Discuss the factors contributing to physical, chemical and biological contamination in the food chain. How can food-borne hazards be prevented?

1. 1 · Open in two lines. Contamination is the presence of any harmful substance or organism in food. Hazards may be physical, chemical or biological and can enter at any step from farm to fork.
2. 2 · Draw the farm-to-fork chain. [Flow: farm → harvest and storage → processing → transport and market → kitchen → plate, with one hazard written under each step]
3. 3 · Three types of hazards.
   • Physical: stones, glass, metal, hair.
   • Chemical: pesticide residues, cleaning chemicals, lead, non-permitted colours, aflatoxin.
   • Biological: Salmonella, Staphylococcus aureus, typhoid and cholera germs, hepatitis A, worms.
4. 4 · Factors that contribute.
   • Poor personal hygiene and sick handlers.
   • Temperature abuse in the danger zone (5-60 °C).
   • Cross-contamination of raw and cooked food.
   • Unsafe water, pests, dirty equipment and chemical misuse.
5. 5 · Prevention and control.
   • Physical: sieve and pick grains, hair covers, metal detectors.
   • Chemical: permitted additives only; labelled chemicals stored away from food.
   • Biological: WHO Five Keys: clean, separate, cook, safe temperatures, safe water and raw materials.
6. 6 · Application in a kitchen. A hospital or school kitchen separates raw and cooked areas, serves food hot, and keeps temperature and cleaning records.
7. 7 · Close in one line. Controls at every step of the chain, backed by GMP and HACCP, keep food safe from farm to fork.

Scoring tip: Draw the farm-to-fork chain first and hang one example on each step. Give an Indian example for every hazard type.