{"id":17978,"date":"2019-06-14T09:43:20","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T14:43:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcertification.com\/?p=17978"},"modified":"2020-03-06T17:27:41","modified_gmt":"2020-03-06T23:27:41","slug":"introduction-to-biological-food-hazards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/foodsafetytrainingcertification.com\/food-safety-news\/introduction-to-biological-food-hazards\/","title":{"rendered":"Introduction to Biological Food Hazards"},"content":{"rendered":"
Biological food hazards are biological agents that can pose a threat to human health. Biological hazards are the main causes of foodborne illness.<\/p>\n
Biological food hazards are also called foodborne pathogens – or infectious organisms that are capable of causing human disease. These pathogenic organisms include bacteria, viruses, and parasites. With the exception of certain parasites, most biological foodborne pathogens are microscopic.<\/p>\n
A food hazard is any agent that has the potential to pose a threat to human health or cause illness. When a hazardous agent comes in contact with food – it is called contamination.<\/p>\n
Food hazards are generally classified by their sources:<\/p>\n
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Biological Hazards:<\/strong> Biological hazards include bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Bacteria and viruses are responsible for most foodborne illnesses and are the biggest threat to food safety.<\/li>\n
Chemical Hazards:\u00a0<\/strong>Chemical hazards include natural toxins and chemical contaminants (cleaning and sanitizing agents, natural toxins, drugs, food additives, pesticides, industrial chemicals, and other toxins).\n
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Allergens: <\/strong>Food allergens are a sub-category of natural toxins within chemical hazards. Some people are sensitive to certain proteins in foods. The 8 major food allergens include: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish (lobster, crab, shrimp), wheat, soy, peanuts, and tree nuts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n
Physical Hazards:\u00a0<\/strong>Physical hazards are foreign objects which include glass, metal, plastic, bone chips, hair, insects, pest droppings, and other undesirable particles or objects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
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General Symptoms of Biological Foodborne Infections<\/h3>\n
The most common result of infections from biological agents is gastroenteritis. Gastroenteritis, also called the \u201cstomach flu\u201d, is the inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract – the stomach and small intestine – and is typically caused by a virus, bacteria, or parasite.<\/p>\n
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