In regards to foodborne illness, maintaining a healthy, pathogen-free animal on the farm is which type of prevention, while cooking, freezing, pasteurization, etc., is which type?

• A. Primary prevention; Secondary prevention
• B. Secondary prevention; Primary prevention
• C. Primary prevention; Tertiary prevention
• D. Secondary prevention; Tertiary prevention

Answer: (D)

Prevention types in food safety are about where you intervene in the chain from farm to fork. Keeping animals healthy and pathogen-free on the farm reduces the reservoir and the chance that pathogens enter the food supply; in this framework, that intervention is considered secondary prevention—it targets limiting disease once the hazard is present but before illness has fully developed in the population. Cooking, freezing, pasteurization, and similar processing steps are applied to inactivate pathogens in foods after they’re produced; these measures aim to prevent illness in people who might consume the product and reduce the consequences if exposure occurs, which fits tertiary prevention.