Previous Years Question Papers

UNIT - 11 RECENT CONCERNS

Emerging pathogens

Despite advances in hygiene, consumer knowledge, food treatment and processing, foodborne diseases mediated by pathogenic microorganisms or microbial toxins still represent a significant treat to public health worldwide.
Emerging Pathogens are those causing illnesses that have only recently appeared or been recognised in a population or that are well recognised but are rapidly increasing in incidence or geographic range.

Emerging Pathogens are those that have:

• Appeared recently
• Extended to new vehicles of transmission 
• Started to increase rapidly in incidence or geographic range 
• Been widespread for many years but only recently identified through new or increased knowledge or methods of identification and analysis of the disease agent 

Genetically Modified Foods

Genetically modified foods or GM foods, also known as genetically engineered foods or bio-engineered foods, are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering.
Common Genetically Modified Foods
Milk

Canola Oil
Aspartame
Soy
Corn
Potato
Papaya
Rice
Tomato
Cotton

Genetically Modified Foods – Merits & Demerits

Before we think of having GM foods it is very important to know about is advantages and disadvantages especially with respect to its safety.
MERITS

• GM foods are useful in controlling the occurrence of certain diseases. 
• By modifying the DNA system of these foods, the properties causing allergies are eliminated successfully. 
• These foods grow faster than the foods that are grown traditionally.
• Moreover, these foods are a boon in places which experience frequent droughts, or where the soil is incompetent for agriculture. 
• At times, genetically engineered food crops can be grown at places with unfavourable climatic conditions too. 
• Genetically engineered foods are reported to be high in nutrients and contain more minerals and vitamins than those found in traditionally grown foods. 
• Other than this, these foods are known to taste better. 
• Another reason for people opting for genetically engineered foods is that they have an increased shelf life and hence there is less fear of foods getting spoiled quickly.

DEMERITS

• The biggest threat caused by GM foods is that they can have harmful effects on the human body. 
• It is believed that consumption of these genetically engineered foods can cause the development of diseases which are immune to antibiotics.
• Manufacturers do not mention on the label that foods are developed by genetic manipulation because they think that this would affect their business, which is not a good practice. 
• Experts are also of the opinion that with the increase of such foods, developing countries would start depending more on industrial countries because it is likely that the food production would be controlled by them in the time to come.

Food Labelling

• Food Labelling serves as a primary link of communication between the manufacturer or packer of food on the one hand and distributor, seller, and user or consumer on the other hand. 
• By way of labelling the manufacturer introduces his product to his distributor or seller and to the target consumer or user of his product by providing all the information regarding his product on the label.
• As per Food Laws, every packaged food article has to be labelled and it has to be labelled in accordance with the law applicable in the country of the user. 
• Every packaged food article for the domestic use has to be labelled in accordance to the related Indian Food Law i.e. Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, notified by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).

In order to safeguard the interest of the consumer, The Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) Regulations, 2011, provides that every packaged food article has to be labelled and it shall provide the following information –

• The name of Food
• List of Ingredients,
• Nutritional Information,
• Declaration regarding Veg or non-veg,
• Declaration regarding Food Additives,
• Name and complete address of the manufacturer or packer
• Net Quantity,
• Code No,/Lot No./Batch No.,
• Date of manufacture or packing,
• Best Before and Use By Date,
• Country of Origin for imported food and
• Instructions for use

If the food product is not labelled in accordance to the regulations or it does not provide the required complete information or the food product is promoted for sale with false, misleading or deceptive claims then it is considered as misbranded food and attracts the penalties as given below-

OFFENCES & PENALTIES

Misbranded Food Up to 3lakh rupee
Misleading advertisement Up to 10lakh rupees
The consumer can notice the labelling defect easily through visual inspection and that may create suspicion about the quality of the product also in the mind of the consumer.

BSE (BOVINE SERUM ENCEPHTHALOPATHY)

• A brain disorder in adult cattle that may be spread to humans through diseased meat.
• Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), commonly known as mad cow disease, is a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy and fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that may be passed to humans who have eaten infected flesh. 
• BSE causes a spongiform degeneration of the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, of 2.5 to 5 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of four to five years. 
• As of January 2004, more than 180,000 cases of BSE were confirmed in Great Britain in more than 35,000 herds of cattle. The epidemic peaked in January 1993 at almost 1,000 new cases per week.
• BSE is caused by a misfolded protein—a prion.
• Humans may acquire the disorder by eating diseased meat products. When it comes from cattle, the disorder is called Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). CJD ultimately leads to dementia and death. The condition is rare.
• The disease is marked by rapid mental deterioration, usually within a few months. Most people eventually lapse into a coma.
• Treatment focuses on keeping the person as comfortable as possible.

NEWER TRENDS IN FOOD PACKAGING AND TECHNOLOGY

The food packaging industry is vibrant and highly competitive, with food manufacturers always on the look-out for packaging that can provide consumers with increased convenience as well as longer shelf life at a lower cost than their existing packaging.
1. Material substitution - Over the past few decades there have been significant changes in the relative proportions of the packaging materials glass, metal, paper and plastics used to pack food. Most noticeable has been the switch from glass (and to a lesser extent metal) to plastics with, for example, the majority of beverages nowadays packed in polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

2. Lightweighting - Lightweighting has been going on for decades, driven primarily by economics but in recent years it has always been trumpeted as being driven by environmental concerns.

3. Smart labels - The Universal Product Code is a bar code symbology used for scanning packages at point of sale. It has been widely used on food and other packs since its launch in 1974 on a 10-pack of chewing gum.

4. Sustainability - Although sustainable packaging is widely discussed at conferences and in the packaging media, there is no consensus as to what it is. Many in the packaging industry are confused; consumers are also very confused and the potential exists for unscrupulous companies to market packages as ‘sustainable’ when they are not and thus mislead consumers.

5. Biobased but not biodegradable plastics - Sustainable means to maintain or keep going continuously and the word has been used in connection with forest management for over a century. To be sustainable, consumption of resources must match their rate of renewal and therefore the use of non-renewable resources, such as petroleumbased plastics (and metals), is unsustainable. This has led

UNIT 10 - HYGIENE AND SANITATION IN FOOD SECTOR

GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF FOOD HYGIENE

The five key principles of food hygiene, according to WHO, are:


1. Prevent contaminating food with pathogens spreading from people, pets, and pests.


2. Separate raw and cooked foods to prevent contaminating the cooked foods.


3. Cook foods for the appropriate length of time and at the appropriate temperature to kill pathogens.

4. Store food at the proper temperature.

5. Use safe water and safe raw materials.

GOOD HYGIENE PRACTICES FOR COMMODITIES

Producers should as far as practicable implement measures to:

• control contamination from air, soil, water, feedstuffs, fertilizers

(including natural fertilizers), pesticides, veterinary drugs or any other agent used in primary production;


• control plant and animal health so that it does not pose a threat to human health through food consumption, or adversely affect the suitability of the product; and


• protect food sources from faecal and other contamination. In particular, care should be taken to manage wastes, and store harmful substances appropriately.

GOOD HYGIENE PRACTICES FOR EQUIPMENTS

Equipments should be located so that it:

• permits adequate maintenance and cleaning;

• functions in accordance with its intended use; and

• facilitates good hygiene practices, including monitoring.

GOOD HYGIENE PRACTICES FOR WORK AREA AND PERSONNEL

• Maintaining a clean work environment is critical in preventing foodborne illness.
• Bacteria can grow on unsanitary surfaces and then contaminate food. Just because a work surface looks clean does not mean that it is sanitary.
• Always ensure that you clean and sanitize a work area before starting to prepare food and after food preparation.

• Wash hands before performing the next job function after touching other food, and after smoking, chewing tobacco, eating and drinking, taking out the garbage, changing diapers, touching body parts such as the mouth or going to the washroom.
• Wash hands before and after handling raw food, especially meat and poultry.
• Report immediately any symptoms of illness or infection to your supervisor. It may not be appropriate for you to handle food while you are sick.
• Cover any cuts with a bandage and wear clean gloves. However, do not wear rubber or latex gloves near open flames or other heat sources.
• Gloves may melt or catch fire. Change gloves if you touch anything that would normally require you to wash your hands.
• Wear hair nets to help prevent loose hair from falling on food. The average person loses about 50 hairs per day.
• Use tools or utensils to serve food whenever possible. Touch food with your hands as little as possible.
• Use a clean spoon each time you taste or sample food.
• Touch only the handles of flatware/utensils when setting the table.
• Do NOT wear jewellery in food preparation areas, especially rings; they may collect dirt or bacteria and make it harder to clean your hands. Similarly, keep nails trimmed short and do not wear nail polish.
• Do NOT use aprons to dry your hands.
• Do NOT smoke in food preparation areas.

CLEANING AND DISINFECTION

• Cleaning and disinfection programmes should ensure that all parts of the establishment are appropriately clean, and should include the cleaning of cleaning equipment.
• Cleaning and disinfection programmes should be continually and effectively monitored for their suitability and effectiveness and where necessary, documented.
• Where written cleaning programmes are used, they should specify:

1. areas, items of equipment and utensils to be cleaned;
2. responsibility for particular tasks;
3. method and frequency of cleaning; and
4. monitoring arrangements.

Where appropriate, programmes should be drawn up in consultation with relevant specialist expert advisors.

CLEANING PROCEDURES AND METHODS

Cleaning can be carried out by the separate or the combined use of physical methods, such as heat, scrubbing, turbulent flow, vacuum cleaning or other methods that avoid the use of water, and chemical methods using detergents, alkalis or acids.

Cleaning procedures will involve, where appropriate:
• removing gross debris from surfaces;

• applying a detergent solution to loosen soil and bacterial film and hold them in solution or suspension;

• rinsing with water to remove loosened soil and residues of detergent;

• dry cleaning or other appropriate methods for removing and collecting residues and debris; and

• where necessary, disinfection with subsequent rinsing unless the manufacturers’ instructions indicate on scientific basis that rinsing is not required.

SAFETY ASPECTS OF WATER

❑In contact with food
Only potable water, should be used in food handling and processing, with the following exceptions:
• for steam production, fire control and other similar purposes not connected with food; and
• in certain food processes, e.g. chilling, and in food handling areas, provided this does not constitute a hazard to the safety and suitability of food (e.g. the use of clean sea water).

❑Water recirculated for reuse should be treated and maintained in such a condition that no risk to the safety and suitability of food results from its use.
❑The treatment process should be effectively monitored.

❑Recirculated water which has received no further treatment and water recovered from processing of food by evaporation or drying may be used, provided its use does not constitute a risk to the safety and suitability of food.

❑Water recirculated for reuse should be treated and maintained in such a condition that no risk to the safety and suitability of food results from its use.
❑The treatment process should be effectively monitored.

❑Recirculated water which has received no further treatment and water recovered from processing of food by evaporation or drying may be used, provided its use does not constitute a risk to the safety and suitability of food.

WASTE WATER

Hotels produce a lot of waste water and usually the waste water is disposed off in water bodies such as river, sea, lake or as landfill. But acc. to the norms of the PCB (Pollution Control Board) , sewage needs to be properly treated before it is disposed.

➢SEWAGE TREATMENT:
It is the process of removing the contaminants from sewage to convert it to a composition of clear liquid and solid, which are fit for discharge to the environment or for reuse.

•In the most sophisticated treatment, clear potable water can be obtained while leaving only 5 per cent to 10 per cent of solids after treatment.

•This solid part, called sludge, is further processed to produce what is called biosolid, which have many uses.

•While hoteliers can discharge their sewage to the public sewerage, along with town sewage, for treatment in the city sewage treatment plant and final disposal.

•Many hotels have opted for in-house, Sewage Treatment Plants, where they get fresh water for reuse and may use the sludge as manure for garden activities.

WASTE DISPOSAL

INCINERATION: It is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of organic substances contained in waste material.

PULVERISATION : In this method, waste is simply pulverized into powder form without any chemical change. The powder thus formed may be used as manure or discharged through sewage line.

MECHANICAL COMPOST PLANT: A compost plant converts the garbage into manure, which is rich in nitrogen. This is the most hygienic method of waste disposal but only for organic wastes.

TRENCHING: In this method, waste is dumped in a trench and buried under soil. The garbage is converted to compost.

CONTROLLED TIPPING: This method is employed where land is available for redevelopment. Waste is tipped from dumper into hollow spaces in the ground about 4 to 7 feet deep and then buried under ground.

DISPOSAL INTO SEA: This method is relevant and available only to hotels near a sea. This is quite cheap but at times the non-soluble garbage may come back to the shore and cause problems.

FILLING OF LOW LYING AREAS: Waste is dumped into low-lying areas.

UNIT 9 - QUALITY ASSURANCE

Total Quality Management, TQM, is a method by which management and employees can become involved in the continuous improvement of the production of goods and services. It is a combination of quality and management tools aimed at increasing business and reducing losses due to wasteful practices.

Total Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach that originated in the 1950s and has steadily become more popular since the early 1980s. Total Quality is a description of the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. The culture requires quality in all aspects of the company’s operations, with processes being done right the first time and defects and waste eradicated from operations.

TQM is a method for reducing errors in production, increasing total production during a given time frame and giving customers greater satisfaction. Although slow to be adopted, TQM is today one of the cornerstones for modern manufacturing, distribution and retail sales businesses.

TQM is defined

As a management philosophy that seeks to integrate all organizational functions (marketing, finance, design, engineering, and production, customer service, etc.) to focus on meeting customer needs and organizational objectives.

The simple objective of TQM is “Do the right things, right the first time, every time.”

TQM is now becoming recognized as a generic management tool, just as applicable to service and public sector organizations. TQM is the foundation for activities, which include:

• Commitment by senior management and all employees
• Meeting customer requirements
• Reducing development cycle times
• Just in time/demand flow manufacturing
• Improvement teams
• Reducing product and service costs
• Systems to facilitate improvement
• Line management ownership
• Employee involvement and empowerment
• Recognition and celebration
• Challenging quantified goals and benchmarking
• Focus on processes/improvement plans
• Specific incorporation in strategic planning

Principles

Total Quality Management,” a term commonly used incorporation and business management. TQM is a customer-focused approach that involves several principles for effective business management and prevents defects and quality issues within a company. These principles include leadership, strategic planning, customer focus, analysis, human resources, process management and seeing business results.

1. Leadership 

Structuring your system of organized leadership within a business will enhance overall management and productivity within a company. Full commitment is needed at the top of the business hierarchy.

2. Strategic Planning

Having a focus and a strong perspective on quality in production and in work levels allows personnel at all ranks to constantly plan for improvements. Awareness of a desire for perfection in workplace operations and an emphasis on consistency, stability and steadiness will help to promote production processes for creating products and managing customer satisfaction. Strategic planning also encompasses quality control.

3. Customer & Market Focus

Understand how your marketing and personnel influence customer satisfaction. Customer and the satisfaction of the customer that makes your attempts worth the effort.

4. Information and Analysis

There should be time set aside to spend measuring business data and the continuity of the level of organization within the company. Information on how a business is performing can help to eradicate bad practices and favouritism. It is important to have a long-term goal for profits, production quotas and growth of the business that all members of the team understand, and to spend less time focused on the short term.

5. Human Resource Focus

Employing the people who will most carry your team toward an overall goal of customer satisfaction is key to the functioning of any business. Prevent problems before they occur by continually evaluating personnel and processes within the company. Evaluation will keep the company from investing resources and time into processes that cause errors and problematic wasted efforts

6. Process Management

Keeping a team focused on the functional operation of work systems and devising plans that help employees to be educated and well-trained in their particular fields will allow for the company to grow and flourish. Have a definitive mission for the company and aim for the continual satisfaction of customers while maintaining motivation and satisfaction in team members.

7. Business Results

Improving different areas of business models will help companies to see overall improvement in customer service within the company, product performance, finances within the business and customer satisfaction Other expected benefits of streamlining efficiency in the workplace include improved organization, better feedback, better performance standards, increased economic growth, increased customer loyalty, brand recognition, improved products and better-offered services.

Time quality work is the first key principle of TQM theory. The principle philosophy for this is, “If we do not have the time to do things right the first time, how will we have the time to do it right a second time?”

RELEVANCE OF MICROBIOLOGICAL STANDARDS FOR FOOD SAFETY

• A microbiological standard is a microbiological criterion that is a part of a law, ordinance, or administrative regulation. 
• A standard is a mandatory criterion. 
• Failure to comply with it constitutes violation of the law, ordinance, or regulation and will be subject to the enforcement policy of the regulatory agency having jurisdiction.

Purposes

Microbiological standards as described above may be used to assess:

1. the safety of a food,

2. adherence to good manufacturing practices,

3. the utility (suitability) of a food or ingredient for a particular purpose, and

4. the keeping quality (shelf-life) of certain perishable foods.

RISK ASSESSMENT

A risk assessment is simply a careful examination of what, in your work, could cause harm to people, so that you can weigh up whether you have taken enough precautions or should do more to prevent harm.

Risk assessment is defined for the purposes of the Codex Alimentarius Commission as

“A scientifically based process consisting of the following steps:

(i) hazard identification,

(ii) hazard characterization,

(iii) exposure assessment, and

(iv) risk characterization.”

Hazard identification is “The identification of biological, chemical, and physical agents capable of causing adverse health effects and which may be present in a particular food or group of foods.”

Hazard characterization is “The qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation of the nature of the adverse health effects associated with biological, chemical and physical agents which may be present in food. 

Exposure assessment is “The qualitative and/or quantitative evaluation of the likely intake of biological, chemical, and physical agents via food as well as exposures from other sources if relevant.”

Risk characterization is “The qualitative and/or quantitative estimation, including attendant uncertainties, of the probability of occurrence and severity of known or potential adverse health effects in a given population based on hazard identification, hazard characterization and exposure assessment.” Hazard identification, hazard characterization, exposure assessment will help to know the adverse health effect.

HACCP

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is an internationally recognized system for reducing the risk of safety hazards in food.

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points or HACCP is a systematic preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes that can cause the finished product to be unsafe, and designs measurements to reduce these risks to a safe level.

HACCP Basic Principles:-

HACCP is a systematic approach to the identification, evaluation, and control of food safety hazards based on the following seven principles:

Principle 1: Conduct a hazard analysis.

The application of this principle involves listing the steps in the process and identifying where significant hazards are likely to occur. The HACCP team will focus on hazards that can be prevented, eliminated or controlled by the HACCP plan. A justification for including or excluding the hazard is reported and possible control measures are identified.

Principle 2: Determine the critical control points (CCPs).

A critical control point (CCP) is a point, step or procedure at which control can be applied and a food safety hazard can be prevented, eliminated or reduced to acceptable levels. The HACCP team will use a CCP decision tree to help identify the critical control points in the process. A critical control point may control more that one food safety hazard or in some cases more than one CCP is needed to control a single hazard. The number of CCP’s needed depends on the processing steps and the control needed to assure food safety.

Principle 3: Establish critical limits.

A critical limit (CL) is the maximum and/or minimum value to which a biological, chemical or physical parameter must be controlled at a CCP to prevent, eliminate, or reduce to an acceptable level the occurrence of a food safety hazard. The critical limit is usually a measure such as time, temperature, water activity (Aw), pH, weight, or some other measure that is based on scientific literature and/or regulatory standards.

Principle 4: Establish monitoring procedures.

The HACCP team will describe monitoring procedures for the measurement of the critical limit at each critical control point. Monitoring procedures should describe how the measurement will be taken when the measurement is taken, who is responsible for the measurement and how frequently the measurement is taken during production.

Principle 5: Establish corrective actions.

Corrective actions are the procedures that are followed when a deviation in a critical limit occurs. The HACCP team will identify the steps that will be taken to prevent potentially hazardous food from entering the food chain and the steps that are needed to correct the process. This usually includes identification of the problems and the steps taken to assure that the problem will not occur again.

Principle 6: Establish verification procedures.

Those activities, other than monitoring, that determine the validity of the HACCP plan and that the system is operating according to the plan. The HACCP team may identify activities such as auditing of CCP’s, record review, prior shipment review, instrument calibration and product testing as part of the verification activities.

Principle 7: Establish record-keeping and documentation procedures.

A key component of the HACCP plan is recording information that can be used to prove that the food was produced safely. The records also need to include information about the HACCP plan. A record should include information on the HACCP Team, product description, flow diagrams, the hazard analysis, the CCP’s identified, Critical Limits, Monitoring System, Corrective Actions, Recordkeeping Procedures, and Verification Procedures.

Implementing HACCP in 12 steps:-

1. Assemble a HACCP team with the appropriate product-specific knowledge and expertise to develop an effective Food Safety Plan. The team should comprise individuals familiar with all aspects of the production process, plus specialists with expertise in specific areas, such as engineering or microbiology. It may be necessary to use external sources of expertise in some cases.
2. Describe the product in full detail, including composition, physical/chemical structure, microbial/static treatments, packaging, storage conditions, and distribution methods.
3. Identify the intended/expected use of the product by the end user. It is also important to identify the consumer target groups. Vulnerable groups, such as children or the elderly, may need to be considered specifically.
4. Construct a flow diagram that provides an accurate representation of each step in the manufacturing process—from raw materials to end product—and may include details of the factory and equipment layout, ingredient specifications, features of equipment design, time/temperature data, cleaning and hygiene procedures, and storage conditions.
5. Perform an on-site confirmation of the flow diagram to confirm that it is aligned with actual operations. The operation should be observed at each stage and any discrepancies between the diagram and normal practice should be recorded and amended. It is essential that the flow diagram is accurate since the hazard analysis and identification of Critical Control Points (CCPs) rely on the data it contains.
6. Conduct a hazard analysis for each process steps to identify any biological, chemical, or physical hazards. This assessment also includes rating the hazard using a risk matrix, determining if the hazard is likely to occur, and identifying the preventive controls for the process step.
7. Determine Critical Control Points (CCPs)—those areas where previously identified hazards may be eliminated. The final HACCP Plan will focus on the control and monitoring of the process at these points.
8. Establish critical limits and develop processes that limit risk at CCPs. More than one critical limit may be defined for a single step. Criteria used to set critical limits must be measurable and include rating and ranking of hazards for each step of the flowchart.
9. Monitor CCPs and develop processes for ensuring that critical limits are followed. Monitoring procedures must be able to detect loss of control at the CCP and should provide this information in time to make appropriate adjustments so that control of the process is regained before critical limits are exceeded. Where possible, process adjustments should be made when monitoring results indicate a trend towards a loss of control at a CCP.
10. Establish preplanned corrective actions to be taken for each CCP in the HACCP plan that can then be applied when the CCP is not under control. If monitoring indicates a deviation from the critical limits for a CCP, action (e.g., proper isolation and disposition of affected product) must be taken that will bring it back under control.
11. Establish procedures for verification to determine whether the HACCP system is working correctly. Verification procedures should include detailed reviews of all aspects of the HACCP system and its records. The documentation should confirm that CCPs are under control and should also indicate the nature and extent of any deviations from the critical limits and the corrective actions taken in each case.
12. Establish proper documentation and recordkeeping for all HACCP processes to ensure that the business can verify that controls are in place and are being properly maintained.