How food becomes unsafe

Foodborne illness is caused by several factors, which can be placed into one of three categories: time-temperature abuse, cross-contamination, and poor personal hygiene. Reported cases of foodborne illness usually involve more then one factor in each of these categories. A well-designed food safety system will control these factors.

Time-temperature abuse: Food has been time temperature abused any time it has been allowed to remain too long at temperatures favorable to the growth of foodborne microorganisms. Common factors responsible for foodborne illness include:

Failing to hold or store food at required temperatures

Failing to cook or reheat food to temperatures that kill microorganisms

Failing to cool food properly

Preparing food a day or more before it is served

Cross-contamination: Cross-contamination occurs when microorganisms are transferred from one surface or food to another. Common factors responsible for foodborne illness include:

Adding raw, contaminated ingredients to food that receives no further cooking

Food-contact surfaces (such as equipment or utensils) that are not cleaned and sanitized before touching cooked or ready-to-eat food

Allowing raw food to touch or drip fluids onto cooked or ready-to-eat food

Hands that touch contaminated (usually raw) food and then touch cooked or ready-to-eat food

Contaminated cleaning clothes that are not cleaned and sanitized before being used on other food-contact surfaces

Poor personal hygiene: Individuals with poor personal hygiene can offend customers, contaminate food or food-contact surfaces, and course illness. Common factors responsible for foodborne illness include:

Employees who fail to wash their hands properly after using the restroom or whenever necessary

Employees who cough or sneeze on food

Employees who touch or scratch sores, cuts, or boils, and then touch food they are preparing or serving

SUMMARY

Foodborne illness is a major concern to the restaurant and foodservice industry. A foodborne illness is a disease carried or transmitted to people by food. A foodborne-illness outbreak involves two or more people experiencing the same illness after eating the same food. Some segments of the population are more susceptible to foodborne illnesses than others. These categories are called high-risk populations.

Some food has a history of involvement in foodborne-illness outbreaks. This is called potentially hazardous food. Typically having a natural potential for contamination due to production and processing methods, potentially hazardous food is often moist, high in protein, and has a neutral or slightly acidic pH.

An incident of foodborne illness can be very expensive for an establishment, including legal liability, damage to reputation, and other related factors. However, a well-designed food safety program protects your customers, your employees, and your reputation. The Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) program helps you monitor your operation and reduce the opportunities for foodborne illness. Because food can become unsafe at any step in the flow of food, the HACCP system focuses on the flow of food in your operation, identifying points at which contamination can occur, and implementing controls for those points.

Key practices for ensuring food safety include controlling time and temperature, practicing strict personal hygiene, and preventing cross-contamination. Also receive, store, prepare, cook, hold, serve, cool, and reheat food using methods that maintain its safety.

People pose a major risk to safe food, especially foodhandlers who do not practice personal hygiene. You must carefully train, monitor, and reinforce food safety principles in your establishment. Establishing a well-designed food safety system can help protect your customers by preventing foodborne-illness outbreaks, and can help the establishment avoid the potentially high costs associated with them.

Дата добавления: 2015-10-31