Hygiene Standards in Catering

When working within a commercial catering environment, suitable food hygiene practices are necessary. Such practices are necessary to reduce the risk of contamination or harm to both customers and employees, as well as being a legal requirement.

One of the most vital methods to reduce chances of contamination is storage of food within the correct environment. The danger zone for multiplication of harmful bacteria is roughly between 5 and 60 degrees Celsius; above this temperature bacteria will begin to denature. Frozen foods should be stored between -18 and -23 degrees, chilled foods should be stored between 0 and 5 degrees and fresh foods should be stored at a temperature no higher than room temperature (23 degrees).

All refrigerated and frozen foods should only be removed when required, and immediately put back once finished. Any food which has been exposed to air should be covered with clingfilm and used within the time frame specified; this is generally between two and three days. It is important to make sure that the food is thoroughly covered with no gaps to prevent production of bacteria.

In the case of heated food, it is important that the core temperature of the food reaches a safe temperature before being consumed. This can vary depending on the food, however, it is generally agreed that for any cooked meats, the core temperature should reach at least 75 degrees for a period of thirty seconds. Any cooked foods must be stored at a temperature of at least 63 degrees.

Whilst working with food it is essential to either wear gloves or wash hands thoroughly before any food is handled; this prevents bacteria carried on the hands from being transferred. It is also important to wear an apron whilst dealing with raw meats to prevent clothes becoming contaminated. Avoid touching bacteria hot-spots when handling food, such as inside the nose or under armpits, as this is both unhygienic and unprofessional.

Cleaning work surfaces thoroughly is also essential when maintaining a commercial kitchen to reduce the risk of contamination. COSHH (Control of substances hazardous to health) guidelines should always be followed when dealing with chemicals, as using incorrect cleaners can result in further harm.

Stainless steel is an ideal material for surfaces within a kitchen for numerous reasons. As it is a solid, non-porous material, absorption of moisture is impossible, preventing bacteria being held within the surface. It can also be exposed to high temperatures, water and chemicals with little risk of damage due to its durability and is remarkably easy to clean and maintain.   By Colin McDonald

Milk Diseases and Milk Hygiene

Although  scientists have made great strides in milk hygiene and technology after Second World War, milk-borne zoonosis diseases are still very important in human health. That is why milk hygiene and control is very important part of the food science.

Milk is contaminated by bacteria and viruses via unhealthy animals, people hands, milking utensils or water. Milk is very suitable medium fr microorganisms to grow.

For food safety, milk must be healthy to produce milk products. Although animal doesn’t show any disease symptoms, its milk can contain pathogen microorganisms. For instance, foot-and-mouth-disease viruses contaminates milk long before animal shows disease symptoms. So viruses can contaminate humans and spread environment very easily.

The other important pathogen which exist in animal’s normal intestine flora is E. coli 0157:H7. This bacterium doesn’t cause disease while it is in the intestine but cause bloody diarrhea, renal failure and even deaths when it contaminates milk.

Tuberculosis is another milk-borne disease. Tuberculosis occurs in udder and may not be determined by the owner for a long time. Brucellosis is very common zoonosis in the world. It causes important economical lost and spreads easily.

To insure milk hygiene;

• Disease that can contaminate milk must be prevented
• Animals and people who make milking must be healthy.
• Barns must be very clean, well kept and not invased.
• Contagious animal diseases must be detected and struggle with the disease.
• Environment must be very clean.
• Milk must be saved against microbial contamination.
• Milking utensils must be cleaned and disinfected.

Meat and meat hygiene

The Food Standards Agency is responsible for meat inspection duties in fresh meat premises in England, Scotland and Wales. It is the role of Agency to help ensure that the meat industry safeguards the health of the public, and the health and welfare of animals at slaughter.

To achieve this, the FSA delivers 'official controls' in approved fresh meat premises. The FSA is the central competent authority in the UK responsible for carrying out official controls. These controls require specified inspections of all animals, carcasses and offal through risk-based audits to verify that approved fresh meat premises comply with EU Food Hygiene Regulations.

The FSA also undertakes official controls on behalf of Defra on animal health and welfare (see link below) to ensure compliance with legislative requirements.

The FSA carries out these controls in slaughterhouses, cutting plants, farmed and wild game facilities and co-located minced meat and meat products premises. The FSA has a statutory duty to provide these services on demand, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, throughout England, Scotland and Wales.

Food and Drink Training Solutions for you and your Business

Food and Drink Training Solutions are a member of the Specialist Meat and Poultry Network of Excellence, part of the National Skills Academy for Food and Drink Manufacturing. We are able to offer a fully flexible training programme to meet your companies' requirements.

We believe we are able to offer a one stop comprehensive range of Qualifications and certificated short courses to meet your company’s training needs.
 

We would be happy to discuss your training requirements with you or just complete the email (on the Contact us link) and provide a brief description of your requirements and we will strive to provide a cost effective solution to your training needs.

Hygiene of fruit and vegetables

In 2004, the European Parliament and Council reached an agreement on a new legislation for the hygiene of foodstuffs. This new regulation will have an impact on hygiene conditions applicable for the fresh produce sector. The new legislation will be applicable in the EU as of 1 January 2006 (European Parliament and Council Regulation 852/2004/EC on hygiene of foodstuffs).

Besides, the European Union also finalised a new text on official controls (European Parliament and Council Regulation 882/2004/EC).

The European Commission is also working on a range of guidelines to assist the food industry to implement the European hygiene legislation. The guidelines applicable to the fruit and vegetable sector are listed below and available for download:

- implementation provisions of hygiene legislation ;

- guidence document on food hygiene;

- requirements for imported products ;

- implementation HACCP and

- facilitating the implementation of HACCP.

Food Hygine is........?!

Food Hygiene^[1] is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards.

Food can transmit disease from person to person as well as serve as a growth medium for bacteria that can cause food poisoning. Debates on genetic food safety include such issues as impact of genetically modified food on health of further generations and genetic pollution of environment, which can destroy natural biological diversity. In developed countries there are intricate standards for food preparation, whereas in lesser developed countries the main issue is simply the availability of adequate safe water, which is usually a critical item.^[2] In theory food poisoning is 100% preventable The five key principles of food hygiene, according to WHO, are:^[3]

1. Prevent contaminating food with pathogens spreading from people, pets, and pests.
2. Separate raw and cooked foods to prevent contaminating the cooked foods.
3. Cook foods for the appropriate length of time and at the appropriate temperature to kill pathogens.
4. Store food at the proper temperature.
5. Do use safe water and cooked materials.