Prevention and control of food safety risks: the role of governments, food producers, marketers, and academia.

Background: Food systems are rapidly changing as world population grows, increasing urbanization occurs, consumer tastes and preferences change and differ in various countries and cultures, large scale food production increases, and food imports and exports grow in volume and value. Consumers in all countries have become more insistent that foods available in the marketplace are of good quality and safe, and do not pose risks to them and their families. Publicity about food risk problems and related risks, including chemical and microbiological contamination of foods, mad-cow disease, avian flu, industrial chemical contamination all have made consumers and policy makers more aware of the need of the control of food safety risk factors in all countries.

Food quality and safety: traceability and labeling.

This article discusses food systems in general, their development over the past 120 years, and realities and problems faced by a world population of over 6 billion people. Various food and feed problems are mentioned, and the concept of "traceability" is discussed in the context of the broader and more useful approach of using "good practices" at all levels of the food chain.

Contemporary food technology and its impact on cuisine.

This article contains a general review of current food technologies and their effect on the quality and safety of foods. The uses of these technologies in the context of current and projected world population, urbanization prevention of food losses, preservation and trade of foods, domestically and internationally are briefly reviewed. Technologies discussed are related to food storage, refrigeration, frozen foods, milling and baking, canning, pickling, extrusion processes, fermentation, and to foods and food ingredients such as fruits and vegetables, animal products, fat and oils, canned products, and food additives.