Chapter 2: FOOD SAFETY

Following four simple steps at home—Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill—

can help protect you and your loved ones from food poisoning. Learn the
basic facts about food poisoning, who is most at risk, and how to prevent
it. You can protect your family by avoiding these common food safety
mistakes.

Bacteria

These are small single-celled organisms. Bacteria are found almost everywhere on Earth and are
vital to the planet's ecosystems. Some species can live under extreme conditions of temperature
and pressure. The human body is full of bacteria, and in fact is estimated to contain more
bacterial cells than human cells.

What are the bad bacteria?

Harmful bacteria are called pathogenic bacteria because they cause disease and illnesses like
strep throat, staph infections, cholera, tuberculosis, and food poisoning.

What are examples of good bacteria?

Probiotics are live bacteria that are good for us, that balance our good and bad intestinal
bacteria, and that aid in digestion of food and help with digestive problems, such as diarrhea and
bellyache. Bacteria that are examples of probiotics are Lactobacilli and Bifidobacterium.

List of bacteria that spoil food:

Bacteria can live in hotter and colder temperatures than humans, but they
do best in a warm, moist, protein-rich environment that is pH neutral or
slightly acidic. ... Some bacteria thrive in extreme heat or cold, while others
can survive under highly acidic or extremely salty conditions.

Potentially hazardous foods

Potentially hazardous foods are foods that must be kept at a particular temperature
to minimise the growth of food poisoning bacteria that may be in the food, or to stop
the formation of toxins.

Examples of potentially hazardous foods include:

 raw and cooked meat, or foods containing meat such as casseroles, curries and
lasagne
 dairy products such as milk, custard and dairy‐based desserts
 seafood (excluding live seafood)
 processed or cut fruits and vegetables, such as salads
 cooked rice and pasta
 foods containing egg, beans, nuts or other protein‐rich food such as quiche and soy
products
 foods that contain any of the above foods including sandwiches and rolls.

Be aware of how you prepare, store and serve these foods at home, for picnics, when
packing school lunch boxes, donating to charities, or taking food home in doggy
bags from restaurants.

Always keep potentially hazardous food under temperature control:

 keep hot food hot - 60ºC or above

 keep cold food cold - 5ºC or below

Seafood
Seafood can have different types of toxins, that occur naturally in fish, which can be
hard to identify.

Always purchase seafood from a reputable seller. The fish should have clear
unsunken eyes and firm flesh. Keep the fish refrigerated until it is to be used.
Foodborne illnesses can be caused by any of:

 Contaminants
 Improper food handling practices
 Food allergies

Understanding each of these is critical in ensuring that food safety is maintained.[1]

Food contaminants can be:

 Chemical, such as cleaning agents or pesticides

 Physical, such as hair, bandages, or glass
 Biological, such as pathogens and microbes introduced from infected workers, unsanitary
work surfaces, or contaminated water

Foodborne diseases can be classified into two groups: poisoning and

infection.

Poisoning is caused by the intake of chemical or biological toxins; or toxins

produced by pathogens, the latter can be found in food, even if the
bacterium is not there.

Infection is caused by the intake of food containing viable pathogens.

Here are some tips to help you reduce your risk of food poisoning at home.

Wash your hands

Wash your hands thoroughly with soap and water (warm or cold) and dry them:

 before handling food

 after handling raw food – including meat, fish, eggs and vegetables
 after touching the bin, going to the toilet, blowing your nose or touching animals (including
pets) 

Wash worktops, knives and utensils

Wash worktops, knives and utensils before and after preparing food, particularly after they've
been touched by raw meat (including poultry), raw eggs, fish and vegetables. 

You do not need to use antibacterial sprays: hot, soapy water is fine.

Wash dishcloths

Wash dishcloths and tea towels regularly, and let them dry before you use them again. Dirty,
damp cloths are the perfect place for germs to spread.
Use separate chopping boards

Use a separate chopping board to prepare raw food, such as meat and fish. This is to avoid
contaminating ready-to-eat foods with harmful bacteria that can be present in raw food before
it has been cooked. 

Keep raw meat separate

It's especially important to keep raw meat away from ready-to-eat foods, such as salad, fruit
and bread.

This is because these foods will not be cooked before you eat them, so any bacteria that get
onto the foods from the raw meat will not be killed.

Store raw meat on the bottom shelf

Always cover raw meat and store it on the bottom shelf of the fridge, where it cannot touch or
drip onto other foods.

Cook food thoroughly

Make sure poultry, pork, burgers, sausages and kebabs are cooked until steaming hot, with no
pink meat inside. Do not wash raw meat (including chicken and turkey) before cooking, as
this can spread bacteria around your kitchen. 

Freezing raw chicken reduces the levels of campylobacter bacteria but does not
eliminate them completely. The safest way to kill all traces of campylobacter is by cooking
chicken thoroughly. 

Keep your fridge below 5C

Keep your fridge temperature below 5C and use a fridge thermometer to check it. This
prevents harmful germs from growing and multiplying.

Avoid overfilling your fridge – if it's too full, air cannot circulate properly, which can affect
the overall temperature.

Do not leave the fridge door open unnecessarily.

Cool leftovers quickly

If you have cooked food that you're not going to eat straight away, cool it as quickly as
possible (within 90 minutes) and store it in the fridge or freezer.

Use any leftovers from the fridge within 2 days and do not reheat food more than once.

Respect 'use-by' dates

Do not eat food that's past its use-by date, even if it looks and smells OK. Use-by dates are
based on scientific tests that show how quickly harmful bugs can develop in the packaged
food.
Food contamination

It is generally defined as foods that are spoiled or tainted because they either contain
microorganisms, such as bacteria or parasites, or toxic substances that make them unfit for
consumption. A food contaminant can be biological, chemical or physical in nature, with the
former being more common.

Causes of food contamination

There are three ways that food can be contaminated:

 biological hazards (microorganisms)
including bacteria, fungi, yeasts, mould and viruses
 chemical hazards
including cleaning chemicals or foods with naturally occurring toxins, such as green
potatoes
 physical hazards
including dangerous physical objects such as plastic, glass, elastic bands, wood
chips or bandages.

Some examples are: Touching raw meats then handling vegetables or

other ready-to-eat foods without washing hands between tasks. Using a
food soiled apron or towel to wipe your hands between handling different
foods. Failing to change gloves between handling different foods.

Food danger zone

between 5°C and 60°C

These bacteria can grow at temperatures between 5°C and 60°C, which is known as the
temperature danger zone. The fastest rate of growth is at around 37°C, the temperature of the
human body.
A critical control point (CCP) is a step in the food production process
where preventative measures can be applied to prevent, reduce or
eliminate a food safety hazard, such as bacterial growth or chemical
contamination.
Critical control points are located at any step where hazards can be either prevented, eliminated,
or reduced to acceptable levels. Examples of CCPs may include: thermal processing, chilling,
testing ingredients for chemical residues, product formulation control, and testing product for
metal contaminants.