The Factors of Involvement in Contaminated Food and the Hazards Arising from it

The increase of food production in various fields is one of the causes which has affected the growth of human population over time. The importance of food in human lives especially in economy and their health is undeniable. Due to the increasing demand for food around the world, some individuals- inadvertently or deliberately- cause the illness and death among fellow humans, by producing, distributing, importing and exporting of spoiled and contaminated food. The importance of this matter will be more vital when we remind that if lack of food safety- as one of the potential hazards- occurs and becomes a real risk, would cause to immediate response of the body and poisoning, however in most of the cases the symptoms would express themselves over time and mostly in later adulthood and it would lead to chronic diseases. Other consequences of occurring this kind of hazards are financial losses, reduced food trade, decline in tourism, increase in medical and economic costs and etc. In the present study, library research methods have been used and in some cases the suggestions of the experts has been considered. Identifying the causes of involvement in spoiled and contaminated food, from a criminological perspective, can help preventing such crimes and therefore can decrease the threshold of such hazards. The risk factors of involvement in spoiled and contaminated food include lack of adequate monitoring, regulatory deficiencies, violating laws and regulations by some of the health inspectors, economic fluctuation, the prevailing organizational culture of food industry.