Foodborne Filth and Human Disease

Abstract

Filth in food comes from the pests that contaminate food--insects, mites, birds, and rodents. Although the presence of minute quantities of filth in food is inevitable, the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act prohibits food contamination by filth. The Food and Drug Administration has taken a pragmatic approach in establishing Defect Action Levels which represent current industry standards for food purity. Even though much of the food industry conforms to high standards, incidents of gross adulteration continue to occur. Some contaminants, however, are not altogether harmless to the consumer. The presence of high levels of filth in food indicates that at some point the food has been subjected to insanitary handling. Depending on whether the contamination occurred before or after the last heat-processing (sterilizing) step in manufacture or preparation, the significance of filth in food ranges from merely aesthetically unappealing to allergenic, toxic, injurious, or pathogenic. Much remains to be learned about the significance for human health of filth in food.