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Emerging Issues in Food Safety
Dr Kalpagam Polasa*, Ph. D.
Scientist ‘F’ & HoD FDTRC and
Dr. B. Sesikeran*, MD, FAMSDirector
*National Institute of Nutrition(Indian Council of Medical Research)
Hyderabad – 500 604Email: [email protected]
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Eating Food is a Risky Process
Native Immunity and traditional Culinary practices are major
protective factors
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Climate change and Food safety
Eco system changes lead to more pests, less predators,more vectors for microbes
Unseasonal rains – humidity and fungal growth
Flooding – water contamination- soil contamination- unsafe food
Higher Ocean temperatures- algal blooms- harbour Vibrios in spore like forms- Novel strains' eg O139 Bengal
Changes in aquatic life and formation of marine biotoxins in sea foods due to production of phytotoxins by harmful algae
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New food borne pathogens
Campylobacter jejuni-poultry meat and unpasteurised milk
Listeria monocytogenes-milk, cheese, vegetables and meat products
E.coli 0157:H7-. Water and cooked maize, meat products
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NANOTECHNOLOGY IN FOOD INDUSTRY – SAFETY ISSUE
As of March 8, 2006, 212 products or product lines were using nanotechnology of which 19 were food and beverage products
Nano Sensors in Pathogen detection
Nano drops in oil – healthier oil
Silver nano and nano composites in packaging
“There is no hard evidence that nanomaterials in products on the market will harm humans or the environment, but there is enough evidence to say that we need to reexamine.''
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Functional Foods – Safety Functional foods natural food, a food to which a component has been added, a food from which a component has been removed, a food where the nature of one or more components has
been modified, a food in which the bioavailability of one or more
components has been modified or any combination of these possibilities. Due to their diversity all functional foods require a case by
case evaluation for their safety. This process must include both nutritional and
toxicological evaluation.
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Food Vs Drug
Food- Conventional
Foods for special dietary use eg convalescence, pregnancy, lactation, underweight/ overweight, hypoallergenic etc
Medical Foods- for distinctive disease conditions eg DM, HTN,CRF etc
Dietary Supplements- vitamins, minerals, herbs, amino acids, concentrates, extracts- not a meal or part of a meal
If for prevention, mitigation, treatment or cure- Drug
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Upper safe limit of Nutrients
Fixing upper safety limit for intake of essential nutrients and it should be applied to functional foods and their bioactive components.
For eg. Increase in soy consumption can reduce risk of heart disease but exaggerated soy intake may increase risk of tumor proliferation in some individuals.
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Nutrient Risk Assessment
Science based upper levels of intake
Helps policies for food standards
and fortification guidelines
Risk Assessment is required
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Steps in Risk Assessment
Hazard Identification- scientific review
Specify Dose response- establish upper level
Intake /Exposure assessment
Risk characterization- public health impact
Too little nutrients and too much nutrients – both are
safety issues
Nutrient risk assessments have to be life stage
specific eg adolescents, lactating. Aging populations
etc
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Biotechnology derived foods and products
Approved vs unapproved
Detection methods and limits
Toxicity and Allergenicity data
Labelling requirement
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Factors for Substantiation of Nutritional Safety
Sl. No
Factors
1 Source and origin of food
2 Nutrient composition
3 Presence of anti-nutritional factors
4 Methods of production and / or preparation
5 Technical specification including preparation
6Purpose to indicate rationale behind the development of functional food
7Instruction for storage and use including frequency, dose and duration in relation to dietary recommendations
8Interactions with other components of diet and bioavailability
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Factors for Substantiation of Nutritional Safety (Contd..)
9 Overall toxicological assessment including toxicokinetics, genotoxicity / intolerance
10Implications for possible changes in gut microflora
11 History of safe use
12Effect on metabolism and physiological functions in human
13Potential effects on vulnerable groups like infants, elderly, etc.
14Relation to current dietary recommendations / targets
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OUTBREAK HANDLING MECHANISMS, EARLY DETECTION AND TRACEABILITY
Enhance surveillance and build an early warning system.
Equip Central and other state health departments with state of the art technology – Rapidly Diagnose, Track, Communicate, Control and Prevent
Create a national electronic network for rapid finger print comparison.
Improve responses to food borne outbreaks -states and other governmental bodies with expertise and resources should share responsibility for outbreak response.
Establish inter-state governmental food borne outbreak response coordinating group
Impose risk assessment and establish an interagency risk assessment consortium.
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OUTBREAK HANDLING MECHANISMS, EARLY DETECTION AND TRACEABILITY
Develop new research methods that are rapid cost effective for presence of food pathogens.
Document emerging pathogen resistance and develop techniques for prevention and control of pathogens.
Improve inspection, compliance
Strict implementation of HACCP wherever necessary (processed foods, meat products). Preventive measures for fresh fruits, juices, milk, milk products and other high risk commodities.
Identify preventive measures to address public health problems associated with produce, eg. Staphycococcus, salmonella in khoa, hepatitis A in frozen strawberries. These measures will be identified by inspection, sampling and analytical methods.
Mandatory Food safety education and licensing of all stake holders, starting from producers to consumers.
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FOOD SAFETY AND BIOTERRORISM
The US FDA has listed the following pathogens or pathogen products that could be used in biological warfare:
Smallpox (variola)
Anthrax (Bacillus anthracis)
Plague (yersinia pestis)
Tularemia (Francisella tularensis)
Brucellosis (Brucella abortus)
Q fever (Coxiella burnellii)
Botulism toxin (produced by clostridium botulinun)
Staphylococcal enterotoxin B
New products to diagnose, counter and treat these public health threats
Creation of civil emergency group to tackle emergencies.
Create awareness among food handlers and follow practices of basic food safety handling
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FOOD SAFETY AND BIOTERRORISM
Enhance our ability to identify food
safety risks
Improve our inspections of domestic
and imported foods
Foreign food suppliers are required
to register
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SAFETY CONCERNS FOLLOWING FOOD PROCESSING
Safety of bottled water• Water source• Piping treatment process and bottling equipment• GMP• Packaging• Quality control system
Safety of soft drinks• Microbial contamination• Packaging material• Chemicals, additives• Equipment used in processing• Formation of mutagens / carcinogens like Nitrosamines in foods and beverages
Processed foods – Transfat• Intake of transfatty acids from partially hydrogenated vegetable oils have
deleterious effect on cardiovascular health.• TFA are more atherogenic and high intake can promote insulin resistance.• Mandatory addition of the levels of TFA to nutrition labeling would enable
consumers to make healthier choice.
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SAFETY OF BOTANICALS IN TRADITIONAL FOODS
1. Different types of products fall under the umbrella of
“natural products with health benefits”.
2. Supplements or foods containing high levels of nutrients
or other compounds can have effects on presence of
other nutrients in adequate amounts. This can occur as
a result of destruction of nutrients reduction of availability of nutrients inference with utilization of nutrients decrease in food intake
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SAFETY OF BOTANICALS IN TRADITIONAL FOODS
3. Traditional foods are considered safe as they have long history of use. However, if they are modified by processing or by any other method their substantial equivalence and nutrient content analysis has to be done.
4. For example, oats and psyllium have long history of safe use and now are claimed to reduce risk of CHD. In animals increased cell proliferation in GI tract, allergic reactions in some people and gastrointestinal obstruction have been reported when they were evaluated at the likely level of consumption.
5. Consumption of fenugreek at high levels can cause crystaluria in some individuals.
The safety of traditionally consumed food components should be in levels consumed in age old practice, but not in high levels.
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SAFETY OF BOTANICALS IN TRADITIONAL FOODS
6. Method for safe preparation of some plants such as cassava are known in cultures that depend on it as a staple but its introduction into a naïve market place could cause cyanide poisoning.
7. Another example, hypoglycin A in unripe ackee fruit causes a devastating illness called Jamaican vomiting sickness. Ripe, seedless pericarp of this plant is desirable and safe and ackee is Jamaican National Fruit.
8. Canned ackee fruit is prohibited into US until a quality assurance that toxic levels of hypoglycin is not present in product is given.
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FOOD CONTACT WITH SUBSTANCES
Packaging innovation to ensure food safety as certain components of packing like printing inks, labels, colours, seals can affect food quality.
Innovative packaging like vaccum packaging, controlled atmosphere or modified atmospheric packaging (CAP or MAP). MAP involves sealing package under vaccum or one time gas flushing and sealing. Three types of gases may be used singly or in combination namely nitrogen, carbondioxide and oxygen.
Active Packaging – includes additives capable of scavenging or absorbing oxygen, CO2, ethylene, moisture, odour and flavours. May have powder sachet of iron and calcium hydroxide.
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Intelligent Packaging
Provides way to monitor and relay information regarding the status of contents and verifies information. Food packaging manufacturers have developed several innovative intelligent packages that include time, temperature indicators, antitheft and use RFID devices.
Toxicity testing of food packaging materials have to be done in animals as human data are rarely available.
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Materials other than plastic
Glass – has been used for many years, may result in leaching of lead.
Ceramics – may result in leaching of heavy metals particularly when in contact with acidic beverages like fruit juices.
Cans – food packed in tin cans with lead soldered seams are a source of a number of metals, including lead, chromium, tin and cadmium.
Safety assessment of food packaging material requires knowledge of chemical toxicity, migration and technological developments.
Human exposure data can be collected wherever possible
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FRAUD RELATED ISSUES – (MISLEADING TO POISONING)
Adulteration eg. Melamine
International contamination of food / feed may occur due to
Adulteration with other ingredients, ignoring hazards due to thoughtlessness or lack of knowledge.
Withholding information necessary for preventive or curative measures and irresponsible information policy, incomplete information or mislabeling.
Using techniques or processes known to be highly risky or totally out of date.
Using unclean or inappropriate (illegal) containers or means of transportation for food / feed.
Irresponsible handling of contaminated solid or liquid waters
Neglecting basic rules of (food) hygiene or disease control.
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Chemical Contamination
Severe accidents related to heavy metals (lead,
methyl mercury, copper) are known
Toxic oil syndrome – intended adulteration of
edible oils(argemone oil)
Mycotoxin contamination
Deterioration of food to improper storage
(transportation)
Microbial contamination (unintended) (Vibrio
cholerae, salmonellosis Listeria monocytogenes).
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GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC DIFFERENCES IN POPULATIN AND DIFFERENTIAL RESPONSES TO FOOD AND FOOD
INGREDIENTS
Genetic predisposition is important determinant in
sensitization of food / components.
In food allergic individuals IgE is produced
against naturally occurring food components
primarily glycoproteins that retain their
allergenicity even after heating.
Common allergens: cow milk, goat milk, egg, fish,
shelfish, meat, pollen, chocolates, some nuts,
recombinant products.
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Clinical intolerance
Freeze dried egg may be more allergic than heated
egg. Ovomucoid is the major allergenic protein in
egg white.
Allergic reaction to kiwi fruit is known in adults /
children. The allergen is 30 kDa cysteine protease
Apple, banana are also known to cause
allergenicity.
Herbicides and Fungicides modulate allergenicty of
apple
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Allergies to carrot and garden herbs are linked to celery allergy.
Other vegetables are lettuce, zucchini, tomatoes, potatoes. Cooked form can be eaten by allergic patients without untoward effects
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Cereals and baked products:
Inhalent respiratory reactions to wheat described as baker’s asthma.
The water soluble wheat proteins and insoluble gliadins have been implicated in IgE mediated allergy.
These are thermostable and even long time baking under high temperature does not reduce their allergenicity.
Infact baking may increase the resistance of potential allergen in wheat flour by proteolytic digestion and allow them to reach GI tract intact.
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Food Intolerance :
Lactase Deficiency
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Nutrient drug interaction :
Grape fruit juices and other juices may alter drug metabolism.
Foods and herbs that contain pharmacologically active compounds can inhibit cytochrome P450 system.
Dietary flavanoids can inhibit activities of several DMEs.
Foods that affect intestinal or hepatic metabolism of drugs can cause treatment failure or drug induced toxicity.
Other botanicals like Guargum used as Stabilizer, thickening agent in cheese, salads dressings, ice cream and soups can prolong gastric retention and reported to slow absorption of digoxin, paracetamol bumetanide and decrease absorption of metformin, phenoxymethyl pencillin and glibenclamide
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SAFE FOOD FOR ALLShared responsibility
Government Consumer Industry/Trade
Information gathering andResearch
Community Participation
Trained managers andFood Handlers
Provision of HealthRelated services
Active consumerGroups
Information labelingand
Consumer Education
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SAFE FOOD FOR ALLShared responsibility
Government Consumer Industry/Trade
Food legislation and enforcement
Educated and knowledgeable public
Good practices by primary producers anddistributors
Advice for industry/ Trade
Consumer Education
Discriminative and Selective consumers
Quality assurance andcontrol of processedfoods
Safe food practice inthe Home
Appropriate process and Technology
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Rapid alert System for Food and feed- July 2003-07
Category %
Alerts 29
Information 71
Product Category %
Nuts 25
Seafood 19
Spice and condiments 10
Hazard Category %
Chemical 44
Mycotoxin- Aflatoxin 29
Microbiological-salmonella 17
Kleter et al ;FCT, 47(2009) 932-950
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Rapid Alert System for Food and feed- July 2003-07- Chemical hazards
Category %
Alerts 37
Information 63
Product Category %
Seafood 30
Spice and condiments 15
Substance Category %
Dyes- Sudan I, IV 21
Heavy Metals- Cd, Hg 16
Drug Residue- Nitrofurazone
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Allergens- Sulfite, SO2 11
Pesticide- several 7
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Future Requirements
Establishing Good Practices in Food Chain
Risk Assessment and Management shall be a part of all regulatory approvals
Monitoring,Sampling,Identifying,
Documenting, Alerting, Acting, Tracking Preventing - Safety Net
Data generation where there are knowledge gaps
Effective communication mechanisms
From reaction and response to anticipation and prevention
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Good Practices in Food Chain
Good Agricultural Practices- land use , pesticide use Good Catering Practices- ensure food served is safe
and wholesome Good Hygiene Practices- Good Laboratory Practices- Quality control and
analytical labs Good Manufacturing Practices Good Retail Practices- tracing system to track faulty
product- use RFID and GPS Good Storage Practices Good Transport Practices Good Nutrition and House keeping Practices
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Thank You and
Safe Eating