Perspectives on Foodborne Parasites.
Recently, the emergence of a global food market, the growth of organic food produced by organic farming, and changes in eating habits have aroused an interest in foodborne illnesses, which constitute an important public health problem around the world. The World Health Organization and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations estimate that parasites such as helminths and protozoa, which have consequences on human and animal health, are currently responsible for some foodborne diseases.
Nowadays, these factors include the possibility of obtaining samples of water and food, possibly contaminated at the time of occurrence of outbreaks; transport and correct storage of samples; knowledge about the composition and the complexity of the food matrix; the standardization of new analytical methods of detecting parasites in food in contrast to modern molecular biology
technologies; the training of human resources, mainly microscopy experts; the inclusion and the speed of clinical and laboratory diagnosis of parasitic illness in non-endemic regions; and advances in legislation.
Among the proposed effective control measures, those primarily suggested are as follows: the consumption and/or use of filtered or boiled water for food preparation and proper hand washing after using the toilet and before preparing food. In addition; the proper washing or cooking of fruit and vegetables before contact with work surfaces; and lastly, as well as the proper cleaning of instruments and work surfaces between preparing different food products. All of these above steps can help to prevent cross contamination. Besides proper handling and preparation of food, there are many factors and difficulties to consider with regards to implementation of an anti-parasitic and prophylactic food safety system.
Adv Food Technol Nutr Sci Open J. 2015; 1(4): 82-83. doi: 10.17140/AFTNSOJ-1-114