Food Safety

Food safety has been playing an important part in the food industry as it determines if the food is safe for consumption. So before the food products are introduced to the market, the safety of consumption of food products is assessed.
Food safety includes how we handle, prepare and store the food products at appropriate conditions from raw products to the final product. It includes monitoring the time, temperature so as to prevent microbes from growing, which will lead to foodborne illnesses or contamination.
So we have to look at the type of food we are handling before deciding on the actual temperature for handling and storing the food.
If the food is handle at the inappropriate condition, it will increase the risk of microbial growth. This will lead to foodborne illnesses, decreasing the safety of consuming that food.
We must also ensure that the food is not at the danger zone from 5-60 degrees celcius, that will promote microbe growth.
Food safety not only depends on the government but also the companies, as the companies have to follow the legislations set by the government in order to protect consumers’ health. So in Singapore, Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) will conduct safety assessment to ensure the foods are safe for consumption.
It also depends on consumers themselves. They have to ensure that they do not cross contaminate when handling the food. As the bacteria might be transfer from raw food to cook food. The food should also not be leftover for too many days as the microbes might multiply to a countless amount.
So food safety is very important in the food industry and we should not neglect it.