Safety Food

Food safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and storage of food in ways that prevent foodborne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potential health hazards.

Food Hazard

Preventing food-borne illness is one of the most important challenges facing every food service worker.In order to prevent illness,a food worker must understand the sources of food-borne disease.

 Most food-borne 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.In this section we first discuss the various substances that can contaminate food and cause illness.Afterward,we consider how these substances get into food to contaminate it and how food workers can prevent contamination and avoid serving contaminated food. 

Any substance in food that can cause illness or injury is called a hazard. Food hazards are of four types:
1. Biological hazards
2. Chemical hazards 
3. Physical hazards
4. Allergens

Notice it was said that most food-borne illness is caused by eating food that has been contaminated with foreign substances.Some illness is caused not by contaminants but by substances that occur naturally in foods.These include plant toxins (toxinmeans “poison”) that occur naturally in some foods,such as the chemicals in poisonous mushrooms,and also certain natural food components to which some people are allergic. This section considers all these kinds of food hazards.

PATHOGENS 

The most important kind of biological hazards to consider are microorganisms. A microorganismis a tiny,usually single-celled organism that can be seen only with a microscope.A microorganism that can cause disease is called a pathogen. Although these organisms sometimes occur in clusters large enough to be seen with the naked eye,they are not usually visible.This is one reason why they can be so dangerous. Just because food looks good doesn’t mean it is safe. Four kinds of microorganisms can contaminate food and cause illness:


1. Bacteria 
2. Viruses 
3. Fungi 
4. Parasites


Most food-borne diseases are caused by bacteria,so most of our attention is focused on them,but the other types can be dangerous as well. 

Safety Flow

Flow of food is a term commonly used in the restaurant industry to describe how food moves from purchasing, to storage, to preparation, to cooking process, to food holding until serving through a food service establishment.

Safety Program

• Identity main hazard occurs in daily operation.
• Build hazard controlling system.
• Regular review by key person.
• Record keeping.

Use of gloves

If used correctly , gloves can help protect food against cross-contamination. If used incorrectly, however, they can spread contamination just as easily as bare hands. Health departements in some localities require the use of some kind of barrier between hands and any foods that are ready to eat. That is, food that will be served without further cooking. Gloves, tongs and other serving implements, and bakery or deli tissue can be serve as barriers.

Food Storage

The following rules of safe food storage have two purposes:

1.To prevent contamination of foods 

2.To prevent growth of bacteria that may already be in foods

Temperature control is an important part of food storage.Perishable foods must be kept out of the Food Danger Zone—41°F to 135°F (5°C to 57°C)—as much as possible,because these temperatures support bacterial growth.

Food Contamination

• Contaminate

Condition where food is not supposed to consume by human.

• Contamination

Food contains hazard.

THE FOUR-HOUR RULE 

Food is handled in many stages between the time it is received and the time it is finally served.This progression,called the flow of food,is discussed further in a later section. During each stage,food might be allowed to remain in the Food Danger Zone for a time. To protect food and keep it safe,follow the four-hour rule: Do not let food remain in the Food Danger Zone for a cumulative total of more than 4 hours between receiving and serving.

 For example,imagine a food that is left on the loading dock for 30 minutes before being put into cold storage,removed from storage and left on the worktable for an hour before being prepared,and finally cooked at a low temperature so that it takes 3 hours to reach a safe internal temperature (see p.29).This food has spent a total of 41⁄2 hours in the danger zone and should be considered unsafe.

Receiving

1. Safe food handling begins the moment food is unloaded from the delivery truck.In fact,it begins even earlier than this,with the selection of good,reputable suppliers.Keep the receiving area clean and well lit. 
2. Inspect all deliveries.Try to schedule deliveries during non-peak hours to allow proper time to inspect the items.For the same reason,try to schedule deliveries so they arrive one at a time. 
3. Reject shipments or parts of shipments that are damaged or not at the proper temperature.Frozen foods should show no signs of having been thawed and refrozen.
4. Label all items with the delivery date or a use-by date.
5. Transfer items immediately to proper storage.

Dry Food Storage

Dry food storage pertains to those food not likely to support bacterial growth in their normal state. These food include Flour, Sugar & Salt, Cereals, Rice & other Grains, Dried beans and peas,  Ready prepared cereals, Breads and Crackers, Oil and Shortenings, Canned and Bottled foods (unopened).

1. Store dry food in a cool, dry place, off the floor, away from the wall, and not under a sewer line.
2. Keep all containers tightly closed to protect from insects, rodents, and dust. Dry foods can be contaminated, even if they don't need refrigeration.

Freezer Storage

1.  Keep frozen foods at 0°F (–18°C) or lower.
2.  Keep all frozen foods tightly wrapped or packaged to prevent freezer burn.
3. Label and date all items.
4. Thaw frozen foods properly.Do not thaw at room temperature,because the surface temperature will go above 41°F (5°C) before the inside is thawed,resulting in bacterial growth.These methods may be used :

• In refrigerator
• Under cold running water
• In a microwave oven, if the item is to be cooked or served immediately.

Refrigerator Storage

1. Keep all perishable foods properly refrigerated.Note that the lower limit of the Food Danger Zone (41°F/5°C) is only the upper limit for refrigerator storage.Most foods keep even better at lower temperatures.The major exception is fresh fruits and vegetables,which are not considered potentially hazardous foods.See Table 2.4 for preferred storage temperatures for various foods. 
2. Do not crowd refrigerators.Leave space between items so cold air can circulate. 
3. Keep refrigerator doors shut except when removing or putting in foods.
4. Keep shelves and interiors of refrigerators clean. 
5. Store raw and cooked items separately, if possible.
6. If raw and cooked foods must be kept in the same refrigerator, keep cooked foods above raw foods.If cooked foods are kept below raw foods,they can become contaminated by drips and spills.Then,if they are not to be cooked again before serving,they may be hazardous.
7. Keep refrigerated foods wrapped or covered and in sanitary  containers.
8. Do not let any unsanitary surface,such as the bottoms of other containers,touch any food.
9. Chill foods as quickly as possible over ice or in a cold-water bath before placing in the refrigerator.A gallon of stock placed in a refrigerator hot off the stove may take 10 hours to go below 41°F (5°C),giving bacteria plenty of time to grow.
10. When holding foods such as protein salads in a cold bain-marie or refrigerated table for service,do not heap the food above the level of the container.The food above this level will not stay cold enough.

Hot Food Holding

1. To keep foods hot for service,use steam tables or other equipment that will keep all parts of all foods above 135°F (57°C) at all times. 
2. Keep foods covered.
3. Bring foods to holding temperature as quickly as possible by using ovens,steamers,range-top pots and pans,or other cooking equipment.Do not warm cold foods by placing them directly in the steam table.They will take too long to heat,and bacteria will have time to grow. 
4. Do not let ready-to-eat foods come in contact with any contaminated surface.

Sources @ Professional Cooking Seventh Edition by Wayne Gisslen

@ Webster's New World Dictionary of Culinary Arts by Steven Labensky, Gaye G.Ingram and Sarah R. Labensky
@ Food Safety Seminar : Handling and Storage by Chef Ho Yeow Soon - The Australian Embassy Executive Chef