Food Safety

Food safety involves risk/benefit decisions that people make every time they eat. All foods carry some degree of risk. The level of risk depends on a food's initial components, production, storage, preparation, and service. This chain of food access is described as food safety from farm to fork, indicating that there are many different groups with food safety responsibility, including food producers, retailers, government agencies, and consumers. Personal decisions in food selection, preparation, storage, and service are the last link in the food safety risk reduction chain. While we have to eat to survive, appropriate risk/benefit decisions help protect our health. This entry focuses on food safety risks and consumer behaviors.