Discover the various types of risks surrounding food consumption.
Biological risks associated with food consumption include contracting pathogenic bacteria, viruses and parasites, which can cause diseases. Most are microorganisms; while some parasites are visible to the naked eye, they still measure just a few millimetres in length.
Pathogenic microorganisms can proliferate in foods in certain conditions and at certain temperatures, reaching sufficient levels to cause infections in those who eat them. Some can produce toxins which accumulate in foods and can lead to food poisoning.
Keeping foods at refrigeration, freezing and deep-freezing temperatures slows down the proliferation of microorganisms, while keeping them at room temperature is conducive to their growth. Adequate cooking of food deactivates the main pathogens, rendering them harmless. However, once generated, some toxins can instead persist in food even after cooking. To prevent microorganisms from multiplying, it is therefore important to always follow good hygiene practices when purchasing, storing and preparing meals.
Food-borne toxinfections can lead to various health issues depending on the type of pathogen involved. In most healthy individuals, they cause gastrointestinal disorders, such as vomiting and diarrhoea, and flu-like symptoms which clear up within a few days. The effects can instead be more severe in some population groups, such as the elderly and immunocompromised individuals (in whom it can cause septicaemia, encephalitis, or meningitis) or pregnant women (in whom it can lead to premature birth, foetal malformations, and miscarriage).
Among the main pathogenic agents that can contaminate foods are:
Chemical food risks stem from the unintended presence of substances potentially detrimental to health such as natural toxins, environmental contaminants and residues of veterinary drugs used at farms.
Potentially harmful chemicals can also be generated by improper cooking procedures in both industry and the home, or by adverse effects of substances used in food manufacturing.
These substances can accumulate in food products and subsequently in the human body, with potentially toxic effects on various organs. Depending on the quantity, frequency and time of their consumption, harmful effects can occur within a short time interval (acute toxicity) or in the medium-long term (chronic toxicity).
Accordingly, the law sets maximum levels at which potentially harmful substances can be present in foodstuffs without posing a risk for consumers. These limits are used as part of regular official controls carried out by local health authorities and agri-food fraud units to guarantee food safety.
Most of the harmful chemical substances that can be found in foods are not removed by washing and cooking. To lower chemical risk, the first rule of thumb is to purchase foods from conventional sales channels, which are legally bound to perform self-control procedures and subject to official controls. Importantly, individuals should vary their diet and avoid always eating the same foods.
Below are some of the main chemical substances that can be found in foods and are detrimental to health:
Physical food risks occur when objects such as slivers of metal, glass, plastic, wood, or stone accidentally find their way into food items, potentially causing suffocation, cuts, digestive system injury or broken teeth in individuals who ingest them.
In the food manufacturing industry these risks are monitored by controlling the integrity of production line equipment or machinery prior to and after production or – in the case of metals – by installing a metal detector at the end of the production line. This is activated in the event of equipment damage causing the loss of metal fragments, or a screw or bolt accidentally becoming detached. The food being manufactured is consequently discarded and kept off the market.
However, physical risks can also occur in the catering industry or in domestic food preparation. For instance, a glass jar may turn out to have been broken or kitchen utensil components to be missing and have ended up in the meal being prepared. In such cases it is better to avoid risks by discarding rather than eating the food.
Physical risks are not limited to the presence of foreign bodies but can also be associated with the very components of the food itself. Fish or meat bones, for example, can cause suffocation, particularly when ingested by smaller children. Accordingly, they must be carefully removed during fish or meat preparation, particularly if they are to be eaten by children.
Intolerances and allergies are two ways in which the human organism can react to substances found in different foods.
An intolerance refers to a negative bodily reaction caused by difficulty in digesting or metabolising a food item or one of its constituents, such as carbohydrates, proteins, or lipids. Individuals with intolerances typically have enzymatic deficiencies or lack – or produce an insufficient amount of - specific proteins (enzymes) needed by the body to metabolise and assimilate certain foods or parts of them. These individuals can be born without them, or the intolerance can build up over time. One of the most common intolerances in southern Europe is towards lactose, i.e. the sugar contained in milk.
Intolerance is closely linked to the ingested quantity of non-tolerated food (dose-dependent). Intolerance symptoms can take the form of diarrhoea, bloating and stomach cramps; they can also appear a while after eating the food (up to several hours or, in rare cases, even after a few days), making it difficult to recognise and associate the incident with the consumed food.
An allergy refers to a negative reaction to a specific substance (allergen) caused by the immune system. The source of the reaction is the formation of specific antibodies responsible for defending the organism. The interaction between these antibodies and the allergen releases histamine, a substance that acts as a chemical mediator of inflammation, but also plays the role of neurotransmitter. Histamine is the main cause of the symptoms characterising all allergic reactions, which in some cases can be very severe, such as itchiness, a runny nose, skin rashes, swelling, breathlessness, and breathing difficulties.
Allergens are substances which are harmless for most people. However, some individuals are genetically prone to have allergic reactions towards them. The most common food allergens are: cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt), milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, peanuts, nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios), lupin beans, soya beans, celery, sesame seeds, mustard, and all derivatives of these foods.
Allergic reactions are generally dose-independent: i.e. even a tiny quantity can trigger a reaction whose severity is subjective and unpredictable.
Discover the good practices for reducing foodborne risks, from the time of food purchase to its consumption.
Before reaching the dinner table, foods are subject to an extensive series of controls, to which manufacturers, distributors and the various health authorities all contribute by law.
In Europe, food business operators (FBOs) are legally bound to periodically check their products or transformation processes, based on the characteristics of the foods and on risk assessments for those items.
Each FBO must therefore draw up a self-inspection manual and a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) Plan to be implemented, evaluated and documented with a view to guaranteeing the foods’ safety and integrity.
The required laboratory analyses, as defined in the HACCP plan, can be microbiological or chemical. Each FBO must have the support of both internal and external analysis laboratories, which must be included in specific regional registries.
Self-inspections enable food manufacturers to independently monitor and solve any non-compliances related to their food manufacturing, through continuous improvements to company processes and microbiological and chemical risk control protocols.
Official food controls are a set of activities designed to guarantee food product compliance and safety and to ensure that food legislation requirements are met. They involve the entire food production chain: from controls on raw materials to site inspections at farms, to monitoring of manufacturing processes and distribution to wholesalers and retailers
For example, in Italy official controls at food manufacturers are based on national plans drawn up by the Ministry of Health, locally coordinated by the Regions, and on inspections by various competent health authorities, such as: local health authorities (ASL), agri-food fraud units (NAS), border control units (PCF), or veterinary offices for European Union requirements (UVAC).
Laboratory analyses are performed by legally appointed laboratories, such as Istituti Zooprofilattici Sperimentali (IZS) and Regional Agencies for Environmental Protection (ARPA).
When samples fail to comply with the required safety standards (due, for example, to levels of biological or chemical contamination above legally set limits), the most appropriate actions are implemented to safeguard consumers and public health by local health authorities and the Ministry of Health, such as the withdrawal of products from the supply chain and the sanctioning of companies found to have committed offences.
Food alerts can be triggered by official controls, self-inspections, consumer notifications, clinical cases, or following food incidents. In all cases, laboratory analyses are performed on the food items involved to determine the presence and quantity of any substances and microorganisms that may be detrimental to health.
When food items are found to be positive on laboratory analyses, the manufacturers in question can intervene in two ways:
For example, in Italy the intervention is implemented by the local health authorities (ASL), to which – in the case of recall – the manufacturers also provide a list of sales outlets where the batches of harmful products have been distributed. The LHAs then inform the Ministry of Health about the alert and the actions taken. The Ministry publishes information on any recalls on its website and, in turn, notifies all regional LHAs in which the batch has been distributed. This enables the local authorities to check that the unsafe food has actually been recalled.
If the products have been marketed abroad, the Ministry also notifies the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) to enable all European countries in which the unsafe products have been distributed to remove them from the supply chain and take the necessary measures to safeguard public health.