxins, natural toxins, and veterinary medicine residues, continue to be a challenge in food safety due to their cumulative low doses and delayed symptom onset. (Source: Wikipedia)

  Ongoing

• A study revealed high levels of phthalates in popular foods from Chipotle, Wendy's, and the organic brand Annie's. (Source: related_documents)

  Recent

• The University of New Mexico detected microplastics in human testicles, highlighting systemic industrial pollution. (Source: related_documents)

  Recent

List of food contamination incidents

Food may be accidentally or deliberately contaminated by microbiological, chemical or physical hazards. In contrast to microbiologically caused foodborne illness, the link between exposure and effect of chemical hazards in foods is usually complicated by cumulative low doses and the delay between exposure and the onset of symptoms. Chemical hazards include environmental contaminants, food ingredients (such as iodine), heavy metals, mycotoxins, natural toxins, improper storage, processing contaminants, and veterinary medicines. Incidents have occurred because of poor harvesting or storage of grain, use of banned veterinary products, industrial discharges, human error and deliberate adulteration and fraud.

Web Search Results

• The Sources of Chemical Contaminants in Food and Their Health ...

  . Food contamination from the chemical sources includes the accidental mixing of chemical supplies in food or the chemicals in the animal feed or antibiotic injections given to poultry animals (Martin and Beutin, 2011). Several parasites are also present in the food by symbiotic relations between the organism and the parasite. Numerous of these cause foodborne infections and outbreaks. A broad categorizing of these parasites is presented in Table 1A (Newell et al., 2010). ### Table 1A. [...] ### Figure 1. Image 10: Figure 1 Open in a new tab Food contamination. (A) Contamination in the food production and processing. (B) Contamination due to environmental influences. [...] 58. Schafer K. (2002). Persistent toxic chemicals in the US food supply. J. Epidemiol. Commun. Health 56, 813–817. 10.1136/jech.56.11.813 [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar] 59. Schantz S., Gardiner J., Gasior D., McCaffrey R., Sweeney A., Humphrey H. (2004). Much ado about something: the weight of evidence for PCB effects on neuropsychological function. Psychol. Schools 41, 669–679. 10.1002/pits.20008 [DOI] [Google Scholar]

• Post-Outbreak Response and Prevention Strategies - FDA

  The FDA oversees the safety of the U.S. food supply and is responsible for helping to protect consumers from foodborne illnesses. Outbreaks of foodborne illness occur when food is contaminated with disease-causing bacteria or pathogens, potentially leading to illnesses that may range from mild to severe, and in some cases, death. Effective protection against these outbreaks requires not only a rapid response once they occur but also a concerted effort to prevent them from happening in the first [...] Review outbreak trends associated with certain commodities. Exploring environmental factors that may contribute to contamination in various locations, such as facilities or in more open landscapes like farms. Understanding and adhering to traceback. The FDA’s traceback process examines the complex path of food as it travels through the supply chain and how FDA works with interest holders during this process.

• CDC and Food Safety

  Challenges to food safety will continue to arise, in part because of: Changes in food production and our food supply, including central processing and widespread distribution, which mean a single contaminated food can make people sick in different parts of the country or even the world. New and emerging antimicrobial resistance. Unexpected sources of foodborne illness, such as flour and onions. Resources CDC and Food Safety Fact Sheet

• Food Contamination and Foodborne Illness Prevention

  Food and kitchen tools and surfaces may become contaminated from raw food products (i.e., meat and poultry). Microbes can be transferred from one food to another by using the same knife, cutting board or other utensil without washing the surface or utensil in between uses. A food that is fully cooked can become re-contaminated if it touches other raw foods or drippings from raw foods that contain pathogens. [...] Prevent Cross-Contamination Cross-contamination is the physical movement or transfer of harmful bacteria from one person, object or place to another. [...] + Frozen Chicken + Eggs + Home Made Ice Cream + Wild Game + Turkey + Hamburger + Fish and Seafood + Fruits and vegetables + Raw Milk + Irradiation and Pasteurization Food Safety in Emergencies Alerts and Recalls Print Materials

• Contamination Contributing Factors | Restaurant Food Safety - CDC

  The food was contaminated before arriving at the point of final preparation by animal or environmental sources, either pre-harvest (e.g., growing field, harvest area, irrigation water, etc.) or post-harvest (e.g., processing or distribution facility, in warehouse storage, during transit, etc.). [...] The food was contaminated at point of final preparation/sale (e.g., restaurant, private home, etc.) by animal or environmental source(s), such as from dripping, flooding, airborne contamination, access of insects or rodents, and other situations conducive to contamination. Examples of this type of contributing factor include: C7 Food contaminated by animal or environmental source before arriving at point of final preparation (pre- or post-harvest) [...] C8 Cross-contamination of foods, excluding infectious food workers/handlers The pathogen was transferred to the food source from contaminated surfaces, foods, and/or fomites to include, but not limited to, food worker's hands, cutting boards, preparation tables, utensils, processing lines, etc. Examples of this type of contributing factor include: C9 Contamination from infectious food worker/handler through bare hand contact with food