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Understanding food hazards and risk
Food contains natural chemicals from the original plant or animal sources. It may also come in contact with many natural and artificial substances during production, processing, and preparation. All of these potentially harmful substances in food are called hazards and thus we talk about potential food hazards. They include microorganisms, naturally present chemicals, chemicals produced by cooking, environmental contaminants, additives, and pesticides. The chance of being harmed by these hazards is called risk. In making food safety decisions, we must weigh the food benefits, against the level of risk of the food hazard.
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