Blog #17: Food Safety

Food Safety

Consider what you ate today and where the ingredients came from? How many health standards might have been invoked?

The food I ate today, came from a globalized market because they were products bought at my local grocery store.  According to the video on food safety and production, not all ingredients are local.  The product boxes may state product of the U.S.A., it doesn't mean that all the ingredient s are from the U.S.A.  I do read the labels and the ingredients before buying the product.  Codex Alimentarius is an international organization for food safety in its production, process, and distribution to ensure it is good quality food free of contaminants and bacteria.  This organization ensures adequate food safety standards for human consumption and for trade in commerce.  The food I bought and ate went thought the Codex on, animal feed and welfare, antimicrobial resistance, the technology (biotechnology) used to process and package the food, void of contaminants that are not intentional, nutrition and labelling and use of pesticides. Although I did not buy organic, I expect that the food I consumed today was safe.

What vulnerable populations do you work with that could benefit from education on food safety?

I work with all age groups but the people I take care of are for the most part educated and of working class. I can educate the population that I take care of to have them read the food labels carefully and where they buy their food in order to prevent risk of contamination from poor quality food sources.  Pregnant women would be one vulnerable group to educate in buying local and organic since we have been educated and made aware of pesticides that cross over into the placenta, causing fetal damage and endocrine disruptors for both mother and baby.

Given the increase in antibiotic resistance infections, especially those that are hospital acquired, what are some initiatives that nurses can propose to promote safe uses of antibiotics in agriculture (through food purchasing decisions at home and in our institutions) and from other sources that create risks for the development of resistant organisms?

Teach and inform patients to buy local from smaller farms, this ensures that they are not buying from CAFOs.  Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO) use antibiotics in the feed and water to prevent illnesses caused by overcrowding and unsanitary conditions of animals.  The meat products that we consume are contaminated with antibiotic-resistant organisms, particularly, E. Coli.  With this information, it is pertinent to advised patients to cook their meat thoroughly.

Nurses and other health professionals can steward the safe use of antibiotics through advocating for policy change in the agricultural industry.  We have the knowledge power to convince policy makers to change how our agriculture is conducted affecting consumerism and public health with unnecessary and unsafe use of antibiotics in our slaughter animals for human consumption.  One alternative and trending food product is plant-based foods instead of meat.  By adding this option on the hospital menu for both patients and staff can reduce the consumption of antibiotic laden meat products to a more healthier one.