Food Safety Update - Skillsoft

8 July 2013

Food Safety Update

Judith Hutchinson

Food Safety Update

Gloves remove the problem of food handlers with contaminated hands

Paper towels remove more bacteria from the hands than warm air driers

Hot food must be cooled to below 10˚C before it is placed in the refrigerator

Food Safety Update

Good science or bad advice?

Nailbrushes should never be used by food handlers

Food handlers can only wash theirhands properly if using bactericidal soap

Colour is a better indicator than a clean, accurate thermometer for confirming that food is cooked safely.

Good science or bad advice?Food Safety Update

USDA carried out research to determine the prevalence of premature browning in cooked minced beef. More than 25% of the fresh burgers turned brown prematurely (before reaching the safe temperature of 71°C). USDA reaffirmed the Agency's advice that colour is an unreliable indicator of doneness. Consumers should use a food thermometer to be sure burgers reach 71°C.

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/factsheets/Color_of_Cooked_Ground_Beef/index.asp

Food Safety Update

Fact

● Contamination (horsemeat scandal)● Allergens● Chicken liver pate*● Cut fruit*● Sous vide in catering*● Food Hygiene rating scheme● Campylobacter *● E coli Guidance *

* FSA 2013 priorities

Food Safety Update

Current food safety issues

Food Safety Update

Food safety will always be topical

Food Safety Update

● will be extended to non-prepacked foods and catering situations with flexibility in how businesses provide this to consumers

● likely to apply from 2014.

Allergen information requirements:

Food Safety Update

BREAKING NEWS

Impact of new regulation for caterers

● Always check - never guess─ If you check but you’re still not sure,

tell the customer so they can decide for themselves

● List common allergens on a chef card, label or menu – and make sure the information is accurate.

Food Safety Update

Current guidance

● Keep up-to-date ingredients information for any ready-made foods that you use

● If someone asks you to make some food for them that does not contain a particular ingredient, don’t say yes unless you can make sure that absolutely none of that ingredient will be in the food.

Food Safety Update

Current guidance

● If you’re making food for someone with an allergy, make sure work surfaces and equipment have been thoroughly cleaned. And wash your hands thoroughly before preparing that food.

● Make sure you know what is in all the ingredients you use, including cooking oils, dressings, toppings, sauces and garnishes.

Food Safety Update

Current guidance

● If you change the ingredients of a food, make sure you update your ingredients information and tell other staff about the change.

Food Safety Update

Current guidance

● Its not really a food safety problem, if someone is allergic to something its up to them to sort it out

● People aren’t really allergic to a food● A little bit won’t make any difference● It can be cooked out or rinsed away● If its hidden in a product, then the person

won’t know and it won’t be an issue.

Food Safety Update

Common misconceptions

Gluten/Wheat

SoyaGluten/wheat

None! Gluten/Wheat

Similar products may include different allergens:don’t substitute without checking

Food Safety Update

Allergens

Gluten/wheatSoya

Sulphite

Gluten/wheatSoya

SulphiteMilk

CeleryEgg

Mustard

Food Safety Update

Allergens


Milk


Food Safety Update

Allergens

None


Food Safety Update

Allergens

EggGluten

Milk


Food Safety Update

Allergens

None


Food Safety Update

Allergens

1. Pesto sauce2. Meat pie3. Tomato puree4. Vegetarian lasagne5. Chicken satay 6. Tinned custard7. Fromage frais 8. Salted potato crisps9. Boiled sweet

10. Vegetable stock powder11. Pre packed pineapple12. Vegetable stir fry with tofu13. Rye bread14. Sultanas15. Christmas cake 16. Hummus

Food Safety Update

Spot the allergen exercise GE

Food Safety Update

● Over 90% of cases of a common form of food poisoning in catering venues 2011 were due to people eating undercooked chicken liver pate, often at weddings

● The HPA found that livers used to make the parfait or pate were undercooked allowing the liver to remain pink in the centre

● The main causative organism is Campylobacter.

Food Safety Update

BREAKING NEWS

Chicken liver pate

● Campylobacter is the most common cause of food poisoning in the UK

● In 2009 there were more than 300,000 cases of campylobacter infection resulting in more than 17,500 hospitalisations and 88 deaths (England)

● Campylobacter is found mainly in poultry but also in red meat, unpasteurised milk and untreated water

● 75% of all raw/shop bough chicken is contaminated with Campylobacter

● Low dose pathogen.

Food Safety Update

Campylobacter

● Good hand hygiene● Avoidance of cross contamination

– Separation of raw and cook foods at storage and preparation

– Use different chopping boards, knives and utensils

● Thorough cooking ● Reheat thoroughly● Effective cleaning and correct dilutions in

disinfection● Reporting of illness and return to work

procedures.

Food Safety Update

Campylobacter: Controls

Pathogen Product

1. E.coli 0157:H7 Apple juice, cabbage, lettuce, cress sprouts, cilantro

2. Salmonella Tomato, alfalfa sprouts, cabbage, chili, eggplant, spinach,fennel, parsley, strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe etc.

3. Bacillus cereus Cucumbers, mustard sprouts, soybean sprouts, cress sprouts

4. Clostridium botulinum Cabbage, mushroom, pepper

5. Campylobacter jejuni Green onions, lettuce, mushroom, Potato, Parsley, pepper

6. Listeria monocytogenes

Bean sprouts, cabbage, chicory, cucumber, eggplant, salad vegetables, radish, mushroom, potatoes, tomatoes

7. Staphylococcus Alfalfa sprouts, carrot, onions sprouts, radish, parsley.

Pre-cut fruits have been found to be the cause of a number of food poisoning

Food Safety Update

BREAKING NEWS

Cut fruit

● Cantaloupes/melons: scrub the skins with water and a brush before you cut them. (If you do not, cutting them could transfer pathogens from the rind to the flesh)

● Berries, lettuce, and other non scrubbable fruits and vegetables: wash them with fast running water. The friction of running water helps remove bacteria. That's better than soaking.

● Wash fruit even if you plan to peel it. If there are microbes on the peel, they can contaminate the rest of the fruit when you peel it.

● Eat only cooked bean sprouts.

Food Safety Update

Recommendation for handling fresh-cut produce

● Sous vide is French for 'under vacuum' and describes a method of cooking in vacuum sealed plastic pouches at low temperatures for long periods.

● Differs from conventional cooking methods as the raw food is vacuum sealed in plastic pouches and the food is cooked using precisely controlled heating methods.

● Advantage: maintains the integrity of the ingredients and producing foods with enhanced flavours.

● Significant potential food safety risks and needs to be carefully controlled.

Food Safety Update

BREAKING NEWS

Catering sous vide

● Insufficient temperature to kill bacteria● Vacuum sealed so risk of anaerobic

spore formers e.g. Clostridium botulinum● Using home made equipment● Not using correct grade vacuum pouches● Cross contamination by using same

vacuum packer for raw and cooked ● Broken seals● Air bubbles causing uneven cooking● Overloading of pouches in the water bath

can lead to uneven cooking● Lack of training and awareness of

hazards in catering industry.

Food Safety Update

Hazards

● Campden BRI advises that a core temperature of not less than 60°C for 45 minutes should be used for foods under vacuum.

● Chill food to < 3°C within 90 minutes● Food that has been vacuum packed and

subjected to sous vide cooking/chill should be used within 10 days of packaging

● Reheating - Time/temperature/size of product combinations for each product must be documented.

Food Safety Update

Controlling the hazards

● Hygiene Disposable gloves are recommended when vacuum packing to reduce bacterial loading

● Staff training● Specialist equipment should be used

including water bath, pouches and sous vide thermometer

● Separate vacuum packers to avoid cross contamination

● HACCP system NOT SFBB!

Food Safety Update

Controlling the hazards

● FSA have produced guidance for businesses regarding control of E.coli 0157

● Also produced Q&A document regarding the guidance ● Produced in response to 2nd Pennington report following outbreak

in Wales in 2005● All Environmental Health Departments have had training on the

guidance.

http://www.food.gov.uk/businessindustry/guidancenotes/hygguid/ecoliguide

Food Safety Update

BREAKING NEWS

Update on E.Coli guidance

● Identification of separate work areas, surfaces and equipment for raw and ready-to-eat food.

● Use of separate complex equipment● Personal hygiene controls● Cleaning and disinfection controls.

Food Safety Update

Main aspects of the E Coli guidance

The food safety officer inspecting a business checks how well the business is meeting the law by looking at:● how hygienically the food is handled –

how it is prepared, cooked, re-heated, cooled and stored

● the condition of the structure of the buildings – the cleanliness, layout, lighting, ventilation and other facilities

● how the business manages and records what it does to make sure food is safe.

At the end of the inspection, the business is given one of the six ratings. The top rating of ‘5’ means that the business was found to have ‘very good’ hygiene standards

Food Safety Update

Food Hygiene Rating Scheme

● mandatory display of ratings/inspection results would allow consumers to access more information directly;

● increased display of ratings/inspection results would raise consumer awareness of the scheme; and

● mandatory display would motivate some food businesses to improve food hygiene standards.

Research participants gave a number of reasons in support of a mandatory displayapproach:

Food Safety Update

Scoring system

quality, value, service & integrity

Documents

Food Safety Update - Skillsoft