|
The purpose of these datasheets is to give a background to the global economic importance of the food groups concerned, as well as to summarize; the main factors (husbandry, genetics, product handling, etc.) affecting product quality, and the principal threats to human health regarding contamination or adulteration of derivative products, giving a breakdown of critical control points and food safety interventions throughout the food management chain. In addition, a section on quality assurance gives a summary and examples of quality assurance schemes introduced to improve the marketing potential of the products in question.
The following food product group datasheets that have been added to the Compendium as part of the Food Safety and Quality (FSQ) enhancement:
As well as a small archive of images, each of these datasheets contains the following texts and information:
Names
List of names of the food group, including major products and important
derivative products.
Overview
A summary of the history and global importance of the food products covered in
the datasheet; including trends in production and trade, cultural importance of the products in different parts of the world and related differences in food preparation methods, and preferences for different food quality parameters in the raw product
Products
A list of products associated with the food group.
Critical Control Points and Interventions
A categorized summary of the most important Critical Control Points in the food management chain at which control can be applied to prevent or reduce to an acceptable level, the risk of biological or non-biological contaminants in the products covered by
the datasheet. Some authors have also chosen to add comments on factors that may
affect food quality at specific levels in the food management chain. For a break
down of the various levels of the food management chains used to collect
information on the various types of eggs, meat and milk covered in the
Compendium, see the table in the 'Scope' section of the Preamble
to the FSQ enhancement.
Food Quality
Text giving information on the nutritional value of the food group covered, as
well as organoleptic and other associated quality parameters. Husbandry
practices and other factors affecting quality are also discussed.
Quality Assurance
Examples of quality assurance schemes specific to the particular food
product group are given; these might include assurance of food safety, particular
husbandry methods or geographical origin. Usually, examples have been chosen
from the country in which the author of the datasheet was based at the time of
writing.
References
References cited in the writing of the datasheet.
Links to Websites
Useful sources of further information relating to the food group available on
the Internet.
Related Library Documents
Items contained within the Animal Health and Production Compendium's archive of
reference materials that are of particular relevance and have been linked to the
datasheet.
The approach to the design of these datasheets was to try to provide a starting point for the compilation of a Microbial Risk Assessment (MRA) report for the respective organism(s) covered. Definitions of the nomenclature used in the headings of text sections for these datasheets, were provided to authors from Procedural Manual of the Codex Alimentarius Commission - Twelfth Edition (see Definitions). For an introduction to MRAs, see Voysey P, 2006. Risk assessment - introduction. In: Buncic S, ed. Integrated food safety and veterinary public health. Wallingford, UK: CAB International, 45-51, which is available as a PDF document in the Library archive of this Compendium.
bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions
Campylobacter spp. (C. coli, C. jejuni)
Escherichia coli O157:H7 and E. coli EHEC
Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis
Salmonella (S. Enteritidis, S. Typhimurium)
Trichinella spp. (T. nativa, T. nelsoni, T. pseudospiralis, T. spiralis)
Yersinia enterocolitica (pathogenic biotypes; 1B, 2, 3, 4, and 5) and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis
As well as a small archive of images, each of these datasheets contains the following texts and information:
Pathogens
Links to Pathogen datasheets for the organism(s) in question, giving further
information about the pathogens themselves.
Human Disease Names
List of disease names, including the WHO International Classification of
Diseases names and codes, for foodborne diseases caused by the organism(s) in
humans.
Related Diseases in Animals
List of diseases caused by the organism(s) covered in animals, linked to
respective animal disease datasheets.
Overview
Brief summary of the context, history and taxonomy of the pathogen(s) and the
disease(s), indicating the important of the disease(s) and the severity of the disease(s)
caused in humans. The animal products most likely to carry the pathogen(s) are
described along with the levels of the food management chain the pathogen(s) or toxin(s) are likely to enter.
Hazard Identification
Summary of the nature of the threat to human health caused by the respective pathogen(s). Information
is presented to illustrate the importance of foodborne transmission as compared with other forms of transmission
in the epidemiology of the disease caused in humans. This may involve use of public health data on the incidence of disease caused by the pathogen(s) in food products or reference to reports in which the pathogen(s) has been identified as the cause of specific outbreaks or cases.
Hazard Characterization
The disease(s) or adverse effects caused by the respective pathogen(s) as a result of food consumption by
humans are summarized. This may include a dose-response assessment of morbidity and fatality and a list of 'at-risk' groups (e.g., children under the age of 5 years, patients with immunodeficiency, etc.).
A brief summary of what is known of incubation time(s), symptoms and, if relevant, long-term effects of the disease(s) caused should also be included.
The disease(s) in humans are described to a level of detail that should be adequate to communicate the threat to human health caused by the pathogen(s) without detailed descriptions of disease aetiology, pathology, effects on human physiology etc.
An indication of the usual methods, efficacy and costs of treating the disease(s) caused to humans
is given in this section. Special mention should be made in this text of any record of antimicrobial drug resistance of the pathogen(s), giving all relevant details; strain(s) identified, antimicrobials tested, year, geographic and bibliographic references.
Epidemiology and Disease Surveillance
This text includes a summary of what is known of the epidemiology of the disease(s) caused by the pathogen(s) in
humans, as well as any specific surveillance methods used for these pathogen(s), including subtyping methods and any international collaborations or networks specializing in surveillance of the
pathogen(s). However, actual detection techniques are covered in the section,
'Detection, Isolation, Confirmation, Subtyping'.
Critical Control Points and Interventions
Tabulated text(s) on the basis of food management chains (see 'Scope' in Preamble;
Dairy Supply Chain, Egg Supply Chain, Meat Supply Chain) used to summarize the Critical Control Points
and food safety interventions in the food management chain at which control can be applied to prevent or reduce to an acceptable level, the
risk of foodborne disease in humans caused by the pathogen(s).
Pathogen Growth and Survival
A summary of the behaviour and growth of the pathogen(s) in or on foods, taking into account both intrinsic and extrinsic factors such as optimum temperature, pH, and atmospheric and water
activity.
Detection, Isolation, Confirmation, Subtyping
Specific methods used to detect the pathogen in different stages of the food management
chain are described. This might include gross examinations such as veterinary meat inspection, standard milk testing procedures such as somatic cell counts, or other methods such as culture, electrical, bioluminescence, microscopy, immunological or genetic
techniques.
Trade and Legislation
A summary of the impact of the organism(s) on national and international trade, with particular emphasis on the role of legislation in controlling the organism as a food contaminant.
Risk Communication
A brief description of how the risk of contamination of food products or foodborne transmission of the pathogen(s) can be effectively communicated to and between interested parties throughout the food supply chain.
The text may include examples of common misconceptions that have been identified within the general public regarding the risk to health this pathogen(s) poses and how Risk Communication to consumers can be improved.
References
References cited in the writing of the datasheet.
Links to Websites
Useful sources of further information relating to the microbiological pathogen(s)
covered that are available on
the Internet.
Related Library Documents
Items contained within the Animal Health and Production Compendium's archive of
reference materials that are of particular relevance to the pathogen(s) covered and have been linked to the
datasheet.
The purpose of Contaminant Class datasheets is to provide overview coverage of a particular set of contaminants, picking up common themes throughout the respective set of foodborne hazards. Again, as with the Microbiological Foodborne pathogen datasheets, a risk assessment approach has been taken in designing the content of the Contaminant Class datasheets.
The following Contaminant Class datasheets have been included in the Food Safety and Quality enhancement of the AHPC:
Chlorinated organic compounds as contaminants of food
Foodborne biological pathogens
As well as a small archive of images, each of these datasheets contains the following texts and information:
Names
Names given to the particular type of foodborne hazards and some of the most
common hazards within the classification.
Related Contaminants
A list of datasheets covering related contaminants or hazards (members of the
'Contaminant Class' covered).
Overview
This text describes the main features of this category of contaminant and the adverse effect(s) that are caused in humans.
The animal products most likely to carry the contaminants are described and at which levels of the food management chain the contaminants are likely to enter.
Epidemiology
The epidemiology of the disease(s) caused by these types of contaminants in
humans is described, mentioning the levels of the food supply chain at which surveillance
can be most effectively carried out with regards to prevention of foodborne illness caused by this classification of contaminants in humans.
Hazard Identification
The nature of the threats to human health caused by these types of contaminants
are described; including both acute and chronic effects. Information is presented to illustrate the importance of foodborne transmission as compared with other forms of transmission (aerosol inhalation, contact through the environment, etc.) in the epidemiology of the disease(s) caused in humans. This may involve reference to reports or incidents of contaminants of this type being identified as the cause of specific outbreaks or cases of disease.
Hazard Characterization
The disease(s) or adverse effects caused by this classification of contaminants as a result of food consumption by
humans are summarized. This may include reference to dose-response assessment of morbidity and fatality and a list of 'at-risk' groups if appropriate (e.g., children under the age of 5 years, patients with immunodeficiency, etc.).
An indication of the usual methods, efficacy and costs of treating the disease(s) caused to humans
are also given in this section.
Exposure Assessment
The usual levels of this type of contaminant in various types of food at the time of exposure to
humans are compared with the critical levels of exposure required to cause disease in humans.
Risk Characterization
The sections on Hazard Identification, Hazard Characterization and Exposure Assessment
are reviewed with the objective of describing how they can be used in determining, as quantitatively as possible, the overall probability of the occurrence of the disease(s) caused by these types of contaminant in humans.
The summary should clearly define the usual assumptions that have to be made in determining the threat posed by these types of contaminants and the statistical and biological uncertainties associated with calculating the risks presented by them.
Critical Control Points and Interventions
The main Critical Control Points in the food management chain at which control can be applied to prevent or reduce to an acceptable level, contaminants of this classification in
food are discussed. Text(s) are tabulated text(s) on the basis of food management chains (see 'Scope' in Preamble;
Dairy Supply Chain, Egg Supply Chain, Meat Supply Chain) of the various
groupings of food products.
Trade and Legislation
The impact of this type of contaminant on national and international trade is
discussed with particular emphasis on the role of legislation.
Risk Communication
Methods used to describe and effectively communicate the risk of contamination of food products or foodborne transmission of the contaminants between interested parties throughout the food supply
chain are described. In addition this text should address common misconceptions that have been identified within the general public regarding the risk to health
the particular type of contaminant poses and how Risk Communication to consumers can be improved.
References
References cited in the writing of the datasheet.
Links to Websites
Useful sources of further information relating to the particular group of
foodborne health hazards covered that are available on
the Internet.
Related Library Documents
Items contained within the Animal Health and Production Compendium's archive of
reference materials that are of particular relevance to the foodborne hazards covered and have been linked to the
datasheet.
