Food surveillance includes the risk, nutrition, and disease that comes along with certain foods. Food surveillance influences the foods we eat and the risks that come along with them. Nutrition, health risk, and diseases are three words that help describe this term.
Since technology has been advancing for some time now there has definitely been major shifts in surveillance since the 1960’s-1990’s. In the 60’s the term “surveillance” was more broad to a disease as a whole. When diseases occurs I think it’s better to figure out the disease as a whole first, then figure out how it affects people individually. Figuring out the disease as a whole is good for coming up with basic ways to help people infected. The 90’s is when the term “surveillance” turned more into an individual thing. How diseases are spread, the outcomes, and how they affect each person. This is individually focused because different people may react differently when a disease is present. Studying this allows people to dig deeper into how the body reacts. The timeline for surveillance is important to public health today. One example of this is why pregnant women should not consume deli meats or soft cheeses. Transmission of foodborne illnesses are popular in undercooked meats and unpasteurized dairy. Not only are pregnant women putting themselves at risk when eating these things, but they are also putting their baby in danger. Unpasteurized dairy is contaminated with bacteria because it hasn’t gone through the heating process. Deli meats aren’t fully cooked, rather cold. Because of this, they are more likely to carry bacteria that can cause an illness. Avoiding deli meats and soft cheeses are a couple of things expecting mothers can do in order to have a healthier pregnancy!