Posted On: July 11, 2024

Why Are Food Regulations Important?

In the U.S., most of us have spent our lives with an unprecedented level of food safety. It's something we take for granted, but it doesn't happen by accident. There is a complicated web of food regulations that allows us to be confident that the food we eat is safe.

Let's take a closer look at why food safety matters and how food safety regulations keep us safe.

Why Is Food Safety Important?

Food safety has always been a basic survival concern, but when people knew exactly where their food came from, it was possible to manage risk as an individual.

Since the industrial revolution, individuals haven't had a hope of ensuring their food is safe. Most of what we eat is grown, harvested, processed, packaged, and transported on an industrial scale. Scaled-up food production makes nutrition readily accessible, but many things can go wrong, either by accident or bad faith.

Plus, it’s easy for problems to go unnoticed until someone gets hurt.

Food safety regulations are critical for ensuring that food gets to consumers fresh, uncontaminated, and safe to consume. Historically, we’ve seen metal, glass, insects, rat dropping, and even human appendages make their way into the food supply. Then, there are the threats that aren’t immediately noticeable, like dangerous ingredients, chemical contaminants, and deadly pathogens.

Even now that those kinds of incidents are rare, foodborne illness is still a threat to public safety. According to the CDC, one in six Americans fall ill each year due to foodborne illnesses. In the U.S., it’s deadly for 3,000 people a year, particularly those with less robust immune systems.

Only a fraction of food poisoning cases are diagnosed and recorded. Without the food safety precautions enforced every day, those numbers could be far worse. Preventative measures are incredibly effective, plus there are over 400 food recalls a year aimed at minimizing the impact of a known contamination.

What Is a Foodborne Illness?

Foodborne illness includes any disease or period of sickness that comes from contaminated food or drink. This covers everything from parasitic infections to poisoning.

It’s called an outbreak if more than one person becomes ill.

Most are infections caused by harmful organisms. The CDC has found that 90% of all illnesses are caused by just seven agents (including Salmonella, norovirus, Campylobacter, Toxoplasma, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria, and Clostridium perfringens).

Many of these are contagious, meaning they can be passed from person to person through food.

Symptoms often include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramps, but it depends on the cause of the illness.

What Causes Food Safety Issues?

Many different types of problems fall under the umbrella of food (and beverage) safety, including:

Foodborne Infection: In which a disease or illness that results from food (or drink) contaminated with a pathogen (like harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and more). Pathogens may be naturally occurring or introduced by contamination, but the storage and preparation of food also determines whether the pathogens will grow to a dangerous level.
Physical Contamination: In which foreign objects are introduced into food, like glass, bone, pests, or hair. Physical contaminants can cause choking, cutting, or broken teeth, but they can introduce microbial contamination.
Chemical Contamination: In which toxic chemicals are present, including fertilizer, pesticides, cleaning products, or even naturally occurring chemicals that can make you sick, like the toxin in pufferfish sushi.
Food Adulteration: In which ingredients are added or substituted that reduce the quality of food, often to increase profit. Some adulteration introduces a food safety issue, like chalk powder in sugar or sawdust in bread, while some are more a case of fraud, such as the ingredients being safe but not what you've paid for.
Food Tampering: In which someone deliberately contaminates food with the intent to cause harm. This can be anything from large-scale sabotage to a server spitting in food.
Allergen Presence or Contamination: For people with food allergies, the presence of certain substances can cause anything from hives to gastrointestinal distress to deadly anaphylaxis. Even having food prepared in the same space as an allergen is enough to cause a dangerous reaction.

Each of these threats can be introduced at any point in the supply chain, from farm to table. That includes production, supply, processing, storage, transportation, and preparation.

Your food passes through hundreds or thousands of hands and multiple business entities before it lands on your plate. How do we manage to control it?

Public Health and Food Safety Regulations

Since our food supply chain is long and complicated, so are the laws and regulations. It can all seem too complicated, sometimes, but each aspect of food regulation keeps us safe from a particular threat at a particular stage. Big businesses and small businesses have different food safety challenges, so we need regulations and enforcement agencies that address both.

Some pieces are handled by large federal agencies, some by state-level departments, and some by county or municipality health departments. Different jurisdictions have different rules, but generally speaking, the U.S. regulates:

Livestock Practices, Feed & Food-Animal Drugs: To prevent chemical and biological contamination while animals are alive.
Slaughter & Meat Processing: To minimize contamination of high-risk foods.
Pasteurization to kill foodborne pathogens.
Use of Pesticides & Other Chemicals: In food production, processing, and storage to ensure that none of them are hazardous to the consumer.
Drug, Pesticide & Chemical Residue: To prevent dangerous levels of chemical contamination from being present at consumption.
"Food Defect" Levels: To minimize the risk associated with "natural and unavoidable" contaminants in food (mostly biological contaminants like insect parts and pest droppings) while keeping food prices reasonable.
Time and Temperature of Foods: To prevent dangerous pathogen growth in certain foods during production, processing, storage, transportation, and preparation.
Sanitation and Food Handling: To minimize microbial and chemical contamination during production, processing, and preparation.
Food Handler Hygiene: To minimize microbial and physical contamination from people during production, processing, and preparation.
Anti-Tampering Technology: To prevent food tampering in transit, storage, and retail.
Imported Foods: To ensure that products created in other countries meet U.S. safety standards when they hit the market.
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Programs: For the proactive identification, evaluation, and management of potential food safety hazards of all kinds.
Food Tracing, Outbreak Tracking & Food Recalls: To minimize the harm caused by problems that escape preventative measures.

Other regulations impact food safety more indirectly, like those that cover air and water pollution, advertising, marketing, and food labeling.

Why Are Food Regulations Important?

The history of food safety regulation can be traced by the elimination of one deadly threat at a time. Each rule was created as a response to past issues that have posed significant risks to public health.

Food regulations serve as checks and balances in the food industry to prevent malpractices like adulteration and mismeasuring as well as the consequences of cutting corners. Specific regulations are needed at every step of production to make the process foolproof.

The Importance of Food Safety In Restaurants

The regulation of food service is less strict compared to other parts of the food chain. It mainly depends on individual counties or cities to enforce regulations, with help from federal agencies' recommendations. This leads to inconsistent rules and enforcement. Plus, the nature of the industry presents a lot of logistical challenges to good food safety practices.

Maybe that's why 40% of "stomach flu" (norovirus) outbreaks between 2017 and 2019 were traced back to a sick food service employee.

Thorough food safety training for the entire staff is one of the most overlooked food safety measures a restaurant can take.

Many jurisdictions require at least one certified Food Safety Manager per establishment, but the FDA has found that it's better to have multiple managers with this training in strategic positions. According to them, food safety increases when compliance is actively monitored by a well-trained manager. There's also an argument for formal food handler training.

Each state has slightly different rules and regulations regarding food handler and food safety manager training. To help you understand yours, we've put together a state-by-state guide for each.

What Is a Food Handler Certificate?

Anyone who handles food or interacts with food contact surfaces (like containers or counters) can contribute to microbial, physical, or chemical contamination that causes foodborne illness. There are certain steps these “food handlers” can take to reduce the likelihood of doing so.

As a result, many states, counties, or cities require food handlers to have a Food Handler Card (sometimes also called a license or certificate). To earn one, you typically must complete a course in safe food handling techniques that are approved in your jurisdiction.

It’s Your Job To Protect Public Health

When customers decide to eat at your restaurant, they trust you – likely a stranger – to properly handle and prepare food and not make them sick. It is part of a food employee’s job to take all necessary steps to avoid contaminating food and sickening guests. Mandatory food safety rules are set by your city, county, district, or state.

Managers and employees of food establishments are likely required to ensure:

Food and ingredients come from a safe source.
Food is held at the correct holding temperatures.
Food is cooked properly, especially meat, poultry, and pork.
Food is handled to prevent cross-contamination from common work areas and utensils.
Food handlers know how to prevent contamination.
Food handlers wash their hands and don’t work when they’re sick.

An extra benefit? You can use these food handling skills you learn at home, preventing illness among your family and friends. Things like thoroughly washing your hands and produce, storing food at the correct temperature, cooking food to a safe temp, and avoiding cross-contamination can literally save your life.

Who Is Responsible for Training Food Workers on Safe Food Handling Procedures?

Most state or local laws require that workers who handle, prepare, store, and serve food to the public receive necessary food safety training from a manager, and most states require that at least one employee become a certified Food Safety Manager.

However, many are starting to require that all food handlers complete the more formal step of earning a food handler certificate through an approved training provider like us. This means taking an accredited class, passing an exam, and providing your employer with a copy of your certificate of completion.

Start your Washington alcohol seller training to earn your MAST certification online.

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What is a Foodborne Illness?

More than 250 food-borne diseases have been identified and most are infections caused by parasites, viruses, bacteria, harmful toxins, and chemicals. The CDC has found that 90% of all illnesses are caused by Salmonella, norovirus, Campylobacter, Toxoplasma, E. coli O157:H7, Listeria and Clostridium perfringens.

Symptoms include nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach cramps and some illnesses can be life-threatening. Children, older people, pregnant women, and people with weakened immune systems are more likely to develop a foodborne illness. It’s called an outbreak if more than one person is sickened. Sources of illness causing organisms include:

Improper storage
Contaminated water
Improperly canned foods
Undercooked meats, poultry, and seafood
Fresh produce
Unpasteurized dairy products
Improperly refrigerated meats

Sick or unhygienic food handlers Food recalls are often due to pathogens, improper labeling, inspection issues, debris, and undeclared allergens. The related outbreaks are the result of poor sanitation and production methods at slaughterhouses, farms, and factories.

What is a Food Handler Certificate?

As you can see, there are a lot of ways food can get contaminated and cause serious illnesses. Due to the danger to the public of unsafe food handling practices, many states require food handlers to have a Food Handler Card. This usually involves the completion of a food handling course.

Who is Responsible for Training Food Workers on Safe Food Handling Procedures?

Most state laws require that workers who handle, prepare, store, and serve food to the public complete accredited food safety training, pass an exam, and earn food handler certification.

A food employee works with unpacked food, food equipment or utensils, or food-contact surfaces. Some states require that at least one employee is certified as a Food Safety Manager. The requirements vary by state.

It’s Your Job to Protect Public Health

When customers decide to eat at your restaurant, they are trusting that strangers will properly handle and prepare food and not make them sick. It is part of a food employee’s job to take all necessary steps to avoid contaminating food and sickening guests. Mandatory food safety rules are set by your city, county, district, or state.

Managers and employees of food establishments are likely required to ensure:

Food and ingredients come from a safe source.
Food is held at the correct holding temperatures.
Food is cooked properly, especially meat, poultry, and pork.
Food is handled to prevent cross-contamination from common work areas and utensils.
Food handlers know how to prevent contamination.
Food handlers wash their hands and don’t work when they’re sick.

It Could Save Your Life

This isn’t just about safe practices at work. You can use these food handling skills you learn at home, preventing illness among your family and friends. Things like thoroughly washing your hands and produce, storing food at the correct temperature, cooking food to the safe temp, and avoiding cross contamination can literally save your life.

Food Safety Issues

Many different problems fall under the umbrella of food (and beverage) safety, including:

Foodborne Infection. The contraction of a disease or illness as a result of food (or drink) contaminated with a pathogen (like harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, fungi, and more). Pathogens may be naturally occurring or introduced by microbial contamination, but the storage and preparation of food also determines whether the pathogens will grow to a dangerous level.
Physical Contamination. The introduction of foreign objects in food, like glass, bone, pests, or hair. Physical contaminants can cause choking, cutting, broken teeth, and can introduce microbial contamination.
Chemical Contamination. The introduction or presence of toxic chemicals in food, like fertilizer, pesticides, cleaning products, or even naturally occurring chemicals that can make you sick (like the toxin in pufferfish sushi).
Food Adulteration. The addition or substitution of ingredients that reduce the quality of food, often to increase profit. Some adulteration introduces a food safety issue, like chalk powder in sugar or sawdust in bread, while some is more a case of fraud – the ingredients might be safe but not what you've paid for.
Food Tampering. The deliberate physical, chemical, or biological contamination of food with the intent to cause harm. This can be anything from large-scale sabotage to a server spitting in food.
Allergen Presence or Contamination. For people with food allergies, the presence of certain substances can cause anything from hives to gastrointestinal distress to deadly anaphylaxis. Even having food prepared in the same space as an allergen is enough to cause a dangerous reaction.

Each of these threats can be introduced at any point in the supply chain, from farm to table. That includes production, supply, processing, storage, transportation, and preparation.

Your food passes through hundreds or thousands of hands – and multiple business entities – before it lands on your plate. How do we manage to control it?

Public Health and Food Safety Regulations

Since our food supply chain is long and complicated, so are the laws and regulations. It can all seem like too complicated, sometimes, but each aspect of food regulation keeps us safe from a particular threat at a particular stage. Big businesses and small businesses have different food safety challenges, so we need regulations and enforcement agencies that address both.

Livestock Practices, Feed & Food-Animal Drugs to prevent chemical and biological contamination while animals are alive
Slaughter & Meat Processing to minimize microbial contamination of high-risk foods
Pasteurization to prevent foodborne illness
Use of Pesticides & Other Chemicals to ensure that chemicals used for production, processing, and storage aren't hazardous to the consumer
Drug, Pesticide & Chemical Residue to prevent dangerous levels of chemical contamination from being present at consumption
"Food Defect" Levels to minimize the risk associated with "natural and unavoidable" contaminants in food (mostly biological contaminants like insect parts and pest droppings) while keeping food prices reasonable
Time and Temperature of Foods to prevent dangerous pathogen growth in certain foods during production, processing, storage, transportation, and preparation
Sanitation and Food Handling to minimize microbial and chemical contamination during production, processing and preparation
Food Handler Hygiene to minimize microbial and physical contamination during production, processing, and preparation
Anti-Tampering Technology to prevent food tampering in transit, storage, and retail
Imported Foods to ensure that products created in other countries meet U.S. safety standards
Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) Programs for the proactive identification, evaluation, and management of potential food safety hazards of all kinds
Food Tracing, Outbreak Tracking & Food Recalls to minimize the harm caused by problems that escape the preventative measures

Other regulations impact food safety more indirectly, like regulations for air and water pollution, advertising, marketing, and food labeling.

Why are Food Regulations Important?

The history of food safety regulation can be traced by the elimination of one deadly threat at a time. Every rule is the result of a problem that used to kill or cause serious harm.

Food regulations serve as checks and balances on the food industry to prevent malpractices like adulteration and mismeasuring as well as the consequences of cutting corners. Specific regulations are needed at every step of production to make the process foolproof.

Importance Of Food Safety in Restaurants

Foodservice is one of the more loosely regulated parts of the food chain – it's largely up to individual counties or cities to regulate and enforce, assisted by recommendations from federal agencies. As a result, the rules are patchy and so is enforcement. Plus, the nature of the industry presents a lot of logistical challenges to good food safety practices.

Maybe that's why 70% of "stomach flu" (norovirus) outbreaks are traced back to food service employees.

Thorough food safety training is one of the most overlooked food safety measures a restaurant can take.

There's also an argument for formal food handler training.

Each state has slightly different rules and regulations regarding food handler and food safety manager training. To help you understand yours, we've put together a state-by-state guide for each.

Improve Food Safety with Online Training

Online food safety compliance training can be a great solution for restaurants – it's inexpensive, efficient, and with a reputable provider like us, it's always up-to-date and accurate.

We offer a full catalog of food and beverage compliance courses. We offer state-approved options for many jurisdictions with mandatory training, and in places where jurisdiction is optional, you can rest easy knowing our food safety training is ANAB-accredited.

Shopping for whole-business solutions? We can help with that, too!