Production Practices and Bacteriological Quality of Meat Pies in an Approved Meat Product Premises - Assignment Example

The paper "Production Practices and Bacteriological Quality of Meat Pies in an Approved Meat Product Premises" is a great example of a finance and accounting assignment. Every day of every year, people all over the world try to fill their food eating needs. In perhaps no other area of human existence does one find such a need for cooperation and trust than in the area of food and water consumption. We take it for granted that the hamburgers we buy are safe for consumption and that the meat pies looking shiny and bright in a glass case are not only delicious but could possibly even be nutritious. But the harsh reality is that even though the vast majority of food products are safe this is by no means an accident and requires concerted vigilance from the government as well as the good sense of many individuals in the food processing business. This paper focuses on the meat processing industry in particular and the production of meat pies in particular, with the focus on the United Kingdom, whose laws, of late, have become subsumed under European Community laws and directives.

Food poisoning

Food poisoning happens when food or water is taken into the body has organisms that attack the stomach or intestinal lining. There are quite a few food poisoning organisms, including campylobacter, salmonella, listeria, clostridium perfringens, Bacillus cereus, e. coli 0157, shigella, and viral gastroenteritis. Among the more common symptoms that would signal that a person has food poisoning are “nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and fever” (Communicable Diseases (FAQ) www.swindon.gov.uk/.../environment-food/environment-food-diseases/environment-food-diseases-faq.htm). In some cases, in as few as four hours, it will become apparent that food poisoning has occurred because of the symptoms. In other cases, it might take several days, even up to ten days for the relevant symptoms to be felt or observed. In the UK “The official number of notified cases in 2001 was in the region of 85,000. The true figure is more likely to have been considerably more than this” (Communicable Diseases (FAQ) www.swindon.gov.uk/.../environment-food/environment-food-diseases/environment-food-diseases-faq.htm).