Home > Food Hygiene–Keeping Food Safe

Food hygiene is not only about cleanliness. It is also about taking the correct steps to make sure that the food that you handle and serve is safe.

Good food hygiene practices means that you will have satisfied customers, a safe and clean workplace, and meet your legal requirements.

Bad food hygiene practices can lead to food contamination and outbreaks of food poisoning.

Food safety hazards:

A food safety hazard is something found in food that shouldn’t be there. Hazards can be harmful once in the food. This is called contamination.

There are three types of hazards that can contaminate food:

Microbiological hazards – include bacteria, fungi, yeasts and moulds.

Chemical hazards – food contaminated by cleaning chemicals or pesticides.

Physical hazards – things found in food that are not meant to be there.

Imagine finding some of these things in your food:

• Hair, fingernails or band aids
• Bolts, wire, nails or screws from machinery
• Glass, wood chips or razor blades
• Maggots, moths or flies

Food spoilage and food poisoning:

Food spoilage is when food goes ‘off’. Some examples include sour milk, mouldy bread, and vegetables that have gone green and slimy. The smell, taste and look of the food make it unfit to eat and should be thrown away, however this is not food poisoning.

Food poisoning is different to food spoilage because you can’t see or smell any difference in the food. The food looks, smells and tastes normal even though there are many food poisoning bacteria on the food.

High risk foods:

Bacteria need food to survive and there are certain types of food that food poisoning bacteria grow well in. These are grouped together and called high risk foods.

These high-risk foods are also called potentially hazardous foods. They are high in protein and water content (they are often moist) and include:

• Eggs and egg products (such as cooked eggs in salad)
• Rice (cooked or partially cooked) and pasta (cooked or fresh)
• Beans (cooked or partially cooked) such as kidney, lima or borlotti beans
• Raw and cooked meats
• Fish and poultry
• Stuffing for meat and poultry
• Stews, soups and stocks
• Pizza, sandwiches and filled cakes
• Milk and dairy products such as cream, cheese and custards
• Sauces and gravies
• Processed and canned meats (after opening)
• Shellfish (especially oysters)

Low risk foods:

Bacteria don’t grow well in these foods:

Dry – Packaged foods such as flour, tea, coffee, dry pasta, sugar and dried fruits are safe foods. These foods don’t need refrigeration and have a long shelf life. However, many dried foods become high risk foods once water is added – for instance cooked rice or pasta.

Frozen – No bacterial growth occurs in frozen foods as water is in solid form. Bacteria will grow once the food is defrosted.

High in acid – pickles, chutneys, tomatoes

High in salt and sugar – salty and sweet foods

The food poisoning chain:

A chain of events take place before food poisoning occurs:

Source of food poisoning

Transfer of bacteria – Growth of bacteria (in the right conditions) – Food is eaten – FOOD POISONING

• There must be food poisoning bacteria on the food
• The bacteria must have the right conditions to multiply
• The food must be eaten for food poisoning to occur

What to do to prevent it?

There are three steps that can be taken to prevent food poisoning:

Step 1 – protecting food from bacterial contamination with correct handling and storage.

Step 2 – preventing the growth of bacteria in food through time and temperature monitoring.

Step 3 – destroying or reducing bacteria present in food by cooking food thoroughly – this can be checked using a thermometer.

Temperature monitoring:

The temperature of food is taken using a probe thermometer. To take the temperature of foods you should:

• Wash the probe. Rinse the probe under hot running water before each use.
• Wash in sanitising solution or use sanitising wipes before each use.
• Put the probe into food.
• Read and record. Write down the temperature on the Food Safety Program record form.

Cross contamination:

Food poisoning bacteria are all around us every day. They can be found in the soil, on animals, on our skin and our things. In fact, everything that we touch and use!

Cross contamination is when bacteria contaminates food or a food contact surface. Food is usually cross contaminated by food handlers incorrectly handling food.

Here are some dos and don’ts for when handling food:

Do

• Keep raw meat and vegetables away from cooked food
• Keep cooked meat above raw meat in the refrigerator
• Keep food covered to protect from dust, flies and dirt
• Thoroughly rinse/wash all fruit and vegetables in clean water to remove soil, insects and chemicals
• Clean and sanitise all equipment and benches
• Keep food stored in food-grade containers
• Wear clean protective clothing
• Wash hands before handling food

Don’t

• Chop raw and cooked meat on the same chopping board
• Handle raw food then cooked food without washing your hands
• Use food handling gloves for handling money
• Store food uncovered in the fridge or cool room

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