Food is an essential factor of life; everyone needs to eat to survive. Because of this, food safety plays a very large and important part in our lives too. Food safety means ensuring food is safe and fit to be eaten and does not cause harm to the consumer. When it arises that a food is not safe there can be bad consequences such as food poisoning occurring. There are many aspects involved in trying to keep food safe and a lot of opportunities for something to go wrong so it is very important that every detail, in food manufacture and once it reaches the consumer, is payed careful attention to. Food poisoning appears to be increasing. In 1983 the number of cases was 17,735. By 1993 this had reached 68,587 and the figures for 2003 show the number of cases to be 70,895. Over 20 years there has been almost a four times increase in the notifications of food poisoning, even though there are now many more precautions and regulations to prevent this from occurring. These increases can possibly be explained with several reasons. People are now more aware of food poisoning and the symptoms of it, and more readily report it to their GP so more cases are being officially documented. There have been large changes in eating habits over the last 20 years, and more people are eating out more often, increasing the chances of getting food poisoning. There are also changes in food preparation, a large number of the population readily consume 'convenience' cook-chill foods using microwaves and may not reheat products adequately. There are a lot more people traveling abroad and eating food which may not have been prepared to the same standards we have in the UK. There are also demographic changes, showing that there are a greater number of elderly people due to people living longer, and they are at high risk of contracting food poisoning. There are three main food safety hazards; microbiological, physical and chemical. Microbiological hazards include bacterial contamination which can lead to food poisoning and is the most serious hazard as it can result in illness and sometimes death. Physical hazards include contamination by foreign bodies. Plasters, glass, metal wire, nuts and bolts, insects and wood splinters have all been found contaminating food products before and can cause damage to the consumer. The foreign body may also be contaminated with bacteria and could lead to a microbial hazard. Chemical hazards include contamination with pesticides, bird or animal repellent, cleaning and disinfecting agents, and other chemicals. To avoid this chemicals should never be stored near food and should be cleared away before food preparation begins. Microbiological hazards are the most serious and are the hardest to eliminate. These hazards include viral contamination, parasites present in raw meat or fish, moulds and yeast primarily causing spoilage but can also cause illness, and bacterial contamination. There are four main preventative measures against bacteria which should always be followed but there are many occasions where people are not aware of them, or do not follow them due to bad practice. This can result in the bacteria growing to levels which will harm the consumer. Food areas must be kept clean and good personal hygiene must always be observed. This avoids contamination from human to food. Procedures such as washing hands after going to the toilet and after sneezing or coughing means that bacteria won't be so easily transported from food handler to the food. Food must be cooked thoroughly to temperatures high enough to kill any pathogens present. This is applicable to cooking in the home as well as in the food industry. For example, there is a very high proportion of chickens containing the pathogen Salmonella in the UK and without correct cooking the Salmonella will not be killed. This means the chicken needs to be heated until the center reaches 75oC for at least 30 seconds. Any food handlers in the food industry must follow this by law but people cooking at home are not always aware of this which can lead to food poisoning. Temperature control is very important with the concern of bacteria. Most bacteria multiply very rapidly at temperatures between 5-63oC which is often called the danger zone. Foods must always be stored at correct temperatures, for example chilled foods must be stored 1-4oC and frozen foods must be stored at at least -18oC. Bacterial growth is very small below 5oC and stops completely at -18oC. Food should not be in the danger zone for long periods and when cooling a product it should be done rapidly to prevent any microbial growth occurring. Cross contamination must be prevented as this can lead to high risk food becoming contaminated with bacteria from raw food. This is dangerous as the high risk food will receive no further processing and the bacteria will not be killed. Although these are very important facts, there are many people who cook for themselves and their families who are not aware of food safety and of good food hygiene and so put themselves at risk of food poisoning. Examples of bad awareness include people who do the food shopping then leave the food in a hot car for a period of time. This raises the temperature of the food and provides a good temperature for bacteria to grow, which may lead to food poisoning. If raw meat is stored on a top shelf of a fridge it has the potential to drip onto products below. This may contaminate a high risk product which will receive no further treatment so the bacteria will not be killed. Many of the public are not aware of the rules of keeping food safe. A food business has many laws and regulations that they must follow, these include the Food Safety Act 1990, The Food Safety Regulations 1995, and the Food Premises Regulations 1991. Unfortunately, due to lack of training by managers, and the fact that the understanding of food safety has not been enforced to employees, sometimes they are not followed. There are also some food handlers who are neglective of their responsibility and deliberately break the laws. There are ways to prevent this occurring, by prosecution for example but the offenders are not always caught. If a food business is found to not be complying with the law they can be prosecuted. Food businesses include anywhere that produces or sells food to the public including factories, restaurants, cafes, supermarkets, sandwich shops. There is no tolerance for ignorance of the law and it is the responsibility of the owner of the business to ensure that all food handlers are aware of and follow the regulations. Food handlers should, by law, be trained and supervised in the work they do with food and there is much information available to aid with this. There are certificates, courses and many booklets and online information provided by the government, the local authorities and environmental health officers. Some businesses do not make an effort to gain the correct training and information they need and they pose a danger to the consumer. Environmental Health Officers have access to any food premises and can enter and examine the business at all reasonable times. If they feel that the business is not complying with the law then they can take action. This can be in the form of taking a sample of the food to test, to issuing an improvement notice to closing the business and prosecuting for not following the law. The Environmental Health Officers put in a lot of effort to protect the consumer by prosecuting those who are failing to follow food safety rules, therefore trying to ensure food safety. Penalties for failing to follow the law can be fines of up to 20,000 and up to six months imprisonment or in serious cases can be unlimited fines and up to two years imprisonment. 'Due Diligence' is one of the only defences if it can be proved that all reasonable precautions were taken to prevent the situation. If everything is on record that all controls and procedures have been set up and followed then the defence may be argued. With measures like these to face if the law is not followed, food businesses should be encouraged not to break the law, and to ensure that food is safe when it reaches the consumer. Not only will a food business be prosecuted and fined, there are many drawbacks of poor food safety and hygiene. If the business is producing food which is unsafe it could lead to food poisoning and even fatalities in serious cases, which would lead to a bad reputation for the business. It could also result in fines and costs of legal action being taken against the business by a food poisoning sufferer and could result in closure of the premises by the local authorities. It is in the best interest of everyone, consumer and food handlers to comply with the food safety laws. Poor hygiene can not only lead to food poisoning but can cause pest infestations, food contamination and wastage of food due to spoilage. The benefits from ensuring food safety are that the consumer will be kept safe, the business can gain a good reputation and there will be no trouble with the law as all regulations are followed. Even with all the benefits, and all of the drawbacks if the law is not followed, some food businesses still do not comply. This can be due to ignorance although there is a lot of information available to anyone who needs it so it should not be an excuse for poor food safety. It is the owner's responsibility to ensure that each and every one of its employees understands the law but it does not always happen. It is also because of naivety that they feel they can get away with breaking the law. They might feel by taking short cuts that it will save them money and they do not take into consideration the consumer's safety and what will happen if they get caught. There are also incidents of sabotage to food products which have occurred where products are tampered with to cause harm to the consumer or potentially to the business. There are also occasions where something goes wrong in the production of a product. There are several recent products that there have been food product recalls for. The Food Standards Agency has a system of Food Alerts where they notify the consumer and local authorities online. Marks and Spencer's 'Cheesy Spirals' Loved by kids meal was recalled on 14 th Jan 2005 because it was found to be tainted with chlorine during production. On the 20 th Dec 2004 there was a product recall on Tesco's 'The Snowman' cakes due to plastic backing sticking to the otherwise edible snowman image, presenting a choking hazard. There was also a product recall on some Inverawe smoked trout, the FSA food alert reported that it "may not be safe to consume due to a processing fault which may allow bacteria to grow". These are all prime examples of the three main food safety hazards; chemical, physical and microbiological. In this situation, even though these hazards have occurred, measures have still been taken to try to ensure consumer safety. There are so many aspects of food safety and hygiene to be considered and different controls that have to be carried out to prevent them. Even if all businesses were to follow all of the laws and regulations set by the Government, there is still a chance that the consumer can create a situation that can cause the food to become unsafe. A large part of food safety is down to the food businesses involved but a part is also played by the consumer. If every single person was to understand the importance of food safety and take the correct preventative measures then we could be nearer to ensuring food safety. The problem is that there are so many people unaware of how to carry this out and some that aren't willing to, that we cannot totally ensure food safety. Food businesses must take every precaution possible to try to ensure that when food reaches the consumer it is safe but from that point forwards, it is the consumer who has control. 