Level 2 Food Hygiene and Safety certificate
The Law
The most recent law governing food production and handling in the UK is the ‘Food Hygiene
(HACCP) Regulations’ act of 2006.
The Food Hygiene Regulations 2006 was essentially very similar to the previous legislation passed
1995 which basically stated that all food handlers must be supervised, instructed and trained in
food hygiene matters to a level that is appropriate to their job. However the 2006 act also had two
important new inclusions:
1) A Food Safety Management System must be implemented and records kept demonstrating
compliance with the legal regulations.
2) Businesses must identify steps critical to food safety & ensure adequate procedures are
identified, implemented, maintained & reviewed using HACCP principles.
Cost of Poor Food Hygiene
There are now high potential fines and even imprisonment for hygiene and food safety offences in
the UK. Food hygiene offences can receive a fine of up to £5,000 and even receive a 6 month
prison sentence. More serious Food safety offenses carry a potential fine of up to £20,000 and up
to 2 years in prison.
The Law relating to Food Handlers
Food Safety Law states that food handlers must:
Keep themselves & their workplace clean, and wear suitable, clean protective clothing
Store, prepare and display food at safe temperatures
Do everything possible to protect food from contamination
Inform their employer if they have symptoms of a food-borne illness
The Law also says food handlers must not:
Do anything that would expose food to contamination.
Sell food with an expired date mark or food unfit for human consumption
Employers and the Law
Owners and anyone who is in charge of food premises have greater legal responsibilities than food
handlers.
Included in their responsibilities are ensuring that:
Premises registered with the local enforcement authority
Premises designed, equipped and operated in ways which prevent contamination and anything
that could lead to illness or injury
Ensuring adequate washing facilities and arrangements for personal hygiene
Ensuring all staff are trained and supervised to work hygienically
Food hazards are assessed and action taken to stop or reduce risks to food safety (known as
hazard analysis)
Every person that deals with food has a legal responsibility to safeguard food so that it does not
cause illness or harm.
Powers of the Local Authorities
Every local authority in the UK has the power to control the sale of unfit, injurious or sub-standard
food. Environmental Health Officers, (EHOs), have the power to enter any establishment to carry
out an inspection or seize samples at any reasonable time.
An EHO may also impose an improvement order, close down your business, fine and prosecute
you.
It is illegal to prevent them from gaining access to your food premises. Failure to co-operate with
an EHO is a criminal offence.
Role of the EHO
If an Environmental Health Officer believes there is an imminent risk to people’s health, they will
issue a hygiene emergency prohibition notice and immediately close the business.
Your EHO’s role is to:
Carry out routine inspections
Investigate food poisoning outbreaks
Investigate food complaints
Ensure product safety and fitness
Monitor conditions and hygienic operations
Ensure compliance with legislation
Offer advice
Take away suspect food and have it condemned if it is unsafe.
Take companies to court for breaking food safety laws.
Food handlers should co-operate with food inspectors and environmental health officers and it is
an offence to obstruct their inquiries.
An EHO may also impose the following:
Improvement orders.
Closing down your business.
Fines and prosecutions.
Seizure of food with enforced destruction.
They may also impose a prohibition order on the owner, preventing them from running any other
food business as well.
Please note that the EHO is actually there to help you. Their responsibility is to ensure that the
food you produce/sell/serve to the general public is safe.
Due Diligence
You will sometimes hear the words, ‘Due Diligence’. This means in Law that you have taken all
reasonable precautions, (shown due diligence), to ensure food safety.
You have done everything you possibly can to make sure that the food you serve is safe.
We will explain what we mean by ‘all reasonable precautions’, as we go through the course.
Written records are also a good way of proving ‘due diligence’. If you can prove that you have
cooked the food to the correct temperature, stored the food correctly, and served the food at the
right temperature within a set time limit, these can be used as a ‘due diligence defence’. Ask your
manager what forms you need to use.
Examples
Please read the following carefully, they are important examples of how Due Diligence works:
If for example you see signs of pest activity, (a rat), and then you report this to your supervisor, you
have shown due diligence. If your supervisor then decides to do nothing about it, any fine from the
EHO, (£5000 to £20,000) will be imposed on your supervisor, not you.
If you are ill and report this to your supervisor before starting work, you have shown due diligence.
If your supervisor then tells you to come to work, then once again, any fine from the EHO, (£5000
to £20,000) will be imposed on the supervisor not you.
Always remember that the Law is there to protect yourself and more importantly to ensure that the
food you produce/sell/serve to the general public is safe.
Microbiological Hazards - Bacteria
Bacteria are life forms that are invisible to the naked eye, but live on and in our bodies and food.
There are thousands of different types of bacteria and many of them are useful bacteria. A few are
very harmful and can cause illness and encourage food to perish.
When food is contaminated it is impossible to see unless you look through a microscope. You can't
see, taste or smell bacteria.
Types of bacteria
It is important to remember though, that not all types of bacteria are harmful, most types of bacteria
are beneficial to humans and we would find it difficult to live without them. For this course we are
splitting bacteria into three groups; ‘helpful’ bacteria, ‘spoilage’ bacteria, and ‘pathogenic’ bacteria
Helpful Bacteria - Helpful bacteria allows us to grow crops, produce food including yoghurt, cheese
and fizzy drinks. It allows us to digest the food we eat, create medical drugs, and even treat
sewage to make safe.
Spoilage Bacteria – Spoilage bacteria makes food perish, known as spoilage, rotting, or decaying.
A good example of this is the green mould you will see on bread that is a few days old.
Pathogenic Bacteria – Pathogenic bacteria is the name given to bacteria that can transmit illness
such as food poisoning & food-borne disease.
Sources of Bacterial contamination
How does contamination occur? The simplest or least processed food can go through several
stages before reaching the customer and there are some products that go through many stages
before they are sold.
The contamination can go right back to the first process in the chain, such as growing,
slaughtering, harvesting, processing, packing, delivering, storing, preparing, cooking, displaying,
serving and selling.
Bacterial Contamination can occur when:
Raw foods are contaminated by bacteria found in the natural environment.
Pathogenic bacteria are transferred from raw food to high risk food at any stage of food handling.
Cross contamination occurs, ie when bacteria is carried by the food handler’s hands, utensils or
from raw food to high risk food.
Bacterial contamination occurs when raw food comes into contact with high risk food. If you touch
raw food and then touch a high risk food without first washing your hands, you can easily spread
bacteria. Also when liquid or juices from raw food comes into contact with high risk food.
Vehicles of contamination
Bacteria can only travel very small distances on their own, so they need something or someone to
help them, anything that helps bacteria to travel is called a 'vehicle of contamination'.
People, animals, equipment, utensils are the most common vehicles of contamination.
Vehicles of contamination move pathogenic bacteria from a contaminated source, such as raw
meat, to a place where the conditions are ideal for multiplication.
Preventing bacterial contamination
Bacterial contamination is responsible for most cases of food poisoning and food-borne disease. It
takes just a small number of pathogenic bacteria such as Campylobacter or E.coli 0157 to cause a
food-borne disease.
It is particularly important to ensure that:
Raw and high risk foods are kept apart at all times
This includes storage, transporting, preparation, display and point of sale
All surfaces that come into contact with raw food are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected after use
One good way to help prevent cross-contamination is to use colour coded preparation equipment,
such as chopping boards and knives. Each colour is designated for a particular use; red for raw red
meat, green for vegetables. This is a good idea as it helps remind food handlers to prepare raw
and high risk foods using separate equipment.
What do bacteria need to multiply?
When food poisoning bacteria spend enough time on the right types of food at ambient, (room),
temperatures, they can quickly multiply to dangerous levels.
The four main requirements bacteria need to multiply are:
1 Food 2 Moisture 3 Warmth and 4 Time.
1. Food - Bacteria are like all living things, they need nutrients, (food), to survive. Different types of
food poisoning bacteria can live on a range of foods but most prefer food that is moist and high in
protein.
Examples are meat, poultry, eggs, shellfish, milk and dairy products, cooked rice, pasta and any
product made from the foods listed. All these foods are subject to bacterial growth even after they
have been cooked and served cold later. Such ready to eat items are classified as High-Risk
Foods.
2. Moisture - Food poisoning bacteria must have moisture to stay alive. Bacteria will not multiply in
dried foods, but as soon as liquid is added to food like powdered milk, dried eggs, pasta, rice, then
the products will provide ideal conditions for bacteria to multiply. However if enough sugar or salt
have been added to foods such as bacon, biscuits, jam and confectionery, this will absorb the
available moisture in the food so the bacteria cannot multiply as easily.
Example. When you open the packet, the biscuits will be very dry. However, just watch what
happens to the biscuits if you leave then opened for a few days. They will go ‘soggy’ as they take
moisture from the air. Once this happens, bacterial multiplication starts again.
3. Warmth - Most food poisoning bacteria multiply at temperatures between 5°C and 63°C, known
as the ‘Danger Zone’. Room temperature (ambient temperature) is usually within the Danger Zone.
The ideal temperature for bacteria to multiply is 37°C, this is the average human body temperature.
When food is kept at temperatures colder than 5°C or hotter than 63°C, bacterial growth slows
down or stops. However, most bacteria can survive cold temperatures and resume multiplication
when conditions are more suitable, ie back in the Danger Zone.
Freezing will make bacteria dormant and kill many; however, it does not kill them all. When frozen
food is thawed it comes back into the Danger Zone and bacterial multiplication starts again.
4. Time - When food poisoning bacteria are left in warm conditions, (in the Danger Zone), on the
right type of food with adequate moisture, they will reproduce quickly.
Time is a critical point in preventing the multiplication of bacteria. Most types of food poisoning
bacteria take around 10 to 20 minutes to multiply. In a process known as ‘Binary Fission’, 1000
bacteria within 1 hour & 40 minutes will multiply to over 1 million bacteria!
If you stop or remove one of the 4 requirements (Food, Moisture, Warmth or Time) you will stop the
growth of bacteria.
Bacteria and the Danger Zone
Cooking at high temperatures kills most bacteria, provided that the food is cooked for long enough.
You must cook food for at least two minutes at 75°C right through to the centre or the thickest part
of the food.
Some types of bacteria can survive even higher cooking temperatures and other harsh conditions
like dehydration or disinfection. The reason why is that they form spores, a protective coating or
shell to protect themselves.
Bacteria do not multiply when they are in spore form, but as soon as conditions improve, back into
the Danger Zone, the bacteria emerge from their spores and will resume multiplication.
Food is likely to be in the Danger Zone if:
It is kept at room temperature
Heated slowly or cooled slowly
Left in the sun, such as in a shop window
A hot sauce is poured onto cold food
The key to safe food is to ensure that the time taken from preparation, cooking through to serving
is kept to a minimum
Prepare the food ideally within 30 minutes (if not put it back in the fridge)
Cook the food for 2 minutes at 75°C (to the centre or thickest part)
Serve the food within 20 minutes (or hot hold at above 63°C)
Always remember do not keep food in the Danger Zone any longer than necessary. Keep hot food
really hot and cold food really cold.
Always remember the Danger Zone is 5°C to 63°C.
High risk foods
High risk foods are usually high in protein & moisture. They must be stored separately in either
fridge or freezer, and are most commonly associated with food poisoning outbreaks.
Many high risk foods are ‘ready to eat’ and as a result they may not be cooked before serving. If
you cannot cook them, you cannot destroy any bacteria that may be present. As a result, you must
only leave these food types in the Danger Zone for the shortest amount of time possible.
Examples of High Risk Foods are:
Cooked Meat & Poultry
Pates, savoury spreads, gravy, stews, meat pies, stock.
Milk, cream, custards, cakes with cream, ice cream, dairy products.
Soft Cheese & egg based products, mayonnaise, mousse, quiches.
Shellfish, mussels, oysters.
Cooked rice & pasta
Baby Foods, (once opened).
Remember that chilled & frozen storage slows down bacterial multiplication, and time from
preparation through to service is critical.
Low risk foods
By removing moisture, (with sugar or salt), or by using a vinegar, (pickle), you are effectively taking
away one of the four main elements that bacteria need to survive. It is rare for these foods to be
associated with food poisoning outbreaks.
Examples of Low Risk Foods are Jam, biscuits, dried foods, cereal, pasta, rice, flour, crisps,
canned foods. However, you need to be aware that once they are brought back into the Danger
Zone, they can attract moisture and bacterial multiplication starts again.
You may also cook a dry food such as rice, pasta, gravy, custard powder. Once you have added
water, (moisture), bacterial multiplication can resume.
What Is Food Poisoning?
There are thousands of bacteria all around us that do no harm at all, but some known as
pathogenic bacteria are harmful and can cause illness.
The main culprits of food poisoning & carriers in the UK are :
Salmonella, accounting for 80% of cases (typically carried by chicken & eggs)
Staphylococcus Aureus, accounting for 5-15% of cases (typically carried by people)
Clostridium Perfringens, accounting for 1-4% of cases (typically carried in soil & animals)
Food poisoning is mainly caused by eating large numbers of pathogenic bacteria that are living on
or in the food. It takes many hundreds of thousands of bacteria to make you ill.
Other causes of food poisoning include:
Viruses living on and in people and animals
Moulds usually seen as spoilage on products such as bread
Chemicals such as cleaning chemicals and insecticides
Metals absorbed into food from unsuitable metal containers or lead/copper water pipes
Poisonous plants & fish, eg under-cooked red kidney beans, rhubarb leaves. Some mushrooms
such as toadstools. Some fish, including the Japanese Puffer Fish can kill you if not prepared
properly.
Definition of food poisoning
‘Food poisoning is an acute illness of sudden onset caused by the consumption of food containing
poisonous micro-organisms (bacteria)’.
Onset Time:
Duration:
Symptoms:
1 – 36 hours from eating the contaminated food.
1 – 7 days
Abdominal pain, diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea
Top 10 Causes of food poisoning
Food prepared too far in advance & stored at room temperature
(time in Danger Zone)
Cooling food too slowly, before being refrigerated/frozen/served
(time in Danger Zone)
Not re-heating food to a high enough temperature to kill bacteria
(82°C for 2 minutes)
Using cooked food that has already been contaminated with food poisoning bacteria
Undercooking food, (food cooked below 75°C for 2 minutes)
Not thawing frozen food correctly (typically poultry)
Cross contamination from Raw food to High-Risk foods
Eating raw foods such as eggs, fish & shellfish
Not storing hot food correctly (hot-holding at or above 63°c)
Food Handlers infected or using poor hygiene standards
‘Always remember The Danger Zone is 5°c to 63°c’
How do bacteria multiply?
Bacterial food poisoning occurs if food is eaten after it has been contaminated by pathogenic
bacteria and conditions allow the bacteria to multiply to levels that cause illness.
Bacterial food poisoning also occurs if bacteria are not destroyed by adequate cooking.
Bacteria reproduce by dividing. This process is called Binary fission.
Bacteria only needs ten to twenty minutes to multiply, it is therefore possible for one bacteria to
produce 3.2 million bacteria in less than 2 hours.
Most pathogenic bacteria make us ill when they pass into our bodies. But some bacteria such as
Staphylococcus aureus produce toxins in food even before we eat it. You are therefore likely to feel
ill shortly after consuming it.
Spores
There are other bacteria which make us ill by forming spores, protective coating which allows the
bacteria to survive very harsh conditions, such as cooking that would normally destroy the bacteria.
A spore is a clever defence mechanism designed to protect the bacteria from conditions such as
cold or high temperatures.
Spores are a protective shell that protects the bacteria in hot & cold situations, once the food
comes back into the Danger Zone the bacteria starts again to multiply.
The best defence is to reduce the time from preparation to service. In other words, do not give the
bacteria the time it needs to multiply to a dangerous level.
Bacteria found in rice is particularly effective at forming spore resistance and will not be killed by
reheating, so never store and reheat cooked rice.
Toxins
Toxins can be formed when the bacteria is destroyed.
Toxins are a defence method. Once you kill the bacteria, it releases a toxin, (poison), from its cell
wall. Toxins can be resistant to heat and may require cooking at high temperatures for a long time.
The best defence against toxin forming bacteria is:
Always use a reputable food supplier
Prepare / cook /serve quickly to reduce the time bacteria has to multiply
Good personal hygiene of food handlers
Food Borne Disease
Some illnesses are passed on to humans by micro-organisms that are carried on the food or water.
Many pathogenic micro-organisms are transported by water.
‘The food is the only method of transport. Bacteria does not need the food to grow or multiply’.
Examples of food borne disease include:
Campylobacter Enteritis
Escherichia coli 0157, (E.Coli)
Typhoid
Dysentery
Hepatitis
Tuberculosis (TB) - (Untreated Milk)
The incubation period can be days, weeks or months. The illness can last for one or two days, or
continue for years as the infection can invade the blood stream, and induce long-term health
problems.
Other symptoms can be kidney failure or paralysis, which can lead to death. Symptoms of foodborne disease are sometimes similar to bacterial food poisoning.
‘Food Borne disease does not need the food to multiply it only uses the food as a vehicle, (a host)
to enter your body. Food Borne disease takes longer for the symptoms to show, but the illness will
be more severe and will take longer to cure’.
Bacterial Food Poisoning is very different to Food Borne Disease. Unlike Bacterial Food Poisoning,
Food Borne Disease takes just a few of these micro-organisms to make you ill. Bacterial Food
Poisoning takes many more bacteria.
Does this really involve me?
Everyone who works in the food industry has a responsibility for safeguarding the health of our
customers. Staff must ensure the food they prepare & serve does not cause illness, injury or any
other problems. Food handlers have a legal obligation to produce & keep food Safe to eat. This
means everyone, no exceptions. You
How Can We Control Food Poisoning?
In this part of the course we will look at ways to destroy bacteria with temperature control.
By keeping food under proper temperature control you will destroy most food poisoning bacteria.
Temperature control is cutting down the amount of time high risk food is kept in the danger zone
and using high temperatures to kill bacteria.
The Basic Rules of Good Practice are:
Restrict the time that high risk foods spend in Danger Zone temperatures
Keep cold food cold, 5°C or colder to stop bacteria from multiplying
Keep hot food hot, at 63°C or hotter to stop bacteria from multiplying
‘The longer high risk food is at Danger Zone temperatures, the more chances bacteria have to
multiply to levels that cause food poisoning’.
Food will be in the Danger Zone if left in ambient temperatures, (room temperature).
Food passes through the Danger Zone while it is being cooled, thawed or heated.
Here’s a checklist of must-do items for controlling food poisoning:
Check temperatures as food is delivered to your workplace (use a probe thermometer)
Refrigerate raw, highly perishable & high risk foods immediately after delivery
Keep food refrigerated until it is needed for preparation or serving.
Cook food for at least 2 minutes at 75°c right through to the centre or the thickest part of the food
(82°c for 2 minutes in Scotland)*
Serve hot food at 63°C or hotter
Cool food rapidly, so that food spends as little time as possible in the Danger Zone.
Thaw frozen food in a refrigerator so that the outside temperature of the food cannot reach Danger
Zone temperatures whilst the inside is still frozen.
Re-heat food adequately to 82°c to kill most bacteria.
Serve within 20 minutes once the food has been prepared or cooked
*Cooking food at 75°C for 2 minutes will kill most of the bacteria. If you cook below this
temperature, bacteria have a better chance of survival and this can lead to food poisoning.
Checking Temperatures
Temperatures must be monitored and recorded.
All food businesses must check food temperatures regularly and keep records of the readings.
If it is your job to check a temperature, you must be trained on how to do so and told which
temperatures are unsafe and what action, corrective actions), you must take if a reading is unsafe.
Remember that poor temperature control leads to food poisoning.
Problems are usually caused by:
Preparing food too far in advance and keeping it at ambient temperatures
Leaving food at ambient temperatures instead of refrigerating it
Cooling food too slowly before refrigeration
Re-heating food inadequately
Under-cooking meat and poultry
Thawing frozen food insufficiently
Holding food at temperatures below 63°c for periods of time that allow bacterial multiplication
Always remember the Danger Zone 5°c to 63°c
Cooking
When you cook food, it must be hot enough to its core. Most bacteria are destroyed at
temperatures of 75°c or hotter when the core temperature is held for at least 2 minutes.
Always check the centre temperature of food near the end of the cooking period, (using a probe
thermometer), because the outside may be cooked while the centre of the food remains in the
Danger Zone.
Try to cut large joints of meat and poultry into smaller portions to ensure they cook evenly through
to the centre. Always cook stuffing separately so it does not prevent the meat or poultry from
cooking through to the centre.
Stir stews and casseroles during cooking to make sure there are no cool spots at temperatures in
the Danger Zone. In manufacturing, food is often produced in identical portions so as to ensure
that every item is cooked safely.
Hot Holding Food
At some stage you will probably want to keep food hot as you serve over a lunchtime or dinner
period.
You must keep the food, (hot hold), at a minimum temperature of 63°c. This will allow the food to
be protected against bacterial multiplication.
A good idea is to stir the food if possible. This way you will not get any cold spots. (Where the
temperature can allow bacteria to multiply)
The best way to hot hold is to use a bain-marie or under heat lamps on a service counter. Make
sure you check the food temperature regularly.
At the end of service it is recommended that you throw away any left-over food. If you do want to
store and re-heat at the next service, make sure you protect the food in suitable covered
containers, allow to cool, and store in either the fridge or freezer.
Remember that you cannot re-heat food more than once.
Cooling Hot Food
Hot food passes through the Danger Zone temperature as it cools, so the temperature must be
reduced as quickly as possible.
The best way to cool food is in a blast chiller, as this shortens the time the food spends in the
Danger Zone. However, most small businesses may not have a blast chiller. Therefore you should
aim to cool the food to 5°C or colder within 90 minutes and then refrigerate it.
Before refrigerating, transfer the food to a clean, cold container, make sure it is covered and move
it to the coolest part of the food area.
Never place hot food in the refrigerator as this will raise the temperature of the fridge and cause
condensation that could contaminate other food. Whenever possible use large shallow trays and
pans for cooling food in liquid, because the large surface area helps to accelerate the cooling
process.
Remove cooked meat joints and whole chickens from their juices before placing them in a clean
container with enough space to allow air to circulate.
Cover and protect all food from contamination while it is cooling.
Thawing Frozen Food
Raw foods such as meat and poultry must be completely thawed before cooking. Inadequate
thawing can result in food poisoning.
Here’s a quick guide to thawing frozen food:
If ice remains in poultry or meat, the surface of the food may cook while the inside temperature
remains in the Danger Zone.
Wherever possible thawing should take place in a thawing cabinet or in a refrigerator set aside for
this purpose.
If you have to use a fridge, always put the food you are thawing on the bottom shelf to prevent the
juices dripping onto other foods and cross-contaminating them.
Place the food in a container that will hold the thawing juices, without overflowing or dripping.
Microwave ovens can be useful for thawing, provided that the manufacturer's instructions are
followed carefully.
Always plan your work so as to give food ample time to defrost completely.
Cover food as it is thawing to prevent contamination
Never re-freeze thawed food.
Re-Heating Food
Re-heated food is a common cause of food poisoning. Problems occur if the food is not re-heated
sufficiently.
Only remove food from the refrigerator just before re-heating or serving, and always follow
instructions on prepared food. (Pre-cooked pies etc.)
It is good practice to re-heat food to a core temperature of at least 82°C for 2 minutes. If food does
not get hot enough, you will provide bacteria with an ideal temperature in which to multiply. Finally,
never re-heat food more than once and throw away any leftovers of re-heated food.
Displaying Food
Front of House Top Tips:
Food displayed for sale or service must be protected against all sources of contamination
Packaged food must be securely wrapped
If possible do not allow customers to handle open food
Open food must be covered by lids or protected by a sneeze guard
In self-service areas, there should be food servers such as tongs, spoons or slices available to
prevent customers touching the food with their hands
Make sure there is an adequate supply of forks and serving tongs & change regularly
Serving utensils must be inspected and changed regularly. Especially Ice Cream Scoops
Keep high risk and low risk foods separate
Regularly clean the service area
Regularly check temperatures. The use of a digital thermometer in front of customers will further
add confidence that you are supplying safe food
All plates and cups must be free from chips or cracks
Never re-use bread that has been placed on the table
Keep condiments, (sauces, ketchup), clean and covered if possible
Label menu’s correctly if there are any allergenic ingredients, (eg Nuts)
Where staff use scales to weigh raw meat, poultry, fish or any high risk food, they should place a
clean sheet of food paper on the weighing platform first
Try to have one person collecting money; if not make sure you wear gloves and change them
between handling food and money
Spoilage & Prevention
Gradually all food will deteriorate through the natural process of ageing, this is called spoilage.
As soon as you dig up a vegetable, take a fruit from its branch or kill an animal, it stops living and
starts to deteriorate. You must then either eat it very quickly or find a way to preserve it until it can
be eaten.
People have used different techniques for thousands of years, such as salting, smoking and drying
to slow down spoilage and to prolong the length of time the food is safe. We will now look at the
part, modern prevention methods play in food safety.
Spoilage starts from the moment the food is harvested or slaughtered because of the action of
micro-organisms, in particular spoilage bacteria and fungi including mould and yeast.
Some foods spoil faster than others but the spread of deterioration can be controlled by
preservation methods and safe food handling practices.
Food spoilage may also be accelerated by damage caused by careless handling, inappropriate
storage, i.e. poor temperature control and contamination by pests or chemicals.
Fungi
Many people love to eat mushrooms but are unaware that mushrooms are a fungus.
Other fungi are used in food production, for example certain types of mould help to produce blueveined cheese such as Stilton. Other types are yeasts which are used for making bread, beer and
vinegar.
However, the presence of unwanted yeast or mould, some of which produce toxins, can spoil food,
making it unfit for human consumption.
Recognising Spoilt Food
Spoilt food is sometimes easy to recognise. Typical signs include, discolouration, including dark or
pale patches.
Visible mould changes and the smell, often unpleasant. (Eg. Bread). Changes in texture, including
wrinkling and drying, softening and becoming pulpy.
Alteration to the usual flavour, including sourness. Some other conditions that accelerate spoilage
such as poor temperature control, this also encourages food poisoning bacteria to multiply.
You will probably have at least once in your life seen bread with green mould spots on it. This is
one of the most visible sign of mould.
For the mould to have become visible to the naked eye, it will have had to reach many, many
millions of bacteria. If you can see mould in one part of a loaf of bread, you must destroy the
whole loaf. Even if you cannot see if elsewhere, the bacteria will be present and growing!
The problems of serving or selling spoilt food include:
Causing a food-borne illness.
Breaking the law, because it is illegal to sell unfit food.
Gaining a poor reputation by serving food that is unappetising.
Offering food that has lost most of its nutritional value.
Signs of Spoilage
Meat/Poultry - Slime, discolouration, sour, odour & flavour, white spots & black spots
Fish - ‘Off’ odour, discolouration
Vegetables - Soft rot, foul odour, discoloration, black spots
Raw milk - ‘Off’ flavour & odour, rancidity
Pasteurised milk - ‘Off’ odours & flavours, bitty cream
Preventing Spoilage
The bacteria, yeasts and moulds that cause spoilage need food, moisture, warmth and time to
reproduce. All the same steps taken to prevent bacterial contamination and multiplication are also
needed to delay food spoilage.
Covering food, cleanliness, temperature, moisture levels and the length of time in storage all play a
part in delaying spoilage and keeping food safe and appetising to eat.
Organoleptic Checks
This may sound complicated, however, all this means is the normal checks you can carry out.
Organoleptic means touch, taste, smell, and visual checks.
If a food product does not smell right, tastes off or has signs of spoilage, mould etc. you must
immediately throw it away.
Preservation
A number of preservation methods delay spoilage or kill the spoilage bacteria that can make food
unfit to eat.
The Main Methods of Preservation are:
Heat treatment in cooking, canning, bottling, sterilising, pasteurising and ultra heat treatment
(UHT).
Freezing and refrigeration
Drying (dehydration)
Chemical preservation, such as curing, salting and pickling.
Vacuum sealing, vacuum packing.
Smoking, especially ham and sausages.
Irradiation
Typical Examples of Preservation are:
Heat
Milk for example can be pasteurised – heated to 63°C for 30 minutes.
This will preserve the milk for approx. 3 to 5 days and retain most of its flavour.
You can also use ultra heat treatment (UHT).
This will preserve the milk for approx. 12 months, however, it will also affect the taste and you
basically end up with something that looks like milk and tastes similar to water!
Please remember that once opened, you must treat UHT milk as you would pasteurised milk.
Botulinum Cook
Many major manufacturers cook their canned foods at very high temperatures.
This is called a botulinum cook and is at 121°C for 3 minutes and will affect the taste of the food
but essentially kill all bacteria and also allow you to store at ambient, (room temperature). Typical
examples of this would be Heinz Soup, Spaghetti, Baked Beans
Drying & Smoking
An example of this is dried fish. The reason for drying or smoking is to remove one of the four
elements bacteria needs to survive, moisture.
Freezing & Refrigeration
As we have already discussed, both of these methods are designed to slow down the multiplication
of bacteria by removing the food from the danger zone.
Chemical preservation
Salt & sugar have been used for thousands of years as a method to protect food.
They work by drawing moisture away and therefore removing one of the four elements bacteria
needs to survive.
An example of this would be a biscuit. Please note if you leave a biscuit exposed to the conditions
of a kitchen, you will notice that the biscuit goes “soggy”. This is because the dry biscuit is
absorbing moisture from the atmosphere. Once the biscuit is “soggy”, bacteria can start to multiply.
Pickling
A good method as bacteria cannot survive in high acidic liquids, such as vinegar.
Vacuum (sealing & packing)
This is designed to remove all air from a food and to seal and protect it.
‘Once any type packaging is opened, you will be exposing the food to the four elements bacteria
need to survive and the contents must be stored and handled as if they were fresh’.
Remember, It’s your responsibility to ensure that spoilt or unfit food is not served / sold to the
public. If you think a food is unsafe, you must report this immediately to your supervisor or
manager. Remember the phrase Due Diligence.
Date Marks
Food must be labelled with a date indicating the period when the food is safe to eat.
For example, Best Before End / Use By / Display Until
It is against the law to alter a date mark without re-treating or processing the food correctly.
Highly perishable packaged food, such as cooked meat, fish and dairy products, must be marked
with a use by date.
Less perishable items, such as frozen food, dried fruit, flour, cakes, cereals and canned food, must
carry a best before date.
‘Once any type of packaging is opened, you will be exposing the food to the four elements bacteria
need to survive and the contents must be stored and refrigerated plus used within specified time
on the container.'
Personal Hygiene
People are a common source of pathogenic (food poisoning) bacteria, so everyone who works with
food must have the highest possible standards of personal hygiene and personal habits to avoid
contaminating food.
You have a legal responsibility to observe high standards of personal hygiene. Remember your
responsibilities for Due Diligence.
It is always good practice to start work clean and tidy. This will give a good impression to any
customers you meet, but also play an important part in helping to protect food from contamination.
It helps to have a bath or shower each day. This will remove some of the bacteria that are naturally
found on hair and skin, this includes the bacteria that live on stale perspiration and cause body
odour.
Deodorants can help to prevent unpleasant body smells from developing after you have washed.
However, you must avoid strongly scented deodorants, perfumes, aftershaves and other toiletries
or cosmetics because they can impregnate the food.
Jewellery
Do not wear jewellery and watches while working because bacteria can live on and under straps
and rings. Most companies allow staff to wear a plain wedding ring and sleeper earrings. Ask about
your company policy.
Appropriate Clothing
Never wear or carry outdoor clothes into a food area because they could contaminate food.
Store outdoor clothes away from food areas, your employer should provide a separate area or
locker for this purpose.
Always put protective clothes on before entering a food area. Do not wear protective clothing
outside the food area, such as on your way to work, because you could cause contamination.
Protective clothing should be suitable for the task:
Clean and in good condition
Light coloured so they will show when they are dirty
Easy to clean
Typical examples are:
Overalls, jackets, trousers, aprons.
Neck scarves, hats, hair nets, beard nets, moustache nets.
Non-slip shoes, boots, safety shoes.
Gloves or gauntlets.
Body warmers may be provided for use in cold temperatures.
A hat or head covering must cover as much of your hair as possible.
Long hair must be tied or clipped back so it cannot hang loose outside the head covering.
Always put on your head covering first. This is because hair can fall onto your work clothes and
then onto the food. Never brush or comb your hair in a food area.
Essential Hand Hygiene
Wash your hands frequently throughout the day.
Even if you avoid touching the actual food directly, you will still touch equipment, utensils and
surfaces throughout the working day, so your hands must be clean at all times.
Always wash your hands:
Before:
Starting work.
Touching raw food or high risk food.
Between:
When handling raw and cooked food.
After:
Handling raw food
Visiting the toilet
Handling raw eggs in their shell
Coughing or sneezing into your hands or handkerchief
Touching your hair or face
Carrying out cleaning jobs or touching containers of cleaning chemicals
Handling outer case packaging
Returning from the store room
Dealing with rubbish/ waste and bins
Eating, drinking or smoking (in an area set aside for these activities)
After touching money
Never test food with your fingers. Do not wear nail varnish because it can chip off and flake into
food, it also hides dirt that should be removed before handling food.
Hand Washing Technique
1. Wet your hands with clean hot water
2. Use liquid soap to remove dirt and germs.
Use a bacterial soap if you have some.
3. Rub the liquid soap onto the palms and back of your hands.
Make sure you also rub between your fingers as well.
4. Rinse the liquid soap off, with clean hot water.
5. Dry your hands, ideally with a disposable towel or a hand dryer.
6. Rub a sanitising solution into your hands.
This is not mandatory; however, it is a good idea.
By law, separate hand wash basins with hot & cold running water, soap & drying facilities must be
provided. This is a potential instant closure point during EHO inspections.
Unhygienic Habits
Many unhygienic habits seem harmless until you remember how easily food poisoning bacteria are
spread.
Do not be tempted to do any of these:
Pick your nose, or wipe your nose on a sleeve
Cough or sneeze over food, or spit
Test food with your finger, or with a spoon that has not been washed thoroughly
Blow or breathe on glassware or cutlery to polish them.
Handle food without first washing your hands.
Fail to wash your hands after going to the toilet or handling rubbish.
Eat or smoke in a food area.
Every time you bring a cigarette or food to your mouth, you contaminate your hands with bacteria.
You can then spread the bacteria to food. There is also the risk of physical contamination from the
cigarette ash.
If in doubt, wash your hands, it’s as simple as that.
Cuts & Spots
Cover cuts, scratches and spots with a waterproof plaster to prevent the spreading of bacteria to
food. Use waterproof plasters that are highly coloured (usually blue) so they can be seen if they
come off.
Some plasters contain a thin metal strip so they can be automatically identified by a metal detector
on production lines. If you do lose a plaster tell your supervisor immediately.
If you have a septic cut, weeping spot or boil, you must report this to your supervisor before you
start work, (remember due diligence).
Remember, people are the main source of Staphylococcus food poisoning bacteria. 40% of people
carry the bacteria in their nose & mouth.
Reporting illness
You must tell your employer, manager or supervisor before starting work if you have had, or are
currently suffering from a food-borne illness or any illness with similar symptoms. Again, this is a
due diligence issue.
It is a legal requirement of yours to report certain illnesses to your employer. You may need a
doctor’s approval before you can return to work.
Symptoms you must tell your employer about include:
Diarrhoea.
Vomiting.
Nausea.
Ear, eye and nose discharges.
You must also report symptoms if any of your family or close personal contacts have symptoms of
food-borne illness. You could be a carrier and could contaminate food or other people with
pathogenic bacteria without having any symptoms of illness yourself.
If you are told to see a doctor, you must tell the doctor you are a food handler. Your doctor will
decide whether any medical tests are needed and when you can return to work.
Food Safety Training
By law, every food handler must be trained in food safety to a level that matches their job.
You must have completed your training within 3 months of starting work and ideally all food
handlers should have reached a minimum Level 2 standard.
This should be refreshed every 3 years and training records should be completed to provide
evidence of training. More important is that you understand the training and implement the training
into your day to day activities.
Food Safety Management Systems & Storage
Since January 2006, a number of new food hygiene regulations have applied in the UK.
These now state that ALL UK food and drink businesses must put in place a ‘food safety
management system including HACCP’ and keep up-to-date records.
This is not optional or guidance, it’s the law. Owners of food businesses are legally required to
carry out a hazard analysis of their food activities.
This must be done by looking at every stage in the handling of food and deciding at which point
there could be a risk to food safety. Various measures must then be taken to control the hazards
that have been identified.
Such control measures include checking and recording the temperatures of refrigerators and taking
prompt remedial action if there is a problem.
The owner must keep the controls under constant review and must carry out a new analysis if
there is a change in the business, such as using different ingredients, products or processes.
HACCP
HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point.
This is a part of the total system which helps food businesses to ensure that every process that
may involve a risk to food safety is being controlled and detailed records are being kept. The
system is basically designed to make sure that food is controlled and monitored right from
purchase through to service.
By law, your Food Safety Management System (FSMS) needs to incorporate, ie be based on
HACCP principles.
‘HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point’
Controls & Monitoring
Controls are put in place to make sure that food is delivered properly, stored correctly and then
served correctly. Within this chapter we will show you examples of good control measures.
Monitoring is where you monitor the food at delivery, storage, prep, cook & serve stages.
You will either be checking food for signs of damage and spoilage, or you will be monitoring the
temperature of fridges and freezers to ensure they stay within their critical limits.
You will also be checking the core temperature of the food you cook and possibly the temperature
of any re-heating or hot holding equipment. Monitoring basically involves the recording of
information onto to a number of forms.
Critical Limits
Critical Limits are limits that have been set to ensure that food is safe.
Fridges should operate between 1°c and 4°c. You should check the temperate of the fridge at least
twice a day, and record the information onto the correct form.
Freezers should operate between -18°c to -22°c. Again, the temperature should be checked at
least twice a day and recorded.
If you are cooling cooked food, you need to record the time it has been cooling.
Corrective Action
Corrective actions are the practical steps you carry out when something goes wrong in your Food
Safety Management System.
Important example
On checking a freezer, the temperature is at -10°C. In this scenario, you should check the
temperature of the food with a probe thermometer, and if they food is still at -18°C ideally you need
to move it to another freezer. (This should be recorded).
Alternatively, it may be possible to thaw the food and cook as soon as possible. If neither can be
achieved, then the food must be destroyed and the information recorded.
The moving of the food to another freezer, or thawing and cooking are Corrective Actions.
Food Safety Management Systems & you
You will probably be involved in some of the actions that play an essential part in hazard analysis,
such as keeping accurate records of temperatures.
Whatever your job involves, you will play an important part in food safety control by:
Following the rules at your workplace.
Protecting food from contamination.
Following the basic rules of temperature control.
Looking out for any food hazards.
Reporting faults, problems or possible food hazards to your manager.
‘Legally it is your responsibility to learn about hazards, controls and monitoring procedures needed
to ensure that all aspects of food from delivery right through to service are safe’.
You must report immediately any hazards or problems to your supervisor or manager.
Delivery and Storage
In this section we will look at the steps needed to keep food and ingredients fresh and safe to eat
until they are to be used.
Dealing with Food Deliveries
Delivery vehicles used for delivering food should be specially designed for this purpose and must
be kept clean. They should be refrigerated if they are to carry high risk or highly perishable foods.
Every food business should have guidelines for accepting or rejecting food deliveries.
Key deliver points to be checking:
Is the food fresh, is it at the correct temperature and is the packaging clean and undamaged.
Deliveries must be checked as soon as they arrive and the food must be stored immediately
afterwards.
Reasons for Rejecting a delivery:
High risk or perishable foods delivered with a danger zone temperature.
Frozen food thawed or partly thawed.
Packaging dirty, wet or damaged.
Cans dented, bulging, rusty or leaking.
Signs of mould or other forms of spoilage.
An expired date mark, when food has gone past a use by or best by date.
The aim of storage
Correct storage is when food is kept in the right conditions, at the correct temperature for the
appropriate period.
Correct storage helps to:
Prevent food-borne illness.
Preserve the food's taste, appearance and nutritional value.
Provide adequate supplies when they are needed.
Avoid spoilage and wasted food.
Keep to the budget.
Keep within the law and avoid prosecution for selling unfit food.
Stock Rotation
Use the stock with the shortest shelf life before using a similar product with a longer shelf life.
‘The golden rule of stock rotation is: first In, first out’
When storing or displaying food always put the stock with the shortest shelf life at the front, this
should then be used first. Always check the date mark, packaging and condition of the food before
use.
Refrigerated Storage
All high risk and perishable foods must be refrigerated.
Food kept at 0°c to 5°c will prevent or slow down bacterial multiplication.
Examples of Food to be kept Refrigerated:
Raw meat poultry and fish
Cooked meat, poultry, fish and seafood
Meat, poultry and fish products, such as pies and pates
The contents of opened cans, once they have been transferred to suitable containers. (Never put
an opened metal tin in the fridge. The metal will rust quickly and be a cause of chemical
contamination).
Vacuum packed raw meat, poultry and fish
Unopened pasteurised canned food, such as ham
Milk, dairy products and products containing them, such as a quiche
Anything labelled for refrigeration, such as bottled sauces without preservatives
Prepared salads
Eggs should be kept in a fridge provided there is no chance of contamination. Otherwise, eggs
should be kept in a cool storeroom
Some vegetables and fruit can be refrigerated if desired, but ensure they are separated from other
foods.
Stacking Food in Refrigerators
Use separate refrigerators or cold stores if at all possible. This way you can store raw foods such
as meat and poultry in one fridge and high risk foods such as dairy products and cooked meats in
the other.
‘Where you have to use just one fridge always store raw meat and poultry on shelves below other
food so that blood or juices cannot drip onto other foods and cross-contaminate them’.
Stack shelves neatly so you can easily check the stock. Allow enough room around food for air to
circulate, this way, the fridge will be able to operate more efficiently and reach is target
temperature quickly.
It’s important to:
Not leave refrigerator doors open any longer than necessary as the temperature inside the fridge
will rise and the food may be exposed to the Danger Zone.
Not put hot food in a refrigerator as this will raise the temperature inside and may cause
condensation which can cause cross-contamination by dripping onto other food.
Frozen Storage
Foods kept in freezers will keep bacteria dormant at temperatures of -18°C or below so they
cannot multiply.
‘Freezing does not kill all the bacteria. Some foods can contain spores and often survive freezing.
Once the food enters the Danger Zone, bacterial multiplication will start again’.
Frozen food should never be re-frozen once it has thawed or partly defrosted. This is because the
food may have been sufficiently warm for long enough to allow bacteria to resume multiplication.
Stacking a Freezer
Just as you would in a fridge, place raw foods below high risk foods to avoid any risk of
contamination.
Place stock with a shorter shelf life in front of stock with a longer shelf life. Keep food in the
suppliers packaging if it is clean and undamaged and always re-seal opened packaging.
If food needs to be re-wrapped label it clearly and include the date it was frozen. Do not put
unwrapped food in the freezer as it could become contaminated, cause contamination or be
damaged by freezer burn.
Dry Goods Storage
Dry goods must be stored in cool, dry, well ventilated conditions. The goods must be kept off the
floor, with sufficient space around to allow air to circulate and for you to check the goods.
Never stack food in cardboard boxes directly on the floor or against a wall. This is because it will
attract moisture from the wall or floor and destroy the packaging. It is better to stack onto shelves.
Three key rules to dry good storage:
Food must be kept in secure packaging or containers as many dry foods attract pests.
Although dry and canned foods have a long shelf life, you must take care to check and rotate stock
regularly.
Root vegetables, such as potatoes need a cool dark storage area. Keep away from other foods to
make sure that soil does not contaminate the other foods.
Premises & Equipment
The correct design of food premises, equipment and operations ensures that food stays safe.
This part of the course looks at the main requirements for food premises and equipment.
All food premises must be suitable for the type of food involved and the preparation and processes
being carried out. There are lots of different types of designs, listed below are the minimum
requirements.
You must allow for a safe working environment with ample room for the separation of raw and
cooked foods and the separation of clean and dirty activities.
Key premises & equipment considerations must dos:
Provide good safe waste disposal areas
Ensure that staff have adequate facilities for cleaning
Provide facilities for personal hygiene
Prevent pest infestation by pest proofing the building, installing door and window screens
Implement a pest control schedule
Provide chilling equipment that is out of direct sunlight
Allow enough ambient, chilled, frozen storage to cope with your peak demand
There is a constant supply of fresh mains water, (this is called potable water)
Ensure adequate drainage capable of removing waste water and food debris quickly
Also it’s important to provide means for staff to control the temperature of food, including: providing
adequate ventilation to stores, food preparation rooms, refrigerators and freezers.
Construction
Materials used in construction must be:
Durable & impervious
Smooth & easy to clean.
Light coloured, so that dirt can be seen and easily cleaned.
Heat resistant.
Health & safety of all members of staff must be a main consideration in the design of the premises.
Wall and ceiling surfaces must be smooth, without joints or cracks which could harbour bacteria or
pests.
Key additional considerations:
Wall ceilings and floors should be grease resistant to prevent contamination.
Coving between floors and walls makes cleaning much easier and prevents food and insects from
lying undetected.
Doors and windows should have fly screens or strip curtains to reduce the risk or contamination.
Woodwork must be smooth and sealed with no flaking paint.
Work surfaces should be smooth without joints or cracks and heat resistant where appropriate.
‘Your building should be designed to prevent any type of physical contamination from coming into
contact with the food’.
Premises should be well designed to be easily cleaned and if needed, disinfected. They should
also be designed to prevent gaps, cracks & hidden areas that will allow bacteria to grow / food
debris to remain undetected. This will also help to deter pests.
Utensils and Equipment
The best materials for food equipment and utensils are:
Durable & easy to clean.
Smooth and resistant to chipping or cracking.
Impervious & non-toxic.
Rust resistant. Food Grade stainless steel is best.
Tableware should have no chips or cracks that could harbour bacteria. Work surfaces ideally
should be stainless steel. Wood is not acceptable as tiny scratches in the surface will harbour
bacteria.
Colour coded equipment and utensils are best.
Chopping boards, knife handles ideally should be made of polypropylene, (plastic).
Soft wood is not recommended as it is absorbent and can not be properly cleaned.
The use of different coloured boards and knives is also recommended:
Red is for raw Food
Yellow is for cooked Food
Green is for vegetables & salad
Plant & equipment
Processing machinery should be designed to provide easy access for cleaning and maintenance.
Large cookers, fridges and freezers should be mobile so they can be cleaned underneath.
There should be enough refrigerator space to store raw and cooked food separately.
Services & facilities
To ensure food safety in your establishment your employer must provide:
Lighting: It is essential that there is sufficient lighting for you to be able to work safely and to help
with cleaning waste material / dirt.
Fluorescent lights should be protected by diffusers to stop any broken glass falling onto food.
Ventilation: You must allow for reasonable working conditions and to reduce steam &
condensation.
Water & washing: Hot water, toilets and basins for staff use. Basins for hand washing must be
provided in the toilet area and at least one wash hand basin in food preparation areas.
All wash basins should have hot and cold running water.
The wash hand basins must not be near any washing up sink or sink for washing food.
Ideally with foot-operated or wrist operated taps to prevent cross-contamination.
Washing materials such as liquid soap must be provided.
Drying materials such as disposable paper towels or automatic hand dryers.
‘Never wash your hands in a washing up sink or attempt to wash food or utensils in a wash hand
basin, as this can spread bacteria’.
You employer should supply a well-stocked first aid box within easy reach and instruct staff on
where the box is situated.
Work flow
There must be a well-planned route for food and food handlers through the food preparation areas.
This will safeguard food from the moment it arrives until it is ready to be sold.
Effective work flow includes keeping raw and cooked foods in separate areas and keeping clean
and dirty areas as far apart as possible.
‘Essentially the premises and equipment must be fit for purpose.
You must be able to store, prepare, cook & serve Safe Food’
Food Pests
Pests are attracted to any place where food is stored, prepared, sold, served or thrown away.
They can enter buildings through open windows and doors, or even the smallest cracks in walls,
around windows and pipes.
A food pest is any creature that lives on, or in human food, causing damage, contamination or
both. Pests are a source of food contamination (cross contamination)
The main pests are:
Insects - flies, moths, ants, cockroaches and wasps
Stored product pests such as beetles, mites and weevils
Rodents rats and mice
Birds - pigeons, sparrows, starlings and seagulls
It is important to remember that food premises are attractive to pests because they contain
everything most pests need to survive; Food, Moisture, Warmth & Shelter
Pets
Family pets, dogs, cats, hamsters, etc. can contaminate food if they are allowed into food areas.
There have been many cases of food poisoning where someone has contaminated food after
handling pets.
‘You may have a dog or cat at home and you may feed or stroke the pet before cooking. In a food
establishment, this is illegal. They are not allowed in any food area’.
Unhealthy Habits
Many pests inhabit unhealthy places where they pick up pathogenic bacteria. For example, rats
live in sewers, while flies live on food found on rubbish tips, dustbins, drains and animal droppings.
Some pests also have pathogenic bacteria living inside their bodies, these can be spread to food
from their droppings or through their saliva as they eat. As well as spreading food poisoning
bacteria, pests can spread food-borne diseases such as dysentery and other illness such as Weil's
disease (from water contaminated by rat urine)
Rats teeth never stop growing, so they must continuously chew, (gnaw), to keep them short. Rats
have been known to gnaw through electric cables, gas & water pipes, even concrete.
Flies are a major pest as they may land on hundreds of surfaces and food products in a relatively
short space of time. For flies to eat food, they firstly vomit, (are sick), on the food and eat this
combination of vomit & food. They will then fly onto another area and spread the bacteria even
further.
Pests also cause physical contamination with their droppings, eggs, fur, nesting material, mites,
parasites and their own dead bodies.
Problems from pest Infestations
Damage to a business' reputation and profit.
Food contamination and wastage.
Damage to buildings, equipment and electrical cables, causing fire and other safety hazards.
Non-compliance with the law.
The spread of diseases, including food poisoning and food-borne disease.
Preventing Problems
Effective pest control involves protecting premises so that pests cannot gain access. (Sometimes
called denial of access). This is known as proofing.
You must protect food from contamination and take swift, safe action to deal with any infestation
that occurs. Additionally, your employer has the responsibility for ensuring that your workplace is
designed and equipped to keep pests out.
You can play your part in preventing problems by following these rules:
Keep food covered at all times
Store food off the floor in suitable containers
Never leave food outside
Check deliveries carefully (some pests enter food premises in packaging, vegetables, fruit, cereals
and grain)
Check stored goods regularly and rotate stock
Report any signs of damage, torn, pierced or gnawed packaging
Store waste food in bins with securely fitting lids
Keep door and window screens closed
Tell your supervisor if you see any holes in brickwork or around windows, doors or pipes
Remember to maintain a clean workplace (paying special attention to food preparation areas,
stores, drains, gullies and bin areas, and cleaning as you go, ensuring that you clean up any
spilled food immediately).
Evidence of a problem
Preventing food pests entering is always best, but we know this is not easy. Therefore it is
essential to keep a look out for signs of pests. Do this regularly and particularly during stock
rotation, cleaning and dealing with refuse.
You must report any sighting or signs of pests to your supervisor.
Main signs of a problem are:
Dead bodies mainly insects, rodents and birds.
Droppings.
Unusual smells.
Scratching pecking or gnawing sounds.
Gnawed pipes, cables and fittings.
Torn or damaged sacks or packaging, sometimes surrounded by spilled food.
Eggs, larvae, pupa, feathers, fur, nesting material.
Paw or claw prints.
Smears and rat runs (rodents)
Dealing with an infestation
Most companies use a specialist contractor to kill pests. (Rentokil)
Most infestations may be tackled using:
Bait and baited traps.
Poisons - pesticides and insecticides.
Electric ultraviolet fly killers.
Cleaning & Disinfection
If you were going to eat in a cafe or restaurant you would expect it to be clean, and your food
cooked hygienically.
A clean and tidy workplace creates a good impression as well as helping to make a safe, pleasant
environment for everyone.
‘A phrase and habit that you need to always remember is - clean as you go’
The aim of cleaning
The process of cleaning something is to make sure it is free from dirt and contamination.
It involves a lot of energy. Activities include wiping, rubbing, scouring, scrubbing, brushing and
sweeping. Cleaning is important if we are to keep food and the workplace safe.
Cleaning helps to:
Protect food from contamination
Reduce opportunities for bacterial multiplication, by removing food particles
Protect food from physical and chemical contamination
Avoid attracting pests
Prevent accidents such as slipping on a wet or greasy floor
Create a good impression for customers
Carry out legal obligations to keep food safe.
Safe Cleaning Precautions
Before you start cleaning, make sure that food is safely stored out of the way and cannot be
contaminated.
If you are cleaning a refrigerator, cold room or freezer, ensure that the food is kept at a safe
temperature outside the danger zone.
Switch off and isolate electrical equipment, such as slicers, refrigerators, vending machines,
processing machines with dry hands before you start to clean.
Ensure that you know how to use a cleaning chemical safely and always follow the manufacturer's
instructions.
Do not leave them to soak in disinfectant for longer than the manufacturer's recommended contact
time because bacteria may become resistant to the chemicals. Never leave them to soak
overnight.
Additional guidelines include:
Wear protective clothing, such as rubber gloves and goggles, appropriate to the job
If you are in any doubt about the safe use of chemicals, ask your supervisor
Never mix chemicals together, they could explode, cause toxic fumes or burn your skin
Work through the stages of cleaning in a way that does not spread dust or dirt
Avoid being distracted in a way that puts you, other people or food at risk
Clean and disinfect mops and cloths soon after use and leave them to dry in the air
Always store chemicals, cleaning equipment away from food
Only store chemicals in the original labelled containers designed for that purpose
‘Always wash your hands before starting another task, and if in doubt about anything, ask your
supervisor’
Detergents vs Disinfectants
Detergents help to dissolve grease and remove dirt. With the use of some physical energy, a
detergent and hot water you will remove food waste, grease and dirt.
‘You will not kill bacteria with a detergent. To prevent the bacteria from causing illness, items and
equipment must be disinfected after they have been cleaned’.
Disinfectants kill 99.9% of bacteria. In other words, they reduce bacteria to a safe level.
To reduce bacteria to a safe level you must either:
Use very hot water, 82°C or hotter
Use a chemical disinfectant.
Heat disinfection and chemical disinfection are often combined. Cleaning chemicals that reduce
bacteria to a safe level are called disinfectants. They destroy enough bacteria to safeguard health,
even though they cannot kill all food poisoning bacteria and their spores.
Disinfectants must be used after cleaning with detergent, because disinfectant cannot remove
grease and dirt.
The disinfectant must be left on the surface long enough to work properly, this is called the 'contact
time'. The manufacturer's instructions should explain how long the contact time should be.
Many companies use a sanitiser instead of detergent and then a disinfectant.
Sanitisers combine a detergent and a disinfectant. They clean and disinfect provided there is
enough contact time allowed.
What to disinfect
You must disinfect all surfaces that come into contact with raw or high risk foods, anything that is
frequently touched by hand.
You must also disinfect other items that create a risk of contamination including between uses of
an item for different foods, eg knives & chopping boards.
The items that you disinfect depend on their use and it is important to find out which items you
need to disinfect. A phrase and habit that you need to remember is ‘clean as you go’.
Cleaning
Items that require regular cleaning include:
Food contact surfaces, chopping boards, preparation tables, work surfaces.
Food processing machinery such as slicers, mixers and mincers.
Knives, tongs and other utensils including, containers.
Hand contact surfaces, including:
Handles, doors, refrigerators, freezers, cupboards, drawers, taps, switches.
Cloths, mops, waste bins and their lids.
When to clean
Any items or area where food poisoning bacteria can multiply, such as chopping boards, must be
cleaned and disinfected frequently throughout the work period.
This is commonly described as 'clean as you go' cleaning. It involves clearing and cleaning up after
every task. Eg you should clean and disinfect work surfaces after handling raw meat.
‘You are the one responsible for cleaning as you go. Do not presume that someone else may clean
up after you’.
Some equipment and areas may be cleaned at less frequent intervals than those requiring clean
as you go treatment. Here are a few examples:
Daily cleaning tasks:
Weekly cleaning tasks:
Monthly cleaning tasks:
Floors, bins
Underneath a refrigerator
High level cleaning
Your employer is responsible for working out a time table, known as a cleaning schedule.
This sets out when and how different items and areas should be cleaned and who should do the
cleaning.
A Cleaning Schedule should include:
Item or area to be cleaned
Frequency of cleaning required
Chemicals to be used, protective clothing to be worn and safety precautions to take
Staff involved, incl named person responsible for checking cleaning has been done
The cleaning schedule may include the names of cleaning contractors who carry out specialist
tasks, such as moving or dismantling machinery or using particularly hazardous chemicals or
techniques.
Six Stages of Cleaning
Stage 1 - Pre-clean. Remove loose and heavy soiling, for example, scrape plates and chopping
boards, or soak pans.
Stage 2 - Main clean. Wash with hot water and detergent.
Stage 3 – Rinse. Remove any traces of detergent and food particles with clean hot water.
Stage 4 – Disinfection. Use a chemical disinfectant, and leave it on for the correct contact time.
Stage 5 - Final rinse. Use clean hot water.
Stage 6 – Dry. If possible, leave items to dry naturally in the air, because the use of drying cloths
can spread bacteria. If you have to use a cloth try to use disposable paper ones.
Cleaning work surfaces
When cleaning a work surface you must:
Protect food from contamination; move it away from the area to be cleaned
Remove any loose dirt
Wash surface with hot water and appropriate detergent, using a cloth or a scourer
Rinse with hot water and clean cloth
Use a chemical disinfectant following manufacturer's instructions, incl contact time
Rinse with clean water. Air dry or use a disposable paper towel.
Washing by Hand
Many food activities involve washing some items by hand. Use the following guidelines to ensure
you are operating safely.
Washing by hand guidelines:
Wherever possible use two sinks side by side
Wear rubber gloves to protect your hands from the hot water and chemicals
Remove particles of food, scrape and rinse if necessary
Wash the items, ideally in the first sink, with hot water (at about 55°c)
Use a detergent and a cloth or a brush
Replace the water if it becomes cool or greasy
Rinse in very hot water, 82°c is ideal
Leave the items to soak in disinfectant for 30 seconds, in a 2nd sink if possible
If possible, use a purpose designed basket to lower and lift the items out of the water
Rinse in very hot water, 82°c is ideal
Dry items, preferably leave to air dry in a clean, dry area safe from contamination
Dishwashers
Dishwashers provide an effective way to clean and disinfect items used in the preparation of food.
Rinse cycles usually run at 82°c to 89°c.
Make sure the machine is stacked without blocking the cleaning jets and is filled with the right
amount of the correct chemicals.
‘Detergents remove food waste, grease and dirt, disinfectants kill bacteria. Always use them in this
order’.
Rubbish Disposal
Food waste and other rubbish, such as food packaging, can be a source of bacterial and physical
contamination. It will also attract pests if not disposed of properly.
There needs to be 2 types of bins at food premises:
Inside bins near food preparation areas
Large bins in special refuse areas outside
The inside bins need to be within the food handler's easy reach. However, they must not be so
close to food as to create a risk of contamination.
Bins indoors should have a well-fitting lid and be lined with a disposable polythene sack.
Foot operated bins are best as you do not have to touch any part of the bin by hand.
A bin in constant use, such as one used for the waste from plates before they go into the
dishwasher, may be used without a lid, provided that it is emptied as soon as the task is finished.
Additional bin guidelines:
Always leave bin lids closed, unless you are throwing something away.
Remove rubbish throughout the day.
Tie the bag securely and take it outside.
Put it into a dustbin with a tight fitting lid or into a waste skip with a lid.
Never let a bin overflow or leave rubbish inside food premises overnight, it will attract pests.
Keep bins, their lids, and areas around them clean and tidy at all times.
Always empty and clean bins and their lids at the end of the work period.
Always wash your hands after dealing with refuse and waste food.
Keep bins and refuse areas clean.
Finally, always put the rubbish bags in the bins, making sure that the bin lids are on securely to
protect the rubbish from scavengers such as cats, dogs, birds. And tell your employer if refuse bins
become full, you may need additional bins or extra collections.