Food safety and food legislation

Abstract

Food poisoning is a major public health concern worldwide. As we have shown in Chapters 2–6, it usually presents as an acute enteric disease, though there may be other forms of presentation. Acute enteric disease is usually preventable, and, as demonstrated in Chapter 9, knowledge of good microbiological practices at all stages of the food production process is an essential part of our attempts to combat food poisoning by improving food safety. Food safety has been a very topical subject recently, particularly in 1989, when there was great public concern in the UK over salmonella, listeria and botulism ‘scares’. National feelings about food safety culminated in the recognition of the need for stricter controls and new legislation, which will provide greater powers for factory inspection, better training in food hygiene, and compulsory registration of food premises. This chapter gives a brief outline of some important recent developments in the fields of food safety and legislation, which it is to be hoped will result in significant improvements for the consumer.