Which category includes bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi?

Which category includes bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi?

• A. Biological
• B. Chemical
• C. Physical
• D. Nutritional

Answer: (A)

Biological hazards are the category that includes bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. These are living organisms or biological agents capable of contaminating food and causing illness, so they’re grouped together because the common factor is their origin in living organisms and their ability to reproduce or spread. They’re not chemical hazards (which involve harmful substances like cleaners or toxins), nor physical hazards (external objects such as glass or metal), and nutritional factors describe nutrients rather than hazards. In practice, viruses are treated as biological agents for this reason, even though some definitions debate whether they are truly alive, because they function as disease-causing biological entities in food safety.

Biological hazards are the category that includes bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. These are living organisms or biological agents capable of contaminating food and causing illness, so they’re grouped together because the common factor is their origin in living organisms and their ability to reproduce or spread. They’re not chemical hazards (which involve harmful substances like cleaners or toxins), nor physical hazards (external objects such as glass or metal), and nutritional factors describe nutrients rather than hazards. In practice, viruses are treated as biological agents for this reason, even though some definitions debate whether they are truly alive, because they function as disease-causing biological entities in food safety.