Main description:

This work is a detailed survey of food safety issues today, from E-coli contamination in fruits and vegetables to food production practices that increase antibiotic resistance.

Is our food safe? Much of the corn, soybeans, and canola oil we eat has been genetically modified, but we don't know the long-term effects of GM foods on our health and the environment. We also consume antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria through the meat we eat, and we face new threats like mad cow disease, avian flu, and bioterrorism.

Food Safety: A Reference Handbook, Second Edition provides a broad, readable, and level-headed overview of these and other food safety controversies. Through a combination of statistics and substantive information, it delineates the nature and scope of the issues. It also introduces readers to the researchers, activists, industries, and government agencies that play a role in the battle for food safety-an issue that impacts us all.

Includes a glossary of food safety terms to help readers negotiate complex concepts from the fields of chemistry, biology, nutrition, agriculture, and epidemiology

Provides a directory of organizations representing a wide range of viewpoints-activist, industry, and government-showing readers where to turn for more information

Contents:

Table of Contents Preface Chapter 1: Background and History History USDA Risk Assessment Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points International Food Safety Beyond Regulation Epidemiology and Foodborne Illnesses Bacteria and Food Campylobacter Listeria Salmonella E. Coli E. Coli 0157:H7 Shigella Yersinia Staphylococcus Clostridium Perfringens Bacillus Cereus Parasites Viruses Hepatitus A Noroviruses Aflatoxins Mad Cow Disease Food Safety at the Consumer Level Eating Out Safely References Chapter 2: Problems, Controversies, and Solutions Food Additives, Contaminants, and Packaging Olestra Aspartame/NutraSweet Benzene Acrylamides Mercury in Fish Salmon Carbon Monoxide in Meat Packaging Plastic Containers and Packaging Antibiotics History How Bacterial Strains Became Resistant Pesticides Growth Hormones in Beef Cattle Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone Genetically Engineered Food Irradiation Bioterrorism References Chapter 3: Special U.S. Issues Factory Farming Human Health Impacts for Those Living in Close Proximity to CAFOs Avian Flu How the Flu Virus Works Person-to-Person Transmission Precautions Against Influenza Effects on Other Crops Legislation Technical Solutions Other Solutions References Chapter 4: Chronology Chapter 5: Biographies Rachel Carson Ann Cooper Ronnie Cummins Nancy Donley Patricia Griffin Fritz Haber Mary Heersink Albert Howard, Sir Fred Kirschenmann Alice Lakey Antonie van Leewenhoek Stuart Levy Howard Lyman Helen McNab Miller Marion Nestle Michael Osterholm Louis Pasteur Stanley Prusiner John Robbins Joel Salatin Upton Sinclair John Snow David Theno Harvey Wiley Craig Wilson Chapter 6: Data and Documents Chapter 7: Directory of Organizations Nonprofit, Trade, and Professional Organizations National Agencies (Canada and U.S.) International Agencies State Organizations Chapter 8: Resources Books Journals and Periodicals NonPrint Resources Databases Videos and DVDs Glossary Index About the Author