First Reading: Read the text and decide whether each of the following statement is True or False. Food Safety and Foodborne I llness 1. Food safety is an increasingly important public health issue. Governments all over the world are making their efforts to improve food safety. These efforts are in response to an increasing number of food safety problems and rising consumer concerns. 2. Foodborne illnesses are defined as diseases, usually caused by eating food or drinking beverages contaminated with bacteria or parasites. Every person is at risk of foodborne illness. 3. Foodborne diseases are a widespread and growing public health problem, both in developed and developing countries. 4. The global incidence of foodborne disease is difficult to estimate, but it has been reported that in 2005 alone 1.8 million people died from diarrheal diseases. A great proportion of these cases can be attributed to contamination of food and drinking water. Additionally, diarrhea is a major cause of malnutrition in infants and young children. 5. In industrialized countries, the percentage of the population suffering from foodborne diseases each year has been reported to be up to 30%. In the United States of America (USA), for example, around 76 million cases of foodborne diseases, resulting in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths, are estimated to occur each year. 6. While less well documented, developing countries bear the main impact of the problem due to the presence of a wide range of foodborne diseases, including those caused by parasites. The widespread diarrheal diseases in many developing countries suggest major underlying food safety problems. 7. While most foodborne diseases are occasional and often not reported, foodborne disease outbreaks may take on massive proportions. For example, in 1994, an outbreak of salmonellosis due to contaminated ice cream occurred in the USA, affecting an estimated 224,000 persons. In 1988,an outbreak of hepatitis A, resulting from the consumption of contaminated clams, affected some 300, 000 individuals in China. 8. Major foodborne diseases are from microorganisms. Salmonellosis is a major problem in most countries. Salmonellosis is caused by the Salmonella bacteria. Examples of foods involved in outbreaks of salmonellosis are eggs, poultry and other meats, raw milk and chocolate. Campylobacteriosis is a widespread infection. It is caused by certain species of Campylobacter bacteria. And in some countries, the reported number of cases surpasses the incidence of salmonellosis. 9. Food contamination creates an enormous social and economic burden on communities and their health systems. The re-emergence of cholera in Peru in 1991 resulted in the loss of US $500 million in fish and fishery product exports that year. 10. The safety of food derived from biotechnology needs to be carefully assessed. To provide the scientific basis for decisions regarding human health, new methods and policies to assess such food need to be developed and agreed upon internationally. The assessment should consider health benefits as well as possible negative health implications. Crops modified to resist pests, foods with allergens removed or food with an increase of essential nutrients are possible examples of the former, while antimicrobial markers in some genetically modified foods have been suggested to be an example of the latter. The weighing of potential risks and benefits is an important aspect of assessment of foods derived from biotechnology that has not received much attention in the past. Likewise, clear communication of the basis for safety assessment in this area is generally lacking at national and international levels. 11. If not properly monitored and assessed, changes in animal husbandry practices, including feeding, may have serious implications for food safety. For example, increased use of ruminant bone and meat meal as feed supplement for cattle appear to have played a role in the emergence of BSE. 12. Adding low levels of antibiotics to animal feed in order to increase growth rate has raised concern about the transfer of antibiotic resistance to human pathogens from this practice. 13. Modern intensive agricultural practices contribute to increasing the availability of affordable foodstuffs and the use of food additives can improve the quality, quantity and safety of the food supply. However, appropriate controls are necessary to ensure their proper and safe use along the entire food chain. Pre-market review and approval followed by continuous monitoring are necessary to ensure the safe use of pesticides, veterinary drugs and food additives. 14. Other challenges, which need to be addressed to help ensure food safety, include the globalization of trade in food, urbanization, changes in lifestyles, international travel, environmental pollution, deliberate contamination and natural and manmade disasters. The food production chain has become more complex, providing greater opportunities for contamination and growth of pathogens. Many outbreaks of foodborne diseases that were once contained within a small community may now take on global dimensions. (772 words) 1. Only people with poor health will be at risk of foodborne illness. 2. Foodborne diseases only appear in developing countries. 3. Major foodborne diseases are from microorganisms such as Salmonella bacteria and Campylobacter bacteria. 4. Methods and policies to assess the safety of food need to be developed and agreed upon internationally. 5. People are not concerned about adding low levels of antibiotics to animal feed in order to increase growth rate.