What is food safety and hygiene?

Food safety means that food is non-toxic and harmless, meets the nutritional requirements, and will not cause any acute, subacute or chronic harm to human health. According to the definition of the World Health Organization, food safety is "a public health problem in which toxic and harmful substances in food affect human health". Food safety is also an interdisciplinary field, focusing on ensuring food hygiene and food safety, reducing hidden diseases and preventing food poisoning in the process of food processing, storage and sales.

Food hygiene is a branch of preventive medicine. Its task is to study the types, sources, properties, functions, content levels and control measures of harmful factors that threaten human health in food, so as to improve food safety, prevent food-borne diseases and protect consumers' health. The possible harmful factors in food can be divided into four categories according to their sources: ① food pollutants. Substances mixed with food in the process of production, processing, storage, transportation and sales. Generally, it also includes biological harmful factors (such as bacteria and viruses) and radionuclides. ② Food additives. ③ Harmful substances naturally existing in food, such as protease inhibitors existing in soybeans. (4) Harmful substances produced during food processing and preservation, such as methanol and fusel oil produced during brewing.

The measures to control the possible harmful factors in food are mainly to carry out food hygiene work in the whole society in accordance with moral norms, legal norms and technical norms: the government sets up institutions to carry out food hygiene supervision and inspection according to law; Formulate food hygiene standards and management measures; Publicize health knowledge to the masses and food producers and operators, consciously abide by health regulations and standards, and resist unhealthy behaviors.