FOOD HYGIENE
Item
- Title
- FOOD HYGIENE
- extracted text
-
RF_NUT_2_SUDHA
GLOSSARY
ANTIBIOTICS: Drugs which kill bacteria.
BACTTPirj,OGY:„® study of bacteria
(gCTQB)»
CARRl'jR: A person whom, fol loving an
attack of a disease (which may be
so mild as to be unnoticed) still
carr? es the infection which can be
passed on to o+her people.
Ca-’MENSALS: Bacteria which live in
associate on i-d.th humans or other
animals but do not normally cause
disease.
CROSS INFECTION: Infection spread
from person to person or utensil to
utensil.
DT*FABCATTON: The act of passing a
stool.
E.H.O.: Environmontal Health Officer
(formerly Public Health Inspector).
Includes Food Inspectors.
■ El1DGGENr'US r'WW: An infection
from within the patient, himself or
hersel f.
EXOGENOUS INFFCrpT(>i An infection
from a source outside the person
infected.
FAECES: Stoolsj the solid Waste
excreted by the body.
M.O.E.H.: Medical Officer for Environ
mental Health. Responsible (among
other things) for the control of all
infectious disease in his Borough,
including food noisoning and foodborne disease.
NCTTEJAPTE DISEASES: Those diseases
which, if known to a Doctor, must be
notified to the Medical Officer for
Environmental Health.' They include
food poisoning, Tynhoid Feverj
Choi era and Brucellosis, etc.
PASTEURIZATION: The treatment of foodwhich kills all pathogens but not all
bacteria therein.
PATHOGENS4 Bacteria which cause disease.
RESISTANCE: The canacity to resist a
particular infection.
SAPROPHYTES: Bacteria which do not
cause disease.
SPORESi The 11 cyst" or "seed" form which
certain bacteria may adent in un
favourable circun stances.
STERILIZATION: The treatment of fond
(or other things) which leads to the
ki 1 ~ling of all bacteria present.
THERMAL DEATHPOINT: The temperature
which kills bacteria. (This varies
according to the particular bacteria
concerned.)
FERMENTATION: The action of certain
bacteria and yeasts, etci) upon
sugars leading to the production
of ras and alcohols. Used to
d i fferentiate bacteria«
TCKBt-EX0;E.NDO;RX0TGXIN: A poison pro
duced outside bacteria.
Endotoxin: A poison produced inside
bacteria and only liberated when they
die.
GERMINATIONS The process of change of
bacteria from the snore form to the
vegetative form. (Compare the
"gemination" of seeds.)
the degree of purity of milk or milk
products.
Rf'UNTTi: The canacity to resist
infection. May be total or only
partial.
VEGETATIVE FOPM: The normal form of
bacteria in which they are suscep
tible to outside adverse influencesi
T’rRRTDTTV TEST: A test to determine
LESION: A niece of diseased tissue.
Source - The Royal Institute of
prk* 3.2.81
Public Health & Hygiene
ST JOHN'S MEDICAL COLLEGE AND TEACHING HOSPITALS, BANGALORE 560034
CERTIFICATE COURSE IN FOOD HYGIENE AND HANDLING OF FOOD
■Introduction
'
The St John's Medical College is instituting special
courses leading tc the Certificate in Food Hygiene arid. Handling .of
Food. The course .zill be conducted in collaboration with the Royal
Institute- of Public Health & Hygiene, London, which has done
pioneering work in such courses. The Certificate of Merit will be
issued jointly by these two institutions.
Objectives
1.
To highlight the importance of ensuring the
safety and wholesomcnoss of food at' all
■
stages from its growth, and production until
its final consumption
2.
To instruct on the causes, consequences and
prevention of infections transmitted through
food
3.
To make aware the. legal provisions for
ensuring safety of food
4.
To highlight the causes, effects and
prevention of food-poisoning
5.
To impart knowledge of the various measures
employed in the protection and proservition
of food stuffs
6.
To obtain improvement in the handling and
distribution of food through persuasion,
consent and Health Education of' the managements.
and their staff
Course components:
Fees:
As per -attached syllabus
Tuition fees Rs.150/- per candidate
Entry to examination:
.ill candidates must hav-3 a; ended tho approved
course full time, before t :.ing the examination.
: Those courses are open tc restaur .nt managers,
catering -administrators, canteen managers, food
and beverage managers, area managers/supervisors and kitchen
superintendents.
Eligibility
Venue:
St John's Medical College, Bangalore
: 2 :
Faculty:
The faculty of the Departments of St.John's Medical College and
Hospitals, Medical Officer of Health of Bangalore City Corporation,
Deputy Direotorof the Public Health Institute of Karnataka Government
and Chief Medical Officers of factories, will participate in the teaching.
Duration of the Course'
2 weeks(16 hours)
These classes will be i nc-.'.ctod between 2.00 pm & 4.00 pm from Monday
through Thursday for two weeks to suit the convenience cf managers and
prevent dislocation:of \heir wor’:.. The course will terminate' .with an
examin.ation(theory and oril) for the award of the Certificate of:Merit.
Course Capacity: 25
Transport : For trips between college and other institutions for instructional
purposes, transport will be provided by St John's Medical College.
Library facilities. : The course participants will be given temporary
loan cards for .reference in the St John's Medical College Library during
the period of the course.
Associateship of Royal Institute of Public Health & Hygiene:
Successful candidates are eligible to apply for the Associateship
of Royal Institute of Public Health ft Hygiene, after paymentof entrance
and annual subscription fees. This entitles them to receive the Journal
on Health and Hygiene, published by the Royal Institute of Public Health,
London.
programme Director :
Director of Rural Health Services and Training
programmes., St John's Medical College, Bangalore.
Date of commencement :ni completion of the course will be finalised
following the Food Hygiene Seminar on 29-8.79- .
For further details, please write to:
The Programme Director,'
Certificate Course in Food Hygiene and Handling of Food
St John's Medical.College
Bangalore 560054.
Illi
ST JOHN'S MEDICAL COLLEGE ABD HOSPITAL, BANGALORE
POSS JjCTJjW rjyfm OF OCCUPATIONAL
■ HEALTH
CERTTETCAT’.- COIF' A PT FOO? i^GIEPE AND THE HANDLING OF FOOD
EXAMINATION SYLLABUS
1.
Faking food safe
The natural $i."'!'ory of food. Source. Transport. Treatment.
Storage.
Preparation.
Sending.
Waste Disposal.
Monitoring.
Aims.
2.
Introduction to Bacteriology
Nature of bacteria and their recovery from nan and identification.
Bacterial diseases.
Sources of infection. The spread of infection.
3.
Food Poisoning
Types of "incident".
Chemical, vegetable and bacterial food noisoning. Needs of
bacteria, and t-rpes causing food noisoning. Their methods of
spread.
T-he b'5dy' s defences against ■f’ocd poisoning and food borne disease.
Natural immunity, immunisation. Defences in acute infections.
The prevention of food poisoning and factors which encourage
its spread.
Foods which commonly cause food poisoning and those which
rarely do so.
4.
Practi»al Control of Bacterial Food Poisoning
Consideration of the sources and control of Salmonellae,
Clostridium Welchii, Clostridium Botulinum, Baccilu's Cereus and
Staphyioeocci.
5.
Bacterial Foo^ Poisoning (continued)
The incidence of causative organisms.
The investigation of an outbreak of food noisonin1 .
The law relating to food hygiene and the role of the Environmental
Health Officer.
Possible future legal controls.
The inter-related agencies concerned with the control of food.
6.
Examples of tutbreaks of Food Poisoning and Food Borne Diseases
Examples of Salmonella, Staphylococci, Clostridial and Bacillus
Cereus food poisoning outbreaks. Finises.
Enteric Fever. Brucellosis. Tuberculosis. Cholera.
The Dysentries. Parasitic Worms.
NOTBS FCR GUITANCE OF ST TENTS
EXAMINATION SYLLABUS
This covers the subjects on which questions will be
asked in both oral and written examinations. It is of course
necessary for .the student to show that he or she has sufficient
knowledge of the subjects to obtain a pass. The following
points should-give some guidance on the level of knowledge
required for each subject covered by the syllc.’ us. The student
should have enough knowledge to deal confidently with all
the following points and questions
1* The Fiqestive Process
■ a) What is food, what are the- component parts? Students
should be able to give examples of carbohydrates, ■
proteins and fats and the functions '-.hey perform
in the human body. Also examples and functions of
minerals and vitamins.
b) What happens to food when it is consumed? What chemical
' processes take place and where in the body do they occur?
2.
c)
Students should be able to re-produce the drawing o.f
the digestive system as shown on page 5 of the lecture
notes.
d)
What.is peristalsis and what happens in the- body
when vomiting and diarrhoea occurs?
Food Poisoning and Food Eorne Fiseases and their Prevention
a) What is food poisoning and what different types of
outbreaks occur?
What is toxin, extoxin and endotoxin?
b)
How can chemical, vegetable or bacterial food poisoning
be caused? The student must be able- to give examples
of each type of poisoning.
c)
In bacterial food poisoning, what do germs need to
grow and multiply?
d)
What are the symptoms in'human beings of the different
types of bacterial food poisoning and how are these
■different types spread?
e)
How can the different types of food- poisoning be
prevented? e.g. in looking at the problem from the
point of view of preventing contamination of food,
premises and food handlers.
f)
Typhoid, paratyphoid, brucellosis, tuberculosis and
dysentery and trichinosis are food borne diseases.
How is each disease passed on to food and how
dangerous are these diseases?
....2/-
.2
4.
a)
Y/hat do you understand by terms such as:- micro-organism
pathogen, bacilli, cocci, colony, bibrio, spore?
’
b)
Jhc-re are icteria found, how do they liv§ and how are
they ces+royed?
Transmission g; iofcctioj.p
a)
b)
How are food poisoning organisms actually passed on to
the food from the sources of contamination? e.q. From
person to food, from rodent to food, from
a slaughterhouse floor surface to food?
What are convalescent and health carriers?
c) What are the environmental sources of food contamination
. end,what diseases can be caused by them? e.g. What food
poisoning organisms can originate- from the soil?
5.
6.
d)
How widespread is food poisoning? Is the number of
cases increasing or decreasing? Arc- there any new types
of food poisoning being experienced? Has, for example, the
increase in size of the broiler chicken industry any
significance in food poisoning patterns?
e)
Has the change in public eating habits over the years
affected the number of food poisoning cases?
Investigation of an outbreak of food poisoning on food borne
a)
“hat do you understand by "high risk" food, bacteriological
analysis of food and faeces specimens, exclusion .from
work, incubation period and onset of symptoms?
b)
Students must know the roles played by the MOH and the
Health Inspector in the investigation of food poisoning
cases.
The law relating t'o food hygiene
Detailed knowledge of the Food Hygiene Regulations, Milk, &
Dairies Regulations and Food and Drugs Act,etc. is not
required but students must know the following;-
a.) Responsibility for inspection of food premises, stalls
and' vehicles of the Health Inspector and what this
Officer's general powers are;
. Responsibility of MOH relating to notificationand
b)
investigation of food poisoning and food borne
disease.
c)
7.
Responsibility of the employees in food premises
regarding food hygiene practices and notification of
food poisoning and food borne diseases.
The Protection of Food:
a)
Why is hand washing particularly important after use
of the W.C. and after coughing or' sneezing<
....3/-
3
o) \lhat is cross, contamination, and how many forms can
it take in passing fooc poisoning from a contaminated
source to a healthy human being?
c)
What water t cmpera'tures are effective for:i.
washin; food roo® surfaces and ccuioment surfaces
11. st-vi ■ ising food room surfaces
equioment
d)
Students must'be chic- roughly to describe- a standard
type of washing machine used in a l.?roc- catering
ikitchen, and what the correct water temperatures should
e)
What dangers-bactc-rial and otherwise--, arise from
infestations of rats mice, flies, wasps and cockroaches
in food premises? What dangers can arise from the
presence of domestic pc-ts or birds?
f)
’that preventive measures can be taken to keep infestations
out of food premises, when new premises arc constructed,
or where existing premises have been cleared of an
infestation?
g)
Students should have some knowledge of the materials
used in the construction of food premises and
particularly the- surface finishes of walls, ceilings
and floors in food rooms. 'Surface types of preparation
tables, chopping blocks and cold storage rooms should
also be known. .
h)
What is cooking, pasteurisation-an' sterilisation of
food? ’ What significance docs pasteurisation have as
regards milk, -ice-cream and -liquid eggs'? . Vlhat
basically happens” in the canning of food?
i)
What arc the dangers associated wi .h rc-heating
of foods which have been cooked? ".hat re-heating
temperatures are satisfactory and what' other
conditions should apply in- making rc-hcatcd foods
acceptable?
.
j)
Why. must food awaiting immediate consumption in
catering premises be lee pt either under 50'F or above
145'F?
k)
In which foods is there bacterial growth which is
likely to cause food poisoning? What types of
common foods ’arc hardly ever associated with bacterial
food poisoning, ’and .why?
1)
At what temperature docs a domestic refrigerator, a
deep freeze and an imc—cream conservator normally
operate?
vjhat happens when food, contaminated with bacteria,
is placed in a domestic refrigerator or deep freeze?
What should a housewife do to maintain properly a
domestic refrigerator, and to obtain the- maximum
benefit from it?
7.
i
8.
The- .Pr.Qt .raon o:f. Fo'ocV
7.
'? <
The transmission of bacteria to fooc’. i ■'■■. ■
..-Personal..hygiene
‘ • -? ■
..
iCrOs.s. .cont-.mig-'f 7
• -. f-;. .---- - .'I
■ ■ ■■■„ , ■
"'■Clc’aninr s urf',ce\ -.‘•nd -feeiomc-nt .\r '
p ..
■
The- e'esi' of s quion'e-nt.' and remises.
; ,-Inf-cstatlAJ . .
• ■ ■
"the- e’e str"ction of -corms' in food.'
'
(•••
r... ::/ - -The fprey.Gr.tion :of F'oct6r in 1 niultiplicat ion?' fine lading
re frigerit ■ of. '' ;
Health- Education
.< •*; -
definition . fr: nc iples
Methods.!
. . ' , '
Evaluation-. , '•■ ‘1.. ..
... .
Ffbbl.ems of. Health ^Education.
f
v ---
IWT
ST JOHN'S MEDICAL COLLEGE' ,1ND TEACHING HOSPITALS, BANGALORE 560034
C3RTIFIC.4TS COUR,' . IJ FOOD HYGIENE .IND HANDLING OF FOOD
Introduction
£’
S+- John's Medicjtf College'is a" iitutinf cpjcial'
courses leading to- ‘he Certificate it' Food Hygiene . vi 1 yof - •
Food. Ths course ..ill be conducted in collaboration with the Royal
Institute of Public Health &'Hygiene,'London, which has done
pioneering work in such courses. The Certificate of Merit 7f.ll be
issued jointly by these two institutions.
Objectives
1.
To highlight the importance of ensuring the
safety and wholesomenoss of food at all ■
stages from its growth and production until
its final consumption
2.
To instruct on the causes, consequences and
prevention of infections transmitted through
food
3.
To make aware the..legal provisions for
■ ensuring saf.ty of food
4.
To highlight the causes, effects and
prevention of food-poisoning
5.
To impart knowledge of the various measures
■ employed in the protection and preservition
of food stuffs
6.
Course components:
Fees:
To obtain improvement in the handling and
C .ptribution of food through persuasion,
Consent and Health Education of the managements
ind their staff
As per attached syllabus
Tuition fees Rs.150/- p:r candidate
Entry to examination:
all candidates must have attended the approved
course full time, before tak: ig the examination.
: These courses are o'pen to restaurant managers,
cat ;-ring administrators, ..canteen managers, food
and beverage managers, area managers/supervisors an<£ kitchen
superintendents.
Eligibility
Venue.;
St John's Medical College, Bangalore.
cov>
: 2 :
The flenity of the Departments of Sr John's Medical College and
Hospitals, Me'ical Officer of Health of Bmg.ilore City Corporation,'
Deputy Directorof the public Health' Institute of Karnataka Government
and Chief .edit! Off: c” of "actories, •.’ill participate in the teaching.
Duration of the Course
.
2 weeksfLc hours)
These classes will be o a-. 'ctod between 2.00 pm & 4.00 pin from Monday
through Thursday for two reeks to suit the convenience of managers and
prevent dislocation of their work. The course will termir ate .with an
examination( theory and or J.) for the award of the Certificite of Merit.
Course Capacity: 25
Transport : For trips but wen college and other instituti;■s for instructional
purposes, transport will bo provided by St John's Medical College.
Library facilities : The course participants will be giver temporary
loan cards for reference in the St John's Medical Colleg. Library during
the period of the course.
Associateship of Royal Institute of Public Health & Hygiene:
Successful candidates are eligible to apply for the Associ iteshij .
of Royal Institute of Public.Health ■& Hygiene, after paymentof entrance
and annual subscription foes. This entitles them to receive the Journal
on Health and Hygiene, published by the Royal Institute of Public Health,
London.
Programme Director :
Director, of Rural Health Services and Training
programmes, St John's Medical College, Bangalore.
Date of commencement ..nd completion of the course will be finalised
following the Food Hygiene Seminar on 29.8.79.
For furth.—
.:ail&, please write to:
Tli 3:ogfamme Director, ..
Co--.1ficate Course in Food Hygiene and Handling of Food
St John's Medical College
Bangalore 560054.
ST JOHN'S MEDICAL COLLEGE AND HOSPITAL, BANGALORE
POSS T’STT^’TR TJFI'P OP OCCUPATIONAL
HEALTH
CERTT~ELE COURSE TN POOD HTOJENE ALT THE HANDLING OE FOOD
;~iXA''TTTATI ON SYLLABUS
1.
tearing food safe
The natural ’jistory of food. Source. Transport. Treatment.
Storage.
Preparation.
Serving.
Waste Disposal.
Monitoring.
Aims.
2.
Introduction to Bacteriology
Nature of bacteria, and their recovery from man arid identification.
Bacterial diseases.
Sources of infection. The spread of infection.
3.
Food Poisoning
Types of "incident".
Chemical, vegetable and bacterial food noisoning. Needs of
bacteria, and t-mcs causing food noisoning. Their methods of
spread.
The bndy1s defences against food poisoning and food borne disease.
Natural immunity, immunisation. Defences in acute infections.
The prevention of food poisoning and factors which encourage
its spread.
Foods which commonly cause food poisoning and those which
rarely do so.
4.
Practical Control of Factorial Food Poisoning
Consideration of rhe sources and control of 5;:Tj:.o"ellae,
Clostri-’i-r? Welcrii, Clostridium Botulinum, Paced Lus Cereus and
Staph., io«»occi.
5.
Bacterial. Foo^ Poisoring (continued)
The incidence of causative organisms.
The investigation of an outbreak of food noisoning.
The law relating to food hygiene and the role of the Environmental
Health Officer.
{
Possible future legal controls.
The inter-related agencies concerned with the control of food.
6.
Examples of Outbreaks of Food Poisoning and Food Borne Diseases
Examples of Salmonella, Staphylococci, Clostridial and Bacillus
Cereus food poisoning outbreaks. Viruses.
Enteric Fever. Brucellosis. Tuberculosis. Cholera.
The Dysentries. Parasitic Worms.
3
b, jnat is cross contamination,, and how many forms can
it take- in passing food poisoning from a contaminated
source to a neal.thy human being?
t.mpcnatures are effective for;’.n; food roo® surfaces and equipment surfaces
ii. si .jising food room surfaces and equipment
sur f • c'.s?
’?!-t
d)
Students must be able roughly to describe a standard
type of washing machine used in a large catering
kitchen, and .what the correct water temperatures should
be ..
e)
What danoers-bacterial and otherwise, arise from
infestations of rats mice,, flies, wasps and cockroaches
in food premises? What dangers can arise from the
presence of domestic pets or birds?
■f ■ What preventive measures can be taken to keep infestations
out o’f food premises, when new premises are constructed,
or where existing premises have been cleared of an
infestation?
g)
Students should have some knowledge of the materials
used in the construction of food premises and
particularly the surface finishes of walls, ceilings
and floors in food rooms. Surface types of preparation
tables,, chopping blocks and cold storage rooms should
also be known..
h)
What is cookino, pasteurisation and sterilisation of
food? ■■.b.at significance docs pasteurisation have as
regards milk, ice-cream and liquid! eggs? What
basically happens in the canning of food?
i)
What arc the. d.-.ngers associated with rc-hcating
of foods which have been cooked? hhat rc-hcating
tempo >'<• tore ■- arc satisfactory and what other
conditions should apply in making re—heated foods
acceptable?
i) Whv must food awaiting immediate consumption in
catering -remises be kept either under SOT or above145 -F?
k) In which foods is there bacterial growth which is ■
likely to cause food poisoning? Wnct types of
.
common foods arc hardly ever associated with oactcrial
food poisoning, and why?
1) At what tcmocraturc docs a domestic refrigerator,, a
deep freeze and an ia>e-cpcam conservator normally
operate?
What happens when food, contaminatec with bacteria,
is placed in a domestic refrigerator or deep freeze?
What should a housewife do to maintain properly a
domestic refrigerator, and to obtain the maximum
benefit from it?
NOTES FCR GUITANOE OF STUDENTS
EXAMINATION SYLLABUS
This covers the .subjects on which questions
askec m both oral and written examinations. It is c Cour:
necessary for the student to show that he or she has
knowledge of the subjects to obtain a pass. The following’
points shoulc give some guidance on the level c knowledge
required for each subject covered by the syl 1 ~k, ~he stu
should have- enough k
'ge to deal confidently v.rth all
the following points
1.
2.
The Digestive Process
a)
What is food, what are the component'parts? Students
should be able to give examples of carbohydrates,
proteins and fats and the functions.they perform
in the human body. Also examples and functions of
minerals and vitamins.
b)
What happens to food when it is consumed? What chemical
processes take place and where in the body do they occur?
c)
Students should be able to re-produce the drawing of
the digestive system as shown on page 5 of the lecture
notes.
d)
VJhat is peristalsis and what happens in the body
when vomiting and diarrhoea occurs?
Food Poisoning and Food Forne Diseases and their Prevention
a) VJhat is food poisoning and what ■different types of
outbreaks occur?
What.is toxin,'extoxin and endotoxin?
b)
How can chemical, vegetable or bacterial food poisoning
be caused? The student must be able to give examples
of each type of poisoning.
c)
In bacterial food poisoning, what do .germs need to
grow and multiply?
d)
What are the symptoms in human beings of the different
types of bacterial food poisoning and how are these
different types spread?
How can the different types of food poisoning be
prevented? e.g. in looking at the problem from the
point of view of preventing contamination of food,
■ premises and food handlers.
e)
f)
Typhoid, paratyphoid, brucellosis, tuberculosis and
dysentery and trichinosis are -food borne diseases..
How is each disease passed.on to food and how
dangerous are these diseases?
....2/-
2
C • Bacteriology:
a/ '.hat ro you understand by terms such as:- micro-organism,
pathogen, .bacilli, cocci, colony, bibrio, spore?
b; -.her-.? arc •- - ria found, ho- do thc-y .live and ho- arethey destroyed?
4.
Transmission of infe -• .ion :
a) How are food poisoning organisms actually passed on to
the food from the sources of contamination? e.g. From
person to food, from indent to food,'from
a slaughterhouse floor surface to food? .
b)
5.
What are convalescent and health carriers?
c)
What are the environmental sources of food contamination
and what diseases can be caused by them? e.g. What food
poisoning organisms can originate from the soil?
d)
How widespread is food poisoning? Is the number of
cases increasing or decreasing? Arc- there any new types
of food poisoning being experienced? Has, for example, the
increase in size of the broiler chicken industry any
significance in food poisoning patterns?
e)
Has the change in public eating habits over the years
affected the number of food poisoning cases?
(
investigation of an outbreak of, food poisoning on food borne
a) v*hat do you understand by "high risk" food, bacteriological
analysis of food and faeces specimens, exclusion from
work, incubation.period and onset of symptoms?
b) Students must know the roles played by •’he MOH and thcHcalth Inspector in the investigation of food poisoning
cases.
6• The law rc-latinc t'o food hygiene
Detailed knowledge of the Food Hygiene Regulations, Milk, &
Dairies Regulations and Food and Drugs Act etc. is not
required but students-.must know the following
a) Responsibility for inspection of food premises, stalls
and’vehicles of'the Health Inspector and what this
Officer's general .powers are;
b) Responsibility of ,MOH relating to notificationand
investigation of food poisoning and food borne
disease.
c) Responsibility of the employees in food premises
••regarding food hygiene practices and notification of
food poisoning and food borne diseases-.
7. The Protection of Food:
a) Why is hand washing particularly important after use
of the W.C. and after coughing or sneezing?
....3/-
gta
w
BANGALORE 34
Cr’P'T’TT’TCATi3 COTSE IF FOOD TT'GTFFR AND HANDLTNG OF FOOD
Conducted by
ST JOFins I'FnTC/j, COT-TEGE, BANGALORE
Through its
iftlSS TrTSoTTTlTE nTTj^r op OCCUPATIONAL HEATTn
1.-----■■---------- ■--------
2.
-
Digestion and Digestive System
Making Food Safe
Introduction to Bacteriology
3.
Food Poisoning
4.-------------------------
Incidence of Food Poisoning ft Food
Hygiene Legislation
5.-------------------------
Examnles of Outbreaks of Food
Pedsorting & Food Pome Illness
6.-------------------------
Protection of Food
7.
8.
Health Education
—
9.------------------------
Location & Defeign of Premises,
Rquinment and Utensils
Materials used in--the Construction
of Food Premises
10.-------------------------- Cleaning Routines
1 1.------------------------ Food Handlers
12. ------------------------
Prevention of Food Adulteration
Act 1954 (Act 37 of 1954)
13. J.----------------------- Food Adulteration
COMMON ‘ ■ ■ •
‘
'“
DI'GE^^t /ro THE DIGESTIVE SVSTEH
,4. fto4d
47/1, <Flr®
qrE - sU O°1
g^felGALO <»<-
The 1? fe of man can bn regarded as a continual production of energy
by oxidation or burning of tho food ho consumes. Qxyger .in the inspired air
frees the potential energy of foodstuffs by oxidizing th'” in th-; cells of the
body to form C0„ and water, and liberates heat and energy. The heat maintains
the body temperature and tho'energy is expended in mo---jnent. The whole cycle
of activity is known as
tab cl ism. The build up or ranaj’ of body tissues
is called Anabolism, while tho break down of the tissues •> ith the liberation
of energy and the excretion of wastes is called Katabolism. The -aste
products are excreted by the kidneys, bowel, lungs and skin and consist
largely of water, CO^ and nitrogenous breakdown products of nrotoin such as
urea, mostly found in the urine but also in the faeces.
Digestion converts +he complex insoluble constituents of the food
into simole and absorbable substances which diffuse through the lining of the
intestine to enter the blood or lymph to be dealt with by the tissues.
Food consists of carbohydrate, nrotein and fat together i-dth small
quantities of vitamins and minerals, all of which should be present in a
balanced diet. Water, which constitutes about 70% of the body weight, is
essential to life.
Carbohydrates arc sugars and starches, which provide energy and
are broken down to sugar by the body. Rice, Wheat and Ragi are probably the
carbohydrates most commonly and extensively eaten in this country.
Proteins are obtained from loan meats, fish, oggs, neas, beans,
nuts and milk. Protein is required ^or the growth and repair of the body
tissues.
Fats, which may be either animal or vegetable as also are the
proteins, are valuable energy producing foods and arc stored in tho body
as energy reservoirs. Th~y ar? also usnfu1 vehicles of vitamins A & D
Ex: Animal fats - Codiiv-r oil, Shark liver oil
Vegetable fats - Ground nut nil, Coconut oil, Mustard oil.
The most import’’nt minerals in tho- diet arc .calcium, iron*
phosphorus and iodine.
Carbohydrates are reduced to monosaccharides sue- as glucose, and
disaccharides such as maltose and lactose. All. are absorbed as monosaccharides
after digestion.
Proteins are reduced to amino-acids and fats to fatty acids.
Digestion is accomplished by the enzymes contained in the digestive juices
formed by tho various glands found along the length of tho digestive system.
The process of chewing, hunger, the smell of a well cooked meal
or even the anticipation of appetising food promotes the flow of saliva from
the salivary glands situated in the mouth and the saliva thus secreted aids
the process of mastication by softening and diluting the food introduced into
the mouth. The saliira conies from the Parotid, Submaxillary and Sublingual
Glands and contains Mucin and Ptyalin Enzymes the first to soften the food
and the second to start the digestion of starch to maltose.
.2/-
When the masticated bolus of food is ready to bn swallowed it passes
into the Pharynx whore ■- ~nflax mechanism prevents its nasaeg .i into the larynx
or windpipe by moans o-O th-' Bpirlottis, which s’hls off the anti"’, while the soft
nalate is raised and closes thn nasal. passages. Thp fo^d is thus carried into
the Oescnhapus,
Ion*’’ thin r.oscular tube"leading from the nharynx to the Stomach.
Th~ Stomach (C»ot'>rJ is a hollow muscular organ whose walls, when'it
5 s emnty, lie- close- too-.
- 1-it can s^narr4
and dilate to accomodate the food
which enters. Wavee rd'muscular contractions start in the u^mr nart of the
stomach, occuring 3-4’tir-s ^very minute and they swoen down to tho.'nylorus or
exit of the stomach. U y thus both nix the food with the ga'stric juices and
provide the force to drive the gastric contents out through the nylorus in small
jots. These waves are called Peristaltic waves and in front of each wave the
pylorus, which is a muscular ring, relaxes to allow a small nart of the stomach
contents to be ejected into the Duodenum.
■The stomach acts as a reservoir, a temperature regulator and also be
begins the digestion of proteins through the action of its glands which secrete
hydrochloric acid and pensin. Ponsin acts unori the n^otoins, reducing them to
pentones.' A further function that the stomach performs is a protective ono, as
its highly acid contents exert an antimicrobial action. Gastric digestion lasts
3-4 hours.
The first nart of the small intestine is known as the Duodenum into
which flow bile from the liver and pancreatic juice from the Pancreas, an organ
lying close to the spine with its head enclosed by the duodenum. Both the
bile and the nancreatic juices are alkaline in reaction and so the acidity of the
chyme entering the duod'num from the nylorus is quickly reduced.
The pancreatic juice contains throe .powerful .•.inrymes:
Trynsin - Completes the digestion of nroteans to the?.? const',tue’
amino-acid s.
Amylase - Break down starch and other carkobydr^.t/.s tv aJucrs-..
Linaso - Break un fats into fatty acids v'd b'ycorol.
Bile is secreted by the liver and is storct* i- 'ho .--JI bladder
which is attached'to-the under-surface of the liver.
.•''■■■ 1
t-.t.- ’:ho
duodenum the Rail bladder contract's and exnels bil' into -.ho .’undo j.im. pi.'
a viscid green fluid, tho colour being dun to the ti? •<gmonts ant those i
with the food give the faedes their characteristic c "•vi.-. Tt Also • .e^rir
salts which emulsify fats, thus facilitating their digest ion by ho • '-—mr
linase.
On leaving tho duodenum, the food enters the Aejunum, which secre
two enzymes - Enterokinase, which helps to produce aminoacids, and Sucrase,
which helps to produce glucose. This part’ of tho intestine also contribute
a large amount of water to facilitate the solution and absorption of the
digested food.
On the whole the jejunum is chiefly occupied with secretion and
digestion while the lower nart of the small intestine or Ileum is largely
concerned with absorntion, but both processes can nrocoed simultaneously to
some extent. The increasingly digested food is nassod along the 20 feet of
small intestine by peristaltic waves occuring approximately 11 times per mi
Absorption in the ileum is carried out by minute hair-like nrojec
into the gut, called Villi. Each villus is richly sunnlied with blood vess.
and a central lymphatic channel called a Lacteal for carrying'digested fat
globul.es to the main lymphatic channel of the body. The amino-acids, tho
monosaccharides and the water are absorbed into the blood vessels of the Vi'
and then distributed to liver and tho tissues.
The small intestine also contains many bacterio which assist, in tl
process of digestion and produce a slightly acid environment, this helping ■'
inhibit the production of toxic materials.
The last part of the small intestine which is the ileum empties ii
contents into the Caecum. This is the first nart of th- lrr~e intestine, w'
is approximately 6 feet in length. The time taken b food to roach the caec
varies greatly in time. Food takes about two or thi e d".ys to traverse the
whole intestinal tract.
The Caecum, to which is attached that vestigial organ, the Vermifr
Appendix, loads into the Ascending, Transverse and Descending Colon and this
finally empties into the Rectum. The Anus is the tight muscular ring which
guards the exit to the Rectum.
The importance of the largo bowel, especially the caecum and ascer
colon, is in the conversion of the fluid ileal contents into a foirned stool.
This is done by th- absorption of the fluid elements of the contents as a re
op which a semi-solid mass of faeces is formed. Faeces are principally come
of bacteria, secretions and undigested food residues. Peristaltic action
continues slowly to move the faecal mass along the colon until the rectum is
full and defalcation takes place. The bacteria normally found in the colon
will produce gasos from food residue not completely broken down in the small
intestine.
NUT. 2--^
MAKING FOOD SAFE
The problem of making food safe is clearly a vast one-,
for it involves an understanding of all the hazards to which the
whole variety of foods (and drinks) are exposed; and the ways
in which such hazards can be minimized, if not completely removed.
Because- of the- size of. the subject, the format of the notes for
this lecture differs from those c-lc-sewhere in this booklet and
docs in fact conform more to true note form, than do the papers
on other topics. Under the various sub-headings, some brief
implications are mentioned, but neither the headings themselves,
nor the additional remarks, arc in any way exhaustive. It is ’
hoped, however, that they provide a framework of ideas which
readers can enlarge upon, and add to, in the light of their own
experience, for one- of the problems facing us
in deciding the content of this brier course-, is that
those taking it, come from a variety of jobs and industries, and
the- only thing which many have in common, is a shared responsibility
.for food which.others eat.
The order of the topics here, is not necessarily the
only one possible, based as it is on the history of various
food items from their source to thc-ir consumption, and clearly
some- workers will have no control at all over seme- aspects of
the- food with which they deal at different stacks in this cha-in.
Lastly, some hazards will clearly appear more than once in the
chain, e.g. the danger of Salmonella from duck eggs.
■THE NATURAL HISTORY OF FOOD:
A SOURCE
Degree of control available.
1. MEAT Inspection of slaughter-houses, sampling of
imported meat.
2; POULTRY Control of rearing conditions.
3. EGGS Control of import of dried eggs. Note danger
of Salmonella from duck eggs.
4. MILK Brucellosis-free- herds.
Tuberculin-tested (attested) herds.
5. VEGETABLES Avoid excessive soil contamination-B.
Cercus. Possibility of danger from pesticide spraying.
Possible danger of intestinal infections if faecally
contaminated vegetable's;, e.g. salads, are consumed raw.
6. WATER Dangers of intestinal infections, e.g. Cholera,
Typhoid Fever, Dysentery from faecal contamination, ...
if untreated.
B. TRANSPORT
1.
Danger of cross-infection of animals; increase in
Salmonella before slaughter if crowed or too long
in transport.
2. Cross contamination of food from animal excreta.
3.
If meat, danger of spoilage and bacterial multi
plication unless refrigerated.
2
THE TREATMENT OF FOOF
A wide variety of methods are designed to preserve
food, and to prevent bacterial and other contamination.
C
1 . HYGIENIC SLAUGHTERING (Sec B (1) above).,
2. CANNING - to a temperature- sufficient to kill
all pat bar'ns, c.g. a "Botulinum Cook". Ensure
proper scaling of tin-cf. contamination of corned
brcc-f in the Aberdeen Typhoid outbr^k.
"
3.
FREEZING Rapidity is an important factor for quality.
Does not kill all pathogens.
4.
ACCELEFATEF FREEZE DRYING
5.
DEHYDRATION
6.
SMOKING ANT CURING.
7.
SALTING AND PIC KLIN GJ. g • the salt beef of Nelson's
Navy.
8.
PASTEURISATION, c.g. milk, canned ham. Kills
pathogens - bur spoilage organisms may survive.
9.
STERILISATION, c.g. milk-kills all germs.
10. ULTRA HEAT TREAT .ME NT.-as for -sterilization.
11. AFFITION OF PRESERVATIVES, e.g. Sulphur Dioxide to
sausages, etc. Only a short-term effect.
D
STORAGE
1 . REGRIGERATlON-Tc-mperature control vital.
(a) Deep freezers.
(b) Frozen food cabincts-watch the load line.
(c) Domestic type- re frige rators-avqid overloading
and introducing hot food-
2.
E
Rodents,' insect pests, especially flies.
2.
PEST CONTROL
3.
STOCK ROTATION- consider implications of date
stamping.
PREPARATION
1.
Consider construction and use- of premises.
2.
CONSIDER FOOF HANDLERS ("Man in his own worst enemy").
Clothing.
Cleanliness.■
.
Absence of infection in throat, nose, on skin,
in bowels.
Hygienic practices.
3.
STORAGE.AFTER PFEPAFATION
Avoid contamination.
4.
DISCARD THE DOUBTFUL FOOD.
Avoid bacterial growth.
.. .3
3
F
E
H
I
J
SERVING FOOD
1.
Clcanlin ss of handlers. •
2.
Cleanliness of utens>ils-washinc methods.
DISPOSAL OF WASTE FOOD
1.
Dustbins-rcfuse collection.
3.
Flies, vermin, other pests.
MONITORING
1.
From within, by regular supervision-and irregular
checks.
2.
From without by the Food Inspectors of the Local
Authority.
THE AIM-is to break the chain.
1.
Not to allow food to become contaminated.
2.
To prevent bacterial growth.
THE•FINAL ANSWER IS HEALTH EDUCATION.
COMNMiiV/
INTRODUCTION TO BACTERIOLOGY
.
Bacteria, sometimes referred to as micro-orqanisms or,
more simply, as germs, are minute living creatures. They are
composed of Protoplasm, a protein substance rather like raw
white of egg but considerably more complex since it is composed
of living matter. They are found everywhere, in soil, in the
air, in natural waters, in plants and in animals.
Compared with other living creatures, bacteria are
simple in their structure and many require very little for
satisfactory growth and reproduction, relative warmth, a little
water and a few simple substances being sufficient. Others,
particularly those which cause disease, are more finicky, and
require complex proteins, vitamins.etc., for their growth.
Different bacteria, under natural conditions, live at different
temperatures, and those temperatures are approximately those at
which they grow best. Thus soil bacteria live at and prefer
relatively low temperatures. The bacteria of hot springs prefer
high temperatures and are said-to be-thermophilic. Generally
speaking, soil bacteria and thermophilic bacteria do not cause
disease, and are said to be saprophytes. Disease-producing
bacteria are known as pathogens and they live and multiply best at
the temperature of the human body (37*C. 98.6’F). Their growth
is inhibited at refrigeration temperatures and this is used to
control their numbers, in food for example.
Bacteria are very small, frequently about 1 to 3 microns
in diameter, or 1/25,000 to 3/25,000 of an inch. Thus nearly a
million bacteria would be required to cover an ordinary pinhead.
When bacteria are grown in laboratories, 'they are often grown on
the surface of solid jellies containing nutrient substances.
Each bacterium multiplies rapidly under these circumstances, the
number of bacteria doubling itself about every 20 munutes. Thus
a single bacterium becomes eight in one hour, 64 in two hours and
512’ in three hours. A simple calculation shows that each bacterium
will have produced more than 250,000 descendants in six hours
and more than i,Q00 millions in ten hours. The bacteriologist
usually’examines his cultures after about 18 hours, by which
time each bacterium has produced such a mass of descendants that
the clumps arc visible to the naked eye, scattered over the
surface of the culture medium. Such visible•clumps are known as
bacterial colonies.
■The- colonics of different bacteria differ from one
another in shape, size, colour, transparency and general appearance
and an experienced bacteriologist can often name a bacterium., or
at least place' it within its group, by merely inspecting its
colonies.
Bacteria vary considerably in shape and size. Thus
cocci are round or nearly so, while bacilli arc elongated and
rod-shaped. A common coccus is the staphylococcus, a cause of
bacterial food poisoning. This is prefectly spherical anc forms
clusters which, under the microscope, resemble clusters of
nr?ocs. Some cocci form chains like strings of beads, anr are
known al streptococci (sing, streptococcus). Others form pairs
and are known as diplococci. Examples are pneumococci which
cause pneumonia, meningococci which cause meningitis and
gonococci which cause gonorrhoea.
2
.Bacilli may occur singly or in chains. Examples of
bacilli arc thq bacteria which cause tuberculosis and diphtheria.
.Salmons11ae, which are a common cause of food poisoning, are
bacilli. Some bacilli undergo branching and are known as
streptothnees. (sing. Streptothrix). An example is the bacterium
which causes the disease known as actinomycosis. Bacilli may be
curved. A bacillus with a single curve is a vibrio. An example
is the bacterium which causes cholera. If it possesses a few
loose curves the bacterium is a spirillum. An example is the
bacterium of rat bite fever. Multiple curves converting the
bacterium into a coiled spiral produces a spirochac-te. An example
is the bacterium of syphilis.
When conditions for growth are poor, some bacilli
produce resistant forms known as spores. These are rounded
bodies produced within the bacterial cells, the rest of which
may finally disappear leaving the spores free. Spores are highly
resistant to drying, heat and antiseptics, and will withstand
such adverse circumstances to an extent not possible for non-sporing
(vegetative) forms of bacteria. Bacilli which form spores include
those responsible for tetanus, anthrax and gas gangrene, as well as
certain forms of food poisoning (Botulism and Clostridium welchii
food poisoning). Spores can survive for very long periods without
food or water and "germinate" into bacilli again when favourable
conditions return. They are found in many places including
soil, dust and unstc-rilised cotton wool. They are difficult to
destroy and articles possibly contaminated with them are sterilised
by prolonged heating at high temperatures e.g. with high pressure
steam.
The recovery and identification of bacteria from man
Bacteria can be recovered from the secretions and
excretions oS man as’well as from many parts of his body. They
can, for example, be recovered from the skin, nose and throat,
from pus, sputum and faeces and, in the presence of disease, from
such things as urine which arc- normally sterile (bacteria-free).
Specimens for bacteriological examination are collected in a
number of ways. Thus an infected throat, eye or wound may be
touched with a sterile cotton wool swab.on the end of a wooden
stick to collect a little of the infected material, or urine,
faeces or sputum may be collected into sterile glass or plastic
containers.
In the laboratory the- first step is to apply a little
of the infected material to a strip of glass known as a microscope
slide, and spread it into a thin film. The slide is heated to
kill any bacteria present and to fix the film firmly to the
glass so that it will not wash off during subsequent treatment.
A variety of stains are then applied, chosc-n to demonstrate the
features of interest to the bacteriologist. The film is then
washed, dried and examined under the microscope-.
Bacteria are so small that very high magnifications
such as 1,000 diameters ' (one million areas) are employed. The.
lenses used for such magnifications are complex and will not give
clear pictures unless the area to be examined is covered with an
oil of the same light transmission properties as glass and the
lens focussed down into this oil so that there is no air spaccbetween the lens and the film. Such Ic-nsc-s are, understancably,
called oil immersion lenses.
„
3
, 4.U
, The bactcnologis examines the film and determines
whether bacteria are present and their number, shape, size
anc staining reactions. Different bacteria may stain
differently and this is of value in diagnosis.
The second step in diagnosis is to grow the bacteria
in synthetic culture media. These- consist of solutions of nutrient
substances, vitamins and minerals, sterilised by heating. They
may be used as liquids but oftc-n incorporate gelatin or agar
(an extract of seaweed) to set them into a jelly. The latter allow
surfaces growths in the form of visible colonies to occur and this
allows easy separation of the different types of bacteria in a
mixed culture. Culture media frequently incorporate specific
substances for the identification of certain bacteria. Thus they
may include certain sugars and indicators which chance colour in
the presence of acid. Fermentation of the. sugar present will
produce acid and change the colour of the medium. Thus Salmonellae
do not ferment the sugars lactose or sucrose, while many other
bacteria in faeces do.
Some, culture media contain blood. This is destryed
(hac-molysed ) by certain bacteria and this also is of value in
diagnosis. Some media contain substances which inhibit somebacteria but allow others to -grow. This is useful in the
isolation of the latter when the former may be present in such
vast numbers as to -overgrow them.
The method of culture is to transfer a little of the
infected material to the chosen culture media and, in the case
of solid media, to spread it over the surface w-ith a sterile
wire loop.- The media are sealed and placed in an incubator
overnight. Next day they are' examined, films (of suitable colonies
in the case of solid media) arc- prepared, stained.and examined, <
and subdulturc-s prepared to further mc-dia of help in diagnosis.
Subsequently serological tests may be carried out to define the
nature of specific components of the bacterial cell, but these
need not be discussed here. A diagnosis is finally reached by a
knowledge of the appearances of the bacterium under the microscope,
the nature- of its colonies on solid media, the- sugars it ferments,
and so on. It is then exposed to a variety of antibiotics (penicillin,
tetracycline, sulphpnamidcs, etc.) to determine which do and
which do not prevent its growth, for such information is of value
in the treatment of the patient. >
The harmful effects to man of bacteria are due to their
production of poisonous substances known as toxins. Toxins a're of
two types, c-xotoxins and endotoxins. Exotoxins are produced by
and released from the bacterial body.during its life. Frequently such
toxins tend to be rc-sistant to destruction by hc-at. Examples in
the field of food poisoning are the- toxins responsible for
staphylococcal food poisoning and for botulism. Endotoxins are
released from bacteria only after they die.
They tend.to be
sensitive to destruction by heat. Examples are the toxins
responsible for the symptoms of salmonella food poisoning.
. ..4
4
. _>
Bacteria are normally present on the skin anc1 hair ant1
+n
wit" thG exterior, anc1 each area tends
to be contaminatec with bactc-ria specific to itself. Thus the
no^°2n£a+h™n+
Se+n
stapbylococci, while the mouth,
nose and throat harbour staphylococci, streptococci, micrococci
resembling memngocci, and bacilli resembling the diphtheria
ThG COuOrVlc!rgG bowel), rectum and anus and the skin
aroum the anus, harbour bacteria normally present in the faeces.
These are most commonly bacillary forms known as coliform bacilli
anc certain streptococcic In the female the vagina (birth canal)’
harbours few bacilli because the little fluid, present inhibits their
growth. No bacteria arc normally present in the uterus (womb)
or urinary bladder.
, These bacteria do not usually cause diseasfe of the sites
they inhabit, and are spoken of as commensals. 'Ahile many are
entirely, non-pathogenic saprophytes, some are’potential pathogens
capable of causing disease. This they do wKe:n, because of injury
or lowered resistance on the part of the subject, ’they enter areas
not accustomed to their presence. Thus such bacteria which- escape
from the surface of the skin into its depths cause pimples, boils
and carbuncles. Bacteria which enter the tissues of the mouth;
nose and throat cause inflammation of the gums (gingivitis), inflamm
ation of the tonsils (tonsillitis) and so on. Faecal bacteria
• from the, perineum, (skin between tlje legs around the anus) can cause
inflammation of the blacder (cystitis) and this may spread up to
the kidneys (pyelitis), etc. Bacteria entering other normally
sterile organs and tissues will cause other inflammations which
are given other names according to the areas infected; -Thus
inflammation of.the lungs is pneumonia, and inflammation of the
1
membranes covering the brain is-meningitis.
Certain bacteria nearly always cause disease, the few
exceptions being in the case of persons (carriers) who have
learned to live with them. Such bacteria include staphylococci
and the typhoid bacillus.
The transmission of infections to man
. The sources of infection will determine the frequency
with which infection of man will occur, the numbers and type of
persons infedted, and the parts of the body infected. Thus
malaria is transmitted by mosquitoes and will occur only in
mosquito-infected-areas. Rat-bite fever is commonest in-sewer
workers. Urinary infections are most commonly due to faecal
organisms because of the close proximity of the urinary tract
exit to the- anus. Knd so on.
Sources of infection:
1
Tiseased patients. Patients with active bacterial
diseases may transmit these- to-other people. Such
diseases include . tuberculosis , the ve'neral diseases,
smallpox, typhoid fever, influenza, etc.
2
Carriers. These are people who do not have the
diseasebut harbour and spread the causative organism.
Carriers are of two types :
(a)
Convalescent carriers, who have recently had the
disease and have, recovered but still harbour the
bacteria.
(b)
Healthy carriers, who have not apparently had the
disease, but nevertheless harbour the causative
organism.
.... 5
5
The latter group are particularly dangerous since they
arc- often unsuspected. Epidemics may result because
of them. Diseases spread by carriers include Scarlet
Fever, Meningitis, Typhoid Fever, Fysentery, Polio
myelitis, Staphylococcal fooc' poisoning anc1 Salmonella
food poisoning.
3.
Animals. These also may be diseased or mc-rely carriers,.
Many animals transmit disease to man, including cats anc1
dogs, cattle, pigs anc’ rodents. Among the diseases- theijr
transmit are:-
Tuberculosis
cows, from milk,
Brucellosis.............................................ditto.
Babies
dogs.
Salmonella infections
.roe’ents, hire’s anc’ fowl,
cattle (beef) etc.
Plague.............................................. : .. . .rats
Leptospiral jaundice*...,
rats.
4.
Soil. Soil commonly harbours disease-producing bacteria.
In particular the contamination of wounc’s with soil may
result in tetanus or gas gangrene.
5.
The patient himself. Bacteria which act as harmless
commensals in one situation may cause disease when they
enter another-, Examples- are
(a)
Cystitis caused by faecal organisms entering the
bladder.
(b)
Boils caused'by'staphylococci normally present in
the nose or on the surface of the skin, entering
the e’epths of the skin.
Such auto-infections are known as endogenous infections.
The spread of infection
The ways in which infections are spread are best
discussed by the- types of infection which ptfeur.
1.
Infections of the gut, including food poisoning.
* Frequently these occur because the
subject consumes traces of fac-cal matter in his food
or drink. Thus his -food may have been contaminated
with traces of faeces from the hands of the person
who prepared or served it, or handles the crockery,
cutlery, etc. Meat may have become infected, during
butchering, with the faeces of the slaughtered animal.
Flies, contaminated with the faeces of one meal may
transfer traces of the stuff to their next. Staphy
lococci from the nose or skin infections of a.cook
may find their way into a meal. Faecal material may
contaminate river water, which may be consumed-or
used for watering crops. Infected giblets may form
part of the food served to animals and fowl, to be
eaten later by man.
6
2,
Respiratory infections.
■ ■
These are infections of the nose and throat,
the air passages anc’ the luhgs. They include the
commoncold, influenza, bronchitis and pneumonia.
Transmission from one per,son to another may occur by:
(a") Direct contact, e.g. handshaking,
kissing, etc.'
(b)
Indirect contact through articles
handled by the infected person, e.g.
handkerchiefs, cutlery and crockery,,
bedding, clothing, etc.
(c)
Inhalation of dust in the air, contamina
ted by bacteria from the infected person.
(d)
Inhalation of droplet spray from the
infected person speaking, coughing or
sneezing.
3.
Skin, wound and burn infections, by contact
with contaminated hands, clothing, airborne
dust or droplet spray.
4.
Venc-ral diseases, by sexual contact with an
infected person.
5.
Insect-borne infections. These are largely
confined to the tropics■nowadays and include:
Malaria.....»
transmitted by mosquitoes.
Plague.
*.................... transmitted by fleas
from rats.
Typhus,
...transmitted by lice.
Sleeping sickness
.transmitted by testse
. flies-.
Such diseases are rarely transmitted by
other means. Other diseases may be transmitted
by insects in a less specific way.
6.
Laboratory infections, These occur in persons
working with infected materials such as
bacterial cultures, post-mortem tissues and
infected experimental animals.
Source: Royal Institute of Public Health & Hygiene
- London.
ms*/29/l/80/
~
NVT 2—6
COMA,?UW/- y
C-‘-l
“^o«4Soa;‘;n"«
FOOD POISONING
Foor poisoning is a general term applicc’ to certain
illnesses, frequently of sudden onset, brouoht about through the
consumption of food. They usually affect the gastro-intestinal
tract, although in some cases other systems may be mainly affected.
A notable example of the latter is 'Botulism in which the major
symptoms are related to damage to the nervous system. Food
poisoning can be chemical, vegetable or bacterial in origin, and,
when the gastro-intestinal tract is mainly affec’tc-d, it is
associated with nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhoea,
occurring soon after the responsible food has been taken. In
such cases the time of onset of symptoms varies from 10 minutes
to 48 hours after the food has been consumed, according to the
nature of the poisonous substance ingested.
TYPES
Incidents are divided into thre categories :(1)
General outbreaks
-
Two or more cases in different
families.
(2)
Family outbreaks
-
Two or more cases in the same
family.
(3)
Sporadic cases
-
Single cases which are isolated
occurences, having no connection
.with other cases or carriers.
With certain uncommon exeeptions the mortality is low
and it is virtually confined to the- very young and very old. The
term "food poisoning" is nowadays applied .more and more to those
outbreaks caused by germs, as these are the commonest cause.
Chemical Poisoning:
Chemical poisoning by metals is comparatively rare these
days as the- manufacturers of canned goods take stringent precautions
to obviate the contamination of their products by metallic salts.
Lead poisoning du? to the absorption of lead (from. •
pipes and storage tanks) caused by soft water, acid in reaction,
is now a thing of the past, while- the use of arsenic as a
preservative is strictly controlled by.law. The spraying of
fruits and vegetable-s with poisonous insecticides has in recent
times attracted considerable attention. A rc-ce-nt statement
from the U.S.A, suggests that people who use a-lot of spray
insecticide such as D.P.T. in the home, have a correspondingly
high concentration of residue in their bodies. Furthermore,
investigations by ’V.H.O. and the Food & Agricultural Organization
of the United Nations, indicate that there may be a link
between pesticides, insecticides and liver damage. These
sprays are used all over the world and can contaminate food.
The chief substances implicated are Aldrin, Pieldrin,
Endrin, Rothane and Endosulfan.
2
'
. .
. Although chemical foot’ poisoning is uncommon nowdays
dramatic incidents do- occur occasionally, as for example in 1965
when 84 people became ill through eating bread made from flour
which had been contaminated by a chemical hardener for epoxy
resin. The latter had been carried in the same lorry as the
sacks of flour and spillage of the chemical had occurred. This
incident also illustrates the fact that very rarely are chemical
poisons destroyed by cooking.
.Most cases of chemical ;food poisoning fall within the
province of home or industrial safety, being caused by carelessly
stored pesticides, paraffin, detergents or sterilising agents
leading to spillage or leakage or by these substances being
placed in unmarked old'food containers,. It is particularly
important, therefore, when such stores are bought in bulk and
subsequently broken down for convenient use that the smallercontainers are clearly labelled and kept well away from all
food stuffs and out of the reach of children.
In recent years it has been shown that pollution of
estuary waters by factory waste can cause disturbingly high
concentrations of mercury compounds in the flesh of in-shore fish.
This has led to strenuous efforts being made to control such
pollution.
Vegetable Poisoning:
Certain plants when consumed are poisonous to human beings.
Such poisoning is generally accidental, the plant, fruit or berry
being mistaken for an edible variety. . Examples are Hemlock,
Aconite, Datura and Deadly Nightshade, while the commonest cause
is the Toadstool. With regard to Mushrooms, the only safe
procedure is to learn to identify certain well-known species by
their botanical features and to avoid fungi.growing under trees.
and those which are brightly coloured.
Bacterial Poisoning:
Food poisoning caused by micro-organisms is' almost
invariably due to infected solid food, as to-day water and milk
supplies are treated so effectively as to render them compara
tively uncommon as vehicles of infection.
Bacteria or germs are extremely small. Approximately
a million can be accommodated on a pin's head. They-are living
organisms which produce themselves by simple division which
takes place every 20-30 minutes. Thus one germ alone.could in
12 hours produce between 500 and’1,000 million offsp-ring.
In order to grow and multiply a germ needs :-
(1)
Warmth
Blood heat is the most favourable temperature for
growth.
(2)
Time
;
Although germs multiply rapidly, a certain time
is required before there is sufficient growth
to cause illness.
(3)
Moisture
Like all living organisms, germs require water.
... .3
3
(4)
Foor*
Unfortunately in the . case of organisms which..
cause food poisoning the fooc’s they thrive on
best are those most palatable to human beings,
e.g. meat and pultry, milk and cream.
How fooc Poisoning Germs Cause Illness:
Harmful germs are capable of probucing poisons known
as toxins, which cause illness in human beings. These toxins may
be produced in one of two ways. Some germs produce the toxin
outsic’e their own bobies (exotoxin) so that it mixes freely with
their surroundings. Others probuce toxins inside their bobies
(enbotoxin) and these are not released until the organism dies.
“
These two forms of toxin produce different kinds of
illness. If germs growing in food produce-exotoxin then the
food itself becomes poisonous and when taken will give rise tosymptoms shortly afterwards. If, on the other hand, the germs
growing in food are ones which produce- endotoxin, then symptoms
of food poisoning will necessarily be delayed until the germs have
entered and established themselves in the- bowel, and their numbers
arc such that the amount of toxin released from dying organisms
is sufficient to cause illness.
An important fact in this connection is that exotoxin
produced by the food poisoning staphylococcus is resistant to heat
and may not be destroyed even by boiling- fof'a short time. Thus
stews and gravies, for example, in which this form of toxin has been
produced, may still cause illness even if heated to foiling point
before serving.
The commonest organisms responsible for-food poisoning
are the Salmonellae, Clostridium Welchii, Staphylococcus Aureus,
and very rarely in this country Cl. Potulinum..
Agent
Time of Onset
Symptoms
Salmonellae
12-48 hours
Abdominal pain, diarrheoa,
. vomiting, fever.
Cl. welchii
8-24 hours
Abdominal pain, diarrhoea and
often mild vertigo. .
Staph, aureus
1-6 hours
Salivation, nausea, Vomiting,
abdominal pain, prostration and
sub-normal temperature.
Cl. Potulinum
12-36 hours
Change of voice, double vision,
paralysis of cranial nerves,
obstinate, constipation.
Method of Spread:
If we- know tohere the different organisms live we can
trace their method of spread and so take steps to prevent it.
. . . .4
4
Salmonellae :
Salmonellae are sometimes carrier3 in the human bowel
and in the bowels of cats, dogs, rats and mice,' cattle anc1 pigs.
Toilet papc-r is porous anr’ it follows that after defaecation all
adults and children should immediately scrub their hands with soap
and hot water, otherwise the organism can be transferred from the
fingers to food stuffs. The lavatory chain, lavatory seat and
door handle should receive frequent cleaning. Towels, especially
roller towels can spread infection.
Flies can also spread infection as they will feed on
animal deposits out of doors and then enter a kitchen or alight on
uncovered fobd stuffs. Domestic pets can be a danger in the
kitchen. Another source of danger is the lidless dust-bin
or swill-tub which attracts flies.
In the past, imported bulked egg products, both frozen
and dried, have been a source of food poisoning, but the treatment
of shelled egg products is now established. The Liquid Egg
(Pasteurisation) Regulations, 1963 ensure that liquid egg is heat
treated before use and this measure has been very successful.
Salmonella organisms can infect the duck and infected
ducks can lay eggs which are infected even before the shell is
formed'. Alternatively, an uninfected egg may become infected
through having been laid in a dirty environment as the infection
can penetrate- the porous shell. Cakes made with duck eggs are
safe to eat because the high temperature at which cakes are baked
ensures that they arc- sterile when leaving the oven. On the
other hand, lemon meringue pies with the meringue made from duck
egg whites can be unsafe because temperature and time of cooking
of the meringue' is below the thermal death point of the organism.
If duck eggs are eaten whole they should be hard boiled for
approximately eight minutes.
Salmonellae in animal feeding stuffs can introduce
infection into farm stock. Spread depends on factors in the
farm, in transit and in the slaughterhouse. Strain, cold, wet,
deprivation of food and drink, can spread the infection within the.
animal body. Long transport, long waits and high killing rates
increase the excretion of Salmonella organisms. Cattle and pigs
are important foci of infection anc poor hygiene in slaughter
houses can lead to contaminated carcasc-s and then to contaminated
manufactured products, e.g. sausages.
Infection in the raw meat of cows and pigs in butchers 1
shop can be transmitted to cooked meats by the practice of using
the same knife to cut both raw and cooked meats. Pet food can be
heavily contaminated by Salmonella organisms and in the home great
care should be taken that cross-infection to food for human
consumption does not take- place. Desiccated coconut used to be
a frequent source of Salmonella infection but legislation intro
duced by the Cc-ylon Government reduced the incidence- of infection
considerably. Many of our own bakers and confectioners sterilise
raw coconut by "steam treatment.
. . .5
5
In many parts of the worlc', inducing the United
Kingdom, antibiotics arc- incorporated into animal feeding stuffs
to promote rapid growth and fatening (presumably by keeping down
bacteria in the animal body and so minimising the production of
toxic substances which slow the animal's growth). Antibiotics
arc also usee in the treatment'of animal infections. Infecting
organisms therefore tend to bc-come antibiotic resistant and
such resistant bacteria may infect man by contact with the
animal or by the ingestion of infected food of animal origin. ’
An important point which has only redently been discovered and
is the subject of much investigation at present, is that in the
human gut such antibiotic resistance is transferrable from one
species of bacterium to another. The importance of this in the
spread of'cross-infection with antibiotic-resistant bacteria is
obvious.
Clostridium Welchii :
Clostridium welchii is an organism that develops spres
which are hardy and capable of living through adverse physical
conditions such as high temperatures'and dehydration. They can
survive for long periods of time in dust and dirt and may be
present in food after cooking. Raw meat and poultry are common
sources of these organisms but they have been found in up to 25% of.
human and animal stools and also in the soil. The majority of
outbreaks of Cl. welchii food poisoning occurred in canteens,
hospitals, schools and hotels, and the foods responsible were
chiefly meat and poultry products where the meat was pre-cooked and
reheated.
Meals which include cookc-d meat eaten cold or reheated
and meat pies have frequently caused Clostridium welchii food
poisoning. In large Canteen kitchens meat is frequently cooked,
allowed to cool slowly at atmospheric temperature and stored in a
cool or cold room overnight. The following day it is server’ cold,
warmed up,, sliced in hot gravy or made into pies or meat puddings.
This practice is dangerous, as in meats cooked at a temperature not
higher than 212’F(1OO’C) spores of Cl. welchii may survive cooking and
in slowly cooling meat germinate.into large numbers of actively
multiplying bacteria able to cause, food’poisoning. Big cuts of
meat are particularly dangerous because heat penetrates very slowly
into meat, Meat thus reheated is responsible for the majority
of cases of Cl. welchii poisoning.
Bacillus cercus :
This is a sporing bacillus which occurs in soil. It . is
a common contaminant of cereals. Food poisoning by this organism is
being more frequently reported in the last two or three.years,
particularly as a result of eating infected rice in Chinese
restaurants. The spores resist the initial cooking (boiling)
of the rice. This is often d’bne in the evening and the boiled
rice left overnight on a table-. The spores germinate and the
vegetative forms multiply rapidly. Next day the rice.is served
after a rapid process of re-heating, insufficient to kill off
the veoetative bacteria. The problem is therefore essentially
similar to that of Cl. Welchii food. poisoning, except that rice
takes the place of .meat. The cure in each case is the same. If
re-heating must be used, the food should be refrigerated as soon
as possible after cooking and re-heating should be- adequate. In
both cases cross-contamination via infected surfaces and
equipment is possible.
•-6
6
Staphylococci-:
Food poisoning due to staphylococci depends largely
upon the presence- of sufficient exotoxin in the food, and the
susceptibility of the individual. The predominant human sources
arc the- nose, throat, skin and septic lesions. Thus-, the- personal
hygiene of the food handler is of the utmost imoortance in
preventing the growth of staphylococci in foods. Furthermore, the
appropriate use of the refrigerator is of the utmost value. The
majority of outbreaks are caused by the direct contamination of
cooked foodstuffs by hands soiled with the secretion from the nose,
mouth and skin lesions. Frequently the cooked food has been
handled while warm and s-ub.scquent storage- conditions have encouraged
the staphylococci to grow and form toxin. Staphylococcal
enterotoxin is heat resistant and this is of importance because,
even if the food is thoroughly heated and all the staphylococci
destroyed, the enterotoxin may well persist, so causing food
poisoning of this type. Staphylococci have been found in 38%
of raw meat samples and, as with Salmonellae, cross .contamination
can occur from raw to cooked meats.
Cheese prepared from raw or inadequately treated milk
can present a problem.
The increasing veterinary use of antibiotics in the
treatment of disease-especially staphylococcal mastitis in cows
has resulted in the development of antibiotic resistance by the
responsible organisms. These may therefore persist, be present
in raw milk and in products manufactured from raw milk, and,
flourishing under poor storage conditions be responsible for
outbreaks of food poisoning* If only pasteurised milk is used
in cheese making, such outbreaks can be avoided. Reports have
also been received of Brucellosis being caused by cheese made
from untreated milk.
Cl. Botulinum:
Th,e toxin of the Cl. Botulinum is a highly poisonous
substance which affects the Nervous System,- and can be fatal.
Cases rarely occur in Great Britain but are reported from other
countries such as Canada, the U.S.A, and Japan. They have been
attributed to uncooked, under-cooked or stale fish. Smoked
fish and canned tuna fish have given rise to occasional.outbreaks
in various countries in redent years and the use of home preserved
foods, such as meat and vegetables, have also been associated with'
outbreaks. The- famous Loch Maree incident in 1922, when eight
people died, was attributed to duck paste sandwiches. The last
incident in Britain some nine years ago was due to pickled fish
privately imported.
Prevention:
Food poisoning can be avoided by:Preventing germs getting into the food, or if this fails,
storing the food so that any germs present do not multiply,
and
- ...
(c) ensuring that food is so well cooked that all germs in it are
destroyed.
. . .7
(a)
(b)
7
Of these three, the safe storage of food is perhaps the
most important. During this pc-rioc’, everything possible must be
cone to rob the gc-rm of the things it neec’s to grow and multiply.
(i)
Warmth
Food poisoning germs do not multiply in cold conditions.
Storage in a refrigerator or cool larder will retard their
growth. Deep freezing will stop their growth. No form of
cold will kill germs and they will start growing as soon as
the food is warmed up again.
’ii) Time
Germs are like seeds. The more that are planted, the more
likely it is that there will be a successful crop, or in the
case of germs, a successful "infection". Germs need time
to multiply. Therefore, if food is eaten shortly after it is
prepared, the risk of food poisoning is considerably reduced.
ii) Moisture:
Germs do not multiply in dry products; e.g. dried egg and dried
milk, but when these arc- mixed with water the germs can multiply
freely. Such food should always be used shortly after mixing.
iv) Food:
Stored food must be adequately protected from all forms of
contamination.
(v) The Human Factor:
When it is known how human beings can spread the organisms of
food poisoning it becomes obvious that the maintenance of
strict personal hygiene is of paramount importance.
ms*/3Q/l/80/
Source.: Royal Institute of Public Health & Hygiene
- London
IX/UT PT
INCIDENCE OF FOOD POISONING AM) FOOD HYGIENE LEGISLATION:
The primary aim of foot4 hygiene is to prevent food
poisoning and, other food borne diseases. Statistics available
in our country on the incidence of these diseases is unfortunately
meagre, although the morbidity due to the same is high, Further,
Food Hygiene Legislation in most States is inadequate,
except for the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of 1976.
Accurate data of such outbreaks including Food Hygiene
Legislation in the United Kingdom, are available, which are shown
below, to serve as a guide.
Synopsis;
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
The incidence’ of Food Poisoning in the population
The investigation of an outbreak of Food poisoning.
The change, in eating habits of the -pop&lation.
A brief history of Food Hygiene legislation
(sec- the Appendix).
A. THE INCIDENCE OF FCOD POISONING:
The size of the problem
It has been estimated that disease of all types in the
United Kingdom may account for an average loss of up to two weeks
work per person per year. This does not include illnesses which
result from industrial accidents or industrial disease.
The incidence of most types of infectious disease has
shown a marked decrease in recent years. There are, however,
two notable exceptions; one is bronchitis and the other is
various forms of food poisoning.
Outbreaks of Food Poisonings
It will be seen (Table A) that there was a fall in
incidents of food poisoning in England and Wales between 1970
and 1972, and then a steady increase until 1975.
Year
1970
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
TABLE A
OUTBREAKS OF FOOD POISONING
Family Outbreaks
General Outbreaks
Incidents
Incidents
175
164
138
147
184
230
708
671
510
576
.517
765
Sporadic Cases
Total
Cases
.8,088
6,910
5,958
6,763
7,295
10,936
3,358
2,977
2,483
2,918
2,963
4,144
. ..2
2
CAUSATIVE ORGANISMS RESPONSIBLE FOR OUTBREAKS OF FOOF POISONING:
The causative organisms responsible for outbreaks of
fooc’ poisoning c’uring 1975 arc set out in Table E -below. The
previous year’s figures (for 1974) are shown in brackets.
3
B. INVESTIGATION OF AN OUTBREAKS OF FOOD POISONING:
Turing an outbreak of food. poisoning all persons
suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting are tracer’ and questioned1
about fopc1 they have recently eaten. Particular attention is
pair’ to any food substance which has been eaten by the majority-of
the sufferers within the preceding 12 to 48 hours. The remains
of any suspected food arc recovered if possible, and they are
subjected to bacteriological examination. . Experience has shown
that certain "high risk" foods always warrant special attention;
these. include processed meats, egg and milk products. Where
possible faecal (stool) specimens obtained from everyone who has .
symptoms of food poisoninci are also bacteri^logically examined.
The ..bacteriological analysis o.f' both the food substance and thp
stool specimens are compared. The type of the bacteria and their
possible source is noted, When the organism in the food and the
stools is the same , stool specimens should be obtained from all'the
persons who have helped to prepare- the particular food substance
contaminated. The investigation involves the bacteriological
examination of the premises as well as the- staff, canteens, food
shops and food preparation areas. ’Anyone suffering from diarrhoea
or vomiting may be excluded from work as a food handler until the
local Medical Officer for Environmental Health considers it is safe
to allow him to resume. Investigation of an-outbreak of food
poisoning is carried out by local authority Public Health Officers.
These officers study the hygienic techniques employed by the food .
handlers, methods of food storage, methods of washing up, methods
of disposal of waste food, the method employed to prevent food
substances from becoming contaminated by vermin and flies, as well
as the general state of repair and cleanliness of the food premises.
Failure to find a bacteriological basis for an outbreak of food
poisoning focuses the need to evaluate possible chemical causes
arising from production techniques.
C. THE CHANGE IN-EATING HABITS OF THE POPULATION:
Formerly general outbreaks of food poisoning tended to
occur in institutions. -Since the first and second World Wars,
however, there has been an increase- in communal feeding in Europe’,
and-at the same time there has been a considerable increase in
the bulk manufacture of food; Food hygiene education has resulted
in a much increased appreciation and awareness of the need to
prevent the bacterial contamination of food substances. Detailed
and far reaching legislation has been introduced to provide
suitable safeguards in the preparation and storage of food. Today-,:
- —<=nt at the weekends, fewer people eat their mid-day meal at
home.
weej<) mid-day meals are often eaten in canteens,
restaurants, sna^ ,—public houses r~-J
Many meals are now prepared at local central depots for
the Armed Services, hospitals, the School Meals Service, the
Welfare Service (i.e. "Meals on Wheels" for.the elderly), etc.
The cook-freeze operation in mass catering is now widespread.
The large-scale movement of holiday populations
during the summer months imposes an extra strain on-catering services
in restaurants, in railway stations, coach stations, airports anc
aboard ships, so that good hygiene may be prejudiced, /uring the
summer there is an increased tendency to use pre-packec food
substances. Many of xhese are eaten by customers who may be
caravanning or picnicking. In such circumstances the consumer
,
usually gives very little tho.ught t.o the safe storage of the fooc
which may be left too long in warm, moist concitions, ideal for the
multiplication of food poisoning bacteria.
The- sale of pre-packed food substances' from shops anc1 super
markets calls for. a high degree of quality control at every stage of
production, from the food factory to the consumer.
Finally, casual labour is often employed in the food
industry during the summer holidays. Such unskilled and
untrained staff require very close supervision when engaged in
food preparation since they do not normally know the basic
principles of food hygiene.
Table C shows the probable location and type of
organism causing general, outbreaks of food poisoning in England
and Wales in 1966. The micro-organisms most frequently found
were salmonellae, Cl. welchii and staphylococci. ’ Although these
figures are somewhat old, the distribution details are still relevant.
TABLE-C
GENERAL OUTBREAKS OF FOOC POISONING
Njt
„ “
. Chemical discovered
Salmonellae Staphy
lococci Welch11
All
Agents
•
Hospitals
64
-
2
-
-
Restaurants,
)
Clubs, Hotels,)
Holiday Camps )
14
4
6
-
12
36
Canteens
-
-
18
1
7
26
6
-
5
25
21
Institutions
Schools
11
3
3
-
8
-
10
3
5
—
2
11
2
—
1'
-
—
—
—
—
—
—
1
-
-
1
-
-
5
8
-
-
1
4
3
43
1
2
8
49
34
245
Shops:
Butchers
Chicken Barbeque
Fish
Others
Farms
Pinners, Fances )
Receptions
)
Infected Abroad
Others and )
Not Stated )
All Places
2
3
19
137
■a
14
Vernon, Enid (1970) Public Health 84:239
j
14
5
APPENDIX
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE LAW RELATING TO FOOD HYGIENE
Public Health Act 1848 anc’ 1875.
The Industrial Revolution resulted in.large numbers of
people moving from rural communities into towns. Living conditions
deteriorated and disease of all types was rife. Parliament set
up several Royal Commissions to report on "The Sanitary Conditions
of the Labouring Population of Great Britain" in 184Z-45. The
reports revealed extremely poor sanitary conditions which prevailed
in most main cities.
The report of these Commissions resulted in the
appointment of the first Medical Officer of Health in 1847,
followed by the Public Health Act of 1848. This dealt with
certain Public Health measures related to the sale of food.
1. Public Health Act, 1875. This dealt with various nuisances
and their batement, some of which were indirectly concerned with
the production and control of food substances.
2. The Food and Drugs Act, 1938. Section 13 of this Act referred to
the standard of cleanliness to be maintained in food premises. The
Act was subsequently'repealed by the Food and Drugs Act of 1955.
3. The Public Health Act, 1936. Under this Act additional powers
were granted to Local Authorities relating to the supervision of
food premises.
4. The Food and Drugs Act, 1955. Various Food Hygiene Regulations were
made in connection with this Act. Local Authorities were empowered
to make certain bye-laws regarding the handling, wrapping and
delivery of food substances. The soo'pe of these Regulations'made under this Act were briefly as follows
General Requirements:
(a)
(b)
Regulations concerning the cleanliness of equipment
Regulations relating t: persons engaged in food handling, i.e.
personal cleanliness, the carriage of food, the notification of
certain infectious diseases occurring in food handling staff
by an employer, to their Local- Medidal Officer for Environmental
Health.
The Medical Officer for Environmental Health was empowered
to decide whether such affected persons should be excluded from
food handling duties under the Public Health (Infectious
Diseases) Regulations 1968.
(c)
(d)
Regulations relating to premises,. i.e. details of water supply,
hand washinc facilities, lighting, ventilation, the state of
cleanliness'of premises and the accumulation of refuse, etc,.
Regulations relating t) the sale of food substances.
. . . .6
6
(e)
(f)
Regulations relating to.the transport of meat.
Regulations relating to premises user3 for the manufacture of
"at risk foods", i.e. ice cream, sausages, pickled meats, etc.
Such premises must be- registered by the Local Authority under Section
16 of the 1955 Act.
5. The-.milk and fairies Regulations, 1959. These Regulations make
it obligatory for fairies, Dairymen, and Milk Distributors to be
registered. The Local Authority is empowered to grant licences
to pc-rsons who sell designated milk (i.e. pasteurised, sterilised,
untreated and ultra heat treated)-.
6. The Food Hygiene (General) Regulations, 1970. Extended the
powers given to Local Authorities under the Food and Drugs Act,
1955 with particular reference to the preparation of food as well
as the supervision of food handlers and the hygienic transport
•of meat. Requirements were also incorporated with regard to the
preparation of food on ships working in coastal waters.-
7. The Food and Trugs (Controlof Food Premises) Act, 1976. This
gives local authorities powers to take action leading to the
closure of food premises where conditions are such as to be
dangerous to health.
8. The Food Hygiene (Market Stalls and Delivery Vehicles Regulations,
1966). Under the provisions of the above Regulations, special
problems relating to market stalls and delivery vehicles were.
dealt with. It was considered desirable to separate particular
functions from the Provisions in The General Regulations.
9. The Health Services and Public Health Act, 1963. Part III of
this Act deals with the notifiable diseases and food poisoning.
Every outbreak of food poisoning is now subject to detailed
investigation and.is fully reported to the f.H.S.S. The Provisions
relating to notification procedures for both notifiable disease
and food poisoning had previously been set out in the Public Health
Act, 1936; and also the Food and Irugs Act, 1955. The 1968 Act
repealed the method of notification and set out a new unified
procedure for both. It included provision regarding the medical
examination of a person suffering from (or believed to be the cause
of) a notifiable disease.- Part III of this Act(and also Sections
69 and 70 and Part V of the Act together), was brought into
force on 1st October 1968, together with a Statutory Instrument
consolidating and bringing up to date in one document, existing
Statutory Instruments relating to infectious diseases.
The f.H.S.S. sent Local Authorities a comprehensive circular
explaining the effects of the- provision in this part of the Act.
The Circular included a single, complete list of all diseases
which arc- notifiable, either under the Act or under the above
mentioned Statutory Instrument. ■
10. There are certain regulations applied to the import of food
substances and the sale of shell fish. There- arc- further
regulations relating to the standard of hygiene that is. to be
maintained in slaughter houses.
. . .7
7
The following Regulations r’eal with the hygiene standards
which are to be observer1 'in the treatment anr’ handling of specific
fooc’ substances:
(a)
Ice Cream (Heat Treatment) Regulations, 1959 anr’ 1963.
(b)
Liquir’ Egg (Pasteurisation) Regulations, 1963.
(c)
Importer’ Foor1 Regulations, 1968.
(r’) Meat (Sterilisation) Regulations, 1969.
FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS:
*
Britain's centry to the E.E.C. has brought major implications
in the fielr’ of foor’ legislation, both as regarr’s f oor’, subject to
intra-Community anr’ Domestic Trar’e. E.E.C. Directives relating to
such fooc’s as poultry meat, meat pror’ucts, preserver’ milk anr’ fruit
juices cover hygienic anr' quality stanbarc’s requiring new legislation
in britain.
-=x=x=x=x=x=x=
Source: ROYAL INSTITUTE OF PUBLIC HEALTH & HYGIENE
- LONDON.
ms*/l/2/80/
FF-'MPTFF nr 'VjTppFAFS OF FOOT- PnTSO’TFG
AMP vngp pqRpm,ILTMFSS
,, HrALTH CELL
U. nrist. Marks!
The Principal features of Bacterial Food Poisoni.ng.
For practical nruposes there are three main tyres of bacterial food
nrasoni.ng; salmonellae, staphylococci and Clostridium welchii. The onset of •
.symptoms are : Salmonella (12-24 hours), Clostridium welchii (8-22 hours) and
staphylococci (1-6 hours). Table B provides a detailed breakdown of incidents
of each in 1974.1175,
Method of Snread of the Bacterial Food Poison:
Food can become contaminated due to the noor hygiene practised bv a
food handler who may be a symptomless excreter, by vermin, flies, or during the
slaughter of an animal. If the bowel of a slaughtered beast is cut during
preparation, the contents of the gut will snill into the carcass and contaminate
the muscle tissue. Food may often be cross-contaminated if prepared on an ’
•• *■ .
■infected work surface or by addition to an already infected food substance, such
as meat or gravy.
EXAMPLES OF OUTHPEAFS OF SAT’'OMELIA PULS (TING. 1. Salmonella typhimurium: Thro* members of a family became ill after eating a
chocolate mousse prepared with uncooked white of an egg. Salmonella
’ typhimurium was isolated rrom the faeces (stools) of all three cases. The
eggs used were laid by tho' family’s hens. Salmonella typhimurium were isolated
rrom the hens.’ eggs and their droppings.
The same type was identified from
the patients' stools and the eggs.
2. Salmonella dublin: 249 cases of Salmonella dub?in food noisoning occurred in
90 households. 85 out or 29 households investigated had. a common milk sunn^y.
Salmonella dublin was isolated From the milk supply and From a number of cows
and calf on a farm sunnlying this particular dairy. It was also found that
several'of the farm workers were synptortless excreters of the germ.
3. Salmonella virchow: 50 people out of 1°0 who had attended a club dinner
subsequently developed both diarrhoea and vomiting. Salmonella virchow was
found to be the causative organism. Unfortunately samnles of'the food served
were nqt available for bacteriological examination during the course of the
investigati on.
The meal had included snit-roasted chicken portions prepared and packed
by a catering firm. Samnles of snit-roasted chicken grew>salmonella virchow.
The source of sunply was traced back through the caterer’s usual sunnlier to a
processing plant and from there to individual farms. From the investigation r
carried out it did not annear that the chicken had been the cause of the outbreak
of food poisoning.
The catering firm's procedure had been store the chickens overnight in
a dee-freeze. The following morning the chickens were left at room temperature
to unfreeze for-two hours and then cooked on a snit roaster for about one-anda-half hours. They were then allowed to cool, for an hour beFore they were
quarteved. The portions were packed into boxes and sent to the club where they
arrived during the mid-morning still warm. The working space at the catering
establishment was reported to be unhygienic. Thawing out'after freezing and the
subsequent cooling aftefi cooking were done on the same restricted surface. The
cleanliness of the snits and ovens was also criticised. Eight oF the 11 persons
employed on the premises were found to be carriers of the organism Salmonella
virchow.
....2/-
: 2 :
When the warm chicken portions were received at the club they remained
in their boxes, unopened, on a very hot afternoon from mid-morning until 4.30 pm.
when about 100 portions were served. The remainder of the portions were eaten
at a^out 9-30 p.m.
N.B. There wore 45 deaths reported in 1975 in which Salmonellae
organisms were isolated' 'either ante or post mortem.
STAPITVj.ocOCCI.
Illustrative Examples
1.
Eight explosive outbreaks of food poisoning, totalling some-1,190 cases,
occured as a result of food contaminated by Staphylococci which was served in a
school canteen. The incriminated food substance was spray-dried skim milk. ' In
each incident the food prepared ■prom this was artificial cream made from the skim
milk that had not been'heat-treated. It was consumed within 3-4'hours after
preparation. The milk nowder was fpuncl to contain very large' numbers of
staphylococci. Tn one instance it was found that a cook had a septic finger.
Staphylococci of an identical type were isolated from the finger. Staphylococci
of an identical tvne were'isolated from the finger and the unopened.tins of
milk powder. It was concluded from this that the milk powder had infected the
cook, rather than the reverse. Thn factory which had prepared the milk powder
was then investigated. This showed that some batches of dried milk-grew
20,000,000 and 9,000,000 rstanhylococci bacteria per gram on two separate
occasions. Those counts included 500,000 and'2,'750,C00 staphylococci per
gram. •
2.
Sixty-one out of T10 people oil a coac1-1 party, developed- food poisoning two
■hours after eating cold ham at a cafe. Staphylococci were isolated from some
of the patients stools, and vomit. These types were identified with those
.isolated from the ham slicer and the chef’s hands as well as from other food in
that cafe.
3.
Six out of eight people who are home-made "veal and ham" pie later developed
food poisoning. Staphylococci were isolated from the six patients. The bacteria
were similar to those isolated from the nose of the person who had made the pie.
CLOSTRIDIA
(a) Clostridium welchii.
(b) Clostridium botulinum.
Illustrative Examples
(a)' Clostridium welchii
1. Twenty-five out of 30 people who a te a Lancashire ."hot-pot" served in an
office canteen became ill between eight to twelve hours later. Clostridium
welchii organisms were isolated from 12 of the patients tested and from the
"hot-pot", which had been cooked two days previously and had been re-cooked
twice'subsequently.
.
s
2. Thirty-one out of 63 people who ate ,a turkey Christmas lunch in a canteen
became ill between 9 to 15 hours later. Clostridium welchii was isolated from
9 of the patients, from 11 of the food handlers and from the table on which the
turkey had been carved.
•3/-
■ 3 :
(b) -Clostridium botulinum
An outbreak may msult from badly prepared food' contaminated by the. organism.
This particular type of food poisoning is now very uncommon in England and Wales.
Incidents have occurred in North America which were attributed to the homocanning of vegetables, Clostridium botulinum causes a food poisoning called
botulism. The organisms produce a strong poison (toxin) which almost invariably
results in death. The noison has a specific effect on the central nervous
system causing paralysis of the muscles.
BACIU I
B. CEREUS
'
illustrative Examples
1. Two. persons who ate a. meal from a Chinese take-away rostaurant.develoned
vomiting 3 hours later, Ono also had diarrhoea. The meal included curried
prawns, curried chicken, and fried rice. B. cereus was isolated from the one
patient who submitted a specimen! of faeces. 200 million bacilli (B.cereus)
per gram wore isolated from 'fried, rice. B. cereus was also isolated from
freshly boiled, rice and from curry.
2. An outbreak of food noisoning affecting two groups of neople ocr.urred after
a meal in a Chinese restaurant. Six young men in one party, and another two ,
people, all of whom had the "meal of the day" were taken, ill with vomiting
•to 2 hours later. The meal consisted, of soun, rice, prawns, beanshoots and
finished un with ice cream.
B. cereus was isolated from the seven affected patients who submitted specimens
of faeces, the count in one instance being 2-4- million per gram of faeces* None
of the suspect rice was available but subseauent samples prepared as usualyielded .'over 30 million B. cereus per gram.
FOCD BORNE ILLNESSES
Food borne illnesses (unlike food poisoning caused by Salmonellae,
Staphvlococci or Clostridia) have a longer incubation period. The diseases
normally run a different course. The food borne illnesses include:
(a) Certain bacteria, e.g. tynhoid fever, nara-tynhoid fever
(i.e. enteric fevor), undulant fever, tuberculosis and sonnedysentery, and
(b) Some types of food borne parasites (i.e. worms such as Cysticercus
bovis and Trich?nella spiralis).
EXA1TT.ES OF FOCD BORNE ILLNESSES AND INFESTATION
Enteric Fever: Enteric.fever includes tyohoid fever.and para-typhoid fever.
Typhoid fevor is caused by the organism Salmonella typhi. The incubation
period for typhoid fever is between 5 and 25 days (usually 21 days)J Para
typhoid fever is'usually caused by Salmonella nara-typhoid B. The incubation
period is 7-10 davs.
Sources of germs: Poth typhoid and para-typhoid organisms are excreted in
the faeces and urine of patients suffering from the disease or in the excreta
of convalescent or symptomless carriers.
v-
Method of spread: Outbreaks of both diseases.have occurred through water
contaminated by sewage. Sinilarlv, jnilk supplies, cream or ice cream have
sometimes been infected bv the contaminated hands ob food handlers who were
convalescent or healthy carriers of the organism . Less often, outbreaks of
enteric fever have b—n caused by eating sh 'll fish taken from sewage • ■ .
contaminated sea-water or water cress which has been grown'5n sewage contaminated
water, -nteric fev-r is accompanied by generalised fever (pyrexia), weakness,
severe diarrhoea and prostratioij. It can still cause death in severe or un
treated cases. .The intestinal sS’WnJtans do.not usually predominate until the
second or-third week when severe diarrhoea. mav occur.
Illustrative Fxarml.es
(a) Typhoid fever
1. Two large outbreaks pf typhoid f-ver occuvred in IQ46 and IQ64. In 1946
nearly 200 persons developed tvnhoid fever after eating contaminated ice cream
in Aberysttf’th, North Wales. The epidemic yas explosive in.character, 97 cases
occurred in the Borough itself, 30 other cases occurred in neighbouring rural
districts. The remainder occurred elsewhere in the country and was thought to
be attributable to visitors who had been on holiday in the town. Four of the ’
9.7 local cases died as a result of the illness. The ice cream was manufactured
tinder the supervision of the local authority and was considered to be satisfac
tory. The manufacturer had been registered as an authorised ice cream vendor.
One of his staff was found to bo a healthy "carrier'1.
2. A more recent epidemic of typhoid fever was reported in Zermatt
(Switzerlvrd) in 1964- Approximately 437 cases occurred inand around Zermatt.
As a result of this outbreak some 260 cases of tynhoid fever were subsequently
discovered, in the.United Kingdom and America. For sane years nrior to 1964 it
had been found that the water supplies 'at Zermatt were inadequate to cope with
the extra demands made on them by the tourists visiting the area. To meet
this demand, the local authorities had given their approval for water to be
taken brom certain' streams. This water was used, for human consumption after
treatment. Unfortunately, some of the water in a storage tank became
contaminated by a sowage effluent.
(b) Para-typhoid fever
This disease is similar to typhoid fever but the symptoms are generally
less severe. The incubation period is between 7-10 days. The illness arises
most frequently in the summer months. Sometimes para-typhoid fever presents
the same characteristics as Salmonellosis but more often resembles’ a .prolonged
mild form of tynhoid. .Outbreaks of para-typhoid. ’ fever have been and are
occasionally associated with food substances containing artificial or
synthetic'creams which have become contaminated by the organism Salmonella
paratyphi B.
Para-typhoid organisms are thought to be responsible for about 400 cases
of paratyphoid (enteric) f^'yer each year. .'It has a low death rate. Para
typhoid fever is an illness which is, commonest in the age group 15-30 years
old. Apart from human contamination typhoid and nara-typhoid germs may be
conveyed to uncovered food substances by flies or vermin which may have
previously been in contact with infected excreta. Clearly great care must
always be taken to ensure that food substances are always adequately protected,
from both flies and vermin. Hand washing after using the toilet is essential
as part of the prevention of the spread of both diseases.
....5/-
: 5:
BRUCEl.Tnsis (Undulant or Abortus Fever)
.
The causative germ is called Brucella abortus.
a variable incubation period of 1-4 weeks.
The infection has
Source of germs is from-infected cattle, goats or pigs.
jS Ri+-£er
linking raw contaminated, untreated milk (or
milk products such as cheese), or
’—contact
----or as
as a-result
a -resui t of
of coming
corning Into
into phvsphysical
with animals which are infected1 by
the
K” +u
" organism
-r““i— Brucella
?.lc. abortus. The illness
is characterized bv the gradual. onset of recurrent fever, sweating, pain in the
joints and. in the muscles. Thei disease, gives rise to prolonged ill health.
Illustrative Examples
Illustrative examples of recent outbreaks are difficult to find, since
in most instances the signs and symptoms are transient and relatively mild. The
diagnosis, therefore, may .sometimes be confused between enteric fever (more
especially para-typhoid fever) aor influenza. The'diagnosis is confirmed both
bacteriologically and by means of certain blood tests. The majority of cases of
Brucellosis are thought to result .from physical contact with infected animals
or infected carcasses. The transmission of Brucellosis to man from contaminated
cows' milk is now rare ?n this country. All milk sold for human consumption
should be-pasteurised. This ki1Is the brucella abortus "germ". For many years
past it has become possible to immunize herds of cattle against Brucellosis by
means of vaccination. The immunity given to calves lasts about seven years.
Pregnant cows suffering from Brucellosis tend to abort, hence the second name
Abortus Fever.. The by means of the vaccination process previously described.
Two other strains of the Brucella organism have been described. One .
affects goats and may be transmitted to man by drinking contaminated.
unpasteurized goats' milk. The other is a strain which sometimes affects pigs.
Some decades ago Brucellosis was endemic on the island, of-Malta.
TUBERCULOSIS
Drin'-inr unpasteurized tuberculous contaminated milk (obtained from
a diseased cow) may cause bovine tuberculosis in .man, The
ness causes
chronic ill health, • until detected. Advances in modern drug therapy have
greatly helped to combat the disease. Tuberculosis-free herds havo been built
up in this country to a point at which bo-'n.ne tuberculosis is rare. Even so,
this is no justification in abandoning the heat-treatment of milk
(pasteurization).
pvsmjiTEPY
There are two types of dysentery:
(l) Amoebic dysentery caused by/a unicellular organism in tropical
and sub-tronical countries. This is rare in Europe.
(2) Ban-ill ary dvsentery (the commonest form of dysentery in Europe),
is caused by a bacillus,. The incubation per? od for the disease
may bo from two to-four days.
......6/-
, ■ n
Outbreaks. of bacillary dysentery occur'most often in institutions and
schools. Cross-infection plays a considerable nart in the spread o* thn <h«>
but this'can be. greatly reduced by hand washing after using toilets. There are6
almost 25’,000-cases of dysentery reported in this country each yean’ Most of
these, cases occur during the months of January and. Jpno.
.
FOCD-BfRl1^ PARASITIC WORMS
'
'
(a) Tanewoms-
Those are flat worms consisting of a head and . a chain of flat oblong segments
arising from the head-piece. The two tanewoms of most importance in man are
the beef tapeworm (Taenia saginata) and the n,ork tapeworm. (Taenia solium).
Both of these parasites-have a two-stage, life cycle, a larval stage which
occurs in the internediate host, and an adult stage which occurs in man. In
the case of the beef tapewormthe intermediate host is,a^member of the ox
family which becomes infected bv eating the eggs of the:adult' worn, passed in
his faeces by an infected human. In the ox the eggs liberate their embryos
which invade the tissues of tho jaw,, tongue, shoulder, heart and other muscles
nf the beast, producing oval cysts in these areas. This stage in the life
cooked axu- <
~ 1'TV°Wn as-eysticereus bovis and the disease in cattie which is
adult tanewom T. sarinau... ‘
in^cted neat is inadequately
'■’colons, in his put, into the
While meat inspectors may not infrequently fine. ju,.... .
worm is nevertheless uncommon among the native population of this w.—
.suggesting a high standard of-meat inspection, and. adequate standards of cooking.
infection of home grown, beef is unoom.mon because hygiene facilities are such
that ingestion by cattle of the eggs shed by humans must be rare .
. The nork tanbworm (T. solium) has a similar double life cycle, the inter
mediate host being tho nig. However, this worm does not occur in the United
Kingdom, and need not bo discussed further, except to point out that in this
case the condition of cysticercosis can also occur in man.
b) The Trichina Worm
This is a. poundworm and is not segmented._ It infests the small intestine
of its hosts, man, nig, rat, etc, The female is fertilized ^within the.gut,
burrows its way into the’but wall and there lays its larvae, the fertilized
eggs hatching within the womb-of the.worm. The larvae.are carried throughout
the body of the host and-undergo further.-development within its muscles, in
man, this is the end of their life cycle, but in rare cases, migration may
occur into tho brain and cause neurological symptoms, including unexplained
epilen'sy. In the sase of tho nig, the infected flesh, if inadequately
cooked and consumed by man,-will cause infection of the human, this infection
being known as Trichiniasis. The larvae in the consumed meat develop into
adults in the subject's gut and-the life cycle is repeated.
Source : Royal Institute of Public-Health & Hygiene, London
prk* 1.2.BO
COMMUNITY HEALTH CEL’.
47/1,(First FloorjSt. Marks Road
BANGALORE-560 001
THE PROTECTION OF FOOD
The main object of food hygiene is to prevent foot4
poisoning and in order to do so it is necessary to protect the
food against contamination. Generally speaking, food poisoning
is caused by bacteria or their products and it is therefore
against this form of contamination that we must take preventive
measures.
Bacterial food poisoning originates in human beings,
animals and the soil.
So far as human beings are. concerned the principal
sources of infection are the bowel, the nose and throat, the skin,
cuts and boils, septic spots and the hair and clothing.
Animals may cause food poisoning due to the fact that the
flesh itself contains beacteria, or due to their activities whilst
alive in carrying bacteria on their bodies and feet. The soil is
a. prolific source of the Clostridia particularly welchii and
botulinum, and of Bacillus cereus.
Infection is spread by human beings either through the
hands or through coughs and sneezes. The hands receive infection ■
from the bowel after visiting the lavatory, from cuts and septic
spots by the act of touching, from the hair, from the nose, and
from the throat by handling of those infected parts either
consciously or unconsciously. The hands may also be a vehicle of
cross-contamination by handling infected raw food and subsequently
touching cooked meat. Utensils used for raw food may contaminate
cooked food if not sterilized between •.operations'. Smoking normally
contaminates hands either by direct contact with lips in the act
of smoking a cigarette or by indirect contact with the lips through
touching the stem of a pipe. It is for this reason that smoking
is prohibited in food premises. The risk of contamination by ash
or cigarette ends are relatively minor factors although of course
any form of contamination is important.
PERSONAL HYGIENE:
The principal method of preventing the spread of
infection from human beings .is by means of personal hygiene and
this may be considered under five main headings.
(a)
Hand washing-is of primary importance and should.be carried out
in the basin which is required by law to be provided in every
food. In addition'to a hand basin supplied with hot and
cold running water and suitable drainage, there should also be
a towel, or means of hand drying, soap or detergent and a nail brush.
This hand basin is one of the essential breaks in the food
poisoning chain and must be reserved exclusively for the purpose
for which it is provided. It is the duty of management to
ensure that under no circumstances are these hand basins.
misused for such purposes as washing small pieces of equipment,
lettuce heads, etc. The hand basin should be use-d not only after
visiting the lavatory but also after smoking, after coughing
or sneezing, after using a handkerchief, after touching any raw
food, and before handling any form of cooked food.
. .2
2
(b)
Coughs and sneezes-spread bacteria, particularly staphylococci
and streptococci into the atmosphere and on to food or working
surfaces. Great ■ care'must therefore be taken to avoir’ coughing
anc’ sneezing wherever open food is handled.' ’Smoking . encourages
coughing and the use of snuff encourages sneezing so it is for
this reason that these habits are prohibited in food premises.
(c)
Outdoor clothingris frequently contaminated by staphylococci and
streptococci from the atmosphere. Thic contamination is parti
cularly heavy in congested areas such as public transport, so
lockers for outdoor•clothing should be located outside of food
rooms. Usually these lockers are situated in changing rooms
where the- outdoor clothing' can be removed and clean protectiveclothing put on. Where- protective ‘clothing is worn it is a
statutory requirement that this shall be- clean and it should
also cover those parts of the body liable to contaminate the
food. Protective head gear should be designed so as to retain
the hair in position since bacteria and dandruff from the hair
are a potential source of contamination.
(cl) Cuts, boils, whitlows, septic spots-frcquently harbour staphylococci
and the law requires that these should be covered with a water
proof dressing whenever food is handled. Most large firms today
carry this one stage further and insist upon coloured waterproof
dressings so that should these fall off due to the action of
grease the coloured dressing will be seen before the food is
• made up. Where coloured waterproof dressings arc- provided
it is essential that they be used in all cases.
It is very easy for a member of staff .to use a domestic
transparent type- of dressing on a cut and for this to come
off and pass undetected'into the foodi
(e)
The law also requires that any person engaged in the handling
of food who is suffering from food poisoning or is a carrier of
food poisoning bacteria, any bowel infection, any staphylococcal
infection or any serious skin infection should notify his
employer immediately. The employer is required to notify the
local Public Health Department. The Medical Officer for
Environmental Health may well require that the employee concerned
be restrained from handling food until such time as he is
certified free from infection.
Foreign bodies in food may come under the category of
—
failures in personal -hygiene if -those foreign bodies are parts of
W
personal jewellery, worn by employees. There is always a risk that
earrings, tiepins, cufflinks, beads and stones from dress rings, etc.,
could fall off and become mixed up with food under preparation.
For this reason no personal jewellery other than wedding rings
should be worn by any food handler.
Apart from this, foreign bodies occur in food often as
a result of failure to clean up adequately after machinery or
premises have been repaired.' No matter how minor the repair
may be, even the fitting of a small wire fuse, it is essential
that great care be taken to ensure that every scrap of material
is removed before the area is re-used for food preparatipn.
Small pieces of concrete”, wire, nails, washers, nuts, bolts,
screws, etc., have all been found in food, in many instances in
areas where some work had been carried out recently.
. ..3
Cross Contamination:
Approximately 25 percent of the raw meat supplied to
customers in this country contains live fooc1' poisoning' organisms.
This is due to a variety of causes including poor meat handling,"
the feeding of animals 'with infectec’ foodstuffs anc’ incorrect
storage of the meat. This-infectec’ meat may cause illness
either.directly if thq meat is consumer’ without adequate cooking
.or indirectly if the. meat is slicer1 upon a working surface which’is
subsequently user’ for cooked food without adequate sterilization.
This is one,pf the many forms p.f cross contamination which can
occur between raw and cooked food. Others include the location
of.raw food above cooked food in refrigerators allowing blood and
moisture to drip on to the cooked food, the use of the same
equipment (e.g. knives) for raw and cooked food without adequate
sterilization between, the handling of raw food-by an individual
followed'by th'e. handling of cooked food without adequate handwashing
and the use of swabs first to wipe down an infected surface and then
to wipe some equipment used for cooked food.
The main, key to the prevention of cross contamination
is as far as possible to use separate storage’areas, separate
equipment and separate working surfaces for cooked and raw foods.
As this is not always practicable great care must be taken not only
to clean but also to’ sterilize equipment after it has been used for
raw food and prior to its. use for cooked food.
Another frequent source of cross contamination is the
swab used universally for wiping down. Wherever possible these
should be of disposable material and thrown away after being used
only once. If this is totally impracticable the swab should be
made of short-lived material and when not in actual use should be
kept in a bowl of hypochlorite or other strong sterilizing solution.
Once it has been used it should be wabhed, rinsed and placed back
in the bowl of sterilant. The sterilant should be changed
frequently and certainly be discarded at the end of the day.
CLEANING OF SURFACES ANT EQUIPMENT :
The normal procedure for cleaning equipment is to wash
it in a detergent or cleaning agent and this definition includes .
soap, although, because of the problems related to hard water,
soap is not now used as frequently as syhthetic detergents. A
detergent must primarily be a good wetting agent,.i.e. it must
break down the surface tension of the water so as to allow the
whole surface of the article to be.wetted instead of the water
forming droplets on the top. It should also emulsify grease and
hold dirt in suspension so that the grease anc-dirt once removed
• do not float to the surface as a scum to be rede-posited on other
articles. Detergents should be chemically stable,1 non-toxic,
soluble in water and easily rinsed off. A determent is normally
used in warm water at a temperature of.about, but not exceeding,
62.7‘C.(145’G.). This should succeed in removing most of the
grease and dirt, whereas the use.of a higher temperature will tend
to bake on certain protein products. The physical removal of this
grease and dirt will in effect reduce the bact^ia!, count considerably
since the dirt contains a high proportion of germs. However, this
process will not render the -article totally free from germs as a
detergent does not normally have any specific germ killing properties.
The object of sterilization is to kill any remaining germs. In
practice,'this can be carried out in two ways, either by heat-Or by
chemicals. In washing up by hand, two sinks are usually used,
the first containing the detergent solution it the temperature of
. . .4
4
approximately 60-62.7’V. (140-145’ F. Jane1 the second being either
a boiling sink where the water is literally at or near boiling
point or a very hot sink with the water at a temperature of at
least 77’C, (170’F.). xAfter the articles have been washer' in the
first sink thc-y are placer1 in a basket anr’ immerse,d in the second
sink for a period varying with the timperaturb-between half a minute
and 2 minutes.' /tftc-r this they are taken out and allowed to dry in the
air. This second sink serves three purposes: the first is to
rinse off any traces of.detergent; the second, to kill off any
bacteria which may have remained (using the heat of the water); the
third, to heat the article to a sufficiently high temperature to allovy
it to air dry without the necessity of wiping it with a cloth.
This .procedure is closely followed in most mechanical
dish-washing-operations. The number of washing and rinsing cycles
may vary from machine'to machine',' but in principle-, apart from
any initial pre-wash or pre-rinse, the main washing operation is
carried out in a tank at a temperature of approximately 62.7’C.
(145’G.())> the water containing a detergent with or without a bleaching
agent, the main purpose of the latter being’ to ensure effective stain
removal. The second stage is rinsing with Water at a temperature
of approximately 77’C. (170’F), sprayed on to the crockery from various
rinse arms. Frequently a rinse additive is placed in this water
but its function is not so much to sterilize as to act as a wetting
0
agent so that the highly concentrated detergent found in the first
stage is removed completely.
In washing up by hand, where it is impracticable to use
boiling or very hot water, chemicals (frequently hypochlorites)
are often added to the -second sink. These are quite effective" germs
killers providing that sufficient contact time is allowed. In
some instances it may not be possible to sterilize metallic
objects in this way because of the risk of corrosion. After
sterilizing in a chemical it is often desirable to rinse the
article in some clean hot water to remove any residue, after
which they are driedand put away. Wherever possible air drying
should be used, but if it is necessary to wipe or polish any
article a disposable towel should always be employed, Whether
washing up is done mechanically or by hand it is still essential
to ensure that all machinery and equipment used in the process is
kept thoroughly clean and in good order. This applies particularly
to dish-washing and glass-washing machines which, unless they
are cleaned and maintained regularly, can frequently produce
unsatisfactory bacterial counts on the crockery.
So far as crockery and cutlery are concerned, these can
be dealt with by washing up either by hand or by.machine in the
two-stage process mentioned, but this procedure is not always
practicable for the large equipment to be found in food premises.,
Working surfaces must be- cleaned and sterilized at least daily and
often more- frequently. Where sufficient labour , is available a
two-stage process is ideal,- i.e. washing down with a suitable
detergent to be followed by rinsing thoroughly with a suitable
chemical sterilant. How-ever as time and labour are .frequently at
a premium it is often only practicable to carry out a single
operation. In this case it is necessary to use a combined
detergent-sterilizer. Various combinations of chemicals are
available on the market but many detergent-sterilizers tocay tall
into the group of chemicals called quarternary ammonium compounds.
These may not be as effective cleaning agents as detergents or
even as effective sterilizing agents as pure sterilants but, it
properly used, they can, under normal, circumstances, provide an .
adequate cleaning and sterilizing process in one operation. Their
detergent properties tend to be inversely proportional to their
sterilizing power. It is common practice; therefore to combine a
quaternary ammonium compound.of high sterilizing power with a
suitable (non-ionic ) detergent. Detergdnt-steriiizers arc- used
frequently for such equipment as milk machines, ice-cream
machines, the insides of refrigerators, meat slicers, mixing
machines and working-surface tops.
After equipment has been cleaned and sterilized, it is
essential that it be put away properly in a suitable clean store,
and not left lying around in the kitchen to become recontaminated
THE DESIGN OF EQUIPMENT ANT PREMISES:
The law requires’that equipment used for the handling of
food should.not.only be efficient but shall also be made of
material which is impervious, easily cleansed and non-reactive to
food ingredients. The actual materials used in the construction
of a piece of food machinery or of a working .surface must depend
upon the particular operation involved and it is only possible to
lay down very general guide lines. Nowddays, galvanized material
is rarely used, because it is difficult to clean and the galvanizing
ultimately.corrodes. Stainless steel is obviously the most popular
material, but in some cases it is precluded because of expense.
However, wherever possible, this or one of the harder plastics is
the most suitable material; the one surface which should not appear
in dny food premises is soft wood. Even' now, soft wood shelving is
frequently found in stores and if there is no means of avoiding
this (as, for example,, in existing premises) these shelves should be
covered with an imprevious surface, even if this is only a hard,
polyurathane paint. It is almost impossible to avoid spills and
leakages from bottles and cans, and therefore untreated wood
surfaces rapidly become contaminated and impossible to clean.
Cutting boards can be obtained in various plastic materials, and
on the whole they have proved quite satisfactory, provided they
are not subjected to too much heat in the process of washing,
when they tend to warp. The only wood surface which should be
allowed to come into contact with food, is a hard, wood chopping
block.
All equipment, particularly bins and containers should
have rounded corners to facilitate cleaning, as food particles
left in odd-corners will not only harbour bacteria and mould spores,
but may provide a breeding ground for various forms of vermin,
including cockroaches, mites, weevils, etc.
So far as possible, the premises themselves should be so
designed that they can be easily kept clean. The. actual lay-out of
the food'room will depend upon the.particular business being
conducted on the premises, but it is essential that it be . .
lighted adequately and ventilated’properly. The walls, ceiling and
floors, too, should be made of an impervious material, which can
also be easily cleansed•
In the past, tiling has often been used to cover.walls,
and whilst there are many points in its favour, there are distinct
disadvantages. Tiles are not hardTyvearing and get damagec in
areas such as corners and behind pan wash sinks. They also tenc
to come away from a wall subjectec to intense hc-at-for example,
behind qrills and ovens. In these areas, a better proposition
is to instal a metal lining to the wall, properly sealing it to
prevent vermin from nesting behind the metal. At.higher levels,
a qood hard plaster finished with a high-gloss.paint, woulc usually
be easier to keep clean than a tiled surface with its inevitable
grooves between tiles.
. . ...6
6
In so far as floor covering is concerned, it is
imperative that the junction between the wall and floor be covered
by a large radius the, Even in those areas where coved tiles are
used, there is a tendency to employ a tile with a radius of
approximately only half ah inch’. This type of corner is
extremely difficult to clean, as grease and food particles tend to
accumulate there, particularly behind pieces of equipment which
provide an ideal breeding ground for vermin. Uuarry tiles have been
popular for many years as a floor covering, but where these are
used, care should be taken to ensure that the tiles are laid as
close together as practicable. ’Vide joints between tiles will
absorb grease, and although floor cleaning machines may be employed
satisfactorily to clean the tile surface,"the brushes on these
machines cannot reach the junction between the tiles where grease
builds up. In the larger organizations experiments are being
conducted with epoxy resin and various other forms of continuous
flooring which cap be laid in a single surface from wall to wall
(and even up the walls to a certain extent) and this will probably
be the answer to cleaning-problems. On the other hand, some of
these floor surfaces.can become very slippery when in contact
with water or grease and care.must therefore be taken in the
selection of these materials to ensure that the surface is both
safe and can be easily cleaned..
Ventilation is-very important, not only from the point
of view of keeping the kitchen cool? but also in preventing fat
and grease contaminating the walls in the cooking process. Hoods
connected to a suitable extract System should be fitted with
easily accessible filters and grease drip-trays. These must be
cleaned very regularly as vchoked filters not only prevent the
effective operation of the ventilating system, but are also a
real fire hazard should the grease' tray over-flbw on to a hot
surface. All fittings and equipment should be as simple in
design as is possible, free from corners where dirt can accumulate.
Shelves should be slatted in to allow any spillage to fall through
and the bottom shelf should be at least 12 inches from the ground to
facilitate cleaning. Similarly, work tables and other pieces of
equipment should, wherever possible, be movable. Where this cannot
be arranged, equipment should either'be built-in, so as to prevent
one continuous surface with the wall, without joints in which
grease and dirt can -lodge, or located far enough from the wall
for the area behind to be easily- cleaned. Frc-e standing equipment
should be sufficiently high from the floor to allow the area
beneath to be properly cleaned. Particular attention should be
paid to the supply pipes leading to such equipment, e.g. gas
pipes, eledtricity cables and water pipes, which are often too
close to the floor and where grease and dirt get trapped. Window
sills and unnecessary leges should either be removed or made- to
slope steeply to- prevent dust, dirt and rubbish accumulating.
THE PREVENTION OF INFESTATIONS BY ROFENTS AM? OTHER PESTS:
Rats and mice are liable to harbour food-poisoning
organisms in their bowels and carry many forms of contamination on
their fur and feet. The main danger from infestations lies
in the unknown quantity of food which may have been contaminated
either by their droppings or their physical contact when running
around the premises, and not in the relatively s-mall amount of
food, which is damaged. A careful watch must, therefore , be kept
for signs of gnawings, grease marks, holes, droppings and damage to
packages. If an infestation is suspected, expert advice shoulc
be sought from a specialist disinfestation firm or from the
local Health Pepartment.
.. .7
7
The main preventive action so far as infestations are
concerned, may be defined in the two words-"Good Housekeeping".
No crumbs or narticles of food should be left around. All stock
should be kept off the ground and used in rotation to deny
harbourage for breeding purposes. Host-bins should always be
fitted with lids and care must be taken to ensure- the lids are
properly in place, particularly at the end of the working'day.
Used plastic or paper sacks should be properly secured before
being deposited in the bin area. Too often these sacks are left
open and if knocked over and spilled, the contents will
attract the attentions of vermin and other animals.
The building should be examined frequently with a view
to detecting failures in vermin proffing. Pipe runs should be
sealed at the entrance to-buildings and where pipes pass
from room to room. Ventilators should'be covered with fine
gauze to prevent flying insects gaining access. The ,bottoms of
door4s should be- fixed with kick-plates to prevent vermin easily
gnawing through any. damaged parts.
Insecticides, particularly slow acting ones such as
DDT, should only be used in dust-bins, stores and passages, etc.,
and pot where there is food exposed. In kitchens and food preparation
areas where it is inevitable that a certain amount of food is
exposed, electrically operated fly-killers should be employed.
These consist of a blue light bulb or tube which, when switched on,
attracts flies to an electrically charged metal grid. As the
flics touch the grid thc-y arc electrocuted and their bodies fall into
the collecting tray under-neath. While this method does involve, a
certain amount of capital outlay, It does-.preclude the risk of
bodies of dead flies appearing in food.
THE DESTRUCTION OF GEEKS IN THE FOOD ITSELF:
■
In practice, the only real method of destroying germs
is by hc-at. There- arc- three main categories of heat-treatment:
pastc-rurization, sterilization and cooking.
The aim of pasteurization is to destroy the pathogens
without nccessar-ily killing all. bacteria. At the same time, by
reducing the temperature and time for which.food -has to be
heated, changes in flavour and appearance 'of the food itself
are minimized. This applies to milk, ice-cream, cream, liquid
eggs and certain cooked meats which, for commercial reasons it may
be impossible or impracticable to sterilize.
There are two methods of milk pasteurization: the holder
or batch method and the continuous or high temperature- short..
time method (HTST). In the case of the former, a batch of.milk
is heated to between 62.7’C.(145‘F) and 65'C.(150'F), retained at
that temperature for 30 minutes then cooled to 1O'C.(5O'F. ) before
being bottled. This is a relatively slow process and is, therefore,
only usc-d in very small dairies. The high temperature short-time
method is used in larger establishments and is a continuous flow
system by means of which milk is pumped steadily around the plant
from the supply tanks at one end to the bottling machine at the
other, and filtered. The milk is then warmed by heat exchangers to
71.3'C. (161'F.), retained at that temperature for 15 seconds, during
which time it flows through an insulated pipe to be cooled to
10’C.(50*F.) at the other end of the machine. It is required by
law that indicating and recording thermometers be provided so that
inspectors can see that each batch has been correctly treated.
The flow diversion valve fitted at the output end of the holding tube,
returns to the beginning of- the process -any milk which is not at the
correct temperature.
....8
8'
Ice—cream mix must be- either pasteurized or sterilizer’.
In the case of pasteurization, a number of different combinations
of time anc temperature may be user’. These vary according to the
size of the establishment anr’ both batch anc’ continuous flow
methods are usee’.
Liquic1 eggs usc-d for baking or for the manufacture of
dried- egg must be pasteurizer’ at a temperature of 64.9*C.(148*F. )
for 2-£ minutes.
Vest canned meats are stc-rilizec1, but in some instances
it is impracticable .to guarantee that the entire, mass of the meat
is heater3 to a sufficiently high temperature to r’estory all
bacteria without r’amaging the outside of the meat in the process.
In this case, a lower temperature is user3 so that only the pathogens
are destoryed anr’ the can is then lablellec1- "To be Kept Under
Refrigeration". It is very important that these instructions be
carrier’ out in the- case of pasteurizer’ meats.
The aim of sterilization is to-kill all bacteria.. This
is applier’ mainly to canner’ goor’s, milk, anc’ to certain ice-cre-am
dried mixes. . The time anc3 temperature combination for the
sterilization .of canner3 foods depends to a very large extent upon
the nature of the foot" itself, the type of pack anr’ the size of the
pack. The principle- behinr’ the- process is to ensure that theentire’ mass of the ’meat reaches a- temperature above boiling point.
The main organism with which canners are concerned is Clostridium
botulinum. For this reason most canner’ foor’s arc- heater’ to
temperatures arounr’ the 115.5*C. (240‘ F. ) mark for a perior’ of
several minutes, but it is not possible to generalize on this
subject.
'
So far as milk is concerned, this may be sterilizer’ either
in batches or by the continuous flow method. Again, there are
variations of time anc’ temperature, no statutory figures having
been lair’ down, but in the batch method the milk is heated to
approximately 115.'5*C. (240* F. ) for 20 minutes in bottles that have
already been sealed. It is thc-n cooled and despatched. Since the
souring organisms as well as the pathogens have been destroyed ,
this milk will keep' for long periods without refrigeration, but
unfortunately the milk sugars arc- caramelized and the milk, therefore,
has a characteristic flavour. However, if the bottle'has been
opened the milk turns sour relatively quickly-as will fresh milk.
Before milk can.be legally described as "sterilized" it must pass
a test known as the "Turbidity test".'
To obviate the unpleasant flavour of sterilized milk,
a nevi method, known as Ultra Heat Treatment, has been devised.
This is a continuous flow process similar to the high temperature
short time method of pasteurization, but in this case the milk is
heated to 132*C. (270*F.) for one second before being poured, under
aseptic conditions , into sterile containers which are thc-n sealed.
This milk is often known as Long Life milk. Although for
technical reasons it-will not pass the turbidity test, and.
cannot legally be sold as "sterilized milk", for all ptacticai
purposes it is free from bacteria and will ’keep for as long as the
conventional sterilized milk.
....9,
9
Icc-crc-am is sterilized in a similar manner at a
temperature of approximate-ly 149’C. (300’F.) for 2 seconds
after which it is dried anr’ packer’ into sealer’ containers for use
by those manufacturers who c'o not have the facilities for
he at-treatment (e.g. soft ice-cream sqles from mobile vans)
The methoc’ most commonly employer’ in the kitchen for
killing bacteria in food, is cooking. To be effective, the entire
mass of the- food must be exposed to the heat and, thc-rc-forc-, small
joints of meat are much better than large ones. Minced meat should
be spread out-on shallow trays.
Unless the meat is to be served immediately, it should,
after cooking, be cooled very rapidly and refrigerated as soon as
possible to reduce to a minimum the development of bacteria from
any spores which may have survived the cooking. Slow cooling of
food followed by re-heating is a frequent cause of food-poisoning,
particularly by organisms of the welchii group. In general, meat
food should not be?re-heated , but if this is unavoidable, then
thorough rc--heating is essential. The warming up of these dishes
has caus.c-d many food poisoning outbreaks. The law requires that
when food is needed for immediate consumption, it must be kept
hot, i.c. at a temperature above 62.7‘C. (145'F.), or cooled
rapidly to below 10’C. (50’F.), until it is to be .actually served
for immediate consumption#
1
THE PREVENTION OF GERMS FROM MULTIPLYING:
The foods in which bacteria multiply most rapidly are :
meat and meat products; milk and milk products; egg and egg
products. One way of controlling the rate of multiplication.is
to remove the- free moisture either by dehydration or the- action
of salt of sugar. With certain, foods; the creation of an.
acid environment by the addition of vinegar or benzoic acid
will prevent germs from multiplying, but in many cases, the nature
of the food is altered and in others, the law limits the quantity
of acid which may be added.
The most practical method of controlling bacterial
multiplication is by regulating the- temperature , ■ normally by.
refrigeration. There are three main types of refrigeration in
general use.
The dairy or domestic type- of refrigerator operates
at a temperature between 1*C. (34’F. ) and .4'0.(40*F.) and is used
for the short-term storage of various foods. Since most
pathogenic- bacteria do not multiply appreciably at temperatures
below 10'C, (50'F.), food kept in these refrigerators is
reasonably safe. However, there are many spoilage organisms
which will continue to grow at a temperature of around 4'C|
(40‘F.) and, therefore, spoilage can occur evc-n within the
refrigerator to slightly above freezing point, is to prevent.
the formation of large ice crystals. Where any food containing
moisture is cooled slowly, there is a tendency for large ice
crystals to form within the cells of the food. In the latter
stages of thawing, these ice crystals rupture the cell-walls so
that valuable salts and products contained in the food-cell
are lost as the water is drained away. On the other hand,
.. .10
10
this is not the case- with food that is frozen by the "quickfreeze” process, as only small ice crystals are formed'within
the cells which co not-rupture- the cell-walls. It is, therefore,
possible to reconstitute quick-frozen food with the minimum
loss of nutritional value.
As the. function of a refrigerator is to circulate cool
air it is essential that it should not be over-loaded, for
unless the air is freely circulating round the food , that -food
will not be cooled. As refrigeration space is relatively
expensive, the most effective use- must ’be made of the re frige rat; or
and, therefore j canned g.oods, acid foods, raw fruit, raw
vegetables, dried goods, etc., should not be placed inside the
.refrigerator. It should be reserved for the high protein wet
’foods, such as meat and meat products, milk and milk products,
and egg end egg products. Because of air circulation, strong
smelling foods such as fish should not be placed in the •
refrigerator with other foods unless the pungent food is put
into an air-tight container first.
Another type of refrigeration frequently found in food
premises, is the deep-freeze cabinet. This should be kept at a
temperature of - 25’C. to - 19‘C. (-5’F. to +5*F.). It should
be used solely for the storage of food which has already been
frozen and, therefore, it is not quite.so essential to allow air
space around the various items stored there. On the other hand,
should the deep-freeze unit fail and any quick frozen food
v ,
commence to thaw, it must not be re-frozen even in the deep-freeze
unit itself. The.temperature of this unit is insufficient to
ensure the formation of the small ice crystals and any food
re-frozen would .suffer damage, due co-the formation of large
ice-crystals. If such a problem arises the options open to a
food handler are:(a) to.destroy the food: (b) to use the food.immediately;
(c) to use as much food as possible immediately and store the
remainder in a dairy refriqc-rator for a period not exceeding
48 hours, or (d ) cook the food, cool it rapidly and. store •.
it in a dairy refrigerator for immediate use, again within two
or three days.
The last type of refrigeration is the ice-cream
conservator. This operates at a temperature of around
-7'C. to -4'C. (20’F. to 25’F.). It is intended for the storage
of ice-cream which the law requires to be kept at a temperature
not exceeding - 2’C. (28'F.). It is, therefore, not suitable
for the long-term storage- of quick-frozern. foods , although
there is a tendency among certain caterers to use it for
this purpose. Little bacterial growth will take place within
frozen foods kept in these cabinc-ts but flavour changes may
well take place due to enzymic action which is not stopped
completely at these temperatures.
Since the efficient operation of a refrigerator
depends upon the cooling effect of air circulating outside as
well as inside the- cabinet, care must be taken in every
instance to ensure that ths ventilation grilles loading to the
motor uhit are kept clean and free from obstruction.
Source : Royal Institute of Public Health & Hygiene
- London
ms*/3Q/l/80/
®AhtG
ST
JOHN'S METICAL COLLEGE & HOSPITAI
TIRECTOP OF FURAL HEALTH SERVICES & TRAINING PROGRAMME
MATERIALS USER IN COTS" UCTION OF FOOL PREMISES:
All material.' used in the construction of food premises
shoulc’ be such as wil? , of themselves, assist ?,i
t,- or c~
maintaining ths premi-es in. a proper state of cl;.me ,-.s.
For example:
Outer yarc's shoulc’ be payee’ with(a) Hard-rolled tar macadam.
(b) Hard-surfaced concrete.
(c) Concrete-based cement-rendered surfaces.
(r) Tiles (earthenware) set to tight joints.
1(e) Stone setts with flush'joints, s'et’in
cement.
(f) Flagstones with good hard cement.
Interior work floored should be
ta) Granolithic.
(b) Terrazo.
(c) Quarry tiles.
(d) Quarry tiles incorporating non-slip
elements.,
(e) Specialized plasticized- floor
tiles.
(f) Har'd cork lino o/er flush-fitted wood.
(g) Surfaced-tight jointed hardwoods.
(h) Oiled and sealed-hardwoods.
(i) Oil-dressed cement floors treated with
silicate of alumina when laid. .
Interior room floors .where no heavy work is carried
out and where the public are allowed for service
or shopping should be
ta) Specialized plasticized floor tiles.
(.b) Hard cork lino over flus■-'-fitted wood.
•
-'c) Surfaced-tight jointed ordwobd.'
(di Giled and sealed hardwocds.
Where the sales action demands rugs or
carpeting these should be-of a quality that
will witfistand regular daily vacuum ■
■cleaning or surface cleaning.
Walls of food rooms should be
ta) Plas'tered and painted, two or three coats
lead-free paint.
(b) Tiled (ceramics or earthenware).
(c) Sheeted with plastic laminate.
(d) Sheeted with metal sheet (not, glavanizec).
(e) Tiled with plasticized polyurethane tiles
or the like. .
Celings should be
ta) Plastered but not painted. They are
designed when plastered to act as.a
.
heat-absorbing area, and painting of t.us
Blaster leads to increased problems.of
condensation in rooms "here steam rises
4-.
.....
.. ... .
•
■■
2
i;:-' •••■.r.j.c
--Pg; v;-.:'
(.■■;
■ ••"’■' vfooc’v.brk- where:-war--hes. to- bcr jibed , ) should be.’fa;)'Harr1-wood;1
.
(o) Othcp woods given .added protective
sur-'f ac'ing' j &uc h" a s two- Jor:-'throb/coats
’ • 1
of, lead^-ffee; paint'. .
■-
, ■ . . -...
Brickwork-- . .
All- ■b'ri-Ckwbik bi/ fbcid (premise ~ (excluding
' ■ out-si -'c- walls}' shdjiild.-b'e fini"bed with
1
fribj fafae .-<■Thatis, (Without •■ys--y:r.
'"•moi-tar : joints
■-[<?.’ V COtE ■ OF TRACT ICE (■'.EXAMPLE;).
,-
„
.
'It is no'l
tcp.-siet down, jan .-.example of a .-code of
practige whip 11'..villi equal’ly'-.a-pply -tb.:;t'her'construction--and conduct
of all -f»od p,remises.. • Th;'.se-t't:'ing--tdwn"-the paragraphs it is
inevitable-, that..some' pf';tht itemb specified will also he the
subject of food-contrbl ■I'av’w’..;.tiThoiiagre;qdcoons.t.rgc-tio.Q . principl-es ■
are, howe-ver, good :sen-se,'.i.n ■ ajny -fipod—handling clr-CumstaticGS.. . -. -::;
1.
The walls of .food rooms made from permanent materials
should, be smooth and impervious-.
2.
Walls should, be..in ;good repair . and be finished in a
light colour.
3.
Flaking paints, and non-wa'shable powder paint colours
(distempers) should not be,used. '
4.
tiles are advantageous, and there should be rounded
angles at floor level.
5.
Ceilings should be.. in good, repair, of even surface, and
either porous or specif ieally.- insulated .-,according to the process
carried out. - - ' ■
■. .
'
6.
’Ventilation cgr)opi,’e£-. should be fitted wherever excess
steam is generated.
moisture.
7.
-Such' canopies' should be of rust-proof'materials.
8.
Floors should be -even,' surfaced, and impervious to
. ■
9.,
Where frequent washing- dowri-is needed the- floor should
gently slope to a drain.
10.
Pipes coming through vjalls, floors, or ceilings shoulr
be fitted in a manner that prevents ingress of 'indc-cts through gaps.
11.
All floors.should.be.cleaned at,least once a d^y.
12.
Internal voodv/ork.Lshould be-reduced to a minimum
and should he of a design that makes cleaning, easy. Wood should
not (with the possible exception of butchers ' blocks anc special
food-cutting surfaces) be used- for food work surfaces.
.. .3
3
13. Coors should be fitted so as to prevent insects
and rodents gaining access.
14« Windows should be of plain glass-, ar. o’ th; window
sills sloped so as to stop them being used as 'unofficial'
shelves. Where cooked meat and processed macc-ur foods are
displayed the windows should be refrigerated.
15. All lights should be placed to ... ">1 .med illustrated
pattern to fit the'work process. Xhe scale of ’V'tir. mould
never fall below 25 lumens per ft, (formerly t-rlf iJ?t-cjndles
or lamberts) at any work surface.
16. Ventilation must be worked out to suit the process,
but some degree of mechanical ventilation is needed in most food
rooms. .
. c '
'
u;-. ' ;
17.
air per hour.
Ventilation should aim at minimum of 20 chances of
18. The heating systems needs to be planned.to fit the
process and the ventilation system, and must have relationship to
the needed relative humidity.
19. Any outdoor yards or paving used in connexion with
the food business should be of an even impervious good-condition
surface.
20. Separate tools should be used for cutting raw foods,
especially meats and cooked foods.
21. Where. wooden work surfaces have to be used they
should be cleaned to a special routine, and -will I c-st be sterilized
by washing with sodium hypochlorite- in a correct solution'that will
be. advised by the makers;
22. degreasing is as important as stcri?'.ziQg., and correct
detergents should be selected and properly use< •
23. Premises should be inspected regular'.1; for the- presence
of rodents and insects, and domestic animals shou?r be banished from
food rooms.
24., Adequate storage for food and all utensils should
be provided’ and kept in a good state of repair to’-prevent’ accidental
contamination or contamination by insects., rodepts, etc.
25’. Refuse should be moved regularly and completely from
food rooms- and stored under cover and- kept dry as possible until
final removal from the premises.
26. Refrigerators should be purpose built and.correctly
used.- Full .regard must be- to aid the- food and -the- special needs
of that food when correctly-kept.
27. Meat should be hung or placed in containers or on
special cleahable pallets.
.4
4
'
, . 2S- Products should be kept at their correct tc-mocratures
and not indiscriminately taken into and out of that temperature
ambient.
■ 29. Refrlgc’-at'ors \shoCild',,b'1?' cefroBtcd’i,a0d'<plG.a-ncd-.
regularly.
.30. ,F°0C>
not : be-' placed,on' s.ale-display-, in the
direct rays o1 the-sur or ’ h. re any ■ atmos-pherip. contamination .
may occur or where peri ons may contaminate, it.’
31. Hands should be kept off food as far as possible,
and where the tradc-inceds .make handling necessary,' then the
hands should, indeed must,' be' clean.
32. Dressing poultry, and the like should'-never be
carried out on the same surface- as other food preparation-, and
the hands should be washc-d between every such operation.
- <
• .33. Food for animals' and pets, bho'uld. .be handled absolutely
separately from human food-.- ■
- .
'.'/
34. . Delicatessen and meat products should: be .very carefully
■ displayed and screened from contamination at all.,times..;
•
n35. All-.me at," a nd. meat products should' be"kept', a'i" below .■ f
1O°C. until cooked.
■"
-36. -Gelatines'-and ' gravies should, hot be- kept. in a readyto-serve or use state from one day to the next..
,
• :-
;37. All equipment;; should be, purpose designed, and so
should all- utensils i Only correct utensils "and equipment should
be used, and thc-y should be"of correct materials "and shape to'make
maintenance and cleaning easy.
'
38.
All machine and container door's should' be. tightly
fitting, and .panels intended' to be removed' for' cleaning p;r-. maiptc-nanccacccss--sh.oulc be gasketed to keep out insects and to prevent other
forms of possible contamination,of contents.
39.
There should be a minimum of-inaccessible.internal
surface that can be re ned for cleaning. All the materials used
should be non-toxic.
40.
All machines or equipment delivery tubespipes, and
chutes'should be subject to a reasonc-d-out in- situ .chemical ,
sterilization routine-. .
41.
All liquid container ' machines, .and ■ equipment ' should
be- fitted with anti-overflow devices.
42.
Equipment designed, ’tp achive '-'set.- temperatures should'
have indicator thermometers to . show., their -working c fficic,ncy., .
43.
Light should be arranged so that all' working parts.
of any machine or equipment car. be examined for cleanliness.
44.
Precise cleaninc instructions should .-be" worked out
ahd known to all 'operativGS .for all machines., equipments .and '
utensils..
M3M/ms*./24/l/80/
NUT
Premises :
THE LOCATION ANT DESIGN OF PREMISES,
EQUIPMENT, AND UTENSILS
^nNSO«rf/
c
171 gAWS*1’
2_-M
, c6tt
kfioOO'l
There are basic similarities in the construction of all
premises where food is handled. These are found whether the
premises be- a small home kitchen, a small food shop, or a huge food
factory._ The use of good construction principles, and of materials
that assist the- maintenance of cleaning routines, thus become major
factors in obtaining practical food hygiene.
Before the 'Example' code is read- it is necessary to
indicate some general principles in regard to the siting and
location of food, premises and the corredt allocation of working
space for food handlers. Badly located sites hinder the proper
observance of basic food-hygiene ideals, and as such they should,
in theory, be avoided. Where it is not possible- to obey this
precept, all cleaning and food-handling routines should be care- '
fully worked out to compensate for site and location difficulties.
Adequate water supplies, lighting services, and ventilation must
always be available. The immediate surroundings should be examined
for the presence of noxious trades and practices. An unpleasant
smell is not so important as whether the air is charged with smoke
or other dirty particles, or whether the surroundings contain
potential or actual breeding-grounds for rats or harmful insects.
If prospective premises form part of a large building
the location of the water supply and other common services should
be examined; and it should be ascertained whether the sanitary
conveniences and wash basins to be used by the staff are con
veniently sited and adequate in number. Zittc-ntion should be given
to the facilities for handling and storing foodstuffs and to
the routes by which the foods reach the establishment and the
refuse is removed. The inward route, at least, should be- under
the trader's own control; dark and potentially dirty passages
and alleyways should never be used as food rooms.
Underground food rooms present special difficulties,
It is important that their windows should not open on to areas
or forecourts so narrow that dirt of noxious- matter can be
kicked, thrown, dropped, or blown into uncleanable- recesses or
even on to the food. Underground premises may be liable to flood
ing and drainage backflow, and they also need special ventilation and
lighting. Premises where food is stored need to be cool and dry.
All food-handling or service- premises should be
extensive enough to allow all work chores to be- carried out
without congestion on the- lines of work flow. Food handlers
should never be crowded at work-tables or have- to queue for the
use of food-cleaning or washing facilities or facilities for
personal hygiene. At the same time the- premises should not be so
large as to entail unnecessary walking about by workers. Food
handlers have been observed to neglect hygienic practices if they
involve- additional walking, waiting, or working uncomfortably
close to a colleague. There must be sufficient table and shelf
space to alllow used and unused utensils to be kept apart from
each other and from food in course of preparation.
. .2
2
Food-preparation and washing-up rooms or zones should
occupy a space equal to approximately half the sales area, but
rather more than this is necessary in very small establishments
Every food establishment should contain a room used solely as a
food work room not less thanp8ft. (2.43 m. ) in height and with a
minimum floor area of 100ft. (9.3 m.2) clear of furniture, fittings
and stored goods. If more than three people are employed in the
room there should be an additional 33ft.2 (3 m.2) of floor area
similarly clear for each person above three in number.
The greater the distance over which food has to be
carried, and the more often it has to be handled, the greater
the chance.of its becoming contaminated. Therefore, the ideal
to aim at is to have everything' moving forward in orderly
progression- from delivery area to sales area.
Temperature and Relative Humidity. As this section
proceeds the terms 'cool1 and'dry 1 will increasingly occur, and
it is therefore useful to explain those terms.
Cool is actually coupled with the idea of hot food being
piping hot. At first glance that may seem a contradiction in
terms, but it is understandable when it is made clear that the
object is to keep foods outside the danger range of temperatures
1O*-63‘C. There is a range of food, such as bread, pastries, etc.,
that may be within this range with safety. There are other foods
which need to be always in sub-zero conditions, such as frozen foods
and ice-creams. One of the greatest problems facing the food-hygiene
worker is the ready plated meal held until the consumer arrives and
kept for this purpose in so-callc-d 'hot' cupboards, which are
usually found to operate around 37'C. Platc-d food so held for 30
minutes has almost become the equivalent of a laboratory culture
plate if there is original bacterial contamination of the plated
meal. The aim must therefore be to keep food cool or piping hot,
in hot cupboards above 63"C.
'
Relative humidity is the degree of available, moisture
in the air at any given temperature, and it is evaluated, by
taking contrasting readings of two thermometers, one kept dry
and the other with its. bulb covered by a wick immersed in water.
Lay-out.' The -lay-out should be planned with a
clear idea of the purpose of every part' of the food premises. A
goods entrance, separate from the customer's entrance, is
essential for hygienic planning. The most convenient arrangement
is for this goods entrance to open from a yard so situated that
delivery vans can pull right up to the door of the- building.
The yard should have an impervious and even surface, a water
standpipe, tap and washing-down hose., raised and covered
accommodation for refuse bins and swill bins, and adequate
drainage. If solid fuel is used the store should be in the yard,
and bulk oil fuel should be kept completely separate from any
food or utensil store-.
Vegetable and Root-drop Storage. If root crops.and
un-cleaned farm produce are being handled on any food premises
they should be stored in a purpose-designed room which should
be near the goods delivery point and is cool, dry, well ventilated,
and large enough to allow for orderly storage. It is convenient
in this room to arrange'that water used for washing down drains
to a gulley. Thus the room is best planned with and entrancedirect from the yard-which will kec-p some dirt off the rest of
the premises. Vegetables require ventilation.
3
They should be stored on rrcks-preferebly wire- or metal- so
arranger5 that air con circulate freely under one’ around them.
The racks shoulc' be high enough off the grounc' so as not to be
readily accessible- to vermin. Potatoes and root vegetables
should normally be stored in sacks as delivered; but if they
have been bagged in wet weather they may be subject to disease,
and they should be turned out, aired, and examiner. The
defective onc-s should be removed at once. Other fresh vegetables
should be used.the day they ere received. If this is impossible they
should be emptied out on to the racks, but new deliveries should not
be emptied on top of older ones. Stored vegetables should be ins
pected frequently and premises should come the dry food store,
which should be flyproofed by fixing removable screens over windows and
door openings; in addition, the walls should be treated with
residual insecticides. The room should be dry, well lit and
ventilated, and at least 7 ft. 6 in. (2.3m.) high. This room should
be used exclusively as a store, and therefore an internal water
supply is not essential, but water for cleaning should be close at
hand. Prepacked dec-p-frizen vegetables received into stock mean
that sub-zero holding cabinets must be available. These
cabinets should be such as allow for rotation of stock, and have
a plainly marked effective loading line above which stock should
not be placed. Rooms where food is 'worked ' should never be used
as thoroughfares to other parts of any building, and it is an
advantage to study the processes and 'zone ' the areas of floor
space allocated to each. This,as a reduction of cleaning
problems, is to be preferred against a multiplicity of small
"
work-rooms. Full advantage should always be taken of natural
lighting and existing mains services supplies, and the- real aim
should be to achieve cleanliness and supervision rather than pure
design symmetry.
Siting of Equipment, /ill food equipment should be so
placed as to allow room for cleaning around and behind, as well as
in front. Where equipment and cupboards and store places are
'built in' the object must be to have them free of un-nc-cessary
ornamentation and finished to an even surface with surrounding
wall surfaces or floor surfaces to obviate uncleanable ledges
and areas.
Ft-rsonal Hygiene Facilities. Sanitary accommodation
must be provided for the staff, and should also be provided for
customers. It is usually inconvenient for the same accommodation
to be used both by staff and customers, except in quite small
establishments. In larger establishments it is more satisfactory
to combine the staff conveniences in a group with the staff
washrooms and cloakrooms. It is important that the sanitary
accommodation available to workers should be readily accessible.
Although no general rule can be laid down, no worker should
have to go more than thirty steps from the room where he is
working to reach.sanitary accommodation. The compartment
containing the sanitary convenience should be separated from any
working room and from the dining-room by an intervening
ventilated space and should be wellllit; this point is most
important, as otherwise it may not be properly cleaned. T®e
should be separate sanitary accommodation for each sex, with
separate approaches.
. . .4
4
There should.be fully equipped wash-hand basins within
any compartment containing sanitary conveniences or close to them
for example, in the intervening space referred to above.
The basic requirements of sanitary accommodation-ready
accessibility, good light, and proximity to washing facilities-'
can be- fulfilled in many different ways; only after consideration
of all the- circumstances can a decision he made on whether the
provision in a particular instance is suitable and sufficient.
• . Where there is no water supply or when a water-carriage
sewage-disposal system cannot be used for other reasons-for example
at fair-grounds or at remote tourist centres-some form of chemical
closet is needed. Whichever type- is used should be fitted with a
cover or otherwise constructed so that the contents are protected
from flies. Care must be exercised to see that the equipment is
kept as clean as possible. It should be situated as far from the
food room as reasonable, and it- should have hand-washing facilities
adjacent.
It is never impossible to provide hot water, soap,
nail brushes, and towels. Wall-cabinet roller towels which present
each user with a fresh surface or, alternatively, paper towels for
single .use are preferable. Electric hot-air hand driers arc- also
available.
Water Supply and Hot-water Apparatus, /ujiple and
immediately available supplies of both hot and cold running water
are essential. Where the food establishment.occupies part of a
building, it is desirable for it to have its own independent
hot-water supply, /ill water used for food preparation and cooking,
for drinking, for washing-up, and for cleaning utensils and
surfaces with which food or utensils may come in contact should
be public-supply-main water or of equivalent quality. Rain-water,
river water, well water, and water from other non-purified sources
should be used only for such outdoor purposes as washing down
•.yards and swilling out dust-bins, except on the advice of the
local health department.
It is not advisable to economize over water taps
and piping. All sinks, wash-hand basins, and1 other fixed
receptacles should receive thqir wafer supplies direct from taps
appropriately placed. For internal piping copper is.best;
and where the course of the piping is not dictated either by the
existing mains and tanks or by the siting of sinks and-other
appliances, it is worth while to give some thought to its
arrangements Pipes tend to collect dust, and horizonatal or
sloping overhead pipes are not only difficult to clean but may also
accumulate moisture, which .drips on to the food.
Whenever possible, pipes should cither be run outside the
kitchen (for example, under the floor or above the ceiling) or
else they should be sunk into the wall. When they must come
into the open they should for preference run vertically rather
than horizontally, bringing the- water straight down to the tap
from the overhead pipes or straight up from the supply beneath
the floor. In any case, they should be held at least 2 or 3 in.
(5-8 cm. ) away from the wall by pipe clips, so that.they can be
cleaned all round and do not create crevices in which insects
or vermin may breed. If cold service pipes have to be run at
high levelsthey should be lagged to prevent condensation and the
dripping which results.
‘
5
Hot-water pipes should be lagged to conserve heat
and so reduce the consumption of fuel. The methoc’s of lagging
pipes anc’ storage tanks is important, as cases have occurrcc1 of
mice burrowing into soft lagging anc' nesting in it. Pipes shoulc'
be protectee5 with a fine wire- mesh to prevent this, anc' the
lagging rounc' tanks shoulc’ be enclosed with materials which cannot
be gnawed.
Hot Water. Many water-heating systems produce water
which, although hotter than the 43.5’C., which is about the most
that normal human hanc’s can stand, is never as hot as the 77*C.
necessary for the proper sterilizing rinse of cockc-ry, cutlery,
anc1 utensils. Such systems are sbrisfactory enough in smaller
establishments which can carry out the sterilizing by steam or
by water heater5 as required for sterilization purposes. Larger
establishments which have a constant•demand for washing-up water at
77’C. should be careful to ensure that their systems can proyide
water at 77’C.
Wash Basins. Workers should be encouraged to wash
their hands both after visiting the sanitary convenience and
whenever necessary.during the course of- work. They should not
use the wash-up sinks for this propose, as this may infect
the sinks with germs which can later find their way on to food.
’'tore-over, the sinks will usually not be- free at the time when
hands need to be washed. Accordingly, wash-hand basins with hot
and cold water laid on, and with good lighting overhead, should
be provided in or adjoing the- food room and also in immediateproximity to the sanitary conveniences.
Sinks. Sinks and draining boards should have a smooth,
hard, even, surface, and arc best constructed of porcelain-finished
fireclay, non-corrosive metal (for example stainless steel),
virteOus enamel or plastic, with one-piecd tops welded to the
sinks and draining boards harbour germs in the cracks and joints.
Aluminium sinks scratch easily, are not robust, and are difficult
to keep clean.
Sinks used for washing up should be small enough to
ensure frequent replenishing with hot water but large enough,
to take the largest dishes comfortably. For washing pots and
pans galvanized-iron sinks are suitable-, as they are robust and
withstand heavy cleaning.
It is desirable to have the sink fitted with a.spray
hose for washing down the sink and draining boards, and with a
removable strainer in the waste pipe- for trapping crumbs, tea
leaves, etc. A built-in, but removable refuse container is
also an advantage.
The number of sinks required will necessarily
depend largely on the trade. In general, it may be said that
fish should never be washed in the same sink as vegetables, and
a separate, sink should therefore be reserved for fish. The
meat-preparation room also needs a separate sink. All these
sinks should have hot and cold water laid on.
. . .6
6
Dtains: Drains should be adequate to remove all waste
water without risk of flooding. Normal-sized drains arc- 4 in.
(10.2 cm.) in diameter. These arc large enough to deal with a
considerable flow of drainage, and may be suitable for somefood establishments; but many establishments will need 6-in.
(12.7 cm.) drain pipes. Grease traps are valuable because
they prevent grease from congealing in the- drain pipes. The
grease tray should be removed regularly and Washed out.
Many establishments have channelling covered with
st'cel grids round the grease-producing areas. The tops of these
grids and the channels themselves arc- likely to become dirt-traps
unless they are vc-ry regularly cleaned. They are difficult to clean.
Drainage should be adequate to remove all waste water without risk of
'pooling' at gully traps.
Source : The Theory 8. Practice of Public Health
By
W. Hobson
ms*/29/l/80/
*
CLEANING ROUTINES
------------------
; ■ :t
"
All merchandising techniques produce the need for '*
specialized designed cleaning techniques to fit the trade or
selling circumstances. Here is an example of such a routine.
This is designed for the bakery trade, but all other trades can
be studied and routines of similar calibre designed.
ROUTINE CLEANING CHART •
Equipment or area
GENERAL GOOPS STORE
Walls and shelves
Floors
ISSUING STORES
General
Walls and shelves
Floors
EQUIPMENT
Utensils and supply
vessels
Routine to follow
Sweep and/or vacuum
clean.
Wash down with hot
water containing
detergent.
Sweep and/or vacuum
clean.
Wash down with hot
water containing de
tergent.
Frequency of cleaning
Frequently and regu
larly
At least once a week
Frequently and regu
larly
Daily
Sweep and/or vacuum
clean. Wash any sur
face that comes into
contract with food
with hot water con
taining detergent.
Wash down with hot
water containing
detergent. Walls
can be hosed with
'live steam' if
facilities exist.
Daily
Wash down with hot
water containing
detergent or hose
with 'live steam'
if facilities
available.
Daily
Frequently and regu
larly
At least once a day,
Wash with hot water
more frequently if
containing detergent,
the process requires
rinse and dfy or wash
out with 'live steam'
if facilities .availa
ble. If the utensils,
etc. , are used for
meat, cream, imitation
cream, or egg the hot
water should contain
detergent with sterilant
2
Equipment or area
Routine to follow
Measures ano’ pans
Clean thoroughly,
wash with hot water
containing detergent,
rinse, and dry. If
the measures and skips
are used with meat,
cream, imitation
■ cream, or egg the hot
water should contain
detergent with sterilant.
Frequently and
regularly
Ventilation ducts
and fans
Brush and/or vacuum
clean outside sur
faces of ducts and
metal fitments.
When cleaning the
walls of the appro
priate store
Storage tanks (not
completely sealed)
Brining tanks
Bulk egg-rstorage
tanks'
Frequency of gleaning
Wash down with hot
Regularly in other
water containing
parts of the permdetergent.
ises.
Clean inlet screens
At least once a week
■ and filters in the
same way.
Train tank. Wash in-.
At least once every 6
terior with hot water
months
containing detergent.
Rinse thoroughly and
run off. When refilling
first run off suffi
cient water to dispose
of any residues.
Scrape, scrub, and wash
with hot water con
taining detergent.
Rinse thorougfily.
Alternatively, wash out
with 'live steam' if
facilities available.
Wash out with oold
water to remove
residues. Wash with
hot water containing
detergent with sterilant. Rinse thoroughly
with cold water.
Before refilling
Before refilling
Blocking, forming,
and stamping
machines.
Dismantle, degrease, and Frequently and
regularly.
clean thoroughly, Im
merse dismantled parts
in boiling water or swab
thoroughly with warm
water containing deter
gent. Rinse, dry, and
reassemble.
Homogenizers
Dismantle, was working
parts in warm Water
and detergent. Rinse
with sterilant, rinse
with clean water, re
assemble.
At the close of
every working period
. . .3
3
Equipment or area
Routine to follow
Frequency of
cleaning
Whisks and cooling
utensils
Clean thoroughly and
scrub in water at
43.5’ C, or above,
immerse.in warm water
containing detergent
with sterilant.' Scour,
rinse, and dry.
After every period
of use
Conveyor belts
Ciean off dropped
Frequently and
materials.
regularly during use
Swab with warm water
/it least once a day
containing detergent.
Clean surface of rollers. At least once a
day.
Clean thoroughly.When necessary
Proving and baking
tins
Proving trolleys
Ddugh and pastry
mixers
Flavours, essences,
and colour contain
ers
Pastry boards and
icing tables
Scale pans and
measures
Wash with hot water
containing detergent,
rinse, and dry.
Remove spillage and
extruded food’
Clean thoroughly and
wash with warm water
containing detergent.
Rinse with cold water
and dry.
Frequently and regu
larly during use
At the close of every
working period
Clean the outside of
containers.
Each time they are
used.
Keep clean during use.
Remove all traces of
flour of sugar deposit.
Immerse boards in
boiling wafer and
scrub, or scrub with
warm water containing
detergent with steri
lant. Always scrub
wooden, surfaces with
the grain.
7>t the close of
every working
period.
Remove deposit or spil
lage .
Wash with warm water
containing detergent,
rinse,, ano dry. If
the pans and measures
are used with meat,
cream,, or egg’the
water ,should contain
detergent with steri
lant.
Frequently and regu
larly during use
At the close of-every
working period and
at any change of.
trade operation.
,
Frequently and regu
larly during use
.. .4
Equipment or Area
Knives, etc.
Routine to follow
Wash in water at 43.5'C
or above or in warm •
water containing de
tergent with sterilant. Rinse and dry.
Replace in purposebuilt racks (pre
ferably metal) at
tached to .fixed equip
ment .
Frequency of Cleaning
Woo e’en trays
Scrub with the grain
in warm water conta
ining detergent.
Rinse and dry.
Wash with warm water
containing detergent
with sterilant.
Rinse and dry. If
the trays are used'
with meat, cream',
imitation cream,
or egg products the
water should, contain
detergent with steri
lant. /vlt er natively,
wash by machine in
hot water '■ (.above
43*C.);
Frequently and
regularly
Wiping materials
and cloths
Savoy bags (icing'
bags )
EXTERIOR
Crains
(a) Use expendable
material..
OR
(b) Keep in suitable
chemical sterilant
between, uses and boil
after changing.
After use
Trays to be used
must be clean or
cleaned ready for
the start of every
working day.
(a) Discard into
suitable containers
conveniently placed
(b) Change several
times a day.
Turn inside out, wash
After use
away'surplus cream.,
Scrub inside and out
with warm water con
taining detergent
with sterilant,
rinse in hot water.
Boil for.5 minutes
if material is suita
ble. Scour and sterilize
nozzles. Rinse and dry.
Remove grease-trap inserts and clean. Wash
out body of trap with
hot water containing
detergent with steri
lant. Renew filter
material.
Frequently and
regularly
5
5
Equipment or Area
Routine to follow
Frequency of cleaning
Open drainage
channels
Remove any surface
grit and scrub grids
channels with hot water
containing detergent
with sterilant.
At the close of
every working day
Dustbins
Wash out with hot water After each emptying
and soda or a detergent
solution and invert to
dry. Alternatively,
wash out with 'live- steam'
if facilities available.
VEHICLES
Surfaces, recepta
cles, an? equipment,
or parts of equipment
that touch food
Remaining parts of
the interior of the
vehicle and interior
equipment.
Clear crumbs and spillage Frequently
during use.
Clean thoroughly.
Every day
Surfaces soiled only with
flour dust or non-fatty
crumbs can be- brushed
out.
Wash with warm water
containing detergent
Source : The Theory & Practice of Public Health
By
W. Hob son
ms*/29/l/8O/
At least once a
week.
ATULTRATIOK OF FOODS
Adulteration of foods consists of a large number of
practices - mixing, substitution, abstraction, concealing the
quality, putting up decomposed fooc’s for sale, misbranding or
giving false labels anc’ addition of poisons. Some forms of
adulteration are injurious to health, e.g. adulteration of
mustard oil with argemonc oil. But for the- most part, food
adulteration has an economic rather than a sanitary significance,
e.g. addition of watc-r to milk.
Food adulteration practices vary from one part of the
country to another, and from time to time. Our knowledge about the
current practices of food adulteration is meagre. The types of
adulteration commonly found in various foodstuffs in India are as
follows:
(1) Milk: Perhaps no other food is subjected to such freouent
adulteration as milk. Addition of water, removal of cream, and
addition of starch, paper pulp and skim-milk powder are the
common types of milk adulteration
(2)
Ghee: Ghee is adulterated with vanaspathi and animal fats
such as pig's fat. In’order to improve the flavour of adulterated
ghee, tributyrin is added. The Government of India have not
succeeded in enforcing the colouring of vegetable ghee,
(3)
Cereals: Fice and wheat are mixed with stones, sand, grit and
mud to increase bulk
(4)
Flours: Wheat flour is mixed with soap stone- (talc) powder
and chalk powder. Bengal-gram (Besan) flour is adulterated with
lathyrus flour. Maida is adulterated with singhada flour.
(5)
Pulses: Pulses are adulterated with lathyrus. Chemical
substances such as metanil yellow arc- added to old stocks of pulses
to improve the colour and appearance,
(6)
Edible oils: Admixture of cheaper oils and mineral oils is
commonly practised. Dyes are also added to improve the appearance.
Argemonc oil is another intentional adulterant. (
(7)
Tea and Coffee: Tea leaves .are adulterated with exhausted old
tea leaves and dust, black gram husk, saw.dust and cashew husk.
Coffee powder .is adulterated with roasted dates, tamarind seeds,
husk powder, added colour and chicory without declaration.
(8)
Honey: Honey is adulterated with sugar or jaggery and
boiled with empty beehives. The list is endless
Food Standards;
(1) Codex Alimentarius: This is a collection of
international food standards prepared by the Codex Alimentarius
Commission, which is the principal organ of the Joint FAO/WHO
Food Standards Programme. The food standards in India are based on
the international codex alimentarius (2) PFA Standards:' Under the
prevention of Food Adulteration Act (1954) rules have been framed.
These are revised from time to time by an expert body called the
"Central Committee for Food Standards". Any food that does not
confirm to the minimum standards is said to be adulterated.
2
The purpose of, the PFA standards is to obtain a minimum level
of quality of foodstuffs attainable under-Indian conditions.
(3) The Agmark Standards: These standards are set by the
Directorate of Marketting and Inspection of the Government of India.
The /\gmark gives the consumer an assurance of quality in accordance*
with the standards laid down. (4) ISI Standards: The ISI mark on
any article of food is a guarantee of good quality in accordance with
the standards prescribed by the Indian Standards Institution for that
commodity. The Agmark and ISI standards are not riiapdatory;
they are purely voluntary. The express degrees .of excellence above
the PFA Standards.
Prevention of Food Adulteration (Amendment) /ict, I976E
The prevention of Food Adulteration V\ct was enacted by
the Indian Parliament in 1954. Standards have been laid down under
this Act for various foods, and these standards vary from State- to
State. Any food that does not confirm to the minimum standards is
said to be adulterated. Although it is a Central Act, its
implementation is largely carrier’ out by the local bodies and the
State Governments.- In 1963 and 1969, the Act was amended in order
to make it more stringent. The more recent Prevention of Food
'Adulteration (Amendment) Act came into force throughout the country
oh April 1, 1976. The new Act provides for summary trial and
deterrent punishment including life imprisonment under certain
circumstances. There as also a Central Committee;for Food
Standards, ft chain of laboratories, including four regional
appellate laboratories have been established. The purpose of the
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act is to protect- the health of the
consumer and to assure foods of honest nutritive value.
FOOD APT HIVES
The concept of adding 'non-food' substances to food
products is not new. ■Pickling is an ancient culinary practice
aimed at preserving,food articles such as mango, lime and amla for
fairly long periods by the addition of'salt and spices. Modern
science of food technology employs-more than 3j000 substancessome natural (e.g. saffron, turmeric) and others .artificial or
synthetic (e.g. saccharin, sorbac. .abid) known as ’'food additives '.
Majority of the processed foods such'as bread? biscuits^.cakes,
sweets, confectionary, jams, jellies, soft drinks , • ketchup’, all
contain food additives.
Food additives are defined as non-nutrit’ious substances
which are added intentionally to food, 'generally in small
quantity, to improve its appearance, flavour, texture or storage
properties. The definition alsj includes animal feed adjuncts
which may result in residues in human food and components of packing
materials which may find their way into foods.
The
aAri ’itives
as colouring
1 lie food
1
x u -L V e o may
may be. ^classified
x a ~ x x xv.
agents (e.q. saffron,’ turmeric), flavouring agents (e.g, vanilla
\ sweeteners
f
x
- (e.g.
~ saccharin), preservatives
sorbic
essence),
igenrs (eg,
\eg , chlorine;
chlorine)’acidity
acid, sodium benzoate), bleaching agc-nts
acetic acid),
acid), etc
etc.. Uncontrollec
imoarting agents (eg, citric acid, acetic
—
or indiscriminate use of food-additives may pos,e health hazarcs
among consumers.
. . . .3
3
The- use of food additives is subjected to government
regulation throughout the world. In India, two regulations, viz.
the Prevention of,Food Adulteration Act and the Fruit Products
Order govern the rules and regulations of food additives. Any
food that contains food additives that are not permitted is
considered adulterated; if the permissible limit exceeds, then ■
also the food is considered adulterated. The nature and quantity
of the additive shall be clearly printed on the lable to■be
affixed to the container. Whenever, any extraneous colouring
matter has been added to any article- of food, the words 'Artificially
Coloured ' shall be written on the- label. At the international
level, food standards arc- fixed by the codex alimc-ntarius
commission.
FOOF FORTIFICATION
The Sth- Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Nutrition
(1971) defined fortification as "the process whereby nutrients are
added to foods to maintain or improve the quality of the diet of a
group, a community or a population". On the other hand, the word
enrichment is used to signify the addition of dietary essentials
to a food to restore the total content of the former. The
following are some examples: (1) Milk: Milk is fortified by the
addition of vitamins A and D (2) Wheat flour: In February 1970,
the Government of India launched a programme in Bombay for
fortification of atta with vitamins and minerals, and for increasing
the protein content by admixture with edible groundnut flour.
This programme is planned to be extended to other cities at a later
date. (3) Edible oils: Fortification’of "vanaspathi" (hydrogenated
fat) with vitamin A has been made compulsory (2,500 i.u. of vitamin
A and 175 i.u. vitamin D per 100 g of vanaspathi) by the Government of
India. (4) Common salt: Common salt is fortified.with potassium.
iodate and supplied in areas where goitre is endemic. Fortification
of. common salt with calcium and iron is being considered to be taken
up on a national scale in India. (5) Synthetic amino acids:.
Addition of synthetic amino acids to foods offers great possibilities
for the future, e.g.. , lysine to wheat flour. (6) Sugar: fortified
with vitamin A is being used in some countries for the prevention
of nutritional blindness. Fortification and enrichment have made
tremendous contributions to the public health in improving.the
nutritional standards of the people and in correcting specific
deficiency states.
SOURCE: PREVENTIVE & SOCIAL MEBICINE
ms*/l/2/1980/
FOOD HANDLERS
Foor1 sanitation rests directly upon the state of
personal hygiene anc’ habits of the personnel working in the foot?1
establishements. Proper handling of foods, utensils an.-' Wishes
together with emphasis upon the necessity for. good personal
hygiene are of great importance. The infections which are likely
to he transmitted by the -food handlers are diarrhoeas, dysenteries,
typhoid and para-typhoid fevers, entero-virus, viral hepatitis,
protozoal cysts, eggs of helminths, strepto and staphylococcal
infections, and salmonellosis.
The first essential is to have a complete medical
examination carried out of all food handlers at the time of
employment. Any person with a history of typhoid fever, diphtheria
chronic dysentery, tuberculosis or any other communicable disease
should not be employed. Persons with wounds, otitis media or skin
infections should not be permitted to handle food or utensils.
The day to day'health appraisal of the food handlers is also
equally important; those who are ill should be excluded from food
handling. Iti is also important that any illness which occurs ■
in a food handler's family should at once be not-ified.
Education of food handlers in matters of personal ,
hygiene, food handling, utensil, dish-washing, and insect and
rodent control is the best means of promoting food hygiene.
Many of the food handlers have little educational background,
Certain aspects of personal hygiene are therefore required to be
continually impressed upon them: (a) Hands: The hands should
be clean at all times. Hands should be- scrubbed and washed.
with soap and water immediately after visiting a lavatory and as
often as necessary at other times. Finger nails should be kept
trimmed anc’ free from dirt.
(b J Hair: Head coverings should be
provided, particularly in the case of females to prevent loose hairs
obtaining entrance to food-stuffs.
(c) Overalls: Clean white over
alls should be worn by all food handlers, (d) Habits: Coughing
and sneezing in the vicinity of food, licking the fingers/before
picking up an article of food, smoking on food premises are to
be avoided.
,
, .
,
,
/ or scrachmg any part of the
body
xcxcxcxcxcx
SOURCE: PREVENTIVE AND SOCIAL MEDICINE
by
J.E. PARK
K. PARK
ms*/l/2/198Q/
NUT 7.-1 Lf.
COM?^’-5N1T 1 \^7”wiarks Road
‘’'’•‘bamoa^-'8000'
M
pRgveHhvr1
THE PWEFTION GF-FOCD'
ADULTEBATICN ACT, 1954
(Act 37 of 1954)
This Act to make provision for the prevention of adulteration
of food was enacted by the Indian Parliament in 1954- It extends to the
whole of India except the State of Jammu & Kashmir and supersedes all
Food Laws that were passed by individual States in-their own territories.
It came into force in Fay, 1955.
An attempt has been made under this Act to make the provisions
uniform, broadbased and more deterrant and to remove some of the lacunae
that were found in the existing Food Laws and Pye-laws of the different
States and local bodies.
Some of the important Sections are summarised below :
Section 2. Definitions
(1)
adulterated -
"Adulterated"- an article of food shall be deemed to be
■
(a)
if the article sold by a vendor is not of the nature, substance or
quality demanded by the purchaser and is to his prejudice, or is not of the
nature, substance or quality which it purports or is represented to be;
(b)
if the article contains any other substance which affects, or if the
article is so processed as to affect injuriously the nature, substance
or quality thereof;
(c)
if any inferior or cheaper substance has been substituted wholly or in
part for the article so as to affect injuriously the nature, substance
. or quality thereof;
(d)
if any constituent of the article has been substituted wholly or in,;part
abstracted so as to affect injuriously the nature, substance or quality
thereof;
(e)
if the article had been prepared, packed or kept under insanitary
conditions whereby it has become contaminated or injurious, to health;
(f)
if the article consists wholly or in part of any filthy putrid, disgusting, ■»'
rotten, decomposed or diseased animal or vegetable substance or is
infested or is otherwise unfit for human consumption;
(g)
if the article is obtained from a diseased animal;
>•
(h)
if the article contains any poisonous or other- ingredient which renders
it injurious to health;
(i)
if the container of the article is composed, whether wholly.or in part,
of any poisonous or deleterious substance which renders its contents
injurious to health;
(j)
if any colouring matter other than that prescribei in respect thereof
and in amounts not within the prescribed limits of variability is
present in the article;
(k)
if the article contains any prohibited preservative or permitted
preservative in excess of the prescribed limits;
(1) if the quality or purity of the article falls below the prescribed
standard or its constituents are present in quantities which are in
excess of the prescribed limits of variability.
2/-
: 2 :
(v)
"Food" means any article used as food or drink for human
consumption other than drugs and water and includes;
(a)
(b)
any article.which ordinarily enters into, or is used in the composition
or preparation of human food, and
any flavouring matter or condiments.
(IK)
"Misbranded"- an article of food shall bo deemed to be misbranded -
(a)
if it is an imitation of, or is a substitute for, or resembles in a manner
likely to deceive, another article of food undo1" the name of which it is
sold, and is not plainly and conspicuously labelled so as to indicate its
true character;
(b)
(c)
(d)
(e)
(f)
..
if it is falsely stated to be the product of any place or country;
if it is sold by a name which belongs to another article of food;
if it is so coloured, flavoured or coated, powdered or polished that the
fact that the article is damaged is concealed or if the article is made
to appear better or of greater value than it really is;
ifalse claims arc made for it upon the label or other;
if, when sold in packages which have been sealed or prepared by or at the
instance of the manufacturer or producer and which hear his name and
address, the contents of each package are not conspicuously and correctly
stated on the outside thereof within the limits of variability prescribed
under this Act;
tg) if the package containing it, or the label on the package bears any
statement, design or device regarding the ingredients or the substances
contained therein,, which is false or misleading in any material particular;
or if the package is. otherwise deceptive with respect to its .contents;
(h) if the package containing it or the label on the package bear the name of
a fictitious individual or company as the manufacturer or producer of the
article;
;(i) if it purports to be, or is represented as being, for special dietary uses,
unless its label bears such information as may be prescribed concerning
its vitamin, mineral., or other dietary properties in order sufficiently
to inform its purchaser as to its value for such uses;
(j) if it contains any artificial flavouring, artificial colouring or
chemical preservative, without a declaratory label stating that fact,
or in contravention of the requirements of this Act or rules made
thereunder.
(k) if it is not labelled in accordance with the requirements of this Act
or rules made thereunder.
Section 3. Tho Central Govt, to constitute a Central Committee for
Food Standards with D.G.H.S. ex-officio.as Chairman and Director of Central
Food Laboratory, ex-officio member arid the following members nominated by the
Central Governmont-twc exports, one representative each of the Central
Ministries of Food and Agriculture, Commerce and Industry, Railways and
Defence, two representatives from. Union Territories, two representatives of
industry and commerce'. Resides these, each State nominates one representative
and. the Indian Council of Medical Pes'earch nominates a representative of
the.medical profession.
Section 4. The Central Govt, to establish a Central Food
Laboratory, and after consultation with the Central Committee make rules
■ regarding.the functions of.the Central Food Laboratory. The object of these
two sections is to bring about uniformity of Food -Standards throughout thecountry and to. maintain a satisfactory standard of laboratory practices in
the different States.
....3/.
: 3 :
Section 5-
Prohibition of certain articles of food into India.
(i) any adulterated food ;
(ii) any misbranded food :
(iii) any article of food for the import of which a licence is '
prescribed, except in accordance with the conditions of the
licence; and
(iv) any article o^ food in contravention of any other provision of
this Act or of any rule made thereunder.
i Section 7. Prohibition of manufacture, sale, etc., of certain
articles of food. No person shall himself or by any person on his behalf
manufacture for .sale, or store, sell or distribute -
(i)
any adulterated food ;
(ii)
any misbranded food ;
(iii)
any article of food for the sale of which a licence is prescribed,
■ except in accordance with the conditions of the licence ;
(iv)
any article of food the sale of which is for the time being
prohibited by the Food (Health) Authority in the interest of
public health ; or
(v)
any article of food in contravention of any other provision of this
this Act or any rule made thereunder.
Section 8. The Central or State Govt, to appoint Public Analysis
and define their jurisdiction.
Section 9. The Central or State Govt, to appoint Food Inspectors
who shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of the section
21 I.P.C. thereby having-definite rights and responsibilities.
Section 10. (l) A food inspector shall have power
to take samples of any article of Pood.
to send such sample for analysis to the public analysts.
with the previous approval of- the health Officer having
jurisdiction in the local area concerned, or with the
previous approval of the Food (Health) Authority, to prohibit
the sale of any article of food in the interest of public health.
(t) Any food inspector may enter and inspect any place where any
article of food is manufactured, stored or exposed for sale and
take samples of such articles of food for analysis.
(4) A food inspector may seise and carry away or keep in safe custody
of the vendor with a bond, if any article intended for'food
appears to be adulterated or misbranded;
(6) ■ Any material apparently of a kind which may be employed for
purpose of adulteration may be seized by the food inspector and
if necessary, a sample submitted for analysis to a public analyst.
(7) WhUre the food inspector takes any action under clause (a) of
sub-section (l), sub-section (2), sub-section (4) or sub-section
. (6), he shall call one or more persons to be.present at the
time when such action is taken and take his or their signatures.
Section 11. (l) "When a food inspector takes .a. sample of food for
■ analysis, he shall
(a)
give, notice in writing then and there of his intention to have it so
analysed to the person from whom he has taken the sample :
(b)
except in special cases provided by rules under this Act senarate the
sample then and there into three parts and mark and seal or fasten up
each part in such a manner as its nature permits ; and
(c)
(i) deliver one of the parts to the person from whom the sample was
taken;
(ii)
send another part for analysis to thepublic analyst; and
(iii)
retain the,third part for production in case any legal proceedings are
taken or for analysis by the Director of the Central food Laboratory
under sub-section (2) of section 13; as the case may be.
Section 12. A nurchaser may have food analysed by giving notice to
the vendor of his intention to have the same analysed;, if, on analysis, the
article is found to be adulterated, the fee paid by him for analysis will be
refunded to him and the vendor will be dealt with according to law.
Section 15. The Central Government or the State Govt, may, by
notification in the Official Gazette, require medical practitioners carrying
on their profession in any local area specified in the notification to report
all occurences of food poisoning coming within their cognizance to such officer
as may be specified in the notification.
Section 16 to 20. Penalties : If any person whether by himself or
by any other person on his behalf (a, contravenes Sec. 5 or 7, or (b) prevents
a food inspector from taking samples for analysis or (c) obstructs the food
inspector in the discharge of his duties or (d) being a manufacturer has any
material that can be used for adulteration in his possession or in one. of his
premises, or e) uses any report or certificate of a test issued by the Director
of Central Food Laboratory for advertising or (f) gives a false warranty to the
purchaser in, writing in respect of any food sold by him, he shall be punishable.
He shall, in addition to the penalty to which he may be liable under
the provisions of section 6, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which
shall not be less than six months but which may extend to six years, and with
fine' which shall not bo less than one thousand rupees. There are other
provisions also.
If ary person convicted of an offence under this Act commits a like
offence afterwards, it shall be lawful ror the court before which the second or
subsequent conviction+akes place to cancel the licence and to cause the
offender’s name and place of residence, the offence and the. penalty imposed
to be published at the offender’s expense in such newspapers or in such other
manner as the court may direct. The expenses of such publication shall be
deemed to be part of the cost attending the conviction and shall be recoverable
on the same manner as a fine.
No court inferior to that of a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate
of the first class shall try any offence under the Act.
Section 23. The Central Govt., may after consultation with the
Committee and subject to the conditions of previous publication, make rules:
(a)
specifying the articles of food or classes of food for the import of whidh
a licence is reauired and prescribing the form and conditions of such licence.
the authority eranowered to issue the same and the fees payable therefor;
(b)
defining the standards of quality for, and fixing the limits of variability
permissible in respect of any article of food ;
(c)
laying down special provision for imposing rigorous control over the
1 production, distribution and sa)e of any article or class of articles of
food and other rules for proper implementation of the Act.
Section 24- The State Government may also mate rules in the same way
as above in matters not falling within the? nurview of section 23.
3. THE PREVENTION OF FOOD
ADULTERATION RULES, 1955
In exercise of the powers conferred under the Act, the Central
Government after consultation with the Central Committee of the Food Standards
have made the following rules.
These cover the definitions and standards of quality of various
articles of food as also definite directives regarding the Central Food
Laboratories, Public Analysts and Food Inspectors, packing, sealing and
despatch of samples, conditions for sale and licence, colouring matter and
preservatives, anti-oxidants, emulsifying, stabilising and flavouring agents.
Standards of Quality of food are given below:
The standards of,some food items
A.08 Coffee A.0801 (l) Coffee (green, raw or unroasted) means the seed of
coffea arabica, Coffea liberica or Goffea robusta, freed from all
out a small portion of its spermoderm by decortication.
(2)
Roasted Coffee means the properly cleaned green coffee which
has been roasted to a brown colour and has developed its.
characteristic aroma.
'
.
.
(3)
Ground coffee means the powdered product obtained fran
'roasted coffee* only and shall be free from husk.
(4)
Coffee (green, raw or unroasted), 'roasted coffee( and
'ground coffee* shall be free from any artificial colouring,
flavouring, facing, extraneous matter or glazing substance and
shall be in sound, dry and fresh condition free from rancid or
obnoxious flavour.
(5)
Coffee (green, raw or unroasted), 'roasted coffee* and
'ground coffee^ shall conform to the following analytical
standards -
(i)
Total ash (determined, on the sample dried to constant weight
at 100°C), shall be feathery white or bluish white in colour and shall be'
not less than 3.5 per cent and not more than 5.0 per cent by weight, of which
not less than 65 per cent shall'.betsoluble in boiling distilled water. The
ash insoluble in hot dilute HC1 shall be not more than 0.1 per cent.
(ii)
The alkalinity of the soluble ash per gram, of dried coffee
shall be equivalent to not less than 3-4 ml. and not more than 4.4 of N/10
acid.
.
.......... 6/-
: 6 :
(iii)
The caffeine content as obtained by standard methods, shall be
not ?ess than 1.0 per cent.
(iv)
The aqueous extract determined by extraction of 2 grams of the
sample direct to constant weight at 100 C with 100 ml. of boiling distilled
water for ope hour, under reflux shall'be'hot less than 25 per cent and not
more than 32 per cent.
A.11 Milk and Milk Products.
A. 11.01 Milk means the'normal clean-and frer.h secretion obtained by
complete milking of the udder of a healthy cow, buffalo, goat or sheep during
the period following at least 72 hours .after calving or until colostrdm free
whether such secretion has been processed or riot.
The ’standards prescribed for milk shall anply for boiled milk also.
A..11.01.01 Oow milk shall contain not. less than 3*5 per cent of
milk fat, except in Orissa,- where it shall be not less than 3 per cent and in
Punjab and PEPSI! where it shall be not less than.-4.0 per cent. The milk solids
other than milk fat, shall be not less than 8.5 per cent.
A.11.01.02 Buffalo milk shall contain not less than 5»0 per cent
of milk fat except in t>elhi, Punjab, PEPSI!, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal,
Assam,- Bombay 'and Saurashtra where it shall not be less than 6 pep cent.
milk-, solids other than milk fat, shall be not less than 9 per cent.
A. 11.01.03 Goat or Sheep milk
The
shall contain not less than 3.0 per cent
Of milk fat except in Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, PEPSI!,. Bombay, Uttar Pradesh, ■
endt Travancore-Cochin where it shall be not less than 3-5 per cent.
The milk
solids other than milk fat, shall be not less than 9 ner cent.
..Where milk-, other than skimmed milk, is sold or offered for sale
without any indication as to whether it is derived from cow,, baffalo, goat,
or sheep the standard prescribed for buffalo milk shall, apply?
A.11.02 Skimmed milk, either fresh or reconstituted means milk from
which all or most of the milk fat has been removed by mechanical, or any other
process arid'includes "separated milk" or "machine skimmed milk".’ The milk
solids other.than"milk fat-shall be not less than 8.5 per cent. ..
A’. 11.03 Butter-milk .means the-product obtained after removal of
butter from curds by chorning or otherwise.
A.11,04.Toned milk means, the product prepared by blendirig milk with
fresh separated milk or with separated milk’reconstituted from spray dried
skim milk powder or by partial abstraction of. fat. through skimming or
separation of milk. ’ ■
It-shall contain not less than 3i0 per cent of milk fat and 8.5
percent of milk solids other than milk fat.
• A,11.04.0,1 .Double .Toned Milk mqaris the -product prepared by
blending milk with
(a)
.- -
’.
•
fresh separated milk ; or
(b) separated milk reconstituted .-from spray dried skim milk powder.;
■ or
.. . .-.J.?/-
:7:
(c)
by partial abstraction of fat through skimming or separation
of milk; and containing not lass than 1.5 per cent of milk fat and 10 per
cent of milk solids other than milk fat.
A.11.06. Dahi or curd - (a) Whole milk dahi or curd means the
product obtained from fresh whole milk either of cow or buffalo by souring.
It shall not contain any ingredient not found in milk except sucrose and/or
gur.
The standard of purity of dahi or curd shall be the same as
prescribed for the milk from which it is derived.
A. 11.11 Ice-cream shall contain not less than 36 per cent by weight
of solids and 10 per cent by weight of milk fat except that when the ice-cream
contains fruits or huts or both, the content of milk fat may be proportionately
reduced but not less than 8.0 per cent by. wsight. Ice-cream prepared from
skimmed milk shall not contain less'than 8.5 per cent of milk solids other than
milk-fat.
Mixed Ice Cream should, have the same fat content and total solid
contents as prescribed for Ice cream.
A .11.14 Ghee means the pure calarified fat derived solely from milk
or from curd or from deshi (cooking) butter or from cream to which no colouring
matter'or preservative has been added. The standard of quality of ghee produced
in a State or Union territory shall confoim to the standards as laid down for
that area. Although the maximum limits of the percentage of (l) free fatty
acid.(as oleic acid) and (2) moistre have been uniformly specified, the
standards for minimum Reichert value and Butyro-refractometer reading at 40°C
varies from region tq. region.
A.14 Tea means tea derived exclusively from the leaves, buds and
tender stems of plants of the Camellia genus and thea species. It shall conform
to the following specifications:
(a)
Total ash determined on tea dried to constant weight at 100°C
- 500. to 8.0 per cent
(b)
(c)
Total ash soluble in boiling Distilled Water - Not less than
40.0 per cent of total ash.,
Ash insoluble in HC1-Not more than 1.0 per cent.
(d)
ExtracJ obtained by boiling dry tea (dried at constant weight
at 100 C) with 100 parts of distilled water for one hour under
reflux - Not less than 1.3 per cent.
(e)
Alkalinity of soluble ash - Not less than 1<3 per cent and not
more than 2 per cent expressed as K^O
(f)
Crude fibre-Not more than 15 per cent.
any a.dded colouring matter.
It shall not contain
A.17.06 Mustard oil (Sarson-ka-tel) means the oil expressed from
clean and sound mustard seeds, belonging to the compestris, juncea or napus
varieties of Brassica. It shall be clear,’free from rancidity, suspended or
foreign matter, separated water, added colouring or flavouring substances or
mineral oil. It shall conform to the following standards:
■’ (a) Butyro-refactometer reading at 40°C -58.0 to 60.5
(b)
Saponification value - 168 to 176
(c)
Iodine value - 96 - 108
(d)
Unsaponifiable matter - Not more than 1.2 per cent
....8/-
: 8 :
Free- fatty acid as Oleic acid - Not more than 3.0 per cent...
(e)
Bellier (Turbidity test) by Fver's method (Acetic Acid) - Not
(f)
more than 2o.'5 C.
The test for argemone oil should be negative.
A.17.11 Til Oil (Gingelly or sesame oil) means the oil expressed from'
clean and sound seeds of Til (Sesamum indicum) black, brown, white, or mixed.
It shall be clear, free from rancidity, suspended or other foreign matter,
separated water, added colouring or flavouring substances, or mineral oil. It
shall conform to the following standards:
(a)
Butyro-refractometer-reading at 40 °C-58.0 to 61.0
(b)
Saponification value-188 to 198
(c)
Iodine value-105 to 115»
(d)
Unsaponifiable matter - Not more than 1.5>per cent.
(e)
Free fatty acid as Oleic acid-Not more than 3-0 ner cent.
(f)
Rel 1 -ier Test (turbidity ‘tcflnperature - Acetic acid method) Not more than 22°C.
A.19. Vanaspati m^ans any refined edible vegetable oil or oils,
subjected to a process of hydrogenation from groundnut oil, qotton seed oil
and sesame oil or mixtures thereof or any other harmless vegetable oils .
allowed by the Government for the purpose. It shall conform to the standards
specified below:
(i)
It shall not.contain any harmful colouring, flavouring or any
other matter deleterious to health.
C
(ii)
Np colour shall, be added to hydrogenated vegetable oil unless
so authorised by Government, but in no event any colour resembling the colour
of ghee shall be added.'
(iii)
Tf any flavour is used, it shall be distinct from that of
ghee in accordance with a use of permissible flavours and in such quantities
as may be prescribed by Government.
Provided that diacetyl to the extent of not more than 4.0 p.p.m. may
be added to Vanaspati exclusively meant- for consumption by the Armed Forces.
(iv)
It. shall not have moisture exceeding 0.25 per cent. ■
(v)
The melting point as determined by the capillary slip method
shall be from 31 C to 37.0 both inclusive.
(vi)
The Butyro-refractcmeter reading at 40°C, shall not be less
(vii)
It shall not have unsaponifiable matter exceeding 1.25 per cent.
than 48.
(viii)
It shall not have free fatty acids (calculated as Oleic acid)
exceeding ,0.25 per cent.
(ix)
The product on melting shall, be clear in appearance and- shall be
free from staleness or rancidity, and pleasant to taste'and smell.
(x)
It shall contain raw or refined sesame (til) oil not less than
5 per cent by weight, but sufficient so that when the vanaspati is mixed with
refined groundnut oil in the proportion of 20:80, the red colour produced by
the Baudouin test shall not bo lighter than 2.0 units in a 1 cm. cell on a
lovibond scale.
....9/-
:9t
(xi)
’A' per gram.
It shall contain not less than 25 LU. of synthetic Vitamin
(xii)
No anti-oxident, synergist, emulsifier or.any other such
substance shall be added to it except with the prior sanction of the
Government.
PART X
PRESERVATIVES
Preservative has been defined as a substance which when added to
food, is capable of inhibiting, retarding or arresting the process of
fermentation, acidification or other decomposition of food. Preservatives
have been divided into two classes:
(i) Class I preservatives comprise of : Common Salt, Sugar,
Dextrose, Glucose, Wood smoke, spices, Vinegar or acetic acid> Honey, Hons,
Commercial salt petre, and Alcohol or notable spirits. Addition of Class
I preservatives in any food in any proportion is not. restricted.
(ii) Class II Preservatives are : Benzonic acid including salts
thereof, Sulphurous acid including salts thereof, and Nitrites of Sodium
or Potassium in respect of food like ham, pickled meat. Use of more than
one Class II Preservative in or upon a food is prohibited. Their use has
been restricted to the specified group of foods in concentration not exceeding
the proportions fixed against each. These foods comprise of Sausage and
sausage meat, Fruits and fruit juices, Cooked nicked meat, Alcoholic and
non-alcoholic wines, Syrups, Sherbets, Dehydrated vegetables, etc.
PART XII
AFTT-fjriPANTS, EN’JTSTFYING AND
STABILISING AGENTS
’Anti-oxidant1 means a substance which when added to food retards
or prevent oxidative deterioration of food and does not include sugar,
cereal oils, flours, herbs and spices. No anti-oxidant, other than lecithin,
ascorbic acid and tocopherol shall be added to any food, but a number of
anti-oxidants have boon specified which may be added to edible oils and fatss
"Emulsifying agents" and "Stabilising agents" mean substances
which when added to food are capable of facilitating a uniform dispersion of
oils and fats in aqueous media, vice versa, and or stabilising such emulsions
and do not include the following, namely Agar, alginic acid, calcium and sodium alginates, carrageen, edible
gums, dextrin, sorhitol, pectin, sodium and calcium pectate, sodium citrate,
sodium phosphate, sodium tartrate, calcium lactate, lecithin, gelatin, quillaia
modified starches and hydrolysed protein.
Except in milk and cream, a number of specified emulsifying or
stabilising agents are permittee’ to be used in foods.
Container of an article of food to which any emulsifying and
stabilising agent has been added shall bear a statement of the chemical
nature of such emulsifying and stabilising agents in addition to any trade
name.
...10/-
: 10 :
part xni
FLAVOURING AGFFTS
The use of coumarin and dihydrocoumarin as flavouring agents in any
article of food is prohibited. Use of Diethylene Glycol monoethyl'ether as
a solvent in flavours has been prohibited.
///////?
Ay —
/?/?.■
fa-
Clrcsfc.
'
'
ST JOHN'S MEDI&AL Q3LLEGB, BANGALORE
Directorate of Rur^l-'Health Services 4
Training Programmes
First 'Certificate Course in Food Hygiene &
Handling.,of Food(21st Jan to 4th Feb 1980 )
Final Evaluation
(Please give your frank views in the matter to enable the college
faculty to undertake modifications and improvements in this course)
1.
2.
3.
What were the objectives/aims of this Course?
In your opinion has the overall course content helped
achieve
the above objectives? If yes, to what extent? If not, then
why not?
The duration of course was:
a) too long
b) too short
c) adequate
2
4.
The syllabus covered by the training course was:
a) inadequate
b) iq»de quite
c) not relevant
(if inadequate or not relevant state specific topics concerned)
5.
Different teaching methods were used in the course.
opinion of each method:
Method
Very useful
Useful
Tick off your
Not useful
Lectures
Slide shows
Film shows
Laboratory
Demonstrations
Brain's Trust
6.
Do you think that visits io a few Restaurants/Hotels, to see
their actual working, would have been an effective teaching method?
If yes, how? If not, why not?
3
7.
The following topics were covered during the teaching session.
the following code to denote your assessment.
(0) - Not useful at all
(1) - of some use
Use
(2) - Very useful
(3) - Essential
A.
Problems of making food safe?
B.
Germs - their habits and life requirements
C.
yrpcsmission of infection
D.
Food borne diseases
E.
Food poisoning
F.
Food adulteration
G.
Requirements of Food establishment and Eating houses
H.
Food handlers
I.
Food legislation(including Prevention of Food Adulteration lot)
J. Organ! si nv a foe A hygioao programo
V. Investigation of an outbreak of food poisoninfi(sn exercise)
L. Brain's trust
8.
Was the course of practical value to you in improving your efficiency
■ as Manager/Supervisor of Restaurant/Hotel/Hospital Kitchenjjlf yes to what extent? If not - why not?!!
9- How the course in any way, fallen short of your expectations?
If yes, to what extent?
10. Give any suggestion you have to improve the utility of this course
vfor participants of your category?
..... .............. .
47/1, (First Floor jSt. Marks «ioad
BANGm-O- , . - 560001
THE ROYAL INSTITUT! OF PUBLIC HEALTH AND HYGIENE, LONDON
CERTIFICATE EXAMINATION IN FOOD HYGIENE AND THE HANDLING
OF FOOD
CONDUCTED BY
ST JOHN'S MEDICAL COLLEGE, BANGALORE, THROUGH ITS
ROSS INSTITUTE UNIT OF OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH
11 FEBRUARY 1980
TIME ALLOWED: TWO HOURS
1.00 pm to ?iOO pm
Five Questions only to be answered
1. List the hygiene rules that you consider all food handlers
should be obliged to observe, giving your reasons why
they are important.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What types of foods' are most frequently involved in
food poisoning? How is this danger transmitted?
Describe the methods of cleaning and sterilising
equipment used in relation to food.
Write short notes on four of the following:
a.
Convalescent carrier
b.
Importance of food
c.
Cocci
d.
Bacillus Cereus
e.
Cross contamination
It is well known that refrigeration plays an important
part in the prevention of food poisoning. Explain fully
why this should be so.
Give reasons for the following statements:
a.
b.
c.
6.
Smoking should not be allowed in food preparation rooms
"Coughs and sneezes spread diseases"
Cuts and abrasions must always be covered with suitable
water-proof dressings
What qualities are desirable in the kitchen floor of a
catering establishment? Name three materials which
might be recommended for the construction of such
a floor. In working out the size of a kitchen and
dining hall what are the principles to be followed?
p.t.o.
contd.. from pre-page>
7.
8.
You are asked to give a talk to the food handlers of a
restaurant on the importance of food hygiene. List the
points which you would emphasise in your lecture.
What is meant by
a. Food which is unfit for human consumption; and
b, Food which is not of the nature, substance or
quality demanded?
How would you decide which category a complaint fell
into and what action would you take? Where could you
get advice?
r.< to.no
Rampant misuse and poor chec&S.ha^e^
seen toxic pesticide residue in
food
^each one of the highest levels in te world.
-now poses .a serious health threat.
would be starving," he says. In children, the disease, apart from
crippling them, has inhibited their growth.
Initial studies indicated that these people, mostly farm
labourers, had switched to eating crabs from nearby fields after
their wages were cut. These fields were being sprayed with
pesticides regularly. And in the classic food chain link (secchart).
the villagers who ate thecrabs are believed to have been poisoned
too. Researchers now suspect that these people were genetically
vulnerable to the disease and the high doseof pesticides acted as a
catalyst. An indepth investigation by several institutions is now
on to verify these findings.
ZT\ ROUND the same time an epidemic of epilepsy broke out in
/m Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh. Around 250
people suffered from sudden convulsive seizures that
wracked the body. They complained of whistling noises in the
ears, saw flashes of coloured lights and suffered from giddiness
and headache. Reason: farmers in this area had been ignorantly
using bhc to preserve their foodgrain.
For the mass of Indians, however, the threat from imbibing
small doses of pesticides in their daily' bread is more difficult to
quantify. The problem is that these pesticides poison the body
slowly. Most of them are made bj’ rearranging atoms of various
elements like carbon, hydrogen and chlorine into toxic mole
cules. These usually attack the nervous systems of the pests, first
paralysing and then killing them.
M'hen humans swallow chemicals like dot and bhc they are
absorbed by the small intestine. These then adhere to the fatty
tissues—the storehouses of energy that aredistributed th roughout the body and account for 10 percent ofits weight. The toxins
usually pile up in the fatty tissues of such vital organs as the
thyroid, heart, kidney. liver, the mammary glandsand thetestes.
They can be transferred from the umbilical cord blood to the
growing foetus. And through breast feeding to babies. Over the
years, thebody can store about 50 to 1 OOmilligramsof a wide va
riety of these toxins.
The debilitating impact of such a heavy load of toxins camq
through when the King
George Medical Colleg
(kgmc) and the Industrjj *
Toxicology Research Gfei
tre ( itrc) in Lucknow dMg
series of tests on workg J
spraying bdt and mgj^i
Nagaraj, 10, is just one of
thion regularly. At lea^v.
the 300 people struck by a
half of the workers dever
mysterious, crippling at
tack of arthritis In Kar- i loped psychological sym
nataka’s Shimoga district. ; ptoms like anxiety, sleep
disturbance and depres
The disease, which wastes
sion. Many complained of
away the joints and mus
severe headaches. One
cles, was first noticed in
out of five of them had
1975. Initial studies Indi- ; impaired memory and
cate that these people,
performed simple draw
mainly farm labourers, ' ing tests clumsily. Some of
switched to eating crabs i them even suffered from
retinal damage, blurred
from nearby fields after
vision and saw flashes of
their wages were cut. With
light and black dots in
the fields being sprayed
front of their eyes.
regularly by pesticides,
The difficulty lay in
the crabs ingested large
proving whether the gen
doses of toxins. And the
eral population, which is
people eating them were i usually not exposed to
poisoned by them as well. I such high doses of pesti
cides. would exhibit simiJUNK IS. WW ♦ INDIA TODAY 75
' COVER STORY
lar symptoms. As Devika
\
Nag. head of kgmc's Neurol"
ogy Department who co- ■ s
authored these studies, says:
"Itmaytakeyearsforthebuild'
up to act. Few doctors in general
hospitals will link blurring of vision y
or a heart attack to signs of pesticide
poisoning."
That link, however, is being
found in several other studies. In
Hyderabad, when researchers stud
ied women having still-births they
found a high amount of dot and bhc
pesticide residues in their blood. The
Chilling conclusion: these residues
may inhibit normal pregnancy.
MtJfe recently, an analysis of breast
tumours by the Marathwada Agriculturtil University in Parbhani. MaharashtrS^howed that almost all of them con
tained a high content of dot and bhc in the
r'feues. The worrying question: could
these residues have been the carcinogen
(cancer-inducing substance)?
"What we are seeing is the tip of the
poisonous iceberg. And even that seems
serious enough for us to sit up and take
corrective action." says eminent toxicol
ogist Dr C.R. Krishna Murti. chairman of
the scientific commission probing the
Bhopal gas tragedy. He points out that
there are other contaminants that pose an
equal threat to Indians, but fewer studies
have been done on these.
Those colourful jalebis, barjis and
gulabjamuns. forinstance.arenotasswect
as they look. Many of those brightly
coloured dyes are made from harmful
compounds that are known to cause
kidney damage, eye defects and in some
cases even affect the reproductive sys
tems. A recentsurvey by thegovernmentfunded itbc found a third of the samples
76 INDIA TODAY ♦ JUNE 15.
A field being sprayed with pesticides:
rampant misuse
Malpractices abound. Farmers
are known to spray methyl parathion on cauliflower to give it an
extra white appearance. Bhindi
(okra) is dipped in copper
sulphate to make it look greener.
And the norm that no spraying
should be done a week before
harvest is frequently violated. A
thorough wash and a vinegar
douse help to get rid of much of
the toxins in vegetables.
People exposed
ivimycuvacavi
toxins developed
impaired memories.
analysed to be coloured with prohibited dyes. Among the most commonly
misused dyes were orange, blue.
bright green and red. And illegal dyes
were even added to spices like turX meric and chilli powder. .
’
Noris thesarson ka tel (mustard
oil), widely used for cooking, all
that safe. An extensive survey in
; Uttar Pradesh recently found
j that in a fourth of the samples the
oil had been adulterated with linSai and the highly toxic argemone
«... Argemone poisoning causes
swelling of limbs, nerve damage.
heart attacks and blindness. It's a com
mon problem in West Bengal. Maharash
tra. Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
If all this isn't enough a new danger to
Indians comes from heavy metals like
lead, cadmium, manganese and nickel. In
March the results of an all-India survey
found that the level of these metals in food
samples had crossed the safety limits. And
what's more, drinking water too was
similarly contaminated.
Pesticides (some contain these metals)
are only one of the suspects. Untreated
industrial effluents being discharged in
discriminately into rivers and fields are a
major culprit. The other, surprisingly, is
the exhaust fumes spewed out by the
surfeit of automobiles. These fumes are
known to contain high amounts of lead
and manganese. Apart from poisoning
the air these settle on food and water
sources. Each of these metals if consumed
beyond tolerance levels can cause mental
retardation in children, nerve damage,
impotence, blindness and even death.
Other dangers remain areas of dark-
Spraying for malarial control in
Delhi: dubious benefits
riess. No one really knows, for in
stance. whether the wide
spread use of plastics to z"'
packfoodproductslikemilk
is really safe. Or whether
the host of preservatives and X
additives used in the growing
instant food industry is
harmful or not.
Most consumers in In/ ■?
dia too are casual about
these threats. Asked what ~
she thought about food conta
mination. Delhi housewife Uma
Raghavan says: “I have been
more worried about putting on weight."
And Ajay Gupta, a businessman, added:
"Food poisoning? I'll probably die in a
road accident before that.”
HE vast body of research on the
flK menace of pesticides, however, will
make anyone sit up and take note.
Ironically, pesticides now play a vital role
in checking the spread of malaria in the
country and in boosting foodgrain pro
duction. For instance, ddt was so success
ful in curbing the mosquito menace that
malarial cases dropped from 75 million a
year in 1948 to barely 50.000 in 1961.
However, with mosquitoes becoming in
creasingly resistant to it, malaria staged a
come-back and now strikes around two
million people yearly.
In agriculture, the chemical war be
gan when high yielding variety crops
were introduced in the '60s. These were
more vulnerable to pest attacks. Cur
rently pesticides protect around 80 mil
lion hectares of crops or half of the
country's area under cultivation.
|
MEAT, FISH & EGGS
Non-vegetarian food too is highly
contaminated. Goats swallow
pesticides when they graze near
fields being sprayed with them.
Hens do the same through the
feed they eat, which is usually the
husk of grain. And the residues
seep into eggs as well. Fish too
containhighamountsofDDT resi
dues. In West Bengal, people ille
gally spray endosulfan on water
to stun fish and catch them.
The result: pesticide consumption
has risen tenfold in just three decades
and is expected to cross 80.000
tonnes this year. India is now
both the largest manufac
turer as well as consumer of
pesticides in South Asia.
There are over 131 different
types of pesticides mar
keted under 203 differ
ent formulations by
over 350 companies
in the country. And
as Dr Mehrotra puts
it:"TheGovernmentis
the largest peddler of this
dope.” The public sector
Hindustan Insecticides manu
factures all the dot the country uses.
Along with another public sector com
pany. Hindustan Organics, it also ac
counts for a sixth of the bhc production:
Despite the proliferation of pesticides.
ddt and bhc still account for 50.000
tonnes or two-thirdsofthe total consump
tion in the country. That’s because these
are 10 times cheaper than most other
pesticides, easy to handle and attack a
wide range of pests. However, they cause
multiple problems. Once sprayed they do
not degrade easily and can persist in the
environment for as long as 20 years. The
soil then becomes a reservoir for these
pesticides steadily transferring them to
edible crops, polluting the groundwater.
trees and wildlife.
It was not till the ’80s that the insid
ious threat from the explosion of pesti
cides started coming home. In 1984. a
multi-centre study sponsored by the UN
Food and Agricultureorganisation (fao).
analysed as many as 1.500 samples of
cereals, pulses, milk, oil and meat from
different parts of the country. The finding:
lation of the use of pesticides has been the weakest link in the
nerve and brain damage. The findings on bhc were as devastat
chain. Only in 1968 did a comprehensive Insecticide Act come
ing. Animal studies showed clear evidence of its being a
into force. Under it the Central Insecticide Board, which consists
carcinogen apart from causing spontaneous abor
of representatives of several ministries including health,
tions and leading to severe liver and kidney
agriculture and chemicals, is in charge of screening
damage. And these are just a few of its
pesticides and approving them for im
ill effects.
port or manufacture in the country.
That kind of damning evidence
The board, however, is severely
saw seven countries including the
handicapped. As one of its members
JJSSR. the US and West Germany ban
^dt in the 70s. And nine other coun
said: "We are hamstrung both by the
lack of facilities to test these
tries put severe restrictions on
pesticides and the inade
its use. bhc too has been
quate data on their toxi
banned in nine countries
cology." That has
in North America and Eu
resulted in an anom
rope and its use severely
alous situation. Out
restricted in 13 countries.
of the 131 pesticides
These countries have
now switched to safer pes
only for 31 have toler
ticides like synthetic pyre
ance levels been evolved.
throids. The newer pesti
cides degrade rapidly once
Worse, in the case of bhc, which has
sprayed, cause less harm to the
been so extensively used, so far no
body and selectively kill target
tolerance levels have been worked out.
pests. Combined with stricter regula
As Kalra says: "This makes a mockery
tion. they have resulted in a significant
of our laws because how can you prose
| MILK & MILK PRODUCTS |
drop in residue levels in foodstuffs.
cute someone unless tolerance levels
are fixed."
Experts feel that the real threat
■ N India, however, officials seem stranMost of the chemicals have been ap
comes from milk and Its products
■ gely unmoved by the results of a series
proved for use based on toxicology studies
like
butter,
ghee
and
cheese.
E of tests done on animals. At the itrc
done abroad. Experts say that this is a
Since pesticides adhere to fatty
rabbits fed with large doses of bhc and
dangerous practice. As Dr A.T. Dudani of
tissues In the body, milk, which
endosulfan, another widely used pesti
the Voluntary Health Association of India
has a high content of fat, Is an
cide. suffered from high blood pressure.
points out: "Most Indians are undernour
severe heart damage and in many cases
ideal storehouse for toxins. In
ished'. have poor hygiene and are suscepti
blindness. And mancozeb, a widely used
ble to disease. So we don't know their
bovine milk, contamination com
fungicide, caused tumours in mice. In
threshold limits for such pesticides." And
es through the cattle fodder which
Mysore, when researchers at the Central
asstudies have shown, dot could combine
has a high level of toxins. When
Food Technology Research Institute ad
with other pesticides like bhc in the body
milk is processed Into butter resi
ministered large doses of ddt to rats they
and become a more toxic cocktail.
due levels get magnified.
found that it caused deformities in the
Even more difficult is penalising of
skeletal structure.
fenders. The state health and food depart
Anywhere else such studies would
ments. under the Prevention of Food
have created instant uproar and caused
Adulteration Act, are to check food
regulatory authorities to call for a more
Ineffective controls
contamination by pesticides and prose
detailed investigation. Here, not only are
cute offenders. But most of these depart
and a lack of strict
these warnings ignored, even the agriculments have neither the specialised equip
tureand health ministries insist that there
guidelines have
ment to test residue levels nor the staff
are no visible threats.
to carry out checks. As a result, hardly
worsened matters.
Other factors too are responsible for
any cases are registered. And thanks to its
'
_________
■:
things coming to such a sorry pass. Regu
anti-malarial campaign, the Health Min)UNE IS. list ♦ INDIA TODAY
COVER STORY
istry itself is indirectly one of the major offenders responsible for
the high level of residues. As one expert remarks: "The ministry
would really have to prosecute itself first."
the way out
© Regular ‘market
■■PESTICIDE manufacturers, on the other hand, plead help»Jyiessness about curtailing production. Dr S.P. Dhua, chairbasket’ surveys to warn
B man of the public sector Hindustan Insecticides, says: "We
people
of dangerous
are at the captive end because we are really catering to the
buildup of toxins in food.
demand of the health or agriculture ministry." Most manufac
turers. however, feel that the health hazards are exaggerated.
They point out that in a tropical country like India, because of
more sunlight, pesticides like ddt and bhc degrade faster than in
• Stepping up the
temperate zones. That fact, however, is still to be convincingly
established. About developing a new cheap and safer chemical.
integrated pest management
the manufacturers say that it would cost a phenomenal Rs 20
programme to teach farmers to
crore—an amount none of them would like to invest.
use pesticides judiciously.
Much ofthe problem too has come about because ofmisuse of
pesticides by farmers. Most don't even take elementary precautions for handling them. While gloves
like bhc and ddt. After assessing a
and face masks are a must, farmers use
whole body of data on ddt the
their bare hands to sprinkle pesticides.
committee concluded in 1985 that
Nor are farmers too conversant
it may continue to be used in the
with pesticide use. A study done on
health programme but be banned
Punjab cotton farmers, who are con
in agriculture.
sidered to be the most progressive in
The guiding reason, how
the country, found that only 11 per
ever. was not safety but eco
cent used the right pesticide in
nomics. Agriculture now re
the right quantity to fight the
lies more on bhc and uses
bollworm, a major pest of the
barely 400 tonnes or 4 per
cotton crop. And another20 per
cent of the country's ddt
cent were using the wrong type
production. But the Health
of chemical.
Ministry said it just could not
Inotherstates, several farmers
afford to stop using ddt. It pointed
violate the rule that no spraying
out that the cost of covering a
should be done a week before har
population of one million would shoot
vest to prevent high pesticide resi
up from Rs 33 lakh to Rs 195 lakh if
dues in vegetables. That has
malathion, a relatively safer pesticide,
seen residue levels shoot up to
dangerous levels in such vegeta
was used instead of ddt.
That meant that there was going to be
bles as okra, tomatoes, cab
no let-up on the poison explosion. The
bage and cauliflower.
Apart from high buildup
Health Ministry itself projects that by
in food products, that kind of
1999 it needs 20.000 tonnes of ddt annu
are probably one of the
misuse has led to other problems.
ally for its spraying programme. And with
most widely-sprayed fruits. Stud
the Ministry continuing to spray dot.
The most serious being the rising
ies have shown that they contain a
residues will keep finding their way into
resistance among pests. For instance, the
high residue level of several pes
bollworm has developed resistance to
the soil and edible crops. That fact came
ticides. A good wash with a dash
several pesticides. Spraying has now gone
through when the Punjab Agriculture
of detergent or baking soda can
up in many states from seven times a crop
University recently proved that spraying
to over 30. And the widespread use of ddt
knock out these toxins. In apples,
of ddt around households resulted in
by the Health Ministry has seen four
residue levels shooting up in stored grain
the threat comes from the chemi
species of mosquitoes develop resistance
like wheat and rice.
cal daminozide, used as a growth
to the chemical.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry
regulator, and now suspected to
Summing up the situation, Shekhar
used the same economic argument to
be cancer-causing. Citrus fruit
Singh of Kalpavriksh, a voluntary organi
allow farmers to continue uSing bhc. The
too contains toxic residues.
sation working on the pesticide problem,
committee, which filed its report on bhc in
says: "There seems to be every thing going
1986. made it clear that production of the
wrong at each stage. There is no proper
pesticide should be frozen. It also wanted
regulation of pesticides, there is no check
the Government to ban its spraying on
on the buildupofresidues in our foodstuffs
vegetables, oilseed crops and in storage
andl'mafraid there isabsolutelynopublic
godowns. The Government has acted on
consciousness at all."
these instructions though belatedly, bhc
Prodded by the growing evidence of
production was frozen at its current in
the chemical menace, the Union Govern
stalled capacity of 41.900 tonnes last
ment in 1984 decided to appoint an expert
year. Butfarmers were only "advised” not
committee to review usage of pesticides
to use it on vegetables and oilseeds. Orders
INDIA TODAY ♦ JUNE 15.1989
pests of sugarcane, rice and fruit such as apples. These have met
with some success. Efforts to identify more such predators must
be intensified. However, after releasing them, they have to be
carefully monitored to ensure that they don't cause anew kind of
pest attack. Both these programmes if taken up on a war-footing
could drastically reduce the over-dependence on pesticides.
© Banning pesticides like
The Government has also been showing concern about the
growing residue buildup in foods. In 19S4. the Indian Council of
DDT and BHC and replacing
Agricultural Research set up an all India coordinated research
them by safer ones.
project on pesticide residues. While the project, involving 13
agricultural universities took three years to get cracking, some
data has been compiled on residue levels in soils and certain food
• Preventing industries from
crops. And it is just completing another vital task: Fixing
dumping poisonous efllueflts.
tolerance levels for daily intake of bhc.
However, even thePlanning Commission admits that it can't
• Considering health costs
do away with bhc and dot till the much-vaunted 21 st century.
Most toxicology experts call for "a national pesticide manage
while deciding pesticide policy.
ment programme". Apart from more strictly regulating the
manufacture of pesticides they want
the monitoring system for pesticide
for banning dot's use in agriculture
residues to be beefed up. Laboratories
are to be issued only next fortnight—
to test residues need to be set up in
fouryears after the expert committee's
each state. And they call for a
recommendation.
regular market basket ' survey.
The expert committee s rec
as done by several devel
ommendation in a way reflects
oped countries, to warn
the dilemma faced by the
of dangerous buildups.
country in dealing with pes
Meanwhile the pesticide
ticides. In the West, after
industry
could join hands
damaging studies on bhc and
with the agricultural exten
ddt led to the countries banning
sion workers to train farm
them, farmers switched to cost
ers on how to use smaller
lier but safer pesticides. In India.
quantities of pesticides more
since pesticides account for 50 per
effectively.
cent of input costs in many crops.
The Government needs to
farmers are unlikely to use the
clean up its act too. Rather than
expensive ones. And that could
just freezing production of the
lead to a steep fall in foodgrain
more persistent chemicals like
production.
ddt and bhc. these must be phased
So what is the way out? To
out rapidly. Even if the alternatives
the Government's credit, in the past
are costlier it is a lesser price to pay than
few years it has been taking some
the nation's health.
positive steps. One was to encourage inte
It also needs to chalk out a compre
grated pest management, a scheme that
All those colourful jalebis, barfis
hensive policy on the types of pesticides to
has led to a dramatic reduction in residue
and toffees are not as sweet as
be used in the country. And while doing
levels in the West.
they look. A study In Uttar Pra
so. the health costs must be toted up. In
desh found that In a third of the
other areas like heavy metal poisoning
ESI SSENTIALLY it's a programme
samples, the dyes used to colour
stricter control over industrial effluents
which advocates the judicious use of
the sweets were on the Govern
and better exhaust cleaning devices could
uisj pesticides and safer alternatives to
help considerably.
ment's
prohibited
list.
Animal
fight pest attacks. One of the techniques is
In all this speed is a must. For. as the
to teach farmers exactly when and in
studies have shown that these
late John F. Kennedy once said: "The loss
what quantities to use pesticides. For
illegal dyes damage the kidneys,
of even one human life or the malfunction
instance, farmers are advised not to begin
spleen and liver and, in some
of
even
one baby—who may be born long
spraying as soon as the brown plant hop
cases, can harm even the re
after we are gone—should be of concern
per. that feeds on the rice crop, is noticed.
productive system.
to us all. Our children and grandchildren
Its predators, the spider and themiridbug.
are not merely statistics towards which
could control the hopper population. Only
we can be indifferent."
if the population crosses certain limits are
A poor country like India may find it
the farmers advised to spray.
difficult to uphold such high values. But
Another technique is biological con
it's about time we moved in that direction.
trol of pesticides. Many of the pests have
After all neither we nor our children
their natural biological enemies that if
should be reduced to mere statistics, as is
introduced could control theirpopulation
happening now.
without the use of these chemicals. Al
—
RAJ CHENGAPPA in Delhi. Lucknow & Ludhiana
ready the Government has introduced
With CHIDAN'AXD RAJGHATTA in Mysore
around eight such predators of common
© Taking up on a war
footing the control of pests
using their natural predators.
|UNE IS. 1W# ♦ t.NUIA TODAY 83
MAKIfG FOOD SAFE
The problem of making food safe is clearly a vast one,
for it involves an understanding of all the hazards to which the
whole variety of foods (and drinks’) arc exposed; and the ways
in which such hazards can be minimized, if not completely removed.
Because of the size of the subject, the format of the notes for
this lecture differs from those elesewhere in this booklet and
does in fact conform more to true note form, than do the papers
on other topics.. Under the various sub-headings, some brief
implications are mentioned, but neither the headings themselves,
nor the additional remarks, arc in any way exhaustive. It is
hoped, however, that they provide a framework of ideas which
readers can enlarge upon", and add to, in the light of their own
experience, for one of the problems facing us
in deciding the content of this brier course, is that
those taking it, come from a variety of jobs and industries, and
the only thing which many have in common, is a shared responsibility
for food whiefi others cat.
The order of the topics here, is not. ne-cc ssarily the
only one possible, based, as it is on the- history of various
food items from their source to their consumption', and clearly
some workers will have no control at all over some aspects of
the food with which they deal at different stages in this cha~in.
Lastly, some hazards will clearly appear more than once in the
chain, e.g. the danger of Salmonella from duck eggs.
THE NATURAL HISTORY OF FOOD:
A SOURCE
Degree of control av,-liable.
1. MEAT Inspection of slaughter-houses,,sampling of,
imported meat.
2; POULTRY Control of rearing' conditions.
3. EGGS Control-of import of dried eggs. Note dangerof Salmonella from duck eggs.'
4. MILK Brucellosis-free- herds.
VEGETABLES Avoid excessive soil contamination-B.
Cercus. Possibility of danger from pesticide spraying.
Possible danger of intestinal infections if faecal'ly
contaminated vegetables, e.g. salads, are consumed raw.
6. WATER Dangers of intestinal infections, e.g. Cholera,
Typhoid Fever, Dysentery from faecal contamination,
if" untreated .
5.
B. TRANSPORT
1 Danger of cross-infection of animals; increase in
Salmonella before slaughter if crowded or too long
in transport.
2. Cross contamination.of food from animal excreta.
3.
If meat, danger of spoilage and bacterial multi
plication unless ,rcfrigerated.
. .2
2
THE TREATMENT OF FOOD
A wide variety of methods are designed to-preserve
food, and to prevent bacterial and other contamination.
C
1 . HYGIENIC SLAUGHTERING (Sec B (1) above).'
2. CANNING - to a temperature sufficient to kill
all pathogens, c-.g. a "Botulinum Cook". Ensure
proper scaling o r tin -cf. contamination of corned
bree® ip the AL' irc<.r "v’'old outbreak.
3.
FREEZING Rapidity is
imeertant factor for quality.
Does not kill all pathogens,
4.
ACCELERATED FREEZE DRYING
5.
DEHYDRATION
6.
SMOKING AND CURING.
7.
SALTING AND PIC KLIN. Gg . g - Jb: salt beef of Nelson's
Navy. ,
8.
PASTEURISATION, c-.g. milk, canned ham. Kills
pathogens- bur spoilage organisms may survive.
9.
STEFILISATION, e.g.. milk-kills all germs,
ULTRA HEAT TREAT I® NT-as for sterilization.
10.
11.
D
ADDITION OF PRESERVATIVES, e.g. ‘Sulphur Dioxide to
sausages, etc. Only a short-term effect.
STORAGE
1 , REGP.IGERATlON-Temperature control vital.
2.
’ (a) Deep freezers.
' (b) Frozen food cabincts-watch' the lose line.
(c) Domestic type refrigerators-avoid overloading
and introducing hot food-
PEST CONTROL
2..
3.
E
Rodents, insect pests, especially flies.
STOCK ROTATION- consider implications of date
stamping.
PRE FAR AT ION
1.
,
Consider construction and use of premises.
2.
CONSIDER FOOD''HANDLERS ("ten in. his own worst enemy").
Clothing.
Cleanliness.
Absence of infection i‘n throat, nose, on skin,
in bowels.
Hygienic practices.
3.
STORAGE AFTER PREPARATION
Avoid contamination.
4.
DISCARD THE DOUBTFUL FOOD.
Avoid bacterial growth.
3
F
SERVINS FOOD
1. Cleanliness of handlers.
2. Cleanliness of utensils-washing methods.
B DISPOSAL OF WASTE FOOD
1. Dustbins-refuse collection.
2. Drains.
3.
H
Flies, vermin, other pests.
MONITORING
1. From within, by regular supc-rvision-and irregular
checks.
2. From without by the Food Inspectors of the Local
Authority.
I
THE AIM-is to break the chain.
1. Not to allow food to become contaminated.
2. To prevent bacterial growth.
J
THE FINAL ANSWER IS HEALTH EDUCATION.
@£3£@£@£@£@
PC-SPIRS 5,30
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1/97-9/97
MEDLINE (R) 1/97-9/97 usacje is subject to the terms and conditions of the
Subscription and License Agreement and the applicable Copyright and
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1 of 23
TI: The DMA 'comet assay' as a rapid screening technique to control irradiated
food.
AU: Cerda-H; Delincee-H; Haine-H; Rupp-H
AD: Department of Radioecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences,
Uppsala, Sweden.
SO: Mutat-Res. 1997 Apr 29; 375(2): 167-81
this source is not Available by this library
LA: ENGLISH
AR: The exposure of food to ionizing radiation is being progress:vely used in
many countries to inactivate food pathogens, to eradicate pests, and to extend
shelf-life, thereby contributing to a safer and more plentiful food supply. To
ensure free consumer choice, irradiated food will be labelled as such, and to
enforce labelling, analytical methods to detect the irradiation treatment in
the food product itself are desirable. In particular, there is a need for
simple and rapid screening methods for the control of irradiated food. The DNA
comet assay offers great potential as a rapid tool to detect whether a wide
variety of foodstuffs have been radiation processed. In order to simplify the
test, the agarose single-layer set-up has been chosen, using a neutral
protocol. Interlaboratory blind trials have been successfully carried out with
a number of food products, both of animal and plant origin. This paper presents
an overview of the hitherto obtained results and in addition the results of an
intercomparison test with seeds, dried fruits and spices are described. In this
intercomparison, an identification rate of 9S7. was achieved. Thus, using this
novel technique, an effective screening of radiation-induced DNA fragmentation
is obtained. Since other food treatments also may cause DNA fragmentation,
samples with fragmented DNA suspected to have been irradiated should be
analyzed by other validated methods for irradiated food, if such treatments
which damage DNA cannot be excluded.
, «
2 of 23
TI: Control of Yersinia enterocolitica in raw pork and pork products by
gamma-irradiation.
AU: K’amat—AS; Khare—S; Doctor-T; Nair-PM
AD: Food Technology Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, Trombay, India.
SD: Int-J-Food—Microbiol. 1997 Apr 29; 36(1): 69-76
this source is not Available by this library
LA: ENGLISH
AR: gamma-Radiation response of Y. enterocol. i ti ca 5692 and 152 was studied at 0
degrees C and at -40 degrees C in phosphate buffer (pH 7.DO) as well as in 10%
raw meat/salami homogenate. The strains investigated did not differ in their
response and were found to be sensitive to gamma-radiation but exhibited a
tailing phenomenon in the survival curve. The DIO in homogenate was 0.25 kGy at
0 degrees C. This response was not affected at -40 degrees C. Storage studies
of packs, inoculated, artificially with heavy inoculum of Y. enterocolitica
(10(6) cfu/g) showed that while samples of salami and cooked ham could be
decontaminated at doses of 4 and 3 kGy respectively; cells could not be
eliminated from raw pork meat even at the higher dose of 6 kGy. The role of
different treatments given prior to irradiation for revival of Y.
enterocolitica after irradiation storage was studied. The dose of 1 kGy at -40
degrees C was efficient in eradicating low numbers (< 10(3)) of naturally
occurring of Y. enterocolitica from raw pork meat without any revival during
storage at refrigeration temperature.
TI s The effect of electron beam irradiation, combined with acetic acid, on the
survival and recovery of Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus curvatus.
AU; Fielding—LM; Cook-PE; Grandison-AS
ADS' Depar tment of Food Science and Technology, University of Reading,
Whiteknights, UK. 1 fielding@uwic.ac.uk
SD: Int-J-Food—Microbiol. 1997 Apr 15; 35(3): 259-65
this source is not Available by this library
LA: ENGLISH
AB: The preservation of food by ionising radiation may lead to undesirable
sensory changes within the food. These changes can be reduced by combining
irradiation with other treatments, for example the addition of organic acids.
Late exponential phase cultures of Escherichia coli and Lactobacillus curvatus
were irradiated, in a liquid medium, at doses of 0—1.8 kilograys (kGy), in the
presence of acetic acid (0-2*4) at pH 4,6. A synergistic effect occurred when E.
coli was irradiated in the presence of acetic acid (0.02-1.07.) at all doses
used (0.145—1.1 kGy). There is evidence to suggest that membrane disruption
occurred in the cells as a result of the combined treatments and this may
account, to some extent, for the synergism observed. The addition of acetic
acid up to a concentration of 2.0% had no effect upon the radiation survival or
upon the subsequent growth of L. curvatus.
4 of 23
TIs Estimating the incidence of food-borne Salmonella and the effectiveness of
alternative control measures using the Delphi method.
AU: Henson-S
AD: Department of Agricultural and Food Economic, University of Reading, UK.
aeshensn@dg.ac. uk
SO: Int-J-Food—Microbiol. 1997 Apr 15; 35(3): 195-204
this source is not Available by this library
LA; ENGLISH
AB: The paper describes the use of the Delphi method to estimate the incidence
of food—borne Salmonella in the UK and the effectiveness of alternative control
measures. A panel of experts of food—borne Salmonella participated in the
Delphi survey, which involved five rounds of questioning taking place in the
period July 1993 to January 1994. Participants were asked to give initial
estimates for a number of parameters and invited to revise these estimates
through progressive rounds of the survey at which the group responses were
reported back. This process resulted in a reduction in the variation between
the estimates given by individual experts. The final estimated annual incidence
of food-borne Salmonella in the UK was 537,000, although significant variation
remained between, individual estimates. The foods judged to be the most
important modes of transmission were poultry and poultry products (50% of
cases) and eggs and egg products (26% of cases). The panel was also requested
to estimate the effectiveness of strategies available to reduce the incidence
of food-borne Salmonella from all sources. The most effective methods were
judged to be food irradiation and mandatory application of HACCP, although
there were significant differences in the judged effectiveness of these
technologies for individual respondents. The paper demonstrates the efficacy of
the Delphi method as a mechanism for reconciling differences between expert
judgements of the incidence of food-borne disease and the effectiveness of
alternative control strategies.
5 of 23
TI: IFood ir radiation with ionizing radiation; an overview!
AU: Nooitgedagt—AJ
SO: Tijdschr—Di ergeneeskd. 1997 Mar 15; 122(6): 158-63
this source is not Available by this library
LA: DUTCH; NON—ENGLISH
AP: Irradiation of food in the Netherlands may only be performed by a company
7
of 23
TI: Effect of gamma—irradiation pn the natural occurrence of Fusarium
mycotoxins in wheat, flour and bread.
AU: Aziz-NH; Attia-ES; Farag-SA
ADs National Center for Radiation Research and Technology, Cairo, Egypt.
SO: Nahrung. 1997 Feb? 41(1): 34-7
this source .is not Available by this library
LA: ENS! ISH
AR: A survey was carried out to obtain data on the occurrence of Fusarium
mycotoxin in wheat and flour samples collected from local markets in Egypt and
to study the influence of gamma-.i r radiation on controlling the occurrence of
these mycotoxins in wheat, flour and bread. Deoxynivalenol (DON) was detected
in five samples of wheat at levels ranging from 103 to 287 micrograms/kg and
one sample each of flour and bread at concentrations 188 and 179 micrograms/kg.
Zearalenonp (ZEN) was detected in ten samples of wheat at levels from 28 to 42
micrograms/kg and four samples each of flour and bread at concentrations of 95
and 34 micrng:ams/kg, respectively. T-2 toxin was detected only in one sample
each of wheat, flour and bread at concentrations of 2.9, 2.2 and 2.3
micrograms/kg, respectively. Gamma-irradiation at dose level of 6 kGy
completely eliminated fungal flora in flour and wheat. DON, ZFN and T-2 toxin
concentrations are reduced to 85, 20 and 2.0 micrograms/kg for wheat and to
125, 45 and 1.0 micrograms/kg for flour after 4 kGy exposure and a sharp drop
in Fusarium toxin levels occurred at 6 kGy and as eliminated at 8 kGy. Bread
prepared from 6 kGy was contaminated with Fusarium toxin at levels below 5
microgram/kg. It was noticed that gamma-irradiation reduce greatly the natural
occurrence of Fusarium mycotoxins in bread.
8
of 23
TI: D values of Salmonella enteritidis isolates and quality attributes of shel
eggs and liquid whole eggs treated with irradiation.
AU: Serrano-LE; Murano—EA; Shenoy-K; DI son—DG
AD: Department of Animal Science, Iowa State University, Ames 50011, USA.
SO: Poult-Sci. 1997 Jan; 76(1): 202-6
this source is not Available by this library
LA: ENGLISH
AB: Irradiation sensitivity of five Salmonella enteritidis isolates inoculated
either on the surface or inside of whole shell eggs were determined. The shell
eggs were irradiated at doses of 0, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 kGy. A minimal dose of
0.5 kGy was sufficient to eliminate all the isolates from the surface of whole
eggs; however, the same isolates were more resistant to irradiation when
present inside the eggs. The ATCC 13076 isolate was significantly more
sensitive to irradiation, with a 0 value of 0.32 kGy, than the other four
isolates from animal origin. Irradiation 0 values of the latter ranged from
0.39 to 0.41 kGy. Liquid whole eggs were also inoculated (2.4 x 10(6) cells pe
milliliter) with two S. enteritidis isolates and were heat—treated at 50 C for
0, 20, 40, or 60 min followed by irradiation at 0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, or 1.0 kGy
The results indicate that mild heating prior to irradiation was ineffective in
reducing the irradiation D values. However, on the basis of the D values
obtained, an irradiation dose of 1.5 kGy should be sufficient to reduce
Salmonella counts by approximately 4 loglO in Loth whole shell and liquid eggs
Results also indicate that color and thermal characteristics of the whole or
liquid eggs were unaffected by a 1.5-kGy dose of irradiation.
9
of 23
TI: Effect of irradiation dose, storage time and temperature on the ESR signal
in irradiated oat, corn and wheat.
AU: Murrieta—H; Munoz—E; Adem-E; Buri 1 Io—G; Vazquez-M; Cabrera—E
AD: Institute de Fisica, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico,
Mexico DF.
SO: Appl-Radiat-Isot. 1996 Nov-Dec; 47(11-12): 1657-61
this source is not Available by this library .
LA: ENGLISH
AB: Results obtained for electron-!rradiated oat, corn and wheat kernels are
discussed. The applied irradiation doses were up to 160 kGy. For doses up to
approx. 50 kGy the number of free radicals produced by the irradiation is
linear with the absorbed dose; moreover, the decay at. room temperature in the
dark or in the presence of light is quite similar. These facts point to the
possible use of these kernels as dosimeters. An analysis of the free radical
decay as a function of time and temperature shows the contribution of at least
three types of radicals, whose half-lifes, radiochemical yields and activation
energies are given.
10
TI: Identification of irradiated mangoes by means of ESR spectroscopy.
AU: Bustos—HF; Romero-ME; Gutierrez—A; Azorin—J
AD: Institute Nacional de Investigactones Nucleares, Hex., Mexico.
of 23
’SO: Appl-Rarli at-Jsot - :! 996 Nov-Dec ; 47(11-12): 1655-6
this source is not Available by this library
I.A: ENGLISH
AB: Samples of mango varieties Tommy Atkins, Haidei, and At.BU.lfo were if radiated
with 60Co gamma radiation at doses in the range 0.15-1-0 kGy, and stored at
room temperature for lapses of time up to 72 h. They were’then studied by ESR
spectrometry. Results show that the ESR signal of the irradiated samples is
higher than that of the unirradiated samples, and this is found even at the
minimum radiation dose of 0.15 kGy. The ESR signal remained stable, during- the
storage time. The ESR signals obtained for hydroheat.ed mangoes show
insignificant differences with respect to the control samples.
11
of 23
TI: Influence of sample treatment on ESR signal of irradiated citrus. .
AU: de-Jesus-FF; Rossi-AM; 1opes-RT
AD: Programa de Fngenharia Nuclear, CGPPE/Universidade Federal do Rio de
Janeiro, Br azi1.
SO: Appl-Radiat-Isot- 1996 Nov—Dec; 47(11—12): 1647—53
this source is not Available by this library
LA: ENGLISH
AR: ESR spectra of the hard seed cover and kernel coating of irradiated orange
and tangerine fruits were obtained under different sample drying conditions to
analyze the effect of treatment on ESR line at g = 2.0033 (line A). The spectra
shows almost the same lines that appear in stalks, achenes, seeds and skins of
fresh fruit. The peak-to—peak intensity of the line A of the spectra shows a
linear variation with dose in the range studied (up to 5 kGy) under controlled
sample preparation, Q—band ESR spectra shows that this line is composed for
three different lines from different species. Al, A.2 and A3, The A2 and A3
lines art- associated with dose but grow also during drying of the sample and
are probably due to cellulosic’ components of the seed cover. The Al line
appears only when sample is dried and is probably associated w.i th the quinones
of the internal kernel cost.
12
of 23
Use of ESR for the detection of irradiated dates (Phoenix dactylifera L.) .
Ghelaw.i—MA; Moore-,IS; Dodd-NJ
University of Salford, U.K.
Appl-Radiat-Isot. 1996 Nov-Dec; 47(11-12): 1641-5
■ this source is not Available by this, library
LA: ENGLISH
AR: One variety (Aple) of Libyan dry dates (Phoenix dactylifera 1..) was
irradiated in a 60Co source to absorbed doses of 0.8, 1.0, 1-5 and 2.0 kGy.
llnirradiated date stone contains a radical with a single line g = 2.0045,
feature A. Irradiation to a dose of 2.0 kGy (the recommended dose for fruits in
U.K.) induces the for mation of additional radicals with signals g = 1.9895 and
2.0159, feature C- The single line having g - 2.0045 decays in both
unirradiated and irradiated samples whereas the additional signals g = 1.9895
and 2.0159 remain almost unchanged ever a period of time 15 months stored at
room temperature and 4 degrees C.
TI:
AU:
AD:
SO:
TI: Current status of the EPR method to detect irradiated food.
AU: Desrosier s-MF
AD: Physics Laboratory, National Institute of Standards and Technology,
Technology Administration, Department of Commerce, Gaithersburg, MD 20899, USA.
30: Appl-Radiat-Isot. 1996 Nov-Dec; 47(11-12): 1621-8
this source is not Available by this library
LA; ENGLISH
AB: This review gives, a brief outline of the principles of the EPR detection
method for irradiated foods by food type. For each food type, the scope,
limitations and status of the method are given. The extensive reference list.
'aims to include all which define the method, as well as some rarely cited works
of historical importance.
1.4 of 23
TI: "Contamination" with genes?J
AU: Naess-K
SO: Tidsskr -Nor -L aegefor en. 1.997 Jan 10; 117(1): 84
this source is not Available by this library
LA: NORWEGIAN; NGN-FNGLISH
15 of 23
TIs The effects of milling and processing on wheat contaminated with ochratoxin
A.
AU: Osborne—BG; Ibe—F; Brown-GI. ; Petagine-F; Scudamore-KA; Banks—JN;
Het man ski—MT.; Leonard—CT
AD: FMRRA, Cher leywood, Her ts, UK.
SO: Food-Addit-Contarn. 1996 Feb-Mar; 13(2): .141-53
this source is not Available hy this library
LA: ENGL ISH
AR: Samples of sound home—grown wheat (one hard and one soft milling) were
obtained, cleaned, and gamma—irradiation used to reduce numbers of viable
naturally-occurr ing fungi. Each sample was inoculated With a toxigenic strain
of PeniciIlium verrucosum and monitored for ochratoxin A formation. When
ochratoxin A had reached a level of 60 micrograms/kg, the samples were milled
into ten fractions which were analysed for ochratoxin A by an HPL.C method with
immunoaffinity column clean-up. Each straight-run white flour was baked into
bread which was analysed in the same .way. Relationships between ochratoxin A
levels in natur al 1'/-contaminated wheat and the products of milling and baking
were established. The recovery of ochratoxin A in wholemeal compared with the
cleaned wheat was essentially complete and no significant loss occurred on
baking white or wholemeal flour into bread
Recoveries in the straight-run
white flours, however , were only approxima' ;p.l.y one— third for" the hard wheat and
two-thirds for the soft wheat of the ochra .oxin A in the uncleaned wheat. The
reason for this was that a much higher pru| ror lion of the ochratoxin A was found
in the bran and offal fractions from hard i rheat than from soft. Conversely, a
much higher proportion of the ochratoxin A was found in the reduction flour
from soft wheat than from hard. Scouring w, »s examined as a possible method of
decontamination of wheat prior to milling. This process removes a proportion of
the. pericarp (bran coat) prior to milling. The results of the study confirmed
thst scouring reduced the ochratoxin A levi »1 in white and wholemeal flour
three—fold for both the hard and soft whea
16
of 23
TI: Economics may be cause for lack of food ir r adiation Iletter1
AUs Gonder-E
SO: J—Am—Vet—Med—Assoc. 1997 Jan 1; 210(1): IS
this source is not Available by this library
’ A: ENGLISH
17 of 23
Ochratoxin A in wheat: a second intercomparison of procedures.
Wood-GM; Patel—S; Entwisle-AC; Boenke—A
Leatherhead Food Research Association, Surrey, UK.
Food-Add?t-Contam. 1996 Jul; 13(5): 5.1.9-39
this source is not Available by this library
I A: ENGLISH
AB: The European Commission, Measurements and Testing Programme (BCR) has
undertaken a project to improve methodology and to prepare certified reference
materials for ochratoxin A determination. The first phase of this project, an
intercomparison of procedures for the determination of ochratoxin A in wheat,
at a content of approximately 13 micrograms/kg, has already been reported. The
TI:
AU:
AD:
SO:
second intercomparison study, described in this paper, involved 26 European
laboratories, from 11 countries, which analysed wheat naturally contaminated at
a level of approximately 7 rnicrograms/kg, and a 'blank' wheat sample
(ochratoxin A content < 0.2 microgram/kg) . The participants used a variety of
procedures, which involved different extraction solvents and clean-up
procedures. All laboratories used HP) C as the determinative step. Some
laboratories also used immunoaff.inity column clean-up in comparison with their
normal method. Recoveries of the normal methods used by laboratories ranged
from 59 to 1147; only three laboratories obtained recoveries outside the
accepted range of 70 to 1107.. Recoveries of the immunoaff.inity column methods,
using two sources of column, ranged from 58 to 1147 for one and from 4 to 967
for the other. The between—laboratory reproducibility coefficient of variation
for all results was 347 for the normal methods, and 34 and 427 for the two
types of immunoaffinity columns. It was noted that, after the results were
corrected for spike recovery, some laboratories became outliers owing to low
spike recoveries. Further investigations of the spiking protocols used by each
laboratory showed that the time left for evaporation of the spiking solvent was
crucial to the recovery obtained.
.18 of 23
TI: Potentials of cold pasteurization for the safety of foods of animal origin.
AU: Mussman-HC
90s ,1-Am-Vet-Med-Assoc. .1996 Dec 15; 209(12): 2057-8
this source is not Available by this 1ibrary
LA: ENGLISH
19 of 23
TX: Migration of dioctyl adipate plasticizer from food-grade PVC film into
chicken meat products: effect of gamma-radiation.
AUs Goulas-AE; Kcntominas-MG
AD: Department of Chemistry, University of. loannina, Greece.
SO: Z-Lebensm—Gnters—Forsch. 1996 Mar; 202(3): 250—5
this source is not Available by this library
LA: ENGLISH
AB: Food—grade PMC film containing 28.37 dioctyl adipate (DGA) plasticizer- was
used to wrap chicken meat samples, with and without skin, contained in a
polystyrene tray. Samples were then irradiated with gamma-radiation I60Col at
doses equal to 4 kGy and 9 kGy corresponding to "cold pasteurization".
Irraddiation was carried out at 8-10 degrees C and samples were subsequently
stored at 4-5 degrees C. Contaminated chicken meat samples were analysed for
DGA at intervals between 7 h and 240 h of contact, using an indirect GC method.
Identical non-irradiated (control) samples were also analysed for their DGA
content. Results showed no statistically significant differences in migrated
amounts of DGA between irradiated and non—irradiated samples. Neither were
differences observed between samples irradiated at 4 kGy and 9 kGy. This was
supported by identical IR spectra recorded for irradiated and non-irradiated
samples and leads to the conclusion that, at such intermediate radiation doses
( < or = kGy), the migration characteristics of PVC film are not affected. DGA
migration was found to be time dependent., approaching equilibrium after
approximately 170 h for the chicken flesh plus skin samples and 120 h for the
chicken flesh samples. The amount of DGA migrated into chicken flesh plus skin
samples was significantly greater (3.2-72.3 mg/dm?) than that for chicken flesh
samples (0.9—8.9 mg/dm.7). After 240 h of sample/film contact under
refrigeration, loss of DGA was approximately 35.67 for chicken flesh plus skin
samples and 14.37 for chicken flesh samples. Sample spoilage, as demonstrated
by off—odour development, occurred after approximately 1.20 h of refrigerated
storage. Diffusion coefficients for DGA were calculated and were found to be
lower for chicken flesh (1 >: 10(-13) than for flesh plus skin (4,4 >; 10(-13))
samples.
“TI s Why not irradiate? Cletter!
AU: Erbeck-DH
SO: (J Am—Vet Med Assoc■■ 1996 Oct 15; 209(8): 1379
this source is not Available by this library
1 a7 ENGLISH
21 of 23
TI: Technological and chemical characters of bread prepared from irradiated ■
wheat flour.
AU: Zaied-SE; Abdel—Hamid—AA; Attia—FA
AD: National Centre for Radiation Research, Cairo, Egypt.
SO: Nahrung. 1996 Feb; 40(1): 28-31
this source is not Available by this library
I A: ENGLISH
AR: The present work is a part of research programme aimed to use gamma
irradiation to decrease the growth of fungi and the concentration of
mycotoxines which present naturally in collected sample'^ of wheat flour from
Egyptian markets (first part). To follow the technological, rheological and
chemical characters of bread "Balady" common type in Egypt, same samples of
wheat flour were irradiated with 2, 4 and 8 kGy for these purposes. The
Egyptian bread type (Balady) had been prepared from irradiated and
non-irraidated samples. The chemical analysis proved a significant induction in
reducing sugars (RS) which increased gradually with increasing doses as 16.757.,
30.3054,, 43.2454 after using 2, 4 and 8 kGy respectively. Same trend was observed
with total sugars (TS), less changes were observed in non—reducing sugars (NRS)
and starch content. Results obtained showed that an actual reduction in dough
development time, stability, weaking of dough and height of bread especially
for irradiated samples at 4 and 8 kGy but 2 kGy was less effective. The
reduction of Alkaline Water Retention Capacity (AWRC) was clear at high doses
whereas 2.0 kGy improved the freshness of aged "balady" bread. Concerning, the
evaluation! of organoleptic characters of bread as judged by the panelists, all
the samples were accepted either irradiated or not. But, the lowest values of
acceptance resulted from irradiated samples with 4 and 8 kGy. Therefore, using
2
kGy can be recommended for keeping quality of wheat flour to avoid the
infestation or pathogenic infection. Whereas high doses (4—8 kGy) can be use
for eliminating the mycotoxins with some changes of quality which can be
overcome by using some additional mattfe’rs to get more acceptable bread and less,
changes in technological characters.
22 of 23
TI: Irradiation as a cold pasteurization process of food.
AU: Loaharanu—P
AD: Food Preservation Section, International Atomic Energy Agency, Vienna,
Austria.
SO: Vet-Parasitol. 1996 Aug; 64(1-2): 71-82
this source is not Available by this library
I.A: ENGLISH
AR: A number of emerging pathogenic microorganisms and parasites in food, the
wide publicity of outbreaks of foodborne diseases and the increasing number of
immuno-compr omised population have resulted in a need to develop proper
strategies and technologies to protect health of consumers. Regulations in most
countries which are promulgated to ensure safety of foods, are not properly
enforced tc< protect consumers' health especially with regard to food of animal
origin. While regulations are in place and properly enforced for liquid foods
such as milk or fruit juices, more solid foods especially those of animal
origin, e.g. poultry, meat and seafood, which are often contaminated by
pathogenic microorganisms and parasites, are not similarly regulated. The
number of
incidences of foodborne diseases can the subsequent economic impact
to the society can be enormous. Recently, an increasing number of national and
.international organizations have recognised the use of irradiation as a method
to ensure hygienic quality of more solid food of animal origin in the same
the Appl
of the Agreement on
dopted during the GATT
25 of 23
TI: Strategies to reduce transmission of Toxoplasma gondii to animals and
humans.
AU: Dtibey-JP
AD: US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Parasite
Biology and Epidemiology Laboratory, Beltsville, HD 2070S, USA.
SD: Vet-Par asi to.1 . 1996 Aug; 64(1-2): 65-70
this source is not Available by this .1 ibrary
! A: ENGLISH
AR: Toxoplasma gondii is found in the tissues of food animals and is an
important cause of abortion and mortality in sheep and goats throughout the
world. It causes mental retardation and Joss of vision in congenitally infected
children and death in immunosuppressed patients. A live vaccine, using a
noupersi stent strain of T. gondii, is available in New Zealand, the? UK and
Europe which prevents T. gondii abortion in sheep. A live vaccine using a
mutant strain of T. gondii (T-263) is being developed in the USA to reduce
oocyst shedding by cats. As yet, there are no drugs to kill T. gondii tissue
cysts in human or animal, tissues. Freezing to -12 degrees C, cocking to an
PC-SFIRS 3.30
HED1 INE (R)
1/96-1/97
MEDLINE (R) 1/96-1/97 usage is subject, to the terms and conditions of the
Subscription and license Agreement and the applicable Copyright and
intellectual property protection as dictated hy the appropriate laws of your
country and/or by International Convention.
1 of 24
Public perceptions of everyday food hazards: a psychometric study.
Fife—Schaw-C; Rowe-G
Department, of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, England.
Risk-Anal. 1996 Aug; 16(4): 487-500
this source is not Available by this library
LA: ENG1 ISH
AR: In this paper, we discuss the conduct and results of a study aimed at
eliciting public perceptions of food-related hazards. This study employs the
psychometric approach of Paul Slovic and colleagues and aims to extend the
recent work of Sparks and Shepherd on defining the primary dimensions of
food-related risk perceptions. The study surveyed a nationally representative
sample of the general public (respondents = 293; adjusted response rate =
30.1%). Respondents provided ratings on subsets of 27 potential food hazards
(e.g., food ,ir r adiation and presence of listeria) on a total of 19 risk
characteristics (e.g., "perceived severity of risk” and "adequacy of
governmental regulations"). In spite of the use of a number of new
characteristics and food hazards,. Principal Components Analysis revealed a
broadly similar factor structure to that obtained L>y Sparks and Shepherd,
suggesting the generalizability of the key dimensions (concerning the severity
and awareness of hazards). Interestingly, the positioning in the factor space
of potential hazards about which little was generally known (e.g.,
Campylobacter) as being serious and in need of regulation, may suggest a
possible "starting position" in the perception of new hazards that have not
previously been the subject of risk communications.
TI:
AU:
AD:
SO:
2 of 24
TI: Comparison between irradiated and thermally pasteurized liquid egg white on
functional, physical, and microbiological properties.
All: Wong-YC; Herald-TJ; Hachmeister-KA
AD:. Department of Foods and Nutr ition, Kansas State University, Manhattan
66506. USA.
SO: Pou1t-Sci. 1996 Jun; 75(6): 803-8
this source is not Available by this 1ibrary
I.A: ENGLISH
AR: A comparative study was undertaken to determine the effect of irradiation
and thermal pasteurization on the functional, physical, and microbiological
properties of liquid egg white (LEW). The LEW was irradiated or thermally
pasteurized then stored at 4 C for 3 mo. Both treatments destroyed the
inoculum, Salmonella typhimurium. The microbial growth rate was slower in the
irradiated LEW than in the thermally pasteurized treatment. Irradiated samples
had 477. lower foam drainage and more stable viscosity than samples that were
thermally pasteurized. Volume of angel food cake prepared with irradiated or
pasteurized I FW decreased 48 and 577., respectively, after 90 d. Color did not.
differ between treatments. Ionizing radiation is an alternative processing
method that inhibits microbial growth and htf&lps maintain functionality of LEW.
3
of .24
TI: Effect of some factors used to the chicken meat preservation and processing
on the protease activity.
AU: Przysiezha—E; Skrabka-Blotnicka-T
AD: Academy of Economics, Animal Food Technology Department, Wroclaw, Poland.
SQ: Nahrung. 1996 Aug; 40(4): 200-5
not Available by this- library
5 of 24
TIs Salmonella, Campylobacter and Rscherichia coll O157jH7 decontamination
techniques for the -future.
Ads Corry—JE; James—C; James-SJ; Hinton-M
AD: Department a-f Clinical Veterinary Science, University of Bristol, Langford,
UK,
SO: Int—J—Food-Microbiol<■ 1995 Dec; .28(2) s 187—96
this source is not Available by this library
LAs FNG!. ISH
AR: Raw meat, particularly poultry meat, remains an important, and probably the
major source of human infection with Campylobacters and salmonellas. In spite
of decades of effort it has so far proved extremely difficult, to raise food
animals free of these pathogens. For the foreseeable future, therefore, the
most effective approach must be to decontaminate the final raw product. In this
way numbers of these pathogens entering kitchens and commercial food processing
premises wi 1 1 be reduced ■ substantial .1 y , and hence opportunities for'
cross-contamination onto ready-to-eat foods or for survival during cooking or
other processes- will be much lower , The ideal, method of decontamination will
have the following attributes: it will not change appearance, smell, taste or
nutritional properties; it will, leave no residues; it will pose no threat to
the environment; it will encounter no objections from consumers or legislators;
7 of 2.4
TIs Great expectations: the coroner's report on the haemolytic-uraemic syndrome
outbf eak Eletter3
AU: Holt-JA
S0| Med—J—Aust. j 996 Jun 17; 164(12); 7S8
This source i.s Available by this library
9 of 24
11 of 24
TIs f Identification of foals preserved by radiation.!
AU: Stachowicz-W
AO: Labor ator ium Tdentyfikacji Naprom.i.eni owania Zywnosci.
SO: Rocz-Panstw—Zakl-Hi<j. 1995; 46(41: 3.29-39
this source is- not Available by this?, library
LA: POL ISH; NOM-FHO! TSH
AR: Analytical methods suitable for the detraction of irrad i a ted foods are
reviewed. The detection methods are classified as physical, chemical,
microbiological and biological, respectively. Reliability, robustness,
sensitivity, accuracy and simplicity of each method are discussed.
TI: EFood ir radiati on.l
AU: Migdal-W
AO: Instytutu Chernii i Technlki Jadrowej, Warszawie.
SO: Rocx—Panstw-Zafcl-Hig. 1995; 46(4): 323-8
this source is nut Available by this library
I A: POI ISH; NDN-FNGl ISH
AB: A worldwide standard on fond ir r adiation was adopted in 1983 by Codex
Alimentarius Commission of the Joint Food Standard Programme of the Food and
Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Health
Organization (WHO). As a result, 41 countries have approved the use of
irradiation for treating one or more food items and the number is increasing.
Generally, irradiation is used to: food loses, food spoilage, disinfestation,
safety end hygiene. The number of countries which use ir radiation for
processing food for commercial purposes has been increasing steadily from 19 in
1987 tn 33 today. In the frames of the national programme on the application of
irradiation for food preservation and hygienization an experimental plant for
electron beam processing has been established. in .Institute of Nuclear Chemistry
and Technology. The plant is equipped with a small research accelerator Pilot
(19M&V, .1 kW) and an industrial uni I Elektronika (lOMeV, 10 kW) . On the basis
of the research there were performed at different scientific institutions in
Poland, health authorities have issued permission for irradiation for: spices,
garlic, onions, mushrooms, potatoes, dry mushrooms and vegetables.
TI: Safety and nutritional adequacy nf irradiated food £ letter3
AU: van-As-D
SO: S-Afr—Med-.I. 1995 Nov; 85(11): 1200
this source is not Available by this library
I A: ENGLISH
.14 of 24
TI: The effect of substrate on the radiation resistance of yeasts isolated from
sausage meat.
AU: McCarthy—JA; Damoglou—AP
Ah: Department of Food Science (Food Microbiology, Queen's University of
Belfast, UK.
SO: Lett—Appt—Mier obiol« 1996 Jan ; 22(1): 80-4
this source is not Available by this library
I. A: ENGLISH
AB: The radiation resistance of a selection of yeasts isolated from sausages
was. assessed in phosphate—buffered saline and in sausage meat- The yeasts
Candida z.ey1 anol des, Debaryomyces ha'nsenii and Trichospor on cutaneum exhibited
sigmoidal survival curves in both substrates whilst the more sensitive
Sporol<oJomyces ruseus exhibited an exponential survival curve in buffer but a
sigmoidal curve in meat. Irradiating C. zeylanoides, D. hansenii and T,
cutaneum in sausage meat changed the shape of their survival curves to
significantly alter the calculated parameters Ds (the dose in kGy that must be
achieved before reduction in numbers' occurs) and DIOsig (the dose in kGy
required after the shoulder tc< achieve a 1 log cycle reduction in numbers). The
Ds values were reduced while higher DIOsig values were obtained demonstrating
that the sausage meat contributed a protective effect to these yeasts at higher
irradial ion doses. For the yeast S. roseus, similar numbers of survivors were
recovered from both substrates at initial low irradiation doses (0-0.5 kGy)
with the protective effect being demonstrated again at higher doses (> 2 kGy).
These findings should be considered when defining a commercial process to
reduce the numbers of yeasts in these products.
15
of 24
TI: Comparative effects of gamma and microwave irradiation on the quality of
black pepper.
AU: Emam—GA; Farag—SA; Aziz—NH
AD; Faculty of Specified Education, Benha, Egypt.
SC: Z-Lebensm-Unters-Forsch. 1995 .Dec; 201(6): 557-61
this source is nnt AvajJahlf by this library
I. A: ENGL ,T GH
AR: Powtiitf ed black popper from Egyptian markets, was .irradiated with different
recommended doses of gamma rays (3.0 and 10.0 kGy) and with microwaves for
different periods (20, 40 and 75 s) to .improve its hygienic quality. The most
common bacterial isolates were of three genera Bacillus, Clostridium and
Micrococcus (7.3 x 10(6)), whereas the predominant fungi (7.8 x 1.0(4)) were
Aspergillus species, A. glaucus, A. flavus, A. niger and A. ochraceus. Doses of
gamma irradiation used (5.0 and 10 kGy) were sufficient to decrease
spore-forming bacteria (SFB) and to inhibit the fungal flora and coliforms
which contaminated the black pepper' powder. Microwave treatments for 40 s and
75 s were of the same effectiveness whereas treatment for 20 s was less so. GLC
analysis proved the presence of 31 peaks, only 19 compounds were identified as
monoterpene hydrocarbons (56.21%), the major one being beta-phellandrene and
limonene. Sesquiterpenes were also present, mainly beta-car yol .1 ptiyl .1 ene (3.697.)
as well as oxygenated compounds such as terpenol, geraniol, Me—chavicol,
eugenol and aniscil . Gamma irradiation at 5 kGy and 10 kGy respectively
decreased the numbers of identified tonrpounds from 21 (86.58% concentration) in
untreated pepper to 16 (59.22% concentration), 15 (54.06% concentration). In
comparison, microwave treatments, particularly for 40 s and 75 s, increased the
concent ration of the same cogipounds. The results obtained indicate that
microwave treatment, under these conditions, is a safe and suitable technique
for decon t amir sa t i on of black peppi-r which does not result, in a great loss of
flavour compounds, as compared with recommended doses of gamma irradiation.
16
of 24
TIs Combined effect of gamma radiation and heating on the destruction of
Listeria monoc y < ogenes and Salmonella typhi.mur.ium in cook-chill roast beef and
gravy.
AU: Grant—IR; Patterson-MF
AD: Department of Food Science (Food Microbiology), Queen's University of
Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
SO: Jut—J-Food-Ml i. r t.biol . .1995 Ort; 27(2-3): .117-28
this source is not Available by this library
I A: ENGLISH
AR: The effec i. of heating alone (60, 65 or 70 degr ees C) ., heating after
irradiation (0.8 kGy) and heating after irradiation and storage for 14 days at
2-3 degrees C on the deed rnct.ion of Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella
typhimurium in artifically inoculated minced cook-chill roast beef and gravy
was investigated. Inoculated minced roast beef samples (5 g) were heated- in
Stomacher bags completely immersed in a water bath at each of the test
temperatures. Survivor* were enumerated and 0 and ’ values were determined for
each of the pathogens. Observed thermal D values for two strains of L.
monocytogenes at 60, 65 and 70 degrees C in the absence of pr e-ir r ad i atiorr were
90.0-97.5 s, 34.0—53.0 s and 22.4-28.0 s, respectively, whereas thermal D
values after fir e-irr adiatiou were 44.0—46.4 s, 15.3-16.8 s and 5.5-7.8 s at 60,
65 and 70 degrees C, respectively* This reduction in D values provides evidence
for radiati on—induced heat—sens!tisation in L. monocytogeriPB. There was some
evidence of heat—sensitisation of S. typhimurium at 60 degrees C, but not at
either 65 or 70 degrees 0. The z value also decreased as a consequence of
pre-irradiat ion to a dose of 0.8 kGy (11.0—12.7 degrees C). The
radiation—induced heat-sensitivity in I ,, monocytogenes was .found to persist for
up to 2 weeks storage at 2-3 degrees C prior to heating. As cook-chill products
are intended to he reheated prior to consumption the results of the present
study suggest that any L. monocytogenes present in a cook-chill product would
be more easily killed during reheating if it were to be treated with a low dose
of gamma radiation during manufacture.
17
TI: Irradiated versus fumigated spices in sausage.
AU: Rcilander -CR; Toma—RR; Davis-RM; Medor a-NP
of 24
AD: California State University, Long Beach, Department of Home Economics-Food
Science 90840, USA.
SO: Tn t.-J-Food-Sc i-Nut r . 1995 Nov; 46(4): 319-25
this source is not Available by this library
I A: ENGLISH
AR: The efficacy of gamma radiation and ethylene oxide fumigation as
decontaminating treatments for spices used in sausages was compared. Microbial
loads of sausages containing ir r ari.i at.ed , fumigated or noir-'t rested spices were
examined over three intervals of time. No significant differences between
microbial loads of Mexican sausages containing irradiated spices. (10 kGy)
verses ethylene oxide—treated spices were found. Mexican sausages containing
treated spices had significantly lower yeast, mould and spore counts than
control sausages. After 8 weeks of storage, only the microbial loads of contra
sausages suggested spoilage. No discprnablf differences in treatment efficacy
were noted with respect to yeast, mould and spore counts in Italian sausages.
18
TI: Position of the American Dietetic Association:
SO: J-Am-Diet-Assoc. 1996 Jan; 96(1): 69-72
of 24
food ir ,r ad-iat.ion.
19 of 24
I A: GERMAN; NON-ENGLISH
AR: This paper describes the development of a method for the identification of
irradiated fresh fruits by measurement of the e.p.r. spectra of pips, kernels
or stories. Measurement parameters were optimized and the irradiation specific
spectrum was assigned to a cellulose radical by comparison with the e.p.r.
spectrum of pure cellulose. Several fruits especially different varieties of
strawberries were examined giving the following results: Detectable minimum
doses were between 0.4 kGy and 0.9 kGy and the intensity of the irradiation
specific signals was found to be linear up to doses of 11 kGy. The lifetime of
the specific radicals (at room temperature arid at deep freezing temper atur es)
was long enough compared to the storage time of fresh fruits. Additional
information about the nature of the unspecific central signal was gained
measuring the samples which were stored at different temperatures. The main
conclusion of this study is that the e.p.r . method seemes to be well suited fo
the use in routine control and should be tested in an intercomparison to
establish a rnutine method for' the identification of irradiated fresh fruits.
20 of 24
TI: Alteration of apparent viscosity of irradiated pepper—a tool for
semi.-quants tative estimation of ir radiation dose.
AU: Esteves-P; Polonia-I; Andrade-ME; Empis-J
AD: TNIA, Quinta do Marques, Oeiras, Portugal.
90: Z-Lebenem-Unters-Forsch. 1995 Oct; 201(4): 351-4
this source is not Available by this library
LA: ENG1 .TSH
AR: The feasibility of using apparent viscosity (eta a) as a method for
detecting the occurrence of previous irradiation of pepper was Studied.
Apparent viscosity of heat-treated suspensions of white and black pepper „
nonirradiated or irradiated with different doses of ionising radiation (gamma)
was measured under different "shear rates". Results of previous research were
therefore expanded and their usefulness examined; low shear rate conditions
were fotttid tn tip preferable for the detection and iigemi-quantitative evaluation
of irradiation doses. The experimental methodology for semi-quantitative
estimation was developed and its scope and limitations are presented.
TI: Irradiation for the prevention of foodhorne diseases.
SO: Bull-Ran-Am-Heal th-Gr gar,. 1995 Sep; 29(3); 279-9.1
This source is Available only few issues by this 1ibrarv
Call Number: Frum; .1972-1993
I A; ENGLISH
22 of 24
TI; Effect of irradiation on the microbiological status and flavouring
materials of selected spices.
AU; Farag-SE; A:?..<:z —NH; Attia—ES
ADs National Centre for Radiation Research and Technology, Nasr City, Cairo,
Egypt.
SO; Z—1 ebensm—linters—For sc.h. 1.995 Sep; 201(3): 283—8
this source is not Available by this library
I A: ENGLISH
AB; Spices from Egyptian local markets were irradiated with different
recommended doses (0, 5, 10, 20 and 30 kGy). The spices tested included dried
leaves of marjoram (Majorana horl.erisis Moench), rhizomes of ginger (Zingiber
officinale Roscoe) and powdered hot pepper (Capsicum annum L.). The study
included the isolation and identification of micro-organisms in spices
following their irradiation, as well as. gas chromatographic (GLC) chemical
analysis for the presence and structure of volatile oils, pungent, and piejment
materials. The results showed that hot pepper was contaminated more (9.2 x
10(5)/g) than marjoram (4.2 x 10(3)/g) and ginger (14.3 x 10(3)/g) with respect
to total aerobic bacterial content. The total contents of moulds were 4.8 x
10(3)/g, 5.7 x 10(3)/g and .19 x 10(3)/g in the same spires, respectively, but
the pathogenic moulds and bacterial strains differed according to the type of
spice. I r radiati on at 10, 20 arid 30 kGy caused complete elimination of
micro-organisms, whereas 5 kGy was less effective. With the GLC method chosen
.18 and SO compounds could he detected in the extracts of mar joram and ginger ,
respectively; gamma—ierpinjen and zingiberen being the major compounds in
marjoram and ginger , respectively. A noticeable reduction was observed in the
amount of terpenes present in irradiated marjoram; they were converted to
monoterpeuesalcohols. Ginger was more sensitive to irradiation, especially at
high doses, but moderate changes were detected at low doses (5 and 10 kGy). A
23 of 24'
TI; Consumer acceptance of irradiated poultry.
AU; Hashim—IR; Resurreccion—AV; McWat.ter s—KH
AD; Department of Food Science and Technology, College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences, University of Georgia, Griffin 30223-1797, USA.
SO: Poult—Sci. 1995 Aug; 74(8): 1287-94
this sourer is not Available by this library
LA: ENG1 ISH
AR; A simulated super market setting (SSS) test was conduc ted to deter mine
whether consumers (n — 126) would purchase irradiated poultry products, and the
effects of marketing str ategi.es on consumer purchase of irradiated poultry
products. Consumer preference for irradiated poultry was likewise determined
using a home—use test. A slide program was the most effective educational
strategy in changing consumers' purchase behavior. The number of participants
who fii.tr chased irr adiated boneless, skinless br easts and ir r adiated thighs after
the educational program increased significantly from 3*5.5 and 61.9% to 83.3 and
85.7% for the breasts and I highs, r es| tecti vel y.. Using a 'label or poster did not.
increase the number of participants who bought irradiated poultry products.
About 84% of the par Hr. i pants consider it either- "somewhat’ necessary" or "very
necessary" to .irradiate raw chicken and would like all chicken that was served
in restaurants or fast food placei to-be irradiated. Fifty—eight percent of the
participants would always buy irradiated chicken if available, and an
additional 27% would buy it sometimes. About 44% of the participants were
willing to pay the same price for irradiated chicken as for nonirradiated.
About 4.7% of participants were willing to pay 5% or more than what they were
currently paying for nonirradiated chicken. Seven ty-three percent or more of
consumers who parti c ipal.ed in the home—use test (n — 74) gave the color ,
appearance, and aroma of the raw poultry products a minimum rating of 7 ( = like
moderately). After consumers par I. i i-ipated in a home—use test, 84 and 88%
selected irradiated thighs and breasts, respectively, over non irradiated in a
second 8SS test.
TIs Irradiation—induced off—odour .in chicken and its possible control .
AU: Patter son—R!. j Stevenson—MH
AD: Department of Food Science, Queen's University of Belfast, Northern
I re1 and.
SCI: Br-Poult-Sri. 1993 Jul; 36(3): 425-41
this source is nut Available by this library
LA: FNGLIGH
AB: .1. Volatiles isolated from irradiated raw chicken were analysed by gas
chromatography (GC.) in conjunction with olfactory assessment of the effluent
carrier gas to locate compounds with strong smells. 2. Sixteen odours of
differing intensities were registered, some, hut not others, coinciding with
recognisable GC peaks. Identifications were made on the basis of retention
data, mass spectrometr ic information and odour quality agreement. 3.
Dimethyl tr .isulphide was found to he the most potent arid obnoxious compound
(foul gas, sulphurous), followed by cis—3— and trans-6-nonenals (soapy),
oc t—1-en—3—c«rie (mushroom) and bis (methyl thio—) methane (foul). With the
exception of oct—1—en—3—one, none of these compounds' has been reported before
in irradiated raw chicken. 4. alpha—Tocopher c«l and ascorbic acid induce
stability in tissues in vivo and post mortem. Chickens were reared on diets
supplemented with high c-oncen tr a t ions (800 mg/kg food) of each of these
vitamins. Yields of irradiation volatiles from the tissues of these birds were
very much reduced, compared to yields from similar tissues from birds fed
unsupplemented diets. 5. Concomitant 1y with the reduced yield of volatiles,
less odour was associated with the samples when analysed by GC-ol fac terr y
analysis. 6. The use of enhanced concentrations of the two vitamins in
combi nation in the diet of poultry may provide a means of controlling
development of off-odour in irradiated raw chicken, thus improving
acceptability to the consumer-.
PC-SPIRS 3.30
MFDlINF (R)
1/93-1/96
MFDLINE (R) ,1/95-1/96 usage is subject to the twins, and conditions of the
Subscription and Ilicense Agreement and the applicable Copyright and
intellectual property protection as dictated by the appropriate laws of your
country anu/or by International Convention.
.1 of 2.4
TI: Detection of irradiated chicken meat by analysis of lipid extracts for
2—substi 1 uted r.ychihulancuips using an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay.
AU: Eliiott-CT; Hamilton—L; Stevenson—MH; M<iCaughey—WO; Boyd-D
AD: Department of Agriculture for Northern Ireland, Belfast, UK,
SO: Analyst. 1995 Sep; 120(9): 2337-41
■ his source is not Available by this library
LA: ENR! TSH
AR: The means to detect the irradiation of food has been investigated for many
years. In recent times radiolytic products, ter med 2-alkyli.yclobutanones
(2-CBs), have been identified as excellent markers of irradiation in
I ipid-containing foods. An ELISA test was developed, which was capable of
detecting a number of these compounds in irradiated chicken meat. A polyclonal
antiserum was raised to a 2-CB containing a terminal carboxyl group conjugated
to a carripr protein. This antiserum was highly specific for eye 1obutanones
containing CIO and Cl" side chains. During assay validation the limit of
detection of the assay was calculated to be 0.064 microgram of 2-CB per gram of
fat, within— and between-assay variations ranged from 6.7 to 18%; During
experimeoial studies, chicken meat irradiated at doses ranging from 2.5 to 10
kGy were assayed and correctly identified as being treated. Quantitative
comparisons between the El ISA aifttl SC-HS revealed a good correlation (r2 = 0.93)
between the two methodologies in concentrations of 2-CB detected in irradiated
samples.
+996 f stuouj suaqwnN Iie3
A.je jqi x
■'r,r! a^qe I reAy si asanas syqj.
Z-TVJ S(0f)Z9T S’JT A«W G66f 'Isny-f-P’HJ :gs
Hy-auMtug-stn qay : [ >y
• suorqefn ysaA
4ai;].4n4 Su fie 4 v<3sa oau quawqea 44 1 iut |.e ypw .4.4T afqeqoud Out ye JTpu r ^njeA itwt
fiui t’T'T a.jaw Ag;-( /. pue g 4<? j-o sa&op <44 tm paqe-i pe.tji asoqq pue sajdtue-s yojquao
lit syunos -j.-jy pue 133(1 iw-aqaq sapt13.4^44 rp at(i jyb sanieA aOe+aAS aqj_ • iLtetuieauq
uoT'.ierpi3-4..4i atpi auo^aq uaicu 4 a..4+>M e-axdwes 1, [y * -»oq e.4a jearie sueaq ua.Tqaaja
pauaqap ‘punau® 40 sayda>eg *(Jdy) paqqaat quiion a:;ep:
XXaa afqeiA pue (ld3G) anbruipaq .4.-3.1143. quajsajon{1 rda |=>a.4 tp aqq. Xj
6-fz6t s(S:>OOE « ■*e,H L166 I “<.p<3.4oj_ + .4aqHi i-ai + Lia> m-z -sgs
•puep..>ij ‘queasy pooj pue Af>o x out pa 4. org ha
HV-O.taqufs ’ M- 1 -f - >m 4 >■-; < Ss-^l'eS Sg-'iaueq 4T^ JfW
frz ±0 rc
>4. painpaud
j.a
nH-T;<SMoqeug-uoA 5 p-qp^ciyy spy
tpouf pas'sajntd e ut unrqa 1:pe.4 4T
UQTqdaqap—s&f>a paqBi psj.-o un pue paqe t peu.4i tuo.44. spoof. X..4a;{eQj
izE i-o OT
4Of pauTtuexa uaaq aAeq asn te cuqsnpu c fo saTaads; paq»u luiequo >ep 4.0 af'ije.t y ;yy
HS119MhJ-N0N'
"VI
LA: FNGI.ISH
elaborate!) blende., the one with irradiated beans submitted tn m i.r. r< wave oven
for 30 minutes ( 63'.' + r ice <35%) presented the best results. The soup
elaborated with the best supplemented blend was Satisfactory concerning color,
odor, flavor and texture.
17 of 24
TI: Effect of thermal treatment's on the chemical and biological value of
irradiated and non-ir r ad i ated cowpea bean (Vigna unguiculata
Walp) flour.
Alls Dario—AC; Salgado—>'11
AD; Sector de Nutricao Humana e Alimentes, Escqla Super ior dfe Agr ic.u.1.tur a, Luiz
de Queiroz’, Unlversidade de Sao Paulo, Brazil.
SDs Plant—Foods—Hunt—Nutr. 1994 Sep; 46(2): 18.1-6
this source is mat Available by this library
I. A: ENGLISH
AR: Chemical and nutritional characteristics of irradiated and nouirradiated
cowpe.a bean at 0.2 kGy submitted tn several thermal treatments were studied.
The cowpea bean flours irradiated at 0.2 kGy were superior to those
non-irradiated concerning digestibility and the flours•submitted to microwave
oven were superior to those cooked under low pressure, autoclaved or even raw
from the nutril tonal point of view. As to the presence of anti-nutritional
factors, the results showed that the variety of cowpea bean under research
presented neither trypsin inhibitor nor haemagglutinin activity, however,
regarding tannin,
0.006% coiiteut was found and considered negligible.
18 of 24
TI: CChemilorninescenc.e method for the detection of radiation—induced oxidation
products in fat—containing foods.!
AU: Matthaus-B; Wiezorek-C; Eicbner-K
AD: Buudesanstal I fur Gelreide—, Kar toffe.l- und Fett for st-hung, Jnstitut fur
Chemie und Physik der Fette, Munster, Germany.
SCI: 7—Lebensm-Ui iter fe-For schl 1994 Dll; 199(4): 294-300
19 of 24
TI: Food i rr aciiaticu i.
AU: Woods-RJ
AD j Department of Chemistry, Uiiiversity of Saskatchewan.
SO: Endeavour. 1994; 18(3): 104—8
___ I.his sour t.e is ric<t. Available by this libr ar y
LA: ENG! TSH
AB: large amounts of food, perhaps as much as one quarter of the world's
'
21
of 24
TI:, Fright £editorial 3
Alls Thomiscu-JB
SO: J—Tenn—Meci—Assoc • .1994 Oct; 87(10): 444—3
___ this^Jtource is nut Available by this library
I A: ENGLISH
22 of 24
TI: Nutritional and other implications. of irradiating meat.
AU; Stevenson—MH
AO; Food and Agricultural Chemistry. Research Division, Department of
Agriculture for Northern Ireland, Belfast.
SO: Pr or-Nulr-Soc.. 1994 Jul; 03(21; 317-70
this source is neat Available by this library
1 A: ENGLISH
23 of 24
TIs-Effect of microwave pretreatment on heterocyclic aromatic amine
mutagens/<..an..inogeiis in fr ied heef patties.
Al.!: Felton-JS; Fuitz-E; Dolbeare-FA; Knize-MG
AD: Biology arid Bi otec I med ogy Research Program, Lawrence Liver more National
Laboratory, CA 94551—990.
SQ: Food—Chein—Toxicol . 1994 Det; 32(10): 897-903
this source is not Available by this library
I As
AR: To iuvesi igate a method ta r educe the amount of mutagen 1 c7c.ar < inogen-ic
heterocyclic anwatic amines formed during frying of ground beef, the mutagenic
activity in SaL«i>iipj]a strain TA98 was assessed and the amount of known
heterocyclic: amines was determined by sol id-phase extract ion and HPLC. The? beef
patties received microwave treatment for various times before frying. Microwave
pr*etreatwent for 0, 1, 1.5, 2 or 3 min before frying at either 200 degrees C or
.230 degrees C fur 6 min per side reduced heterocyclic aromatic amine precursors
(creatine, creatinine, amino acids, glucose), water, and fat up to 30%, in the
patt.ies and resulted .in a decrease in mutagenic activity up to 93%. The sum of
the four heterocyclic aromatic amines shown to be
pr esen ! —2-amino-3,8—dimethyl i mi da; <i' 4,5-f .1 -qui noxw .1 ine (Mh.TQx) ,
2-amino-3-methylimida<:oE4,5-f Iqu.inol ine (IQ) ,
2-ami no-3,4,8-trimet! >y Jimi i:'..-cn-f 4,5-f 3 qui noxal ine (DiMelQx > and
2-amintr—l-methyl-6-pheny I i«ii4a?o( 4,5—blpyridine (PhlP)—decreased three- to
nine-fol <■ compared with control, non-micr-waved beef patties fried under
i dent1c a1 cond itions.
TI: Evaluation of a gas chromatographic method to identify irradiated chicken,
pork, and beef by detection of volatile hydrocarbons.
AU: Schreiber-GA; Schul <kI-S; Spiegelberg—A; Helle-N; Bogl—KW
AD: Feder al Institute for Health Prirtec t.iori of Consumer's and Veterinary
Medicine, Berlin, Germany.
SO: J-AQAC-Int. 1994 Sep-Oct; 77(3): 1.202-17
this source is not. Available by this library
I A: ENGLISH
AR: A method suitable for routine appl i c at i on was used in an 111 lerl al.<or ator y
study tc< detect irradiation treatment, of chicken carcass, pork, and beef. Ry
using gas c hr wmat.ng r a phi c analysis, 17 participating laboratories determined
the quantity of 4 different rad i.ation-induced volatile hydrocarbons
( tetradeceiie, pentaderane, hexadecarii ene, arid heptadecene) in the frit fraction
of coded specimens approximately 3 and 6 months after irradiation. The
specimens of each type of meat were supplied by .2 different producers. The dose
range tested (0.6-7.5 kSy) included levels commercially used to reduce the
number of contaminating miermor gan i sms (.1-5 kGy). The method employed permitted
a correct identification of irradiated or nonirradiated in 98.3% of the 864
2 UTUSAN KONSUMER August *T9PT '
|T)
THE US Consumers’
Union (CU) — an inde
pendent, non-profit
testing and information
organisation serving
only consumers, and
publisher of the US
Consumer Reports —
has warned parents to
throw away all clear,
shiny plastic baby bot
tles made of polycar
bonate.
The above alert came
on the heels of its find
ings — announced just 3
months ago — which
show that such bot
tles leach out
Bisphenol-A, an
endocrine-disrupt
ing chemical
which has the
potential to dis
rupt the hormonal
development of
children.
CU’s latest find
ings confirmed the
US Food and Drug
Administration
(FDA)’s findings in
1997 which indicated
that BPA migrates
out of clear plastic
polycarbonate con
tainers when heat
ed.
At least 2 stud
ies in Japan have
also found
Bisphenol-A
migrating from
polycarbonate,
and more so from
worn, scratched
polycarbonate.
Bisphenol-A
has been shown
in laboratory
studies to cause
permanently
enlarged prostates,
reduced sperm pro
duction and
increased aggres
sion in male mice.
The above find
ings are a grave
polycarbonate.
Our survey shows that
polycarbonate is also used
in making drinking cups
for babies. Two brands of
drinking cups made of
polycarbonate are Camera
Training Cup and Freedom
House Weighted Drinking
Cup.
We also managed to
buy a feeding dish {Pigeon
brand) made of polycarbon
ate.
Our survey indicates
that polycarbonate is wide
ly used in baby feeding
products. This means
that Malaysian parents
could be exposing their
children to toxic BPA.
Since BPA acts
like a hormone in the
human body, it poses
a grave risk to chil
dren.
For a young baby
whose body is rapidly
developing
in
response to tiny, per
fectly timed hormone
signals in the body,
there is no way to
know the subtle ways
that an artificial hor
mone-like substance
can interfere with
that development. So
why expose them to
Pfas& bsiby feedhg bottles
SUMER brings you
the perils of polycar
bonate and the
blight of BisphenolA, and tells you
what precaution
ary measures to
take.
normal
develop
made from water and
ment.
ethanol.
Based on test
The vials containing the
ing with an intact
bottle strips were then
bottle, CU calcu
heated in a dry, forced air
lates that a typi
oven at various tempera
cal baby who
J
tures (65°C - 100°C) and
drank formula
durations (30 minutes to
sterilized
by
several hours) designed
ILL a plastic heating in the
to test a range of poten
baby bottle with ’ bottle would be
tial bottle-use scenarios.
exposed to a
The FDA found that
hot, if you’re plan BPA dose of
BPA migrated out of the
ning a trip — mix in about 4% of an
material at levels that
infant formula, shake amount
that
resulted in detection of
well; later heat up bottle adversely affect
the substance in the
plus milk before feeding ed test animals
range of 1 part per bil
and what do you get? in studies by
lion (ppb).
Baby milk laced with
Recent
Japanese
a chemical that can Saal, professor of
studies have
interfere with a biological science
also conclud
baby’s normal devel at
the
ed that BPA
opment!
can leach out
Yes, plastic baby
of polycar
feeding bottles can Columbia (see
bonate baby
separate story).
bottles.
chemical, poisoning
According to
In a series of
children. This shock- CU in the May
1998 tests done
1999 issue ol
by
the
made in a recent US
v
Consumers' Union Reports, “Such expoUniversity
of
(CU) test.
Kumamoto
and
sure may sound very
CU bought 6 plas low. However, safety
University of Nagasaki,
9 polycarbonate baby
tic baby bottles made limits for infant expobottles were
first
of polycarbonate and sure can be set as low
heated plastic from each as 0.1%i.of the level
washed and sterilized,
then filled with dis
in simulated infant for that has adversely
tilled water and heat
mula. They found that affected animals.
in
ed in a 95°C dry oven
“Babies who used
the plastic from each
for 30 minutes.
of the bottles leached the bottles we tested
The tests showed
into their test formu could be exposed to a
that new baby bottles
japiola a chemical called BPA dose 40 times
Risphenol-A (RPA1
ties.
The Japanese tests
also found leaching at
temperatures as low
as 60°C(140°F).
Although it is
unclear at what age
bottles begin to leach
more
BPA,
the
results raise con
cerns about the use
of older baby bottles.
It also raises concern
over the routine
exposure of baby
bottles to extreme
temperatures for
long periods of time
and
inevitable
scratching of the
bottle during wash
ing in ordinary
home use.
Widely
sold here
CAP’S survey
of several supermarkets in Penang
found most plastic baby
bottles used to be of the
label their ingredi
ents. Most of the
brands that do
reassure you
with
claims
like “made of
high
quality
risks?
Because of
their metabo
lism, size and
rapid develop
ment, children
are far more vulnerable to toxic
insults than are
adults. Children should
thus, in general, avoid
sary expo
sure to all
substances
that could
have develop
mental effects.
and more so from
worn, scratched
■ polycarbonate.
Bisphenol-A
has been shown
in laboratory
studies to cause
permanently
enlarged prostates,
reduced sperm pro
duction and
increased aggres
sion in male mice.
The above find
ings are a grave
cause for concern
as most plastic
baby feeding bot
tles sold in
Malaysia contain
polycarbonate. A
recent CAP survey
turned up no
fewer than 9
brands with this
material. Are we
feeding our young
ones poison?
UTUSAN KON-
children. This shock
.—
made in a recent US
Consumers’ Union
(CU)test.
CU bought 6 plastic baby bottles made
of polycarbonate and
heated plastic from each
in simulated infant for
mula. They found that
the plastic from each
of the bottles leached
into their test formu
la a chemical called
Bisphenol-A (BPA),
which in lab animals
has produced physio
logical effects simi
lar to those produced
by estrogen.
BPA
is
an
endocrine-disrupting
chemical (see box
story). Endocrine
disrupting chemicals
interfere with or
mimic the action of hor
mones, possibly upsetting
s'
CU in the May
1999 issue of
V
C o n^^u m e r
Repor^^Such expo
sure may sound very
low. However, safety
limits for infant expo
sure can be set as low
as 0.1%i.of the level
that has adversely
affected animals.
“Babies who used
the bottles we tested
could be exposed to a
BPA dose 40 times
higher than that
conservative defini
tion of safety.”
The CU test was
to replicate an earli
er 1997 US Food
and
Drug
Administration
(FDA) test 2 years
earlier. In the FDA
test, cut-up strips of
various baby bottles were
placed in vials containing
infant formula simulant
1998 tests done
so( Here
by
the
Prefectural
CAP’s survey
University
of Wk several super
Kumamoto
and
markets in Penang
University of Nagasaki,
found most plastic baby
9 polycarbonate baby bottles used to be of the
bottles
were
first clear, shirty-lypp Not all—
washed and sterilized, label their ingredi
then filled with dis ents. Most of the
tilled water and heat brands that do
ed in a 95“C dry oven
reassure you Z
with
claims V
for 30 minutes.
The tests showed
like “made of
<that new baby bottles high
quality
that were washed
polycarbonate” or
gently before filling “polycarbonate feeder ...
leached out between non-toxic”.
1 and 3 ppb of BPA.
Among the brands
Used bottles leached of baby bottles sold
more — between 1 which contain poly
and 6.5 ppb. Bottles carbonate are: Bibi,
Pigeon,
that were extremely Bebe,
worn and scratched Pureen,
Puppy
were found to leach
Winks, Doctor-Baby,
even more — BPA Japlo, Tollyjoy and
levels of between 10 and Camera.
28 ppb were detected in
Pigeon’s MagMag Drink
the water inside the bot- Trainer Lid is also made of
Bisphenol-A: What is it, where is it osed?
PLASTICS are made by
chemically
binding
monomers (plastic ingre
dients) into chains to
form polymers, which
are generally inert and
usually insoluble in food.
However,
some
monomers can remain
unattached and migrate
into your food (more
below).
Bisphenol-A (BPA) is
a material made by com
bining acetone and phe
nol, which are both
petroleum-based chemi
cals. BPA is used to
make epoxy resins for
adhesives, and polycar
bonate plastics.
These polycarbonate
plastics are used to-make
a variety of items includ
ing auto parts, house
hold appliance parts,
compact discs, bike hel
mets, and reusable bot
tles, and food and drink
containers (including
baby bottles).
Although BPA is a
building block of polycar
bonate plastic, not all of
the BPA in polycarbon
ate fully “polymerizes”
(ie become part of the
plastic) to form polycar
bonate. Some remain
“unreacted”. Some of the
unreacted BPA get
washed away in initial
use and washings, but it
can also migrate into the
contents of the contain
ers.
According to scien
tists at the University of
Nagasaki, Japan, if the
containers are scratched,
even more leaching can
occur. It has also been
reported that BPA con
centration can increase
over time as the polycar
bonate breaks down or
depolymerizes.
BPA is a known
endocrine disrupter — ie
it can interfere with the
hormone system — and
dozens of studies have
verified this effect over
many years.
Before BPA was used
as an ingredient in poly
carbonate plastic the
substance was recog
nized as a chemical that
behaves like the hor
mone estrogen.
British scientists who
analyzed organic com
pounds for estrogenic
effects in the 1930s iden
tified BPA as estrogenic
in 1936 (Nature, 13 June
1936).
According to the US
Environmental
Protection Agency, even
miniscule anreunts of
chemicals such as BPA
can cause abnormal
prostate development,
lowered sperm produc
tion, early onset of
puberty in females and
changes in the breast
and pituitary glands in
laboratory animals.
rapid develop
ment, children
are far more vul
nerable to toxic
adults. Children should
thus, in general, avoid
sary expo
chemical
substances
that could
have develop
mental effects.
To protect your baby
from the potential harm of
BPA leached out
from plastic baby
bottles, throw away
all clear, shiny
1 plastic baby bottles.
Use glass bottles
instead. They may
be heavy and break
able, but it’s a small price
to pay for your baby’s safe
ty-
BPA leached
from PW to®!
RESEARCHERS at the
National Institute for
Environmental Studies
said in an academic paper
that
they
detected
Bisphenol-A
(BPA)
in
water
in
- ° *
which pieces
of 17 plastic
products had
■H<A.
been soaked
for 14 days.
T h e
’ ’ ■: : - plastics
j-Lr
include
'
vinyl chlo
ride-based
products such as dolls,
teething rings and hoses,
and epoxy resin-based
products such as printed
boards, said Takashi
■YtlniSAi'ofd,1 lejatjbr of th1?
National Institute for
Environmental Studies
research group.
Yamamoto said the
water sample with the
vinyl chloride doll had the
highest concentration
level of 38.1 micrograms
per gram of water. One
microgram is a millionth
of a gram. The water sam
ples with the vinyl chlo
ride teething ring and
hose also contained rela
tively high concentration
levels, the paper said.
Apparently the BPA is
used as an antioxidant in
PVC. The leaching rate
out of PVC was found to
be far greater than BPA
leaching from polycarbon
ate which contains BPA as
htatgrial. ‘ ‘
i ,
E wT
e
Why thy ©©?/.©©© ©J
s©m© chemfefe h ©w
b©bo©§y
@w b©
teimfcl
IT used to be thought
that large amounts of
chemicals are harm
ful and small doses
are insignificant. But
where endocrine-dis
rupting chemicals
are concerned,
extremely tiny
amounts may be
harmful. So say an
increasing amount of
emerging science.
ormone-dis
H
rupting
or
endocrine-disrup-.ing chemicals mimic the
actions of natural hor
mones in the bodies of ani
mals and humans. Many
natural hormones act on
body functions, especially
fetal and child develop
ment, at extremely low
levels. For example, estra
diol is present in the blood
streams of rodent fetuses
at 0.2 parts per billion
(ppb).------ - -----This extremely low
level indicates that very
small changes in hormone
levels could have effects on
fetal development. Ex
tending this reasoning to
manmade endocrine dis
rupters, it makes sense
that a small dose of such
it doesn’t seem logical to
test lower concentrations
for effects.
Another problem was
the difficulty in detecting
concentrations of chemi
cals down to one ppb and
less.
The above assumption
has been proven wrong for
some chemicals as our
technology improved to
measure smaller concen
trations of substances.
New research
More recently, scientists
have developed methods
that measure smaller and
smaller concentrations of
chemicals — down to ppb
or parts per trillion. And
they have discovered that
very small dose levels of
endocrine-disrupting chem
icals can have effects, espe
cially on developing fetuses
and infants.
Some effects have been
shown to emerge in adults
who were exposed in gesta
tion to extremely low doses
of a substance when their
mothers were fed with
these low doses.
Additional studies have
found effects of natural and
synthetic hormones and
endocrine disrupters in
r»V» J1.J
•
at higher levels, yet still
well below those previously
thought to be safe, when
animals are exposed to
them at the proper stage of
development:
O Studies of the fungi
cides vincolozin and procymidone found that injec
tion of small amounts of
the substances into preg
nant rats interferes with
sexual
differentiation
among offspring and
delayed the onset of puber
ty.
• A similar study of the
pesticide methoxychlor
found alterations of the
reproductive tract of the
male rat, decreased sperm
count, and delays in mat
ing.
<S An examination of chil
dren inadvertently exposed
to agricultural pesticides
and other endocrine dis
rupters at levels below 1%
of the acceptable daily
intake suggests that expo
sure to these hormone dis
rupting substances may be
associated with cryp
torchidism, a male repro
ductive tract disorder asso
ciated with testicular can
cer and infertility.
“Less can be
nc
nr'+'h
UTUSAN KONSUMER August 1999
A STUDY conducted by N. sealant treatment, sug
Olea and colleagues in gesting that BPA may be
1996 (EHP, 104: 298 - 305, continually released after
1996) found that saliva col- the initial dental work.
lected from dental patients
People who swallow
an hour after having their small quantities of the
teeth sealed contain high sealant during their treatlevels'of Bispbenol-A
ment would be
(BPA).
exposed
to
The patients
similar
were
treated
doses.
with 50 mg of a
BPA
dental sealant wjjalll".
mimics
based on BPA.
the effects
Their
saliva,
of
the
measured in a 1®female
hour
collection
vK
&
hormone
after treatment.
estrogen in
contained from 90test-tube
931 mcg of BPA.
studies. To
The researchers also
examine
its
measured BPA in the sali effects
on
animals,
va of an individual who Frederick vom Saal of the
had tooth sealant applied University of Missouri in
2 years earlier and found Columbia and his col
66.4 mcg in a 1-hour saliva leagues fed the plastic, dis
collection before additional solved in vegetable oil, to
STUDIES conducted by
■I.A. Brotons and col
leagues in 1995 revealed
that Bisphenol-A (BPA)
can be released from food
can liners.
In their test, the liquid
in some cans of tinned veg
etables were found to con
tain both BPA, and a
related chemical; dimethyl
BPA.
According
to
the
Environmental Health
mushrooms.
The research also
included an examination
of cans of other, more fatty
products, including con
densed milk, pork and
beans, and concentrated
milk-based infant formula.
The products them
selves were not analysed.
Instead, the cans were
emptied, cleaned, then
filled with distilled water
and autoclaved nt 125«C
3
pregnant mice.
For 7 days in the sec
ond half of their 3-week
gestation, the mice ate 2 or
20 nanograms of BPA per
gram of body weight per
day.
Even at the lower dose,
BPA affected the develop
ment of male fetuses. At
birth, male pups were
smaller than normal and
had seminal vesicles that
were 12% smaller than
those
in
controls
(Toxicology and Industrial
Health, vol 14, p 239). In
adults, seminal vesicles
secrete the fluid in semen.
Vom Saal says that the
lower dose used in his
study is proportionally
equivalent to the amount
swallowed by patients in
the first hour after treat
ment with a sealant con
taining BPA.
cnOocnne-disrupting chem and other endocrine dis
icals can have effects, espe rupters at levels below 1%
cially on developing fetuses of the acca^able daily
intake sugg^ps that expo
and infants.
Some effects have been sure to these hormone dis
shown to emerge in adults rupting substances may be
who were exposed in gesta associated with cryp
tion to extremely low doses torchidism, a male repro
of a substance when their ductive tract disorder asso
mothers were fed with ciated with testicular can
cer and infertility.
these low doses.
Additional studies have
found effects of natural and
synthetic hormones and
endocrine disrupters in
children:
• A study of pregnant
mice fed Bisphenol-A (BPA)
at 2 ppb for 7 days showed
male offspring with repro
ductive system abnormali
Some studies, in fact,
ties.
• Two similar studies of are turning the old “dose
pregnant mice fed with response” model upside
BPA, methoxychlor (a pes down. Surprisingly, these
ticide and endocrine dis studies are finding that
rupter) and other endocrine some endocrine-disrupting
disrupters at 2 ppb showed chemicals only cause
Prior to the late 1990s, that male offspring had effects at very low levels,
most research on the enlarged prostate weights and that when high doses
potential health effects of when they reached adult of some endocrine-disrupt
chemicals focused on doses hood.
ing chemicals are adminis
in the hundreds of parts • A study of incubating tered, the observed effect
per million. In general, turtle eggs showed that disappears.
researcherB-were_seeking administration of estradiol,
Researchers theorize
to find health effects that another endocrine dis that the high levels of an
showed increased effects rupter, could result in endocrine-disrupting sub
at increased doses of a potential male embryos stance may overwhelm the
substance.
developing as females. In hormone receptors in the
Effects at each dose other words, even when all body, preventing any bio
level were measured and other incubation conditions logical effect. This seems to
compared with observa would favour the embryos mimic the way natural hor
tions (almost always in developing as male, the mones work in the body,
animals) when no doses authors determine that where large releases of a
were administered. The administration of very hormone may have no
idea was to identify a level small amounts of an effect, but tiny, perfectly
at which no effects could endocrine disrupter can timed releases may gener
be observed in rodents and induce sex reversal.
ate substantial effects.
other animals and use that • A study of administra
dose to calculate a safe tion of estrogen adminis
Current regulatory sys
level for humans.
tered to children for thera tems for chemicals depends
In part, the reason for peutic reasons found that on the old “dose-response”
this high dose testing was low doses of estrogen (4 model and identifying “no ’
that the typical protocol ppb) had growth-promoting effects levels” of various
for conducting risk assess effects, showing more than substances. Endocrine-dis
ments for health effects a 60% increase in normal rupting chemicals slip right
assumes that for each bone-growth rate.
through this regulatory
chemical, there is a dose
Although these studies net.
level at which no adverse represent some of the low
Laws and regulations
effects can be observed. If est dose levels examined have thus not addressed
a study indicates a “no for effects (down to a single the risks posed by low-dose
effects level” in t^e„h,un.- ppb),. scientists are ql.so levels of some chemicals,
dreds of parts per million, finding effects of chemicals like BPA.
,c a. Anu Ci'n iO develop
ment, at extremely low
levels. For example, estrn"diot is present in the blood
streams of rodent fetuses
at 0.2 parts per billion
(ppb). ' ---------This extremely low
level indicates that very
small changes in hormone
levels could have effects on
fetal development. Ex
tending this reasoning to
manmade endocrine dis
rupters, it makes sense
that a small dose of such
chemicals could also have
health effects if it were
administered at the proper
time during gestation,
pregnancy, and child
development.
“More is worse”
theory outmoded
“Less can be
more” with
endocrine
disrupters
STUDIES conducted by musluopms.
TM research also
■J.A. Brotons and col
leagues in 1995 revealed included an examination
that Bisphenol-A (BPA) of cans of other, more fatty
can be released from food products, including con
densed milk, pork and
can liners.
In their test, the liquid beans, and concentrated
in some cans of tinned veg milk-based infant formula.
etables were found to con
The products them
tain both BPA, and a selves were not analysed.
related chemical,' dimethyl Instead, the cans were
emptied, cleaned, then
BPA.
According
to
the filled with distilled water
Environmental Health and autoclaved at 125°C
Perspective (103: 608-612, for 30 minutes, then the
1995) which reported the water was analysed.
Some of these water
findings, the highest levels
of BPA were found in cans samples, including those
of peas, with an average of from condensed milk cans,
23 micrograms (mcg) per were found to contain BPA
can.
and were estrogenic.
All canned foods are
Other liquids contain
ing BPA were from cans of autoclaved after canning;
artichokes, beans, mixed the fact that BPA is
vegetables, corn and leached into water during
BISPHENOI^A (BPA) has
also been shown to leach
out of polycarbonate dish
ware into hot liquids.
Higher
temperatures
increased leaching.
This was discovered in
additional tests done by
the Prefectural University
of
Kumamoto
and
University of Nagasaki.
In the study, new and
used soup bowls were
filled with 60°C-95°C
water and held at this
temperature for 30 min
utes. w
Tlie tests indicated that.
BPA leached into the
water in new bowls in
greater amounts at higher
temperatures — 1.9 parts
per billion (ppb) at 95bC, 1
ppb at 75°C, “nothing
detected” at 60°C — and
that the leaching increased
for used tableware (5 ppb
at 95°C, 1.8 ppb at 75bC,
and 1 ppb at 60°C).
The tests also confirmed
that scratched polycarbon
ate shows even greater
leaching (approximately 7
ppb).
Tests on food and bever
ages stored in metal- cans
lined with polycarbonate
epoxy resin showed con
centrations of BPA in the
part per billion range and
higher, depending on acidi
ty pf the liquids, heating
conditions Used to sterilize
the contents, and serving
temperature (in the case of
beverages
consumed
directly from the cans).
Similar conclusions were
also reached in a study
done by the Yokohama
City Univer-sity.
In the study, 3 different
brands of new and used
polycarbonate soup bowls
from Japanese primary
schools were filled with
60°C-95°C vegetable soup,
claving in
these experiments sug
gests that any product
packed in similar cans will
contain BPA.
The research found
that it is also likely that
substantially more BPA
will leach into fatty prod
ucts.
water and other liquids,
and allowed to cool at
room temperature for 30
minutes.
Both new bowls and
bowls previously used for
1-6 years resulted in BPA
levels from 0.5-2 ppb in
95°C water. When 85°C
water was used, only bowls
previously used for 4 years
or longer resulted in any
detectable BPA.
No BPA was detected in
the vegetable soup, possi
bly because the proteins in
the soup lowered the sensi
tivity of the test to 10 ppb.
One of the 3 brands of
bowls showed slightly
higher leaching than the
others. The city govern
ment subsequently decided
it would no longer use that
particular brand of soup
bowl, and instructed
schools to discard table
ware that has been used
for 4. years or longer.
_ >
COVER STORY
EADY for dinner. Serve yourself two chappatis and a
handful of rice. Choose your pick of dais. And your
favourite vegetables. Mustn't forget the salad: tomatoes
embellished with carrots and cucumber. A bowl of curd, maybe.
And for a fruity dessert: a banana or an orange.
Food faddists will tell you that this meal is a perfectly
balanced diet. A similar lunch and a light breakfast would add up
to that ideal figure of2,200 calories daily. Just right to keep you
trim and healthy.
R
wholesome meals, you daily take half a milligram of two of
the most widely used toxic pesticides in the country:
Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane (dpt) and Benzene
Hexachloride (bhc). Not to mention a dash of mala
thion and endosulfan.
/
In all. that quantity is less than a pinpoint. But
that’s 40 times more than what average Ameri’
cans or English ingest with their food. And
equals the World Health Organisation danger
level for daily intake of these pesticides.
It's hard to stomach, but true. It's not I
just drinking water that you have to worry
about. But practically everything you eat.
The chappatis and rice, dais and vegetables.
meats and fruits and even milk, now pose a
new threat not just to us but to our babies too.
Repeated surveys have shown that Indi
ans are daily eating food laced with some of the
highest amounts of toxic pesticide residues
J
found in the world. In the process, they are ja
exposed to the risk of heart disease, brain, kidney ”
and liver damage and even cancer.
Even more frightening, studies indicate that right
from the day our babies begin to suckle they are
taking in pesticides deposited in breast milk.
And some ready-made baby foods too are
similarly contaminated. "We are not only ““
slowly poisoning oursel
ves but jeopardising our
RISING
future generations too.”
USAGE
says toxicologist Dr K.N.
Mehrotra, president, Soci
ety of Pesticide Science,
India in New Delhi.
The impact of such
poisoning is usually insid
ious. But already there are
several alarming exam
ples. In Karnataka’s Shimoga and Chikmagalur
districts. since 1975 over
300 people have been
struck by a mysterious
crippling attack of arthri
tis. One of them, Giriyappa, 50. a farm labourer,
was among the ablest
men of his village. Sud
denly. he developed pain
in his knees. Soon he
found his muscles wast
ing away and within a
year he had become a crip
ple. He now crawls
around on his hands. "If it
wasn’t for my sons I
-4-4
74 INDIA TODAY ♦ JUNE 15.1989
PRISON
would be starving," he says. In children, the disease, apart from
crippling them, has inhibited their growth.
Initial studies indicated that these people, mostly farm
labourers, had switched to eating crabs from nearby fields after
their wages were cut. These fields were being sprayed with
pesticides regularly. And in the classic food chain link (see chart).
the villagers who ate thecrabs are believed tohave been poisoned
too. Researchers now suspect that these people were genetically
vulnerable to the diseaseand the high dose ofpesticides acted as a
catalyst. An indepth investigation by several institutions is now
on to verify these findings.
ROUND the same time an epidemic of epilepsy broke out in
Lakhimpur Kheri district in Uttar Pradesh. Around 250
I people suffered from sudden convulsive seizures that
wracked the body. They complained of whistling noises in the
ears, saw flashes of coloured lights and suffered from giddiness
and headache. Reason: farmers in this area had been ignorantly
using bhc to preserve their foodgrain.
For the mass of Indians, however, the threat from imbibing
small doses of pesticides in their daily bread is more difficult to
quantify. The problem is that these pesticides poison the body
slowly. Most of them are made by rearranging atoms of various
elements like carbon, hydrogen and chlorine into toxic mole
cules. These usually attack the nervous systems of the pests, first
paralysing and then killing them.
When humans swallow chemicals like dot and bhc they are
absorbed by the small intestine. These then adhere to the fatty
tissues—thestorehousesofenergy that are distributed through
out the body and account for 10 percent ofits weight. The toxins
usually pile up in the fatty tissues of such vital organs as the
thyroid, heart, kidney, liver, the mammary glandsand the testes.
They can be transferred from the umbilical cord blood to the
growing foetus. And through breast feeding to babies. Over the
years, the body can store about50tol00 milligrams ofa wide va
riety of these toxins.
The debilitating impact of such a heavy load of toxins came
through when the King
George »\ledical Colleg J
(kgmc) and the Industrii ; W
AN EXTREME
Toxicology Research Cei W
CASE
trefiTRCjinLucknowdida I
series of tests on worke M
spraying dot and mat. ®
Nagaraj, 10, is just one of
thion regularly. At letfct’- |
the 300 people struck by a
half of the workers deve
mysterious, crippling at
loped psychological sym
tack of arthritis in Kar
ptoms like anxiety, sleep
nataka's Shimoga district.
disturbance and depres
The disease, which wastes
sion. Many complained of 1
away the joints and mus
severe headaches. One
cles, was first noticed in
out of five of them had I
1975. Initial studies indi
impaired memory and I
cate that these people,
performed simple draw
mainly farm labourers,
ing tests clumsily. Some of i
them even suffered from ■
switched to eating crabs
retinal damage, blurred j
from nearby fields after
vision and saw flashes of i
their wages were cut. With
light and black dots in
the fields being sprayed
front of their eyes.
regularly by pesticides,
The difficulty lay in I
the crabs ingested large
proving whether the gen
doses of toxins. And the
eral population, which is
people eating them were
usually not exposed to
such high doses of pesti- I
poisoned by them as well.
cides. would exhibit sirni-
A
•»
Indian food is laced with some
of the highest amounts of toxic
pesticide residues in the world.
Babies too are taking large doses
of these toxins through breast
milk and from some infant food.
As a result, Indians face a higher
risk of heart disease, brain and
liver damage and even cancer.
Yet the usage of pesticides
continues to grow...
COVER STORY
lar symptoms. As Devika
Nag, head of kgmc's Neurol
ogy’ Department who co
authored these studies, says:
"It may takeyears for thebuildup to act. Few doctors in general
hospitals will link blurring of vision
or a heart attack to signs of pesticide
poisoning."
That link, however, is being
found in several other studies. In
Hyderabad, when researchers stud
ied women having still-births they
found a high amount of ddt and bhc
pesticide residues in their blood. The
chilling conclusion: these residues
may inhibit normal pregnancy.
More recently, an analysis of breast
/ tumours by the Marathwada AgriculturaJ University in Parbhani. MaharashtrS’showed that almost all of them con
tained a high content ofddt and bhc in the
tissues. The worrying question: could
these residues have been the carcinogen
(cancer-inducing substance)?
“What we are seeing is the tip of the
poisonous iceberg. And even that seems
serious enough for us to sit up and take
corrective action," says eminent toxicol
ogist Dr C.R. Krishna Murti. chairman of
the scientific commission probing the
Bhopal gas tragedy. He points out that
there are other contaminants thatpose an
equal threat to Indians, but fewer studies
have been done on these.
Those colourful jalebis, barfis and
gulabjamuiis. forinstance, arenotas sweet
as they look. Many of those brightly
coloured dyes are made from harmful
compounds that are known to cause
kidney damage, eye defects and in some
cases even affect the reproductive sys
tems. A recentsurvey by the governmentfunded itrc found a third of the samples
76 INDIA TODAY ♦ JUNE15.1W>
A field being sprayed with pesticides:
rampant misuse
VEGETABLES
Malpractices abound. Farmers
are known to spray methyl parathion on cauliflower to give it an
extra white appearance. Bhindi
(okra) is dipped in copper
sulphate to make it look greener.
And the norm that no spraying
should be done a week before
harvest is frequently violated. A
thorough wash and a vinegar
douse help to get rid of much of
the toxins in vegetables.
People exposed
to large doses of
toxins developed
impaired memories.
analysed to be coloured with prohib
ited dyes. Among the most commonly
misused dyes were orange, blue,
bright green and red. And illegal dyes
were even added to spices like tur
meric and chilli powder.
Nor is the sarson ka tel (mustard
oil), widely used for cooking, all
that safe. An extensive survey in
Uttar Pradesh recently found
that in a fourth of the samples the
been adulterated with linand the highly toxic argemone
Argemone poisoning causes
swelling of limbs, nerve damage,
heart attacks and blindness. It’s a com
mon problem in West Bengal, Maharash
tra, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
If all this isn't enough a new danger to
Indians comes from heavy metals like
lead, cadmium, manganese and nickel. In
March the results of an all-India survey
fou nd that the level of these metals in food
samples had crossed the safety limits. And
what’s more, drinking water too was
similarly contaminated.
Pesticides (some contain these metals)
are only one of the suspects. Untreated
industrial effluents being discharged in
discriminately into rivers and fields are a
major culprit. The other, surprisingly, is
the exhaust fumes spewed out by the
surfeit of automobiles. These fumes are
known to contain high amounts of lead
and manganese. Apart from poisoning
the air these settle on food and water
sources. Each of these metals if consumed
beyond tolerance levels can cause mental
retardation in children, nerve damage,
impotence, blindness and even death.
Other dangers remain areas of dark-
Spraying for malarial control in
Delhi: dubious benefits
ness. No one really knows, for in
stance, whether the wide
spread use of plastics to
pack food products like milk
is really safe. Or whether
the host of preservatives and
additives used in the growing
instant food industry is
harmful or not
Most consumers in In
dia too are casual about
these threats. Asked what
she thought about food conta
mination. Delhi housewife Uma L
Raghavan says: “I have been
more worried about putting on weight."
And Ajay Gupta, a businessman, added:
“Food poisoning? I’U probably die in a
road accident before that."
HE vast body of research on the
menace of pesticides, however, will
make anyone sit up and take note.
Ironically, pesticides now play a vital role
in checking the spread of malaria in the
country and in boosting foodgrain pro
duction. For instance, ddt was so success
ful in curbing the mosquito menace that
malarial cases dropped from 75 million a
year in 1948 to barely 50,000 in 1961.
However, with mosquitoes becoming in
creasingly resistant to it, malaria staged a
come-back and now strikes around two
million people yearly.
In agriculture, the chemical war be
gan when high yielding variety crops
were introduced in the ’60s. These were
more vulnerable to pest attacks. Cur
rently pesticides protect around 80 mil
lion hectares of crops or half of the
country’s area under cultivation.
T
MEAT, FISH & EGGS
Non-vegetarian food too Is highly
contaminated. Goats swallow
pesticides when they graze near
fields being sprayed with them.
Hens do the same through the
feed they eat, which is usually the
husk of grain. And the residues
seep into eggs as well. Fish too
contain high amounts of DDT resi
dues. In West Bengal, people ille
gally spray endosulfan on water
to stun fish and catch them.
The result: pesticide consumption
has risen tenfold in just three decades
and is expected to cross 80,000
tonnes this year. India is now
both the largest manufac
turer as well as consumer of
pesticides in South Asia.
There are over 131 different
types of pesticides mar
keted under 203 differ
ent formulations by
over350companies
in the country. And
as Dr Mehrotra puts
it: "The Governmentis
the largest peddler of this
dope." The public sector
Hindustan Insecticides manu
factures all the dot the country uses.
Along with another public sector com
pany, Hindustan Organics, it also ac-'ij
counts for a sixth of the bhc production;
Despite the proliferation of pesticides,
ddt and bhc still account for 50,000
tonnes or two-thirdsofthe total consump
tion in the country. That’s because these
are 10 times cheaper than most other
pesticides, easy to handle and attack a
wide range of pests. However, they cause
multiple problems. Once sprayed they do
not degrade easily and can persist in the
environment for as long as 20 years. The
soil then becomes a reservoir for these
pesticides steadily transferring them to
edible crops, polluting the groundwater.
trees and wildlife.
It was not till the ’80s that the insid
ious threat from the explosion of pesti
cides started coming home. In 1984, a
multi-centre study sponsored by the UN
Food and Agriculture Organisation (fao),
analysed as many as 1,500 samples of
cereals, pulses, milk, oil and meat from
different parts of the country. The finding:
JUNE 15. H» ♦ INDIA TODAY 7
COVER STORY
Dikshit, assistant director of the itrc in Lucknow.
almost all the samples were contaminated with dot and bhc.
There is no consensus too about whether food contamina
Even more worrying: in as many as 25 per cent of the
tion limits have reached danger levels in the country. Toxicol
samples, residue levels had crossed the who safety limit. In
ogists like Dr P.K. Ray. line's bespectacled director, feel
comparison, similar 'market basket' surveys done in
that, “residue levels have certainly not reached a
developed countries showed that barely 1.2 percent of
point where we should be alarmed”.
the food samples had residues above
But he adds quickly: "However, we
the tolerance levels. “It's clear we
should ensure that they don't go
have gone miles past the danger
up." And a senior Agriculture
zone." says Dr Rajinder Kalra.
Ministry official shies away
project co-ordinator of the fao
from the question by stating
study andseniortoxicologistat
that "the data on residue lev
the Punjab Agriculture Uni
els
are too sporadic to draw
versity in Ludhiana.
national conclusions".
Proof that those high lev
Worse, there has been no
els ofpesticides were finding
real effort to work out the
their way into the body
risk from pesticide residues
tissues came just as the fao
to the general population. In
study was being completed.
fact, the Industry Ministry told
Under the GlobalEnvironment
Parliament last year that "no
Monitoring Programme spon
specific instance of harmful effects
sored by the UN. India was among
of any pesticides on the human popu
the 10 nations chosen for studying
lation has been brought to the notice
pesticide residues in human breast
of the ministry”. Something the Agri
milk. Breast milk, because of its high
cultural Ministry contradicted in March
fat content, is one of the best indicators of
by stating that over 137 fatal cases of
pesticide build-up in the body.
pesticide poisoning have occurred in the
Repeated surveys have shown
past three years. No details were given
NDIAN findings were scary. Milk taken
that wheat, rice and maize, the
about how these people died but it is
from 50 lactating women had dot and
daily diet of most Indians, are
usually instances of using pesticides to
bhc residues at least four times higher
highly contaminated with pesti
than in the other participating countries.
commit suicide that are reported.
cides like DDT and BHC. While
Only milk taken from Chinese women had
Developed countries suffered from the
levels in rice tend to be lower
higher residues. Worse. Indian babies.
same kind of laxity till 1962 when US
because of dehusking, in wheat,
along with Chinese, were imbibing at
genetic biologist Rachel Carson wrote
least eight times more dot than breast-fed
Silent Spring—an epoch-making book
these pesticides don’t degrade
German. American and Swedish babies.
that exposed the havoc being created by
even when the flour is made into
“Our babies are now taking three times
pesticides. With the massive public outcry
chappatis. The various dais also
more than the acceptable daily limits for
against pesticides building up. these
contain toxic residues, but the
these pesticides and nothing is known
countries were forced to act on the large
levels are not as high.
about its impact on their health." says
amount of studies on the harm caused by
Krishna Murti.
these chemicals.
The lack ofinformation Krishna Murti
With dot, for instance, tests on ani
complainsaboutis a key problem that has
mals showed evidence of its being a
Malpractices in
led to the continuous use ofpesticides. The
carcinogen and causing chromosomal
damage to people exposed to heavy doses
changes. In the US, it was feared that the
spraying have been a
of such chemicals is well recorded. But to
bald eagle, the national emblem, was
major cause of the
point the needle of suspicion at the com
becoming extinct because of widespread
paratively low level of pesticides taken
spraying of ddt on its habitat. It seemed to
high
residue
levels.
daily through food is “as difficult as telling
inhibit the reproductive ability of the bird.
you what causes cancer", says Dr T.S.S.
In humans, ddt was also associated with
I
78 INDIA TODAY ♦ JUNE 15.1989
pests of sugarcane, rice and fruit such as apples. These have met
with some success. Efforts to identify more such predators must
be intensified. However, after releasing them, they have to be
carefully monitored to ensure that they don’t cause a new kind of
pest attack. Both these programmes if taken up on a war-footing
could drastically reduce the over-dependence on pesticides.
• Banning pesticides like
The Government has also been showing concern about the
DDT and BHC and replacing
growing residue buildup in foods. In 1984, the Indian Council of
Agricultural Research set up an all India coordinated research
them by safer ones.
project on pesticide residues. While the project, involving 13
agricultural universities took three years to get cracking, some
data has been compiled on residue levels in soils and certain food
• Preventing industries from
crops. And it is just completing another vital task: Fixing
dumping poisonous effluents.
tolerance levels for daily intake of bhc.
However, even the Planning Commission admits that it can't
• Considering health costs
do away with bhc and dot till the much-vaunted 21 st century.
while deciding pesticide policy.
Most toxicology experts call for "a national pesticide manage
ment programme”. Apart from more strictly regulating the
manufacture of pesticides they want
for banning dot's use in agriculture
the monitoring system for pesticide
are to be issued only next fortnight—
residues to be beefed up. Laboratories
four years after the expert committee's
to test residues need to be set up in
recommendation.
each state. And they call for a
The expert committee's rec
regular ‘market basket’ survey,
ommendation in a way reflects
as done by several devel
the dilemma faced by the
oped countries, to warn
country in dealing with pes
of dangerous buildups.
ticides. In the West, after
Meanwhile the pesticide
damaging studies on bhc and
industry could join hands
ddt led to thecountries banning
with the agricultural exten
them, farmers switched to cost
sion workers to train farm
lier but safer pesticides. In India.
ers on how to use smaller
since pesticides account for 50 per
quantities of pesticides more
cent of input costs in many crops,
effectively.
farmers are unlikely to use the
The Government needs to
expensive ones. And that could
up its act too. Rather than
lead to a steep fall in foodgrain
just freezing production of the
production.
more persistent chemicals like
So what is the way out? To
dpt and bhc, these must be phased
the Government’s credit, in the past
out rapidly. Even if the alternatives
few years it has been taking some
are costlier it is a lesser price to pay than
SWEETS
positive steps. One was to encourage inte
the nation's health.
grated pest management, a scheme that
It also needs to chalk out a compre
All those colourful jalebis, barfis
has led to a dramatic reduction in residue
hensive policy on the types of pesticides to
and toffees are not as sweet as
levels in the West.
be used in the country. And while doing
they look. A study In Uttar Pra
so, the health costs must be toted up. In
desh found that in a third of the
ssentially it's a programme
other areas like heavy metal poisoning
samples, the dyes used to colour
which advocates the judicious use of
stricter control over industrial effluents
the sweets were on the Govern
pesticides and safer alternatives to
and better exhaust cleaning devices could
ment’s prohibited list. Animal
help considerably.
fight pest attacks. One of the techniques is
In all this speed is a must. For, as the
to teach farmers exactly when and in
studies have shown that these
late John F. Kennedy once said: "The loss
what quantities to use pesticides. For
Illegal dyes damage the kidneys,
of even one human life or the malfunction
instance, fanners are advised not to begin
spleen and liver and, in some
of
even
one baby—who may be born long
spraying as soon as the brown plant hop
cases, can harm even the re
after we are gone—should be of concern
per, that feeds on the rice crop, is noticed.
productive system.
to us all. Our children and grandchildren
Its predators, the spider and the mirid bug,
are not merely statistics towards which
could con trol the hopper population. Only
we can be indifferent."
if the population crosses certain limits areA poor country like India may find it
the farmers advised to spray.
The dilemma: health
difficult to uphold such high values. But
Another technique is biological con
it's about time we moved in that direction.
trol of pesticides. Many of the pests have
of the individual
After all neither we nor our children
their natural biological enemies that if
versus boosting
should be reduced to mere statistics, as is
introduced could control their population
happening now.
without the use of these chemicals. Al
foodgrain production.
—RAJ CHENGAPPA in Delhi. Lucknow & Ludhiana
ready the Government has introduced
with CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA In Mysore
around eight such predators of common
• Taking up on a war
footing the control of pests
using their natural predators.
E
JUNE 15.1989 ♦ INDIA TODAY 83
SPECIAL FEATURE
TRAVEL
The Downhill Stations
Under the tourist onslaught, the country’s best summer getaways are col
lapsing. Concrete jungles have sprung up. Water and power are scarce. Garbage
and traffic pile up. Lakes are polluted. And a whole way of life is being destroyed.
HESE days Ganesh Saili. 41, is busy
planting trees around his one-acre
plot atop Mussoorie’s Landour hill.
It's not out of a sudden interest in garden
ing. "I just want to block the view of my
hometown," he says. And adds sadly:
“What's happening to Mussoorie is re
verse metamorphosis—a beautiful but
terfly regressing into an ugly caterpillar. ’'
Gone are his favourite childhood
haunts—the magnificent oak and pine
trees which draped the rugged mountain
slopes. A hostile jungle of hotels and
multi-storied apartments is all he can see
now. No morf'do people drop into cosy
coffee houses for a chat—there aren't any
left. The once quiet Mall Road is cluttered
with vehicles, video parlours and vocifer
ous tourists. And thg-town), 28 km from
Dehra Dun. has-been in the grip of an
acute water shortage, for ■ two years-—
something unheard of'in;the past. La
ments Saili: "The entire fabric of the town
has been tom asunder. It has no soul left. ”
It is a cancer that has struck not just
Mussoorie but almost all the former colo
nial havens in the country. Srinagar.
Shimla, Nainital, Mahabaleshwar. Ooty
—names that evoked images of cool,
undulating hills cloaked in a tapestry of
brilliant green—have steadily slid down
hill. Their symptoms are similar: flashy
hotels coming up higgledy-piggledy to
meet the massive influx of tourists. Build
ing by-laws being blatantly violated. Ob
solete water and sewage systems cracking
under the onslaught of the rapid and
unplanned growth. The narrow roads
meant at best for pony rides now packed
with noisy vehicles. And above all. an
entire way of life fading away.
"Before, people came to hill stations to
breathe the fresh air, take long walks and
have a quiet laid-back holiday," says R.L.
Nanda, 64. He owns one of the few
remaining colonial hotels in Nainital,
nestling at6,569 fton the Kumaon Hills in
Uttar Pradesh. In fact, the British had a
penchant for picking the best getaway
spots. Mahabaleshwar was chosen as a
health resort 150 years ago because as an
official then observed: “Gold, coughs and
T
84 INDIA TODAY ♦ JUNE IS. 1989
two-thirds of Nainital’s sewage is dumped into its famed
lake. With the water highly polluted fish kills are common.
7
nerve and brain damage. The findings on bhc were as devastat
ing. Animal studies showed clear evidence of its being a
carcinogen apart from causing spontaneous abor
tions and leading to severe liver and kidney
damage. And these are just a few of its
ill effects.
That kind of damning evidence
saw seven countries including the
USSR, the US and West Germany ban
ddt in the 70s. And nine other coun
tries put severe restrictions on
its use. bhc too has been
banned in nine countries
in North America and Eu
rope and its use severely
restricted in 13 countries.
These countries have
now switched to safer pes
ticides like synthetic pyre
throids. The newer pestiZ'
cides degrade rapidly once
W
sprayed, cause less harm to the
body and selectively kill target
pests. Combined with stricter regula
tion, they have resulted in a significant
drop in residue levels in foodstuffs.
N India, however, officials seem stran
gely unmoved by the results of a series
of tests done on animals. At the line
rabbits fed with large doses of bhc and
endosulfan, another widely used pesti
cide, suffered from high blood pressure,
severe heart damage and in many cases
blindness. And mancozeb, a widely used
fungicide, caused tumours in mice. In
Mysore, when researchers at the Central
Food Technology Research Institute ad
ministered large doses of ddt to rats they
found that it caused deformities in the
skeletal structure.
Anywhere else such studies would
have created instant uproar and caused
regulatory authorities to call for a more
detailed investigation. Here, not only are
these warnings ignored, even the agricul
ture and health ministries insist that there
are no visible threats.
Other factors too are responsible for
things coming to such a sorry pass. Regu
I
lation of the use of pesticides has been the weakest link in the
chain. Only in 1968 did a comprehensive Insecticide Act come
into force. Under it the Central Insecticide Board, which consists
of representatives of several ministries including health,
agriculture and chemicals, is in charge of screening
pesticides and approving them for im
port or manufacture in the country.
The board, however, is severely
handicapped. As one of its members
said: “We are hamstrung both by the
lack of facilities to test these
< pesticides and the inade■ .^quate data on their toxidid*
cology.” That has
SaEy
resulted in an anom■Jw
alous situation. Out
;
of the 131 pesticides
|
approved for use so far,
only fbr 3 J have toler
ance levels been evolved.
Worse, in the case of bhc, which has
been so extensively used, so far no
tolerance levels have been worked out.
As Kalra says: “This makes a mockery
of our laws because how can you prose
cute someone unless tolerance levels
are fixed.”
Experts feel that the real threat
Most of the chemicals have been ap
comes from milk and Its products
proved for use based on toxicology studies
like butter, ghee and cheese.
done abroad. Experts say that this is a
Since pesticides adhere to fatty
dangerous practice. As Dr A.T. Dudani of
tissues In the body, milk, which
the Voluntary Health Association ofIndia
has a high content of fat, is an
points out: “Most Indians are undernour
ideal storehouse for toxins. In
ished', havepoorhygieneand aresusceptible to disease. So w'e don’t know their
bovine milk, contamination com
threshold limits for such pesticides.” And
es through the cattlefodder which
as
studies have shown, ddt could combine
has a high level of toxins. When
with other pesticides like bhc in the body
milk is processed into butter resi
and become a more toxic cocktail.
due levels get magnified.
Even more difficult is penalising of
fenders. The state health and food depart
ments, under the Prevention of Food
Adulteration Act, are to check food
Ineffective controls
contamination by pesticides and prose
cute offenders. But most of these depart
and a lack of strict
ments have neither the specialised equip
ment to test residue levels nor the staff
guidelines have
to carry out checks. As a result, hardly
worsened matters.
any cases are registered. And thanks to its
anti-malarial campaign, the Health Min
JUNE 15.1989 ♦ INDIA TODAY 79
COVER STORY
istry itself is indirectly one of the major offenders responsible for
the high level of residues. As one expert remarks: “The ministry
would really have to prosecute itself first."
THE WAY OUT
• Regular‘market
ESTICIDE manufacturers, on the other hand, plead help
lessness about curtailing production. Dr S.P. Dhua, chair
basket’ surveys to warn
man of the public sector Hindustan Insecticides, says: "We
people
of dangerous
are at the captive end because we are really catering to the
buildup of toxins in food.
demand of the health or agriculture ministry." Most manufac
turers. however, feel that the health hazards are exaggerated.
They point out that in a tropical country like India, because of
more sunlight, pesticides like dot and bhc degrade faster than in
temperate zones. That fact, however, is still to be convincingly
• Stepping up the
established. About developing a new cheap and safer chemical,
integrated pest management
the manufacturers say that it would cost a phenomenal Rs 20
programme
to teach farmers to
crore—an amount none of them would like to invest.
use pesticides judiciously.
Much ofthe problem too has come about because ofmisuse of
pesticides by farmers. Most don't even take elementary precau
tions for handling them. While gloves
and face masks are a must, fanners use
like bhc and ddt. After assessing a
their bare hands to sprinkle pesticides.
whole body of data on ddt the
Nor are farmers too conversant
committeeconcludedin 1985 that
with pesticide use. A study done on
it may continue to be used in the
Punjab cotton farmers, who are con
health programme but be banned
sidered to be the most progressive in
in agriculture.
the country, found that only 11 per
The guiding reason, how
cent used the right pesticide in
ever, was not safety but eco
the right quantity to fight the
nomics. Agriculture now re
bollworm, a major pest of the
lies more on bhc and uses
cotton crop. And another20 per
barely 400 tonnes or 4 per
cent were using the wrong type
cent of the country's ddt
of chemical.
production. But the Health
In other states, several farmers
Ministry said it just could not
violate the rule that no spraying
afford to stop using ddt. It pointed
should be done a week before har
out that the cost of covering a
vest to prevent high pesticide resi
population ofone million would shoot
dues in vegetables. That has
up from Rs 33 lakh to Rs 195 lakh if
seen residue levels shoot up to
malathion, a relatively safer pesticide,
dangerous levels in such vegeta
was used instead of ddt.
bles as okra, tomatoes, cab
That meant that there was going to be
bage and cauliflower.
no let-up on the poison explosion. The
Apart from high buildup
Health Ministry itself projects that by
in food products, that kind of
1999 it needs20,000 tonnes of ddt annu
are probably one of the
misuse has led to other problems.
ally for its spraying programme. And with
most widely-sprayed fruits. Stud
The most serious being the rising
the Ministry continuing to spray ddt,
ies
have
shown
thatthey
contain
a
resistance among pests. For instance, the
residues will keep finding their way into
high residue level of several pes
bollworm has developed resistance to
the soil and edible crops. That fact came
ticides. A good wash with a dash
several pesticides. Spraying has now gone
through when the Punjab Agriculture
of detergent or baking soda can
up in many states from seven times a crop
University recently proved that spraying
to over 30. And the widespread use of ddt
knock out these toxins. In apples,
of ddt around households resulted in
by the Health Ministry has seen four
residue levels shooting up in stored grain
the threat comes from the chemi
species of mosquitoes develop resistance
like wheat and rice.
cal damlnozide, used as a growth
to the chemical.
Meanwhile, the Agriculture Ministry
regulator, and now suspected to
Summing up the situation, Shekhar
used the same economic argument to
be cancer-causing. Citrus fruit
Singh ofKalpavriksh, a voluntary organi
allow farmers to continue uking bhc. The
too contains toxic residues.
sation working on the pesticide problem,
committee, which filed its report on bhc in
says: ‘ ‘There seems to be everything going
1986, made it clear that production of the
wrong at each stage. There is no proper
pesticide should be frozen. It also wanted
regulation of pesticides, there is no check
the Government to ban its spraying on
onthebuildupofresidues in our foodstuffs
DDT and BHC, widely
vegetables, oilseed crops and in storage
and I’m afraid there isabsolutely nopublic
godowns. The Government has acted on
used
in
India,
have
consciousness at all."
these instructions though belatedly, bhc
Prodded by the growing evidence of
been banned in at
production was frozen at its current in
the chemical menace, the Union Govern
stalled capacity of 41,900 tonnes last
least 16 countries.
ment in 1984 decided to appoint an expert
year. Butfarmers wereonly "advised” not
committee to review usage of pesticides
to use it on vegetables and oilseeds. Orders
P
82 INDIA TODAY ♦ JUNE 15.1989
Main Identity
From:
To:
Cc:
Sent:
Subject:
"kapi! umesh" <umeshkapil@yahoo.com>
"Raj Shah" <rshah@ctisinc.com>; "'Rajan Sankar1" <rsankar@idrc.org.in>;
<shas>hi_p_gupta@hotmaii.cotr»; <mina@hsph.harvard.edu>; <ravifiy@netscape.net>;
<tarun256@yanoo.com>; <sunilgomber@notmail.com>; <nfi@ren02.nic.in>;
<keroo@bgi.vsnl.net.in>: <sdgupta@iihmr.org>: <gvsmurthy2000@yahoo.com>:
<H$iderR@WHOSEA ORG>; <jgureshi@brain.net pk>; <mrsnandini@rediffmail.com>;
<shcbc72@ychco.com>; <icpreeti@hctmail.com>; <priyalipathak@hctmail.com>;
<variiselhi777@yahoo.com>; <hpssachdev@hotmail,com>; <chaudhry_kc@yahoo.com>;
<gstoteja@yahoo.com>; <s_padam@hotmaii.com >; <vijaiksri@yahoo.com>;
<indiracal@hotmail.com>; <jabnazj@yahoo.com >; <izzuhat@omantel.net.om>;
<jamil@ic.ddrh org>: <dqcdas@radiffmail.com>; <jinat@hkidhaka.org>;
'■jiten_ksingh@yahoo.com>; <jpgupta36@sify.com>; <wdnipccd@de!6.vsnl.net.in>;
<kaiiashbansal@hotmail.com>; <kn_anjurtupil@yahoo.com>; <daskshakapur@hotmail.com>;
"Karishma Desai" <kdesai@ciisinc.com>; <crsoman@vsni.com>; <khanums@who.ch>;
<kiranbains68@hotmail.com>; <kna_ped@yahoo.com >; <Lalita.Bhattacharjee@fao.org>;
<madangodbole@yahoo. co. in>; <monusvm@yahoo. com>; <msaeed_addu@yahoo.com >;
<yomathur@unicef.org>; <tandon_monica@hotmail.com>; <mridulabarooah@yahoo.co.in>;
<chad@cmcvstlore.ac.in>; <nsmat@alrfindia.org>; <drrangan@rediffmail.com>;
<viji452@yahoo.com>; <dr_sivakumarb@yahoo.com>; <nvbrahmam@ya'noo.com>;
<paui_cn@reaiffman.com >; <cessiam@tikai.net.gt>; <pannacnaudhury@hotpop.com>;
<isthakur_in@yahoo.co.in>: <rajeshkum@sancharnet.in>; <aggak63@glide.net.in>:
<rsp.rao@kmc.menipel.edu>; <drpiyush@satyam.net.in>; <aroraprabhe@hotmail.com>;
<prema_ramachandran@yahoo.com>; <cwch@neksus.com>; <lakshmi@aravind.org>;
<drsanwar@sancharnet.in>; <rajsachar@rediffmail.com>; <drrajat_prakash@yahoo.co.in>,
<sandip8M@hotmaii.com>; <sarkars@un.org>; <psethuraman@idrc.org.in>;
<sghosh@del3.vsnl.net.in>; <cancer@datainfosys.net>; <svir@unicef.org>;
<shinjini_hhatnagar@rediffmail com>: <siddharth@ehpindia,org>;
<subbu!akshmi_g@hctmail.com>; <s_mukh22@rediffmail.com>;
<sudhanshmalhotra@hotmail.com>; <msswami@mssrf.res.in>; <drtcgupta@yahoo.co.in>;
<aiumni@vsnl.com>; <psgaidsinfo@satyam.net.in>; <vinods5i@hotmaii.com>; "Shivraj
Singh" <ShivrajS@ctisinc.com>
<umeshkapil@yahoo.com>: <kapilumesh@hotmail.com>
Tuesday, October 26, 2004 4:47 PM
RE: Deabte Continues : response from Mi on Impact of "Wonder Candies for poor Indian
children and mothers
Dear All
Ev£6i'nte ti’oiH Res^onss yscfiivsfi from ]Vficrouti'isnct iiiitiotiotK'S ars
mentioned Beiow
Dr R Sankar. MD, MNAMS, FiCP
Regional Technical Advisor
The Micronutrient Initiative
208, Jor Bagu
NEW DELHI -110003.
Tel: 91-11-24619411; Fax: 91-11-24617619
Email: rsarikar@idrc.org.in
1. Contents of Wonder Candies
11/7/2004
The fortified candy contain 3 gm sugar, it is centre filled; has 7 mg iron, 500 !U vitamin A, 10 mg vitamin
C and 50 microgram folic acid.
X Impact of Wonder Candies
Anaemia prevalence In children who received fortified candies decreased from 50.9% to 8.5% in 12
weeks of intervention and this difference was found to be significant compared to the placebo group.
3.Wha ijsiwukiIndia asger^ML uvRed
Anemia
i ne^essane Ls^yerY.c^r utu, _jn.Lnow_._ine aouumsifaunn.QJ—mtnojir 1.a nines.;: jjnnujo......
..........
become part of primary health care intervention to reduce anemia from current prevalence of
74% io less than 10%.
Your comments are requested on the approach implicitly recommended by MI for India.
Regards
Prof. Umesh Kapil
Al! India Institute of Medical Sciences
New Delhi, India
11/7/2004
South File
y I 1 THE INDIAN EXPRESS
V/ BANGALORE
How safe is that bottle of mineral water?
By P Venugopal
Kochi: It’s boom time for the
bottled water industry in Ker
ala. But has quality become the
casualty?
Within a span of four years,
25-odd mineral water units, big
and small, have sprung up in the
State to tap the emerging mar
ket The present boom is attrib
uted to Ute increasing health
and hygiene consciousness
among the people, apart from
the prestige and snob value
attached to mineral water. Once
consumed only by foreign
tourists, mineral water is now
in great demand among domes
tic travellers, office-goers and
flat-dwellers.
In the wake of the phenome
nal growth of this industry, the
question of how safe it is is rele
vant. A businessman in Kochi
who bought two bottles of a pop
ular brand of mineral water
from a bunk in the city recently
was horrified to find that the
bottled water contained impuri
ties, visible to the naked eye.
Following similar complaints
from consumers, the health
squad of the Cochin Corpora
tion recently conducted random
checking on the premises of
mineral water dealers in the
city and sent samples for testing
at the Regional Analytical Lab
oratory at Kakkanad. But the
samples tested were found safe.
The Bureau of Indian Stan
dards has as far back as 1992 set
certain stringent standards for
the production ofmineral water
in the country, which is now
covered under the Prevention of
Food Adulteration Act: The
Bureau has laid down 30 para
meters to be followed for manu
facturing mineral water, which
relate to the permissible limits
of various minerals, radioac
tive materials and dissolved
solids, alkalinity, colour, odour,
taste, turbidity, etc. But it is
doubtful whether any
laboratory in the country
undertakes testing for so
many parameters.
The code evolved by
the bureau also specifies
that the manufacturers
should mark legibly and
indelibly on the label of
the container particulars
such as type ofthe miner
al water used (natural or
fortified), manner of dis
infection, batch or code
number of production
and date of bottling.
The Prevention ofFood
Adulteration Act stipu
lates that Food Inspec
tors appointed by the
Central or State Govern
ments should periodical
ly take samples of eatables and
beverages and get the products
tested by Public Analysts in the
Regional Analytical Laborato
ries or Central Food Laborato
ries set up by the Government
so as to ensure conformity with
the quality control norms. But
there are certain lacunae in the
Act. The public cannot proceed
legally against the unscrupu
lous manufacturers on the
strength of the adverse test
results obtained from the
Regional Analytical laboratory.
The test results of.only the
samples sent directly by the
Food Inspectors or the Con
sumer Courts have legal stand
ing. Even the Food Inspectors
have to fulfil certain conditions
before taking samples of any
article offood on the premises of
the suppliers or manufacturers.
The consumers can seek rem
edy against supply of spurious
drinks only through the con
sumer court, which is a costly,
time-consuming and cumber
some affair. Consequently,
most duped consumers prefer to
keep quiet.
Marketmen admit that it is
very easy to duplicate popular
mineral water brands. Water,
the main raw material, is freely
available from sources like
canals, wells or public distribu
tion system. Refilling of used
bottles or getting caps or bottles
manufactured is a simple
process. But manufacturers
hotly contest this claim. “Pro
duction of spurious mineral
water is a costly proposition.
Each mineral water company
has a particular capping
method which is tamper-proof,”
said Shaji, who produces ‘Fresh
Mineral Water’ based in Thiruvananthapuram.
A source in the Regional Analytical Laboratory at Kakkanad
confessed that it was quite com
mon among petty shop owners
in Pampa and Erumeli during
the pilgrim season to refill used
mineral water bottles with the
raw water from the Pampa riv
er and sell them to the cus
tomers.
"The average shelf-life of the
mineral water filled in PVC bot
tles is two months. The bottled
water is bound to get contami
nated after this period. Water
will be infected if the cap, sup
posed to be air-tight, becomes
loose and air enters the bottle
while handling,” said an official
of the laboratory. The Regional
Analytical Laboratory has a
Mobile Vigilance Squad which
will quickly respond to com
plaints from the public and take
samples from suspect traders.
The manufacturers claim
that there is no cause for reser
vations about the quality of
mineral water as it is produced
and filled after treating raw
water by a series of processes
such a§ filtration, demineralisa
tion and disinfection. Kochi
based Prima Beverages (P) Ltd
claims to use the latest ozonisa
tion technology to disinfect raw
water at its 40,000-litre per day
mineral water plant set up at
Vazhakulam near Aluva a few
months ago.The Bismillary
plant in Kozhikode uses the
multi-stage filtering using sand
filter and ultra-violet filters and
ozonisation. Nevertheless, it’s
not roses all the way. The Rs 300crore bottled water industry in
the country, which is expected
to touch a turnover of Rs 1000 I
crore by the turn of the century, I
has become highly competitive |
with the entry ofmultinationals
like Cadburys and Britannia
and leading liquor manufactur
ers.
“A treatment plant entails an
investment of anything
between Rs 50 lakh and Rs 75
lakh. Packaging and trans
portation make up 40 to 50 per
cent of the total cost of produc- i
tion. PET bottles with higher !
shelf-life costs not less than Re 1 i
a bottle. Add to it the margin |
offered to retailers, ranging I
from Rs 3 to Rs 7 a bottle, plus
sales tax and excise duties.
Which leave little or no profit !
margin,” said a manufacturer. I
But Thomas Jacob, Deputy
General Manager, Prima Bever
ages, sounded.optimistic. “The
present seasonal demand for
mineral water in Kerala is esti
mated to be of the order of 15,000
cartons (1.80 lakh litres) per i
month. With the high incidence I
of water-born diseases and
increasing health conscious
ness among people, the market
for mineral water in Kerala is
bound to expand by leaps and I
bounds.”
■
(With inputsfrom A Satish, ■
Palakkad, K Venugopal, .
Thiruvananthapuram, and |
LatheefKizhisseri, Kozhikode) |
FOCUS
India’s
malnourished
children
By Jagjit Singh
HE excellent progress made by Indiain
health care is overshadowed when, a
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
document reveals that this country accounts
for the highest number of malnourished
children under five in the world. The docu
ment, “The Progress ofNations”, says that
of the 190 million underweight children at
the global level, as many as 72 million are in
India alone.
In developing countries like India malnu
trition is a principal obstacle to human pro
ductivity and to socio-economic develop
ment. Depending upon the degree ofmalnu
trition, the effects are particularly serious
for infants and children who need an ade
quate quantity and quality of food for their
physical and mental growth and for realis
ing their full genetic potential.
There is no denying the fact that the per
centage of 1-5 year children suffering from
severe malnutrition has decreased from
21.8 per cent in 1975 to 4.7 per cent in 1980.
However, India continues to be placed in the
first 48 countries of the world where under
five mortality rate is still in three figures
UNICEF report “The State of the World
Children-1994.” And to givejust one exam
ple, 300 infants succumb to diarrhoeal dis
ease—a severe form of malnutrition—in
Bihar daily. Even if they survive the rigours
ofsevere malnutrition, they become the vic
tims of various ailments like bone deformi
ties and brain damage as was recently found
by the observers in the Dharhi and Chikhaldara areas of Melaghat region in Maharash
tra.
Sample surveys conducted "by theT'Iational Nutrition Monitoring Bureau re
vealed that the highest percentage of severe
malnutrition (9.9 per cent) among 1-5-yearold children was observed in Gujarat which
also had the lowest, 5.2 per cent of children
with adequate nutrition.
Similarly, surveys by the National Insti
tute of Nutrition (NIN) in the past indicate
that the energy intakes of rural low-income
group children are grossly inadequate cent
of the children suffer from varying degrees
of malnutrition.
Malnutrition in the family and espe
cially in mothers emerges as one of the un
derlying causes of malnutrition in chil
dren. In considering the factors affecting
the health and nutritional status of a child,
it would be logical to see the mother and
child as a single unit. And the fact remains
that in India a large number of mothers
theniselves are malnourished. Anaemia
continues to be the most serious hazard to
maternal survival which is a major factor
responsible for premature births, low birth
weight babies and pre-natal mortality. And
how this sorry state of mothers’ health re
flects badly in their children is evident
from the studies conducted by (NIN)
which show that 63 per cent of India’s chil
dren below three years and 45 per cent be
tween three and five years suffer from irondeficiency anaemia—moderate to severe
in 10 to 15 per cent cases. Even with this
lower intake, the absorption is not full
which further aggravates the situation. Ac
cording to the UNICEF, of this already in
adequate intake of dietary iron nearly 25
per cent is not absorbed. The recent find
ings regarding the effects of iron defi
ciency on brain chemistry and function in
dicate that iron deficiency has much wider
implications beyond anaemia.
One wonders if India can achieve a stu
pendous coverage from 85 to 96 per cent in
immunisation of children against six killer
diseases during 1990-92, and why similar
results cannot be achieved in containing
malnutrition, especially when we have had
bumper crops for many years.
T
" VANGUARD of fight with malnutrition- if not
MOTHER THAN. WHO ELSE CAN "
The rural health insurance scheme run by MGIMS aims
at providing health. care to the rural folk.
We tried to
analyse the reactions, misconceptions and problems that we
came across during our attempt to educate a rural mother about
her kids health.
The following drawings have been drawn from
a specific angle which stresses the part played by the
irrational believes, emotive biases, myths and traditions
amongst villagers in perpetuating malnutrition inthe poverty
striken families,
^'he sketches are distillate of our
experiences and vividly portray the same.
Th^re are two children.
On the lefjj is a little withered
baby drowsing on the floor.
On the right is a peevish baby-
1.
all bones and skin.
Potbelly, bloated feet.
Few lustreless
fluffy hairs on the scalp keep on falling in handfuls.
It is a familiar rural scenariov
Vilaggers call it ’Satwi*
a disease characterized by extreme emaciation of the child
Popular belief has it that the bloated Satvi is a reckless
killer of babies. -
2. Possibly an evil spirit is the villain of the piece here.
There is not even ghost of a chance of cure in hospital- another
popular belief.
3.
G
.
..
It is perhaps not surprising, given these circumstances,
that a villager sees a ray of hope in- and turns to- an exorcist.
offers him chicken, booze and coconut.1
to him^but he accepts offerings!
Money is anathema
His modus operand! is
complex: Chanting a numbojumbo he ties a scared thread on the
arm, waves the’broom-stick vehemently like a sledgehammer, smears
sacred ash(!) oh the forehead and to and behold!
•
,
0.
.
spirit is out;
,J-he evil
Eve you ever seen a baby recuperate. by an exorcist?
4.
The doctor is weighing a newborn.
Weight: two Kg;
He explains
to the mother that her next baby should not be an emaciated one.
How
can such a thin builtzsemi-starved mother produce a plump baby?
’Have
two square meals,’ the doctor advises, because, he explaine further,
’baby gets its nourishment from the mother.’
She has to quench her hunger by Iry-
Mother faces a dilemma.
eating whatever scram remains beind after, her husbabd, kidszinlaws
eat. often she sleeps hungry.
How can she follow doctor’s gastronomic
advise "eat to your heart’s content"?
She heeds the suggestion and puts aside a chunk of meal for her
while preparing the meal^.
Her hawk-eyed mother-in-law looks
inquiringly and yells at her.
Mother-inlaw should understand that for a healthy grandchild, her
expectant daughter-in-lew should get good nourishment.
She should
shower tender love on her daughter in Iwwj not a fusillade of angry
words.
5.
.
..’ And don’t feed the young one for two days,’ a mother-
in-law tells her daughter in law who has just d livered a child.
For,
she feels rather naively, that colostrum is bad for a young’un.
We do feed a young calf with cow’s colostrum, don’t we?
If a
cow’s young one can be.fed with colostrum, why not your baby?
6
Mother’s milk is nourishing for the baby.
for new born’s health.
7.
Colostrum is so good
Start breast feeding as early as possible.
Don’t bottle feed the baby.
Bottle hygiene is rather tedius, it
ne'eds to be boiled clean, its nipple shouldm’t be touched with
dirty hands, nor should it be touched without washing the hands.
A
bottle once used must be boiled again before revising the same.
All
these things are not possible in our villages.
ca.'n lead to diarrhoea.
Kwjashiorkar,
An infected bottle
A child starts losing weight, falls a prey to
We don’t want bottle, we need cup and spoon.’
3
t3—
8.
Tinned milk can not compete with ths cow’s milk
Don’t d. Lute milk
Tinned milk fails to provide nourishment to the baby.
The result is inevitable - Kwashiorkar.’
9.
Poverty in the midst of plenty?
How is it that your ba>y
doesn’t get enough milk though it is so mush produced in your
villages.
Milk from villages is sold in nearjky cities. Sans milk child
keeps on weeping.
10.
Why milk is sold in market?
Wiser from previous experiences,
our cost-conscious farmer sells a litre of milk and gets money
to buy 4 kilos of jowar.
'
A litre of milk is barely enough to
sustain him for a day but 4 kilos of jowar can last for 4 days.
This is pragmatic rural economics'.
- 3 -
*|y»
Pure milk is hard to come by even in villages- it is
invariably diluted.
Reason- to earn money.
Try ; c he might, alms :r can not buy
ilk' in a village.
Then what should he do?
Keeping a cow is well nigh'.impossible for him.
From where will he arrange fodder to feed the cow.
■
Where is the land?
Consider goat.
Even a labourer.can keep it.
Fodder is no
problem. Equally nutritious milk.
So easy to digest.
can easily thrive on goat's milk.
After all was it not Gandhiji
who drank goat's milk?
Do not underestimate goat's milk.
The best nutrition for an infant is .milk.
12.
Breast milk is
itself of course sufficient for first six months.
afterwards.
A child
He still needs something more.
Don't‘wean
What-next?
There
is no cow's or goat's milk available?. What should you give?
An adult belly is big.
Two meals provide enough for his body
child's stomach is .small.
growth.
accomodated in an adult stomach.
Two meals are not enough, it needs five such feeds
an adult needs.
A child is a child is a child.
13.
Five su ii bellies can be
But a child needs as much food as
won't be interested in food.
If made to eat of his own, he
Ever eager to play with his pals
waiting out, he will gulp down the morsels hastily and drink too
much water.
Come mother, 'sit with your child, coax him, cajole him
feed him.
14.
a
labourer mother can ill afford to look after her young'un
and ignore her work.
Her wage suffers]
^he, therefore, hands
over the baby to elder sister or grandmother and goatylo work.
If she takes her toddler along with her on the farm, she gets a
caustic tongue lashing from the farm-owner— "What for you've come
here?
To work or to feed your child? Who will work here? Get out I"
She is sacked.
A farmer must be be compassionate enough to allow a mother to
feed her child
it is her right.
:
its needs.
No, he is not obliging her,
15.
If many mothers face this problem, we can arrange a cradle-home.
We may as well appoint a lady who'll look after the kids and also
feed them while mother is away.
But what if the fence starts eating
the crop?
16.
"If they can't afiqrd bread, why not do they eat cake?" We're
familiar with this opt-quoatod foolish remark by french queen.
Let us feed our babies with whatever resources we
Let us be wise.
have, available at home. What and how often?
Here is the plan,,,.
In the morning serve sweet steaming porridge.
17.
As she goes to work, Jowar Roti softened in Dal will make a
delicious dish.
18.
19t
20.
At Sbeia'a meshed sweet banana will do.
Evening—A boiled potato sweetened with jaggery is in order.
Night
Mother returns home and prepares Khichari(Mixture of
pulse and cereals).
21.
There is no use wasting money earned by the sweat of your brow,
purchasing^protein packets.
realm of the possible.
The solution outlined here is in the
Prepare Sattu.
It is a popular myth that
Sattu leads to diarrhoea,
-any food, if gormandized Hastily, will
certainly cause diarrhoea.
Eat slowly, gradually increase the quantum.
Instead of ust ground-nut, wheat, Jowar or rice in t>attu.
We do
prepare sattu on the auspicious occasion of Nagpanchmi, don't we?
Keep aside some sattus for your young one.
22.
Eat a banana arid, as the old granny's tale goes, be prepared
for unning nose.
No, bananas surely won't cause common cold.
They are simply in plenty in winter and winter is also the season
for common cold.
A mere coincidence, isn't it?
Don't blame bananas.
They are ao cheap, so nutritious, so sweetJ
Your baby has taken a liking for themI
6 :
23.
Child’s tantrums during eating are well known.
A fastidious child
will eat merrily if his food is sweetened with jaggery.
’’Jaggery to a
child?" a mother may raise her eyebrows,"Won't it cause'worms?”
It is another'p.oi .-Lar naive conception which sternly
No and Never.
forbids us from giving jaggery to a baby.
In fact it is the craving
for earth and not the brown sugar which leads to worms.
24.
’Satvi,’ the evil spirit, is an end result of perpetual starvation^
malnutrition’vicious cycle.
Poverty striken home breeds malnutrition.
sobriquet
If you poverty as ’Satvi,* then I
The crux of the matter is poverty.
,
fully endorse your idea of ’satvi mai’.
An evil triumvirate of diarrhoea, measles and whooping cough
is the chief cause of perpetual weight loss in children.
chronic illness leads to emaciation.
measles can be kept at bay.
25.
fh
Use vaccine.
There is no use crying over spilt milk Advanced malnutrition, even
if recognised, is not treatable.
It must be nipped in bud. .‘^he figure-
shows ideal weight of a healthy baby as per its age
3
Persistant,
At least whooping cough and
~_a newborn weighs
kg, doubles by 6th mo'nth and triples by a year. , It then puts on
around 2kg/annum.,
26.
If the weight is less than the■standard, one, carefully note it.
It would be tedious task trying to remember weight in kg. «e suggest
an alternative.
2- year-old.
The figure shows two babies being weighed.
Both arf
One is 12 kg.strong, the other weighs meagre 6kg. For
the sake of convenience consider 12 kg. equivalent to 16 annas and
6 kg. equal to 8 annas.
A mother should watch closely if her child
is treading steadily along these milestone of development.
DR.UIHAS JAJOO
Rural He altl i Insurance
SEVAGRAM-442 102
COMMUNITY HEALTH CELL
336. V Main, I Block
Ko-iJiungnla
Bangalor«-E60034
India
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