Thursday, January 30, 2020

Food safety Essay Example for Free

Food safety Essay However, according to Unit 04 Communication of Health Consumers Directorate-General of the European Commission (SANCO): The Codex, while being recommendations for voluntary application by members, Codex standards serve in many cases as a basis for national legislation. The reference made to Codex food safety standards in the World Trade Organizations Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS Agreement) means that Codex has far reaching implications for resolving trade disputes. WTO members that wish to apply stricter food safety measures than those set by Codex may be required to justify these measures scientifically. So, an agreement made in 2003, signed by all member states, inclusive all EU, in the codex Stan Codex 240 – 2003 for coconut milk, sulphite containing additives like E223 and E 224 are allowed till 30 mg/kg, does NOT mean, they are allowed into the EU, see RASFF entries from Denmark: 2012. 0834; 2011. 1848; en 2011. 168, â€Å"sulphite unauthorised in coconut milk from Thailand â€Å". Same for polysorbate E 435: see 2012. 0838 from Denmark, unauthorised polysorbates in coconut milk and, 2007. AIC from France. Only for the latter the EU amended its regulations with (EU) No 583/2012 per 2 July 2012 to allow this additive, already used for decades and absolutely necessary. Australia[edit]Food Standards Australia New Zealand is working toward ensuring that all food businesses implement food safety systems to ensure food is safe to consume in a bid to halt the increasing incidence of food poisoning, this includes basic food safety training for at least one person in each business. Smart business operators know that basic food safety training improves the bottom line, staff take more pride in their work; there is less waste; and customers can have more confidence in the food they consume. Food Safety training in units of competence from a relevant training package, must be delivered by a Registered Training Organization (RTO) to enable staff to be issued with a nationally recognised unit of competency code on their certificate. Generally this training can be completed in less than one day. Training options are available to suit the needs of everyone. Training may be carried out in-house for a group, in a public class, via correspondence or online. Basic food safety training includes: Understanding the hazards associated with the main types of food and the conditions to prevent the growth of bacteria which can cause food poisoning and to prevent illness The problems associated with product packaging such as leaks in vacuum packs, damage to packaging or pest infestation, as well as problems and diseases spread by pests. Safe food handling. This includes safe procedures for each process such as receiving, re-packing, food storage, preparation and cooking, cooling and re-heating, displaying products, handling products when serving customers, packaging, cleaning and sanitizing, pest control, transport and delivery. Also the causes of cross contamination. Catering for customers who are particularly at risk of food-borne illness, including allergies and intolerance. Correct cleaning and sanitizing procedures, cleaning products and their correct use, and the storage of cleaning items such as brushes, mops and cloths. Personal hygiene, hand washing, illness, and protective clothing. People responsible for serving unsafe food can be liable for heavy fines under this new legislation, consumers are pleased that industry will be forced to take food safety seriously. China[edit]Main article: Food safety in the Peoples Republic of China Food safety is a growing concern in Chinese agriculture. The Chinese government oversees agricultural production as well as the manufacture of food packaging, containers, chemical additives, drug production, and business regulation. In recent years, the Chinese government attempted to consolidate food regulation with the creation of the State Food and Drug Administration in 2003, and officials have also been under increasing public and international pressure to solve food safety problems. However, it appears that regulations are not well known by the trade. Labels used for green food, organic food and pollution-free food are not well recognized by traders and many are unclear about their meaning. A survey by the World Bank found that supermarket managers had difficulty in obtaining produce that met safety requirements and found that a high percentage of produce did not comply with established standards. [6] Traditional marketing systems, whether in China or the rest of Asia, presently provide little motivation or incentive for individual farmers to make improvements to either quality or safety as their produce tends to get grouped together with standard products as it progresses through the marketing channel. Direct linkages between farmer groups and traders or ultimate buyers, such as supermarkets, can help avoid this problem. Governments need to improve the condition of many markets through upgrading management and reinvesting market fees in physical infrastructure. Wholesale markets need to investigate the feasibility of developing separate sections to handle fruits and vegetables that meet defined safety and quality standards. [7] European Union[edit]The parliament of the European Union (EU) makes legislation in the form of directives and regulations, many of which are mandatory for member states and which therefore must be incorporated into individual countries national legislation. As a very large organisation that exists to remove barriers to trade between member states, and into which individual member states have only a proportional influence, the outcome is often seen as an excessively bureaucratic one size fits all approach. However, in relation to food safety the tendency to err on the side of maximum protection for the consumer may be seen as a positive benefit. The EU parliament is informed on food safety matters by the European Food Safety Authority. Individual member states may also have other legislation and controls in respect of food safety, provided that they do not prevent trade with other states, and can differ considerably in their internal structures and approaches to the regulatory control of food safety. France[edit]Agence nationale de securite sanitaire de lalimentation, de lenvironnement et du travail (anses) is a French governmental agency dealing with food safety. Germany[edit]The Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer. Protection (BMELV)[8] is a Federal Ministry of the Federal Republic of Germany. History: Founded as Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Foresting in 1949, this name did not change until 2001. Then the name changed to Federal Ministry of Consumer Protection, Food and Agriculture. At the 22nd of November 2005, the name got changed again to its current state: Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. The reason for this last change was that all the resorts should get equal ranking which was achieved by sorting the resorts alphabetically. Vision: A balanced and healthy diet with safe food, distinct consumer rights and consumer information for various areas of life, and a strong and sustainable agriculture as well as perspectives for our rural areas are important goals of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection (BMELV). The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety is under the control of the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Consumer Protection. It exercises several duties, with which it contributes to safer food and thereby intensifies health-based consumer protection in Germany. Food can be manufactured and sold within Germany without a special permission, as long as it does not cause any damage on consumers’ health and meets the general standards set by the legislation. However, manufacturers, carriers, importers and retailers are responsible for the food they pass into circulation. They are obliged to ensure and document the safety and quality of their food with the use of in-house control mechanisms. Hong Kong[edit]In Hong Kong SAR, the Centre for Food Safety is in charge of ensuring food sold is safe and fit for consumption. India[edit]Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, is the regulating body related to food safety and laying down of standards of food in India. New Zealand[edit]See also: Food safety in New Zealand The New Zealand Food Safety Authority (NZFSA), or Te Pou Oranga Kai O Aotearoa is the New Zealand government body responsible for food safety. NZFSA is also the controlling authority for imports and exports of food and food-related products. The NZFSA as of 2012 is now a division of the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and is no longer its own organization. Pakistan[edit]Pakistan does not have an integrated legal framework but has a set of laws, which deals with various aspects of food safety. These laws, despite the fact that they were enacted long time ago, have tremendous capacity to achieve at least minimum level of food safety. However, like many other laws, these laws remain very poorly enforced. There are four laws that specifically deal with food safety. Three of these laws directly focus issues related to food safety, while the fourth, the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority Act, is indirectly relevant to food safety. The Pure Food Ordinance 1960 consolidates and amends the law in relation to the preparation and the sale of foods. All provinces and some northern areas have adopted this law with certain amendments. Its aim is to ensure purity of food being supplied to people in the market and, therefore, provides for preventing adulteration. The Pure Food Ordinance 1960 does not apply to cantonment areas. There is a separate law for cantonments called The Cantonment Pure Food Act, 1966. There is no substantial difference between the Pure Food Ordinance 1960 and The Cantonment Pure Food Act. Even the rules of operation are very much similar. Pakistan Hotels and Restaurant Act, 1976 applies to all hotels and restaurants in Pakistan and seeks to control and regulate the rates and standard of service(s) by hotels and restaurants. In addition to other provisions, under section 22(2), the sale of food or beverages that are contaminated, not prepared hygienically or served in utensils that are not hygienic or clean is an offense. There are no express provisions for consumer complaints in the Pakistan Restaurants Act, 1976, Pakistan Penal Code, 1860 and Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority Act, 1996. The laws do not prevent citizens from lodging complaints with the concerned government officials; however, the consideration and handling of complaints is a matter of discretion of the officials. [9] South Korea[edit]Korea Food Drug Administration[edit]Korea Food Drug Administration (KFDA)[10] is working for food safety since 1945. It is part of the Government of South Korea. IOAS[11]-Organic Certification Bodies Registered in KFDA: Organic or related claims can be labelled on food products when organic certificates are considered as valid by KFDA. KFDA admits organic certificates which can be issued by 1) IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movement) accredited certification bodies 2) Government accredited certification bodies – 328 bodies in 29 countries have been registered in KFDA. Food Import Report: According to Food Import Report,[12] it is supposed to report or register what you import. Competent authority is as follows: Product.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Child Abuse and Neglect Essay -- Violence Against Children, 2015

Child abuse in America is an ongoing problem and something needs to be done. There are approximately one million children abused annually in the United States. (Table 339) Cases of child abuse and neglect are reported every ten seconds, and researchers believe that there’s three times that amount that goes unnoticed. (Child Abuse: Know the Signs and Stop the Violence Against Children.) Something needs to be done for these children who are too weak and too powerless to help themselves. Children who have been abused are left with more than just physical scars. They have many psychological, emotional, and behavioral problems as well. Their social lives are affected dramatically, and they suffer lifelong effects. (Lambert) Children tend to be emotionally disturbed years after the abuse, many have IQ scores lower than average, and some have even been classified as mentally retarded. Children who have been abused also show signs of personality and neurological changes. (Oates 119) Sexual abuse has been linked to nightmares, bed wetting, sadness, clinging behavior, and anxiety. Children also showed more aggressive and anti-social behaviors. (Oates 127) Adults who were sexually abused are more prone to depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, and drug or alcohol problems. (Oates 132-133) Studies show overwhelming evidence of the effects abuse can have on a child, and the way the effects continue into their adult lives. (Oates 135) Speech is dramatically affected from abuse and neglect. Over one third of physically abused children have language delays. (Oates 119) All aspects of language are affected. Written and oral language is affected. The area that children tend to exhibit the most difficulties with is pragmatics. They tend to be l... ...g/topics/humanserv/child_abuse/ Layman, Richard. Child Abuse. Detroit, MI: Omnigraphics Inc., 1991. Moses MD, Scott . "Child Abuse." Family Practice Notebook. 08 Sept 2007. Web. 18 Oct 2014. . Oates, R. Kim. The Spectrum of Child Abuse. 8. New York: Brunner/Mazel Inc., 1996. Palusci MD, MS, Vincent J.. "Shaken Baby/Shaken Impact Syndrome." Kids Health For Parents. August 2004. Nemours Foundation. Web. 18 Oct 2014. http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/brain/shaken.html Santrock, John W. Educational Phycology. Third. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2008. Lambert, Regina. Personal interview. Web. 13 Oct 2014. "Table 339. Child Abuse and Neglect Cases Substantiated and Indicated— Victim Characteristics: 2000 to 2008" Census Web. 18 Oct 2014. https://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s0339.pdf

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

To Appreciate the Nature of Life We Must First Understand the Cell

Life itself is amazing. It surrounds us on a daily basis from the ants in our window seal, the squirrels on the power line, to the bacteria we all have in our mouths and on our bodies. Life is indeed a gift. Every life that comes into this world is made up of cells, life of humans, plants, and animals. I know that to understand the nature of life we must first comprehend the cell, its parts, and organelles. There are two different types of cells, including prokaryotic and eukaryotic. Living bacteria is an example of something that contains prokaryotic cells.Eukaryotic cells are in just about everything, all humans and all animals. I must say that the eukaryotic cell is way more complex than the prokaryotic. A prokaryotic cell does not even hold a nucleus, which is the brain of the eukaryotic cells. Human and animals cells cannot be developed without prokaryotic cells. Even though these two different types of cells are very different they also are somewhat similar. Both contain riboso mes, cell membranes, and cytoplasm. Plant cells are eukaryotic cells but there are items that definitely set them apart. Cell walls, chlorophyll, and vacuoles are difference between the two.By plant cells having these different organelles, they function in a unique order. Each organelle in the cell do different task. Supporting all organelles in the cell is the cytoplasm. Cytoskeleton maintains the shape and gives it strength. The nucleus is a cell’s brain and operating system. The mitochondrion develops energy through cellular respiration. Ribosomes produce protein, while the nucleolus is what makes ribosomes. The vacuole is the largest organelle and it stores food, wastes, and water. The cell wall which is in all cells except animals, protect the cell and allows elements such as water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide to enter.Endoplasmic reticulum is what carries materials through the cell. Lysosomes are what break down large food molecules into smaller ones. Using energy from t he sun to produce glucose is the chloroplast (which can only be found in plant and algae). Cells make up life. We cannot live or operate without them. Each individual cell is like groups of workers that work together. Without the nucleolus which makes the ribosomes, we would not have any protein. And without protein, we as humans could not be healthy. Humans need cells and all their many organelles. Without cells, there is no life.

Monday, January 6, 2020

Social Media Essay Example Pdf - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2143 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Literature Essay Type Analytical essay Did you like this example? Discuss Barthes essay with reference to social media In his seminal essay The Death of the Author, Barthes (1977) challenged the world of orthodox literary criticism by claiming that its obsession with distilling the truth of an authors intentions from his works is futile. The act of writing is the destruction of every voice, of every point of origin (Barthes, 1977, p. 142). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Social Media Essay Example Pdf" essay for you Create order The authors aims and motives are obscured by the duplicity of language: not only is language inadequate to express the authors inner world, but language also skews the readers interpretation of the work. Language is a complex network of cultural codes and associations over which the author has no control. Yet, the notion of authorship is not confined to literature. In this essay, I shall be examining how Barthes ideas apply to Facebook, a social media website. Here, users create Facebook pages, which are in effect mini-autobiographies that they update with news, photos, biographical details etc. Users are also able to make friends, i.e. to subscribe for updates from other users pages, and to comment on these updates. Facebook is then a vast network of individuals who are both authors of their own pages and readers cum critics of their friends pages. Moreover, not only is communication between author and reader mediated via language, it is also restricted by the Facebook software, which as shall be seen, permits only certain kinds of expression on the part of the author. This essay is structured as follows. Firstly, I will review Barthes essay in more depth, emphasizing the issues relevant to my study. Secondly, I will consider how Facebook mediates between author and reader, providing a cultural template through which an individuals biography is filtered. Finally, I will consider how Facebook alienates users in the manner envisaged by Barthes in his essay. According to Barthes, it is the identity of the author that is paramount for the literary critic: the work is tyrannically centred on the author, his person, his life, his tastes, his passions (Barthes, 1977, p. 143). The responsibility for meaning, for the truth of the work, as well as its success or failure, is placed squarely on the authors shoulders. The work of literary criticism is to enlighten the readership as to the authors motives by invoking their personal biography: Van Goghs genius is at tributed to his madness, Tchaikovskys to his alcoholism and Baudelaires to his failure (ib.) as a man. Yet, Barthes maintained that the medium of language interferes with the process of writing, such that an author necessarily relinquishes control over the manner in which his work is interpreted. Influenced by contemporary advances in linguistics, Barthes claimed that language knows a subject not a person (Barthes, 1977, p. 145). The subject, or author, of the work is not an individual. In other words, the author as individual with a biography, emotions and intentions is invisible to the reader. Rather, they see the subject, an empty construct, an abstraction formed by the words on the page. This subject is empty outside the enunciation which defines it (ib.): it is the work that calls the subject into being and the subject is entirely dependent on the work. The authors true identity has been hollowed out due to the alienating effects of language and has been replaced by the subj ect, a mere place-marker holding language together. Language, argues Barthes, has this alienating effect since a text is nothing more than a tissue of quotations drawn from the innumerable centres of culture (Barthes, 1977, p. 146). An authors words, and the manner in which he utilizes them, are not the authors own but are drawn from a huge cultural reservoir of previous texts. A phrase elicits a culturally determined meaning, provoking a myriad of contextual associations giving the text a life of its own, constantly displacing its meaning even further from the authors intentions. Attempting to pin down meaning is futile since no text was ever written in a vacuum; the cultural landscape has no origin, no founding text that would guarantee all meaning. Rather, the origin is language itself, which ceaselessly calls into question all origins (Barthes, 1977, p. 146). The author is then doubly deceived by language. Firstly, language does not belong to the author. It is an alien pre sence that inhabits him and that enforces a culturally dependent mode of expression. The author can never perfectly capture his inner experience through language, as there is always some part of that experience that evades capture through words. Rather, he evokes the subject, his avatar, as seen through the lens of language. The authors true identity, if indeed there is a truth of his existence, will always elude the reader and in fact, himself. Secondly, the reader also has this alienating relationship with language. The meaning of a text, as supposed by the reader, is coloured by their cultural context. The author, in allowing his work to be read, relinquishes control over how it is received by his audience. They will draw their own conclusions, make their own associations and interpretations which depend on the immense dictionary (Barthes, 1977, p. 147) of cultural references that they have at their disposal. Thus, the reader imagines the author as a subject, a construct of th eir own conception of language. This subject differs not only from reader to reader, but temporally, being reconstructed every time a particular reader approaches the same text. Any attempt to attribute a works success or failure to a particular author is fruitless. When a critic examines and re-examines a text, they are merely reconstructing their own conception of the author as subject, which can never coincide with the authors conception, let alone his true identity. Asking an author to explain a text merely creates another text with another subject, and the game begins again. The author is effectively powerlessà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ responsibility for a texts interpretation is passed to the reader. There is no ultimate meaning: In the multiplicity of writing everything is to be disentangled, nothing deciphered (Barthes, 1977, p. 148). Yet the effects of language are not disproportionately visited upon the author. According to Barthes, languages alienating effects apply equally to the reader. The reader is without history, biography, psychology (Barthes, 1977, p. 148), an impersonal destination (ib.) for the authors work. The readers role is to hold the text together, to create a unity from the cultural codes that make up the text. In other words, the authors relationship with the reader cannot be personal: they can make no assumptions about the readers identity because the reader, in the process of reading, is also an abstraction evoked by the text. By symmetry, both author and reader, as represented by the text, are subjects. Barthes textual examples in Death of the Author (1977) are not limited to literary texts: as mentioned previously he uses the music of Tchaikovsky and the work of Van Gogh as illustrations of his thesis. Indeed, Barthes never limited his analysis to so-called high culture: in his book Mythologies (Barthes, 1972) he deconstructs the cultural meanings of, for example, advertisements and films. Facebook is therefore an entirely appr opriate medium for a Barthesian analysis. First, however, I will examine what is meant by a text in Facebook, and nature of the cultural codes peculiar to it. Facebook can be viewed as a form of relational biography (Richardson Hessey, 2009). Users update their biographies by adding essentially static information (date of birth, education etc.) as well as time-dependent data about their feelings, social commitments etc. This data can be annotated by other users in the form of comments. The user in essence constructs a timeline which amounts to a somewhat haphazard diary of their inner life and social relations. This timeline can be read by the user and, within certain restrictions, the users friends. It therefore amounts to a text, from which an interpretation of the author-as-subject is constructed in the readers mind. Facebook updates can take written form, which is subject to the constraints of language and alienating to both author and reader as demonstrated earlier. Yet, the architecture of Facebook is such that further restrictions are imposed on the author. One example of this is the like button. A user demonstrates his or her preferences by liking other users comments or updates. Yet, this restricts the users reaction to mere approval. This has led some users to call for a dislike button, or a range of options to indicate, for example, humour or sadness (Guynn, 2015) in response to an update. Such an innovation would, however, still place a limit on the users reaction. Facebook texts are therefore subject to a far more restrictive cultural template than literary texts. The Facebook user-author is potentially alienated as a subject to a greater extent than the author of a literary text. However, such alienation appears to be exactly what users of Facebook want. Das and Kramer (2013) note that a large proportion of users (over 70%) practice self-censorship. That is, they manipulate both the data they post to Facebook and their reactions to othe r users activities, in an attempt to create an idealized autobiography. They might attempt to post only positive updates in order to seem optimistic, or they might like other users posts in order to appear friendly. In Barthesian terms, they are manipulating the language of Facebook in an attempt to manifest themselves as an ideal subject. The Facebook author is not only dead, but the cause of death appears to be suicide. Unfortunately, as Barthes predicts, such an exercise is futile. The restrictive cultural code inscribed in the apparatus of Facebook leads to far greater opportunity for the reader to misunderstand the user-author. Such misunderstandings can lead to flame warsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ heated comment exchanges between usersà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ or in extreme cases unfriending (the revoking of the right of another user to read ones Facebook page). This had led to the publication of numerous books on Facebook etiquette that document the possible ways in which such misunderstan dings occur and provide tips on how to avoid these situations (see e.g. Awl (2011)). However, such rules of etiquette serve only to narrow the options a user has for self-expression, leading to further alienation. These cases serve to illustrate Barthes claim that the reader is without history, biography, psychology (Barthes, 1977, p. 148), an abstract concept emptied of intention and affect. When a user-author makes an update on Facebook, they make certain assumptions about the reader and how they will react, and tailor the update to such a reader. Yet, these assumptions are not necessarily transmitted to the readership, each of whom infers their own reader-subject from the text. An example is the relationship status: a user can define themselves as single, married, in a complicated relationship etc., and a complex etiquette has arisen to prevent misunderstandings of this status (Suddath, 2009). For example, the author might set their relationship status to complicated and assum e readers will interpret this as difficult and view it fairly neutrally. However, the authors partner might interpret it in an entirely different fashionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ as an open relationship, perhapsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬ and have a negative reaction. The author and their partner each invest the reader of the text with a different identity: the reader-subject of the text is an abstract concept, given flesh by the individual reactions of the texts consumers. In conclusion, I have examined the phenomenon of Facebook from the perspective of Barthes essay, The Death of the Author (1977). I have argued, not only that the Facebook author is dead in the sense that their identity cannot be inferred from their text, but that Facebook architecture and the self-censorship of its participants lead to a greater alienation of the author from their text than that achieved in a purely literary context. Moreover, I have demonstrated that this alienation applies both to the author and the reader of the text. Not only is the censorship practised by user-authors with the aim of creating an idealized self-image counterproductive, but the message the user-readers receive about their identity is equally alienating. Since Facebook authors are at the same time readers, this leads to a double alienation that Barthes had not anticipated when he wrote his essay. Bibliography Awl, D. (2011). Facebook Me! A Guide to Socializing, Sharing, and Promoting on Facebook. Berkeley, CA: Peachpit Press. Barry, D. (2012). How To Facebook The No Nonsense Guide To Using Facebook. UK: KernowWeb. Barthes, R. (1972). Mythologies. New York: The Noonday Press. Barthes, R. (1977). The Death of the Author. In R. Barthes, Image, Music, Text (pp. 142-148). London: Fontana Press. Das, S., Kramer, A. (2013). Self-Censorship on Facebook. San Diego: Association for the Advancement of Artificial Intelligence. Guynn, J. (2015). USA Today. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2015/10/08/facebook-reactions-emotions-like-button-dislike/73574704/ Richardson, K., Hessey, S. (2009). Archiving the self? Facebook as biography of social and relational memory. Journal of Information, Communication and Ethics in Society, 7(1), 25-38. Suddath, C. (2009). Your Facebook Relationship Status: Its Complicated. Retrieved October 19, 2015, from Time: https://content.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1895694,00.html