FOOD CONTAMINANTS
Food contaminants are substances that are unintentionally or accidentally incorporated into food as a result of:
- Storage and industrial pollution
- Packaging
- Processing
- Agricultural pratices
Selected Food Contaminants
- Pesticides
- Metal residues
- Plastic and other packaging
Food Contaminants Which Cause Hazards Are:-
Biological hazards include:-
- Bacteria
- Fungus
- Virus
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Microorganisms which are pathogenic in human and are associated with food contaminants are termed food-borne pathogens.Sometimes it is also called food poisoning.There are two types of food borne disease from microbial pathogens ie Infections and Intoxicants.
Trace Chemicals
Chemical hazards associated with foods can be divided into :-
- Naturally occuring
- Indirectly added
- Directly added
Toxic chemicals occur in foods at levels can cause acute and immediate food poisoining symptoms. In lower levels, it may represent chronic or long term risks and indirectly promote chronic disease. For example:
- Lead
- Mercury
- Plumbum
Physical Hazards
Food may contain physical hazards such as:
- Stones
- Plastics
- Glass fragment
- Small bit of metal
These materials can become part of the foods and is said to be contaminated. It may be contaminated during processing and packaging.All substances within the categories can be thought of as carrying some degree of health risk because no food is risk free.
| Material |
Injury potential |
Sources |
| Glass |
cuts,bleeding,may require surgery to remove |
Utensils, bottles jars |
| Stones |
Choking,broken teeth |
Building fields |
| Plastics |
Choking,cuts,infection |
Packging material |
| Metals |
cuts, infection |
Machinery,wire |
