Food science Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Food science - Essay Example The Health Protection Agency Centre for Infections (HPACI) reported that the highest incidence of food poisoning throughout the United Kingdom was highest back in 1997 with 105,596 cases. (Foodlink, 2008) With the help of Food Standards Agency in terms of ensuring the quality and safety of the available food products in the market (Society for General Microbiology, 2008b) combined with teaching the people with the importance of proper food management through health education, the number of individuals who has suffered from food poisoning was down to 78,734 as of 2005. (See Appendix I – Food Poisoning Statistics throughout UK on page 16) Food poisoning or foodborne illnesses are commonly caused by eating food that has been contaminated by micro-organisms like harmful bacteris such as Campylobacter, Salmonella enteritidis, Escherichia coli, Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium botulinum; toxins; pathogens like parasites or viruses and/or fungi causing mycotoxins like aflatoxins, ochratoxins and patulin. (Society for General Microbiolgy, 2008a; Weinberg, 2008) In general, diseases that are directly related to the presence of fungus are common in plants and animals. By invading our food supply, humans can be prone to suffer from the harmful metabolites called mycotoxins – also known as â€Å"fungus poison† that are produced by fungus within a contaminated food as a strategic way of preventing other organisms from eating the food. For this study, a literature review will be conducted with regards to the impact of fungi on food poisoning will be thoroughly discussed. First, a general information with regards to the growth of fungi in foods will be generally explained. In the process of going through the discussion, the different types and sources of fungi specifically the aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, fumonisins, trichothecenes, and zearalenone