Basic Health And Social Issues

Social Issues: These are questions concerning how events may affect society as a whole and individuals in society.

Health Issues: Is the absence of disease or injury along with physical, mental, and social well-being. Health also implies good prospects for continued survival.

The Occupational Health And Safety Act (OHSA)

What does the South African law say in the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) in terms of the worker and the working environment? The act establishes five key action areas for health promotion practice. These are:

To promote safe environments for people to live and work in. Many of the health problems facing South African communities are caused or made worse by living and working in poor conditions. For example, having poor water and sanitation facilities or working in dangerous conditions without any safety measures.

To develop healthy public policy. This is legislation and policy that protects health. For example, this can range from tobacco control legislation to ensure that housing policy protects the health of people by ensuring that, for example, it provides for adequate ventilation or sanitation facilities.

To promote community action. Health problems are often best tackled through community action. This could include community clean-up campaigns or setting up an HIV/AIDS support group in a community

Develop personal skills. It is essential that each person is equipped with the information and skills to promote their health. For example, in South Africa, everyone needs to know about AIDS, and young people need to learn how to negotiate safe sex or how to say no to sex.

Re-orient the health service. Often the health service does not act in the best interest of people’s health. Clinics are often not open in the early evening when it may be easier for working people to get to them and environmental health officers may overemphasize the role of inspections and law enforcement rather than education for food traders.

The Importance Of Good Health Care Practices As Related To Food Safety

HIV/AIDS

Persons with Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) are susceptible to many types of infection including illness from foodborne pathogens. They are at higher risk than are otherwise healthy individuals for severe illness or death. Affected persons must be especially vigilant when handling and cooking foods. The recommendations provided here are designed to help prevent bacterial foodborne illness.

Why Do Bacteria Endanger People with AIDS?

When the AIDS virus damages or destroys the body's immune system, the person becomes more vulnerable to infection by foodborne bacteria and other pathogens. For example, common pneumonia, which is caused by a bacterial infection of the lungs, can occur in any individual but occurs much more frequently in persons with AIDS. In addition, when pneumonia strikes a person with AIDS, it causes a more severe illness and is thus more dangerous.

How Can Persons With AIDS Prevent Food Borne Illness?

Food must be handled safely at every stage from purchase through consumption. Critical points are transporting perishable foods home from the store immediately; prompt, safe storage; thorough cooking to destroy bacteria and other pathogens; and prompt refrigeration of leftovers.

Can people who are infected with HIV and AIDS cause fresh food products to become unsafe for consumption?

Essentially the answer is “NO” unless the person’s body fluids are somehow injected into the fresh food product. Even then the likeliness of the HIV virus surviving long enough to be ingested and cause HIV infection is nearly impossible. Luckily the HIV virus is very weak and cannot survive in the face of Acidic conditions or exposure to air.

It is still a good idea for any people who work with fresh fruit products to take extra care with handling according to the following guidelines (for their own sake of not becoming infected as well as for the peace of mind of others.):

Clean - Wash hands and surfaces often.

Separate - Don't cross-contaminate.

Cook - Cook to proper temperatures.

Chill - Refrigerate promptly.

Communicable Disease

Foodborne illness often presents itself as flu-like symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, or fever, so many people may not recognize the illness is caused by bacteria or other pathogens in food. Thousands of types of bacteria are naturally present in our environment. Not all bacteria cause disease in humans. For example, some bacteria are used beneficially in making cheese and yoghurt.

Bacteria that cause disease are called pathogens. When certain pathogens enter the food supply, they can cause foodborne illness. Millions of cases of foodborne illness occur each year. Most cases of foodborne illness can be prevented. Proper cooking or processing of food destroys bacteria.

Age and physical condition place some persons at higher risk than others, no matter what type of bacteria is implicated. Very young children, pregnant women, the elderly and people with compromised immune systems are at the greatest risk from any pathogen. Some persons may become ill after ingesting only a few harmful bacteria; others may remain symptom-free after ingesting thousands.

How bacteria get in food: Bacteria may be present on products when you purchase them. Plastic-wrapped boneless chicken breasts and ground meat, for example, were once part of live chickens or cattle. Raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs are not sterile. Neither is fresh produce such as lettuce, tomatoes, sprouts, and melons. 

How are communicable diseases and foodborne illnesses linked? Before we examine this point, we need to define what Communicable diseases might include:  Any disease that is easily spread through direct/indirect contact. An infectious disease that can be spread from person to person or animals to humans.

The only communicable diseases that can really have an influence on the food safety of the fresh product, such as fruit, is bird flu and mad cow disease. These are passed on indirectly through fertilisation, and the impact is as yet, unknown. Foodborne illnesses - the incidence of foodborne diseases is minor compared to the more serious diseases related to environmental health. We can therefore conclude that communicable diseases are only dangerous in pre-harvest crops in as far it concerns worker health and safety and fertilisation or water sources.

Click here to view a video that explains the transmission of COVID.