Encyclopedia of food safety

TLDR

Ensuring a safe, nutritious food supply for a growing global population requires risk‑management based on science, harmonized policies, and shared expertise among industry, governments, and consumers. The encyclopedia aims to provide a single comprehensive reference to support professionals in food safety, nutrition, food science, technology, and environment. It comprises 280 chapters written by leading experts, offering concise, unbiased overviews across key food‑safety categories and meeting strict quality and pedagogical standards. The encyclopedia has become an essential, authoritative source of concise food‑safety information.

Abstract

With the world's growing population, the provision of a safe, nutritious and wholesome food supply for all has become a major challenge. To achieve this, effective risk management based on sound science and unbiased information is required by all stakeholders, including the food industry, governments and consumers themselves. In addition, the globalization of the food supply requires the harmonization of policies and standards based on a common understanding of food safety among authorities in countries around the world. With some 280 chapters, the Encyclopedia of Food Safety provides unbiased and concise overviews which form in total a comprehensive coverage of a broad range of food safety topics, which may be grouped under the following general categories: History and basic sciences that support food safety; Foodborne diseases, including surveillance and investigation; Foodborne hazards, including microbiological and chemical agents; Substances added to food, both directly and indirectly; Food technologies, including the latest developments; Food commodities, including their potential hazards and controls; Food safety management systems, including their elements and the roles of stakeholders. The Encyclopedia provides a platform for experts from the field of food safety and related fields, such as nutrition, food science and technology and environment to share and learn from state-of-the art expertise with the rest of the food safety community. It is assembled with the objective of facilitating the work of those working in the field of food safety and related fields, such as nutrition, food science and technology and environment - this work covers the entire spectrum of food safety topics into one comprehensive reference work. The Editors have made every effort to ensure that this work meets strict quality and pedagogical thresholds such as: contributions by the foremost authorities in their fields; unbiased and concise overviews on a multitude of food safety subjects; references for further information, and specialized and general definitions for food safety terminology. In maintaining confidence in the safety of the food supply, sound scientific information is key to effectively and efficiently assessing, managing and communicating on food safety risks. Yet, professionals and other specialists working in this multidisciplinary field are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with developments outside their immediate areas of expertise. This single source of concise, reliable and authoritative information on food safety has, more than ever, become a necessity.