Food hygiene

Basic textsFourth edition

People have the right to expect the food they eat to be safe and

suitable for consumption. Foodborne illness and foodborne injury

are at best unpleasant; at worst, they can be fatal. But there are

also other consequences. Outbreaks of foodborne illness can

damage trade and tourism, and lead to loss of earnings,

unemployment and litigation. Food spoilage is wasteful, costly and

can adversely affect trade and consumer confidence. Effective

hygiene control, therefore, is vital to avoid the adverse human

health and economic consequences of foodborne illness, foodborne

injury, and food spoilage. Everyone, including farmers and growers,

manufacturers and processors, food handlers and consumers, has a

responsibility to ensure that food is safe and suitable for

consumption.

The Codex basic texts on food hygiene promote understanding

of how rules and regulations on food hygiene are developed and

applied. The General Principles of food hygiene cover hygiene

practices from primary production through to final consumption,

highlighting the key hygiene controls at each stage. This publication

also contains the most internationally used description of the

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) system and

guidelines for its application. This fourth edition includes texts

adopted by the Codex Alimentarius Commission up to 2009. The

texts will be of use to government authorities, food industries, food

handlers and consumers, as well as teachers and students of food

hygiene.

The Codex Alimentarius Commission is an intergovernmental

body with more than 180 members, within the framework of

the Joint Food Standards Programme established by the Food

and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and

the World Health Organization (WHO). The main result of the

Commissions work is the Codex Alimentarius, a collection of

internationally adopted food standards, guidelines, codes of

practice and other recommendations, with the purpose of

protecting the health of consumers and ensuring fair practices

in the food trade.

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