In the recent years the reported incidence of foodborne diseases has continued to increase worldwide, with a number of extremely serious outbreaks occurring on virtually every continent.
Changing lifestyles have resulted in a number of changes to people eating habits.
*More people now eat out, which had led to an increased demand for catering establishments of varying type. Going to restaurants frequently, eating foreign cuisine and consuming fresh fruits and vegetables increase the risk of foodborne disease.
*Many more women work outside the home and rely on processed foods for fast meal preparation; this has meant that knowledge of how to handle and prepare foods has decreased in recent years.
*Increased mass production of foods has increased the potential for larger numbers of consumers to be affected in the event of an outbreak of foodborne disease.
*People demand a wider variety of food than in the past and nowadays almost every type of fruit is available on the international food markets the entire year round regardless of seasonal changes in growth.
*Increased tourism has meant that people are exposed to foodborne hazards form other areas.
Food disease change due to changing lifestyles
*Consumption patterns may enhance unhealthy food production and distribution because desires ubiquitous availability of all foods at low prices.
In this day of ever changing lifestyles and very increasing demands on the consumers’ time and energies, consumers are demanding convenience, freshness, long shelf lives and little preparation time before consumption.
The increasing incidence of foodborne diseases is due to a number of factors, including changes on food production on the farm, new system of food processing, longer distribution chains and new food preparation and storage method.
Food technology has responded by applying knowledge of science to produce an increasing array of new foods, some partially processed, minimally preserved of high quality and with extended shelf life.
Changing lifestyles increased risks of foodborne disease
