REDUCING RISK FACTORS IN FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY-PART 2

REDUCING RISK FACTORS IN FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY- CONCLUDING PART 

HAND WASHING: Good personal hygiene practices are an essential part of providing safe food.  Among these hygiene practices, the most important is hand washing.  Food Handlers must wash their hands and forearms using the following procedure:  

1.       Moisten hands with hot water and apply hand soap. •

2.       Vigorously rub hands together scrubbing between your fingers, under your fingernails, your forearms, and the back of your hands.  You must continue scrubbing for at least 20 seconds.  It is the hand soap combined with the scrubbing action that removes the dirt and germs from your hands. •

3.       You must completely rinse your hands under running water and dry them with a disposable paper towel.  

You must be aware of what your hands are touching at all times.  You should recognize when your hands become contaminated and wash them to keep from passing the contamination on to the food you are preparing and serving.  It is always necessary to wash your hands: 

•        Prior to handling food, utensils, and single service articles;

•        Before putting on gloves to handle ready-to-eat foods and between glove changes.

•        Before and after handling or touching any raw foods such as raw meats, chicken.

•        After using the bathroom;

•        After touching any part of your body or uniform;

•        After handling dirty equipment, dishes or utensils;

•        After taking a break;

•        After any other activity that may contaminate your hands such as washing dishes, sweeping the floor, taking out the trash, eating or drinking, coughing, or sneezing.  

You must wash your hands in an approved, designated hand sink. 

Sinks used to wash dishes or prepare food are not approved for hand washing.  The hand wash sink must always be accessible and have an adequate supply of hot water, hand soap, and paper towels. 

You must always be clean and in good health; you should bathe daily and wear clean cloths.  You must never go to work(cook) if you are sick, especially if you have symptoms of diarrhea, vomiting, fever, or if you have any discharge from your nose or eyes.  You should notify your supervisor when you are sick and certain illnesses will require you to stay home until your doctor has cleared you.  You must have fingernails that are cut and maintained and should not have painted or fake fingernails.  All jewelry must be removed prior to handling food with the exception of a simple wedding band.  While working with open food you must have an effective hair restraint, such as a hat or hair net.  Finally, you must never eat or smoke in food preparation or food storage areas.  

Direct bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods is prohibited.  Ready-to-eat foods are those that will not be subjected to further cooking or heating to destroy bacteria; these may include, sandwiches, cut fruit, bread, tortillas, salads, or any cooked food.  In order to handle ready-to-eat foods, you can use utensils, tongs, scoops, or wax paper.  In situations where it becomes necessary to touch the food with your hands, you must always wear disposable, non-latex gloves.  Even though you may use gloves to handle food with your hands, you must always wash your hands prior to putting on the gloves and change the gloves when they become contaminated, as in all of the situations previously mentioned.  You must wash your hands each time you change your gloves or contaminate the gloves.                   

 

Maintaining the kitchen scrupulously clean is vital to food safety.  You should recognize that even surfaces that appear clean might still have harmful germs that you cannot see.  Only by cleaning and sanitizing equipment, dishes, and surfaces that come into direct contact with food, can we eliminate and destroy these invisible germs.  

 Washing removes visible soil and contamination and sanitizing kills and reduces the number of harmful bacteria that you cannot see.  You are required to both wash and sanitize every surface that comes into contact with food to assure that they are completely free of any contamination. 

Wiping cloths for cleaning and sanitizing must be available in every work area for equipment such as meat slicers, counters, food preparation tables, cutting boards, and utensils.  Always wash, rinse, and sanitizer these surfaces before and after they have come into contact with food.  Also, because bacteria grow and multiply in moist environments, moist wiping cloths must be stored in a bucket of water and sanitizer when they are not in use.  This sanitizing solution must be changed frequently; food debris uses up the sanitizer quickly. 

It is important that the disinfectant be at the proper concentration to ensure that the germs are destroyed and that the solution is not dangerous.    

 The same principles of washing and rinsing apply when washing dishes by hand in a three-compartment sink.  Before starting you must clean each sink compartment and drain board.  Then pre-scrape the dishes to remove the excess food. Begin the four-step process: 

1.       In the first compartment, thoroughly wash the dishes with detergent and hot water.

2.       In the second, rinse the dishes in clean hot water to remove the soap. (Mixing detergent with sanitizer can prevent the disinfectant from eliminating the germs)

3.       Third, the dishes must be sanitized in a solution of sanitizer and room temperature water.  You must ensure that the sanitizer is at the adequate concentration.

4.       After cleaning and sanitizing it is necessary to let the dishes air dry on the drain board or rack.  Once dry you should store them in a clean place where they will be protected from contamination.

Protect food preparation areas from pests.  Pests are rats, mice, birds, cockroaches, flies and other insects. Pet animals like dogs, cats, birds, etc. carry microorganisms and pests (fleas, ticks, etc.) on their feet, fur and feathers. To keep food safe from pests:

·         Keep food covered or in closed containers

·         Keep refuse bins covered

·         Remove refuse regularly

·         Keep food preparation area clean and well repaired.

·         Kill pests with baits with insecticides (take care you do not contaminate food with insecticides)

·         Clean and sanitize utensils and surfaces before cooking.

·         Keep domestic animals far away from food preparation areas.  

 Food Storage: Cross-contamination occurs when harmful germs from raw foods or contaminated surfaces are passed onto the food.  This transfer of germs may occur in any of the following situations:  

• When hands that have touched raw food touch foods that are ready to eat.

• When raw or contaminated food touch foods that are ready to eat.

 • When a ready to eat food comes into contact with surfaces that were not properly washed and sanitized after having been in contact with a raw food.  Food contact surfaces include cutting boards, knives, utensils, and food preparation tables.

• When dirty wiping cloths or wiping cloths contaminated with raw foods are used on surfaces that come into contact with ready to eat foods. 

You can prevent cross-contamination by washing and sanitizing every utensil, cutting board, food preparation table, and work area before and after coming in contact with food.  Use the cleaning methods previously mentioned and adequately wash your hands, especially after handling raw foods. 

In addition,

·         Always separate raw meats, poultry, eggs, seafood and fish from other foods. Put them in containers and store them on the lowest shelves of the refrigerator. This will prevent the raw products from leaking or falling onto foods that are ready to eat.

·         Use separate equipment and utensils such as knives, and cutting board for handling raw foods.

·         Store food in containers to avoid and prevent contact between raw and cooked foods.

·         Finally, all foods must be stored at least six inches above the floor at all times.         

First in first out:   Foods should always be used in the same order in which they were received.  All arriving food products should be marked with a date so you know which inventory to use first.   In addition, any ready-to-eat potentially hazardous food must be marked with a discard date at the time of opening or preparation.  The discard date must be 7 days after the food was prepared or opened.

Cook thoroughly:

Proper cooking can kill almost 100% of dangerous microorganisms. Studies have shown that cooking above 70 degrees Celsius can help ensure that the food is safe for consumption.

·         Meat, poultry, eggs and sea foods must be thoroughly cooked; make sure their juices are clear and not pink.

·         Bring foods like soups, stews to boiling

·         Re-heat cooked food thoroughly

·         If thermometers are not available, use color to establish the food is thoroughly cooked.

Cooking Safely with Microwave ovens

1.       Microwave ovens can cook unevenly and leave cold spots (safe heavens) for dangerous   bacteria. Make sure food cooked in microwave oven has reached   safe temperature throughout.

2.       Some plastic containers release toxic chemicals upon heating as such should not be used in cooking with microwave oven.

3.       Thawing food with microwave oven can leave warm spots where microorganisms can grow. Cook thoroughly

Keep Food at safe temperatures: Microorganisms multiply best at temperatures of 5-60 degrees Celsius (Temperature Danger Zone). Refrigeration slows bacterial growth, though some microorganisms still grow at a slow rate when in very low temperatures. Whenever possible, you must avoid having foods in the temperature danger zone.  Likewise, all potentially hazardous foods should spend as little time as possible in the temperature danger zone during preparation, reheating, and cooling. Therefore:

·         Reduce amount of leftover food by cooking just enough

·         Promptly cool and store leftover food

·         Leftover food should not be stored for longer than three days

·         Do not re-heat leftover food for more than once.

  Reheating 

·         Food that is cooked and refrigerated that is being prepared for immediate service may be reheated to any temperature.  However, if a food is cooked, cooled, and reheated with the intention of holding it hot, the food must be reheated to a temperature of at least 60º C.  Reheating must be rapid. Instead use a microwave, stovetop, or oven to heat the food before placing it in the steam table.  Food should only be reheated once.    

  Cooling 

Cooling is usually the riskiest step in food preparation.  If the food is not cooled properly the food can remain in the temperature danger zone too long.  It can be very difficult to cool food quickly and most refrigeration units are not designed or capable of this.  Therefore, you should avoid cooling whenever possible.  You should prepare foods daily by cooking and holding hot only the food that will be served during that day.  Nevertheless, the cooling of some foods is unavoidable and you must know the proper way to cool foods quickly.  Cooling foods rapidly can be achieved using one or more of the following methods, based on the type of food that is to be cooled: 

·         Separate the food into smaller portions or thinner portions and place them in shallow containers;

·         Stir the food while the container is submerged in a water and ice bath;

·         Use metal containers to allow easier heat transfer

·         Add ice as an ingredient;

·         Use equipment designed for quick cooling of foods; •

·         Leave the food partially covered or uncovered. (If it is protected from contamination) 

Thawing 

Foods must never be left to thaw at room temperature.  At room temperature the outer part of the food will thaw quickly and may remain in the temperature danger zone for too long while the center of the food continues thawing.  The safest way to thaw food is inside a refrigerator.  Inside the refrigerator the temperature of the food will always remain below 5ºC, out of the temperature danger zone.  When you thaw raw products, place them in a container and store the container on the lowest shelf in the refrigerator to prevent contamination of the other foods.  You may also thaw foods under cold running water or in a microwave if it is part of the cooking process. 

Thermometers  

Any refrigeration equipment you use must be equipped with a thermometer that measures the internal temperature.  Use a metal stem thermometer to check foods you are cooking, holding hot or cold, or cooling.  Thermometers must be cleaned and sanitized prior to being inserted into the food and between uses to prevent contamination of the food.         

Safe water: Water taken direct from rivers, stream or canal is not safe. It is loaded with dangerous microorganisms, parasites and pathogens which cause diarrhea, typhoid or dysentery. It should be treated by boiling, Chlorination and filtering before use.

Rain water in a clean tank and protected from contamination from birds is safe. You need safe water to:

·         Add to food

·         Wash fruits and vegetables

·         Make ice

·         Wash hands

·         Clean cooking and eating utensils.

Safe Food Raw materials: Fresh fruits, vegetables have been identified as significant source of pathogens and chemical contamination. Pay attention to expiry dates on food items.  When Buying Food items:

·         Always select fresh and wholesome foods.

·         Avoid food that is damaged or rotting

·         Choose food processed for safety

·         Do not use food after the expiry date.

·         Throw away smashed, swollen or oxidized cans

Approved Foods and food establishments: Any foods served in your establishment must come from an approved source.  Homemade food cannot be used or offered for human consumption in a food establishment.  All packaged food must carry a label or seal on the packaging that indicates the name of the processor or distributor, the name of the food, and the ingredients. 

All foods arriving at your workplace must be free of spoilage.  Canned foods must have an intact seal and be discarded if swollen.  Potentially hazardous foods should be rejected if they arrive at an unsafe temperature.  Packaged foods should be rejected or discarded if they arrive damaged.  

Emergencies: You should know how to respond to emergency situations especially in a food establishment.  If a sewer or waste system backs up in the drains, or if the water supply is cut off or damaged, or if there is an extended power or hot water outage; you should call for immediate repairs and stop food production. If the piece of equipment that you rely on to keep foods hot or cold fails, you must think and act quickly.  

Ref: WHO Food safety department.