Mosaic from the history of food inspection

Safe food is literally a matter of life or death for people. Safe and healthy food plays a significant role in the increase of the lifespan of people we have been experiencing in recent decades. Today food products are manufactured with controlled, sterile technologies, and get to the shelves of shops in sealed packaging. It is possible to read the exact composition of the food on standardized labels, and laboratory examinations ensure their quality. But how has the inspection of food developed to the present level?

The scientific basis of food inspection were laid at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, when meat and milk inspection, food analysis and food chemistry started to develop. Meanwhile the institutions supervising the safety of the food chain were also established. Already the guilds took care of their members selling quality products only. Later meat inspectors, then from the 19th century on qualified veterinarians supervised the proper and hygienic processing of livestock and meat at slaughterhouses and food factories. They provided for the safety of the products sold.

As a matter of fact, it is impossible to give a comprehensive description of the history of food inspection. We can only present some old equipment used for the examination of food. Meanwhile we would like to show some food safety measures and secrets applied by housewives before the invention of refrigerators.

We suggest to start your visit by studying the poster presenting the history of food inspection, then look at the showcases, and finally – as a summary of what you have seen – survey the poster presenting old and new methods of food examination.

• What is food chain safety?
• Fighting food related crime
• From organic food to food additives
• Parasites in food – to eat or not to eat?