Control and Prevention of Foodborne Diseases
Foodborne infection is one of the major public health concerns as it causes millions of death across the United States in which most of the illnesses are either unreported or undiagnosed. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) foodborne is a form of infection enhanced by the consumption of contaminated foods or drinks (Kadariya, Smith & Thapaliya, 2014). Notably, averting foodborne sicknesses is a multifaceted technique that has no international and straightforward solution since there are no vaccines for most of the foodborne pathogens. Consumer training on the major principles of food protection is insufficient as the process by which food reaches the users is diverse thereby, providing opportunities for adulteration. Considerably, the general system of deterring foodborne ailment is to determine the avenues by which contagions and spread of diseases can occur (Abdul-Mutalib, Syafinaz, Sakai & Shirai, 2015). As such, understanding of the prevention and control strategies is vital in preventing the transmission of foodborne ailment.
Strategies to Prevent Foodborne Diseases
Preventing foodborne infection is the primary factor in reducing the spread of foodborne disease. The approaches include food safety management, low microbial diet, and safe water.
Safety Management in Healthcare and Household Setting
The United States of America Food Code entails a special requisite for businesses involved in the production and sale of food to a highly susceptible populace. The regulation requires the enterprises to apply food safety management techniques in their operations to help avert the spread of foodborne ailment in the country (Camino, Arisseto-Bragotto & Block, 2017). Equally, observing food hygiene such as washing and disinfecting surfaces and apparatus used to make food assists in preventing foodborne infection.
Low Microbial Diet
Cooking food and avoiding foodstuffs that are likely to encompass pathogenic microbes such as uncooked foods with high microbial load helps in preventing the occurrence of foodborne diseases. Therefore, the use of products with minimal microbial content is essential in averting foodborne infection.
Safe Water
According to studies, the use of untreated water can be the primary source of infectious pathogens such as salmonella. As such, to help prevent the occurrence of the infection, it is advisable to treat or boil water before use (Camino, Arisseto-Bragotto & Block, 2017). Boiling water is important as the process assists in killing foodborne pathogens, thus, making water safe for drinking.
Measures to Control Spread of Foodborne Illness
Deterring sick workers from performing their duties is an important aspect in controlling the transmission of foodborne illness since infections like norovirus are transferable even after the symptoms have disappeared. Studies indicate that 46% of the foodborne outbreak in restaurants is enhanced by the sick employees that are allowed to prepare food (Lipcsei & Kambhampati, 2016). Intensifying food and environmental hygiene awareness in schools, hospitals, and communities through training and social media platforms assists in deterring the diffusion of the disease. Developing food safety policies for both the companies involved in the production and selling of food materials to the susceptible populace is essential in regulating the outbreak of foodborne infection.
Conclusion
Foodborne infection is a major health problem across the globe since its outbreak result in deaths with most of the cases being undiagnosed or reported for treatment. Control and prevention of foodborne diseases is an important segment in the management of the infection as it helps in reducing its transmission. Strategies such as observed foods safety hygiene and use of safe water assist in averting the occurrence of foodborne ailments. Equally, developing food health policies and deterring sick workers from performing their duties is essential in regulating foodborne conditions.
References
Abdul-Mutalib, N. A., Syafinaz, A. N., Sakai, K., & Shirai, Y. (2015). An overview of foodborne illness and food safety in Malaysia. International Food Research Journal, 22(3). search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=19854668&AN=102963599&h=rkNLEC08Xcc88SyfUzLrBhMSk6CeUdsJzXc0i3WIBt2HqUDzHoWNH4sM0%2FIQUTI7B0%2Bd26BHZxYL1VNjic1oZA%3D%3D&crl=c
Camino Feltes, M. M., Arisseto-Bragotto, A. P., & Block, J. M. (2017). Food quality, food-borne diseases, and food safety in the Brazilian food industry. Food Quality and Safety, 1(1), 13-27. https://academic.oup.com/fqs/article-abstract/1/1/13/4791724
Kadariya, J., Smith, T. C., & Thapaliya, D. (2014). Staphylococcus aureus and staphylococcal food-borne disease: An ongoing challenge in public health. BioMed Research International, 2014. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/bmri/2014/827965/
Lipcsei, L., & Kambhampati, A. (2016). Improving food safety through prevention: CDC’s food safety prevention status report. Journal of Environmental Health, 79(2), 46. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5708856/