Food Safety & Sanitation I (Inspection/Illness) Quiz

Answer: The USDA and the FDA

The USDA and the FDA are the main inspectors on the taxpayer's payroll. The CDC (Centers for Disease Control) is merely more of an informational-type agency that tries to get the word out about public health hazards. The CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) is an organization much like the CDC, created to research and disperse information about certain public affairs.

Answer: United States Department of Agriculture

The USDA has a budget of over 19 billion dollars for the 2001 fiscal year. Of that amount, the FSIS (Food Safety and Inspection Service) gets about $597 million for inspecting.

Answer: True

It is also estimated that this results in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000 deaths yearly.

Answer: Chemical, biological, and physical

Chemical hazards are caused by chemicals (often cleaning supplies) finding their way into the food during the process. Biological hazards are the bacteria, fungi, and viruses that might invade before, during, and even after the preparation process. Physical hazards consists of foreign particles such as hair, dirt, glass, metal shavings, etc. that might find their way into foods.

Answer: Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points

Effective January 26, 1998, about 75% of the nation's raw meat and poultry products came under HACCP inspection. Nearly 50 percent of the nation's processed food products came under HACCP inspection after January 26. All other products are being produced in small plants with between 10 and 500 employees, which came under HACCP in January 1999, and in very small plants with fewer than 10 employees, which came under HACCP in January 2000.

Answer: True

The state health departments have specially trained inspectors (who are usually experts in their field) that go around and inspect restaurants and kitchens in facilities yearly. The facilities are required to adhere to guidelines set down by the health department to protect consumers from bad sanitation or food safety.

In many states, the restaurants are required to post their current inspection score where the public can view it.

Answer: 6.9 billion dollars

This figure is astounding to me. And the real question is, how can one really estimate how much foodborne illness costs annually when not all cases are reported? The real number may be much higher than that, which is why food safety is so important!

Answer: Less than 1 percent

That figures out to only 40,000 shipments every year! That means about 3.96 million shipments go unchecked. This is one very good reason you should always practice caution when purchasing imported foods.

Answer: False

The top five are seafood, eggs, produce, beef, and poultry.

Answer: 1,589 outbreaks with 73,425 cases

According to that estimation, the average is 6,675 cases per year. Your chances of getting a foodborne illness, based on the current U.S. population, is 1 in 43,212. This is in large part because our goverment funds programs to protect us from such food safety issues. However, these numbers are only of cases reported, and we really don't know how many cases go undiagnosed every year.

Answer: 337 outbreaks and 23,142 cases

The average for this category was 69 cases per outbreak. Salads had 93 recorded outbreaks with 12,036 cases. Ethnic foods had 88 outbreaks with 4,817 cases. Meat dishes had 61 outbreaks with 1,978 cases.

Answer: four

This is in part due to the fact that the FDA has inadequate funding allocated towards inspection. The CDC, the main informatory agency about public health hazards, has a total budget of 4 billion. Only 34 million of that is put towards food safety issues.

Answer: Pork

Pork had 61 cases per outbreak. Poultry had 54 cases per outbreak. Beef had the least of the major meats with 45 cases per outbreak. And the "other" group had only 23 cases per outbreak.

Answer: Breads and other bakery products

Breads and bakery products had an average of 32 cases per outbreak! The incidence of outbreak was far less for these items than other categories, but the risk was still there. Breads had 11 outbreaks with 600 cases. Bakery items had 30 outbreaks with 703 cases.

Answer: Salmonella

Salmonella is the second most common pathogen found in, on, or around food products. It is not only found in poultry but in eggs, meat, dairy, seafood, and produce. Symptoms include abdominal pain, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting. The most common onset of illness is 8-12 hours after ingesting food and it can last for one whole day.

Answer: 1 billion dollars

That is an average of 20 million dollars per state every year. It is one of the many reasons it is essential that you cook poultry products thoroughly before serving.

Answer: Campylobacter, Salmonella, E coli, Calcivirus (Norwalk)

All of the above answers are common pathogens which cause food poisoning. Campylobacter jejuni has a 2-5 day onset with diarrhea, cramps, fever, and bloody stool that can last from 7-20 days. E coli causes nausea, cramps, watery diarrhea, vomiting, and tiredness for 8 days with a 2-5 day onset. It is most commonly found in meat, produce, and milk.

Answer: True

These include bacteria, viruses, and parasites.

Answer: Clostridium botulinum

Clostridium botulinum (the pathogen which causes Botulism) can cause paralysis and death if left untreated. It is found in canned foods (mostly at home) and herbal oils. Listeria monocytogenes has a 7-30 day onset and has symptoms of vomiting, nausea, fever, and headache.

It is most commonly found in dairy, meat, poultry, seafood, and produce. Staphylococcus aureus (Staph) causes diarrhea, vomiting, nausea, abdominal pain, cramps, and prostration 30 minutes to 8 hours from ingestion. It can last from one to two days. Staph occurs most commonly in cooked foods with high protein such as ham, dairy, and bakery products. Giardiasis has a 1-3 day onset with explosive watery stools, cramps, anorexia, nausea, and vomiting.

This is most commonly caught from drinking untreated water when travelling or ingesting food products with tainted water in it.

Answer: Diarrhea, 101.5 temp or more, blood in stool, vomiting, dehydration, dizziness, and dry mouth

Any one of these symptoms could be caused by a foodborne illness. Only through a test of your blood or stool by a qualified medical professional can one tell what you have.

Answer: True

The CDC estimates that about 60 million people in the US have this parasite, but very few have symptoms because the immune system automatically keeps it in check. People with toxoplasmosis often have flu-like symptoms, swollen lymph glands, or muscle pains/aches that can last from a few days to several weeks.

Answer: Hepatitis A

The onset of Hepatitis A is from 3-10 days. The sooner medical attention is received, the more likely that severe liver damage will be averted. Hepatitis A is most common in mollusks and shellfish and is spread mostly through feces.

Answer: The very young, the immuno-compromised, and the elderly

The young and the elderly often do not have the efficient immune systems that the common adult has. Young children have not had the chance to acquire antibodies to a wide variety of pathogens, therefore they are less equipped to fight off anything. The elderly just don't function as efficiently. Immuno-compromised people, such as people with AIDS, have an impaired immune system that cannot fight off infection.

Answer: temperature

The most universally safe internal temperature for raw meats to reach during cooking is 180 degrees.

Answer: All of these

Wash all surfaces with hot water (180 degrees and above) and with a disinfecting agent. Cutting boards should ideally be color-coded to ensure pathogens do not exchange from one type of food item to another. Utensils used to cut raw meats and mix products with raw eggs and the like need to be properly disinfected.