1.2: The Importance of Protecting Food

Following proper food safety procedures is important to protect your customers. In 1973, 75 million cans of mushrooms were recalled due to a Botulism outbreak (Jarvie, 2014, Part 2). This was the first major recall of canned food in the United States and coincided with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) beginning to track foodborne-related illnesses and deaths. As recently as 2011, the United States has had significant changes in food regulation, starting with the Food Safety Modernization Act, considered the most important food safety legislation passed in the last 70 years. This Act focused on prevention and tighter regulation.

The CDC is the organization most responsible for protecting the health of the American people. The CDC works within the food service community, tracking and investigating illnesses and outbreaks. Its purpose is to make and recommend rules and regulations to prevent and stop outbreaks of all kinds. The CDC defines food safety as preventing and reducing the risk of foodborne illness (CDC, n.d.). You have probably heard someone say they have food poisoning. Food poisoning is an illness that occurs when someone eats or drinks something contaminated with a physical, chemical, or biological hazard. You will also hear it referred to as a foodborne illness, foodborne disease, or foodborne infection. These all refer to sickness that has been caused by the consumption of food. In the remainder of this text we will refer to the illness caused by food as a “foodborne illness (FBI)”. The CDC estimates that each year, 48 million people get sick from a foodborne illness, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die (CDC, n.d.). The following graphic will gives a sample foods that are likely to cause an outbreak. Proteins such as chicken, pork, and beef are the most common foods associated with FBI.

Seward and Rodrcik state that almost any single definition of safe food will be overly simplified because safe food is a complex, multifaceted concept (2003). Food safety starts with production, manufacturing, and growing, which includes transport, sales, receiving, and storage before it reaches the kitchen and then on to the customer. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration administers major food recalls to protect the public. This is one layer of the multilayered and complex population feeding program that exists in modern society (FDA Office of Inspections and Investigations. (n.d.).

(link to most recent recalls), https://www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-market-withdrawals-safety-alerts)

The food employee is responsible for continuing the process by handling food safely. The public expects common standards and safe handling practices when ordering food. The expectation is that food employees will have a standard to follow regarding food safety, and the kitchen and servers will have the training to be trustworthy in producing and serving food. A foodborne illness outbreak is defined by the CDC as an occurance of two or more people getting the same illness from the same contaminated food or drink (CDC, n.d.). An outbreak of this kind will affect the customers and the business’s future and reputation. An outbreak can result in affected customers missing work, causing economic hardships for them and the business involved. Some illnesses might not be severe, but others can lead to death. It is estimated that 110 billion dollars (US) are lost yearly in productivity and medical expenses resulting from unsafe food in low- and middle-income countries (World Health Organization, 2024). Many of these instances can be prevented if food safety practices are taught and applied.

The goal of food safety education is to provide the knowledge needed to produce a secure food source for everyone. This goal aims to create an enjoyable food experience while ensuring our food is safe. When all participating parties in the entire food chain, including food processors, suppliers, the government, and food service workers, play their role in food safety, this goal can be achieved.