Food Safety Personal Practices HFA 4MI

Food Handling and Illness Food handling practices Can cause contamination Can allow microorganisms to grow Can fail to control growth when intended to do so All of these practices can cause foodborne illness

CLEAN! Fight BAC!

Personal Cleanliness: Wash hands before food preparation, after sneezing, coughing, using the rest room, and touching face or hair Keep hair away from face Wear clean clothes/apron (dirty clothing has bacteria) Don’t handle food with open cut or sore – STAPH Avoid cooking and tasting with same spoon; licking of fingers is prohibited. Wash hands after handling raw meat/eggs

Handwashing Purpose? Remove soil Remove pathogens Reduce microbial load How it actually works... Soap lather pulls dirt and oily soils from the skin Lather suspends soils and pathogens which are washed away in running water

Hands also... Contact many other things: Door knobs, stair rails, controls, money, telephones Pick things up from the floor Touch the face, hair Remove soiled clothing Place things in the garbage

Personal Practices

Personal Behaviour Avoid: Sneezing, coughing or blowing the nose Can distribute millions of pathogens Spitting Contaminates surfaces and distributes pathogens A sneeze can move at a rate of 150 km per hour! Hazardous practices while handling food: Eating or drinking Chewing gum Smoking Droplets of saliva can contain thousands of pathogen cells

SEPARATE! Fight BAC!

Cross-Contamination Passing of microorganisms or other harmful substances indirectly from one source to another Examples: Cutting board used for raw meat, then salad vegetables Handling money or using phone then handling food without handwashing

Practices that cause contamination Handling food when ill Not washing hands correctly Not wearing clean clothing Not cleaning and sanitizing food contact surfaces after use Not protecting food when construction or maintenance are being carried out

Avoid cross-contamination Keep meat and meat juice from vegetables Keep work areas clean Use clean spoon for tasting food Two towels - drying dishes (tea towel)/ wiping hands (paper towel) Use clean dishcloth each day

COOK! Fight BAC!

Using heat to control bacteria Keep hot foods hot Thoroughly cool hot foods and reheat thoroughly Bring sauces, soups, etc. to a boil when reheating Foods should not be in the danger temperature zone for more than two hours Use a clean thermometer to measure internal temperature Divide large amounts of leftovers in small, shallow containers for quick cooking

CHILL! Fight BAC!

Using cold to control bacteria Keep cold food cold (below 40°F) Check temperature in refrigerator and freezer periodically; freezer should be at zero degrees or below Clean refrigerator often Leftovers stored with tight cover Thaw frozen foods in refrigerator Do not leave on countertop to cool