Food and Microbial contamination

Food and Microbial Contamination Student's Name Institution Course Code: Course Name Professor's Name Submission Date Food and Microbial Contamination Microbial agents can contaminate food anywhere in the food chain, from the farm to the consumer's plate.  Such contamination can lead to significant rates of illness and death among buyers. In the events provided, the specific pathogen involved in the Honey Smacks cereal outbreak is Salmonella Mbandaka, a serotype of the Salmonella bacteria (Beach, 2023; Hyslop, 2018). According to Nettleton (2021), Salmonellosis outbreaks in food service industries typically arise from a specific source, such as contaminated food products, which infect people until the distribution of the infected food ceases. In this outbreak, the contamination occurred due to unsanitary conditions at the manufacturing plant operated by Kerry Inc., which produced the Honey Smacks cereal for Kellogg's (Beach, 2023). A lot could have been done to prevent the Honey Smacks cereal outbreak. One action I would suggest would be rigorous adherence to sanitation protocols. Tropea (2022) states that strict sanitation and processing standards must be followed throughout food production to prevent bacteria contamination. Consumers could become sick or die from such contamination. This includes regular and comprehensive environmental testing, particularly in areas prone to c...