
Safe Food Handling: Ensuring Hygiene and Quality in Food Preparation
Maintaining a clean and safe work environment are important and crucial as well. When the food is prepared and cooked incorrectly it may lead to foodborne illness. This is what we want to avoid at all cost.
Preventing foodborne illness is one of the most critical challenges facing by every food service worker. To prevent illness, a food worker must begin by recognizing and understanding the sources of foodborne disease. Most foodborne illness is the result of eating food that has been contaminated. To say that a food is contaminated means it contains harmful substances that were not present originally in the food. In other words, contaminated food is food that is not pure.
Any substance in food that can cause illness or injury is called a hazard.
Food hazards are of 3 types:
1. Biological
2. Chemical
3. Physical
For the food worker, the first step in preventing foodborne disease is good personal hygiene. Even when we are healthy, we have bacteria all over our skin. So, we must make sure we are in good condition while handling the food.
Personal hygiene when handling food refers to the practices individuals should follow to prevent contamination and ensure the safety of the food they serve. Here are some key aspects of personal hygiene in food handling:
lHandwashing - wash hands thoroughly with soap and water before and after handling food
lClothing and hair - wear clean clothing and aprons, wear hairnet to prevent hair from falling
lJewellery and accessories - remove all jewellery and accessories such as rings, bracelets and watches
lCut and wounds - cover any cuts and wounds with bandage
lIllness - avoid handling food if experiencing symptoms of illness
lFingernails and foot - keep fingernails short and wear closed toe shoes
lCoughing and sneezing - cover mouth and nose when coughing and sneezing with tissue and wash your hands immediately or wear face mask if needed
lTyphoid injection and food handling course - compulsory for all food handlers to get thyphoid injection every 3 years and attend food handler training
Besides, safe food handling practices also helps to lower the chance of getting foodborne disease;
3 Tips For Safe Handling of Food
I. Cleanliness - wash hand thoroughly, ensure all utensils and working table are clean before and after use
II. Storage - refrigerate perishable foods promptly and cover all food and ingredients
III. Handling - use clean utensils and glove when handling ready-to-eat foods
Every food handlers require to educate themselves about good personal hygiene and safe food handling. If fail to do so it may lead to more bigger problems such as illness and unhappy customers, and may even result in fines, and lawsuits. Finally, poor sanitation and safety habits show lack of respect for your customers, your fellow workers, and yourself. In addition, please keep yourself up-to-date about food safety guidelines and best practices to ensure any new regulations and procedures are followed.
By,
Chef Hada