Food safety

This chapter describes food safety, in the context of both specific food products and entire food systems. The chapter describes various elements of food safety, how unsafe food causes adverse health effects, and what measures can be taken to prevent and control foodborne illness. The chapter emphasizes that public health surveillance for foodborne disease is the key to hazard identification. In particular, it emphasizes the role of public health surveillance as a tool to evaluate the effectiveness of our food safety systems, and to guide the development of prevention and control measures. The chapter describes in detail preventing food contamination, controlling amplification or spread of foodborne disease agents, and reducing or eliminating hazards.