We recently published a new mandatory training course to our online learning portal. It was developed for us by JSA Training. In the course, we look food safety and hygiene.
Here are the top food safety hazards and how to prevent them.
What is a Food Safety Hazard?
Sometimes, a hazard can come under more than one category, for example a fly or human hair contaminating food.
One of the most dangerous hazards that can occur is food poisoning.
What is Food Poisoning?
A hazard can be classed in three ways:
- Chemical (for example: washing up liquid and bleach contaminating food)
- Physical (for example: an earring contaminating food)
- Biological (for example: using out of date chicken)
Food poisoning, or foodborne illness, is an illness caused by eating contaminated food. It can be caused by harmful bacteria or harmful substances (i.e., poisonous plants or fungi, chemicals, metals etc).
The three types of bacteria include:
- Pathogenic (harmful bacteria)
- Helpful (used to make beer, cheese, and yoghurt)
- Spoilage (that cause food to rot/perish)
Harmful bacteria can cause food poisoning and can come from many sources:
- Contaminated raw food
- Air
- Pets and pests
- Dirt and dust
- Refuse and waste
- People
- Contaminated clothing
What is Cross Contamination?
A contaminant is any substance or object in food that makes the food harmful or objectionable. Contamination in food is the presence of pathogenic micro-organisms or objectionable substances.
Cross-contamination occurs when bacteria are transferred from a contaminated source, e.g., raw meat to a ready-to-eat food product.
How to Prevent a Food Safety Hazard
Hazards can be prevented in several different ways, including:
- Wash your hands regularly.
- Thoroughly wash equipment.
- Wear protective clothing (i.e., hairnets, aprons, gloves etc.).
- Cook food thoroughly and ensure the target temperature is achieved throughout.
- Check food is fully defrosted before cooking.
- If reheating food, make sure to reheat correctly.
- Do not re-freeze thawed foods as there is the risk of food poisoning.
- Don’t use food that has gone past the “use-by” or “best before” date.
It is important to make sure these food safety hazards are avoided to prevent food poisoning and other foodborne illnesses.
This course was developed for Life Change Care Limited by JSA Training.
JSA Training is part of JSA Psychotherapy, and provide training solutions for providers in the Care sector.
