CHAPTER 1
Sanitation and the Food Industry
The food industry
The food system is a complex, concen-
trated, and dynamic chain of activities that
begins with the production of raw agricul-
tural commodities on farms, orchards, and
ranches and moves to value-added processed
and manufactured products and then to
retail food stores and foodservice establish-
ments (restaurants and institutions) where
they are merchandised, prepared, and sold to
consumers. Each sector of the food system is
unique in size, scope, and diversity and has
evolved and adapted to changes in demo-
graphics and lifestyles, science and technol-
ogy, and consumer demands. To more fully
comprehend the role of sanitation and food
safety in the food industry, it is important to
understand the uniqueness of each sector of
the food system.
Production Agriculture
Agriculture is the world’s largest industry
and involves more people than all other
occupations combined. This industry gener-
ates one out of six jobs in the United States.
The United States produces more food than
any other nation and is the world’s largest
exporter of agricultural products. Today,
there are about 2 million farms in the United
States and the average farmer produces
enough food each year to feed 128 people.
Even though the number of farms is decreas-
ing, overall farm production is increasing,
indicating more efficient productivity. This
food production efficiency has resulted in a
wide variety of foods being made available to
U.S. consumers. Proportionally less is spent
on food (approximately 10% of disposable
income) than for most consumers in other
parts of the world. Although the structures
of production agriculture and farming prac-
tices have changed dramatically over the
years, the result has been a larger, less expen-
sive, more diverse, and safer food supply.Food Processing and Manufacturing
Food and beverage processing facilities
transform raw agricultural materials into
intermediate foodstuffs or edible products.
In the United States, there are nearly 29,
food plants owned by 22,000 companies.
These plants employ about 1.7 million work-
ers, which is just over 1% of all U.S. employ-
ment.
In recent years, the food processing industry
has become more consolidated and concen-
trated through mergers and acquisitions. From
1993 to 2002, there were over 5,800 mergers
and acquisitions in the food industry. To con-
tinue attracting customers and increase sales,
profits, and market share, food processors are1