Home > Safe Food: Need to Know

What do food handlers need to know?

Food handlers must be able to demonstrate before they start handling food in the workplace.

an effective training aid and ensure food handlers successfully implement the training in the workplace employers should:

• Explain the information to their employees
• Provide assistance and resources, e.g., time, equipment etc. as required

Afterwards, training should be assessed to ensure that the food handler is implementing the food safety knowledge. A checklist is provided below for managers/supervisors to determine if food handlers in the workplace have understood and are implementing these skills.

What causes food poisoning?

While viruses cause some food poisoning cases, most result from bacterial contamination. Bacteria are tiny living structures that can only be seen with a microscope. Most bacteria are harmless but some can cause disease. If present in food, some of these disease-causing bacteria can cause food poisoning.

Where are these bacteria found and how do they get onto food?

They are found everywhere – in soil and water as well as on people, animals and food.

Raw products, especially raw meats, poultry and fish, may contain dangerous bacteria. Bacteria on raw foods may then be transferred onto other food such as cooked or ready[1]to-eat foods during food preparation or storage. This is called cross contamination.

People carry bacteria on and in their bodies – on their hands, face, nose and in their stomachs. Food handlers can transfer bacteria onto food if they don’t wash their hands after using the toilet or if they touch their faces or hair while preparing the food. Customers, like food handlers, can contaminate food by sneezing or touching food on display.

Pests such as insects, pets, birds and rodents can all carry bacteria and may contaminate any food they touch.

Dirty food premises harbour bacteria on dirt and food particles which can contaminate the food being prepared.

Cross contamination

Food handlers who handle food incorrectly during preparation can spread bacteria and contaminate food directly by:

• Letting raw food touch cooked or ready-to-eat food
• Letting blood or juices from raw food drip onto other food

Food handlers may also spread bacteria and contaminate food indirectly by:

• Handling cooked or ready-to-eat food immediately after handling raw food, without washing hands.
• Using equipment such as knives, kitchen utensils and chopping boards for the preparation of cooked and ready-to-eat foods after preparing raw food, without cleaning the equipment
• Placing cooked or ready-to-eat food on counter tops where raw food has been, without cleaning and disinfecting the work surface
• Using the same dish cloth for different work surfaces or using dirty cloths

What makes bacteria grow?

Bacteria need food, warmth, moisture and time to grow and multiply.

Food – bacteria grow well on high protein foods such as meat, fish and dairy products.

Temperature – most bacteria need warm conditions to grow. They grow well at room temperature (21°C).

Moisture – bacteria require moisture to grow. They do not grow well on dry products such as biscuits.

Time – Bacteria multiply very quickly and can double in number every 20 minutes.

At room temperature bacteria can multiply into millions after only a few hours on one piece of food. One spoonful of contaminated food may be enough to make you very sick – or even kill you.

Cooking food thoroughly kills bacteria. To do this, the centre or core of the food must reach 75°C instantaneously or equivalent, e.g., 70°C for two minutes. The core is taken as the thickest part of the food.

What are the most common food poisoning bacteria?

most commonly found in poultry but are also found in pig meat and other foods. Salmonella food poisoning is mainly associated with eating contaminated chicken and eggs and their products.

Campylobacter has relatively recently been recognised as causing food poisoning and now it exceeds Salmonella as the leading cause of bacterial food poisoning in Ireland. It is present in a wide range of animals and birds and is commonly found on raw poultry meat.

E. coli O157 and related E. coli are found in the gut of cattle and is mainly associated with eating undercooked minced beef, e.g., beef burgers, but cross contamination from raw meat can transfer these bacteria to other foods. They can cause serious illness and may even result in death.

Staphylococcus aureus is typically found on the hands and in and around the nose of healthy adults. During food preparation food handlers can easily transfer it on to food.

How can I stop the spread of food poisoning bacteria?

You can prevent the spread of food poisoning bacteria through good food handling practices and by maintaining good personal hygiene.

Good Food Handling Practices

• Never allow raw food to come into contact with cooked or ready-to-eat foods.
• Store raw foods separately from cooked and ready-to-eat foods.
• Alternatively, store raw food on the bottom shelf in the fridge and store cooked and ready-to-eat food on the top shelves.
• Keep food covered or store it in sealed food containers.
• Wash your hands between handling raw and cooked/ ready-to-eat foods.
• Use separate work areas, utensils and equipment for preparing raw and cooked/ ready-to-eat foods. If this is not possible, clean and disinfect utensils and work surfaces carefully between these tasks.
• Ensure that your service cloth is kept clean and is replaced frequently.

What should food handlers be able to do now?

Although food handlers have been given this information to read, they will require supervision to ensure they are demonstrating good food safety practices.

Additional Food Safety Training Resources

The FSSAI has also produced a set of food safety training guides which will provide employees with additional food safety skills that the employee should use to ensure that they handle food safely.

Managers/Supervisors can use the checklist below to check that food handlers know how to demonstrate the following food safety skills.

Food handlers know how to…

• Store hot food hot and cold food cold
• Prevent cross contamination through good food handling practices
• Wash hands when necessary
• Wear and maintain uniform/protective clothing hygienically
• Inform supervisor if suffering from diarrhoea or upset stomach
• Keep work areas clean

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