FOOD SAFETY

By Chef Agnes C. Borromeo

Chef Instructor / FSCO
September 20 and 21, 2018
Part 1: Introduction to Food Safety

FOOD SAFETY

Freedom of food from anything that can cause illness

Food Safety refers to handling, preparing and storing food in a way to best reduce the risk of individuals becoming sick
from food borne illnesses.

WHY IS FOOD SAFETY IMPORTANT?

Ethically

Protection of human lives

Prevention of sickness
Prevention of pain and suffering
Prevention of death

Financially and Economically

To a business owner not implementing food safety practices:

Loss of clients
Loss of production time
Higher overhead cost
Added pay compensations to affected parties
Loss of Income

Legally

Food Safety is a legal requirement

If convicted:
Fines and Compensation
Shut down of businesses
Imprisonment

Benefits of having proper Food Safety practices in the workplace:

Customer Satisfaction
Customer Loyalty
Good Standing in the industry
Ease in the workplace
Lowered business expenses
Lower wastages in food
No problems with the law
Better potential for earning
Costs of non-compliance to Food Safety practices:
Food Poisoning
Bad Reputation
Loss of Customers
Elevated expenses
Possible Legal Issues
Loss of Income
Loss of Business

Food safety begins with each and every one of us.

Part 2: Identifying the Hazards in Food

Food Hazard
- anything in food that can cause harm to health and life

Contamination
- Being made impure by polluting or poisoning

Contaminant
- A polluting or poisonous substance that makes something impure

What are the hazards in food?

PHYSICAL HAZARDS
CHEMICAL HAZARDS
BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS
ALLERGENS

PHYSICAL HAZARDS

Any foreign object that is found in food, that is not supposed to be there, is called a Physical Hazard.

Hair Plastics Thread/fabric

Nails Glass Shells from nuts
Paper/Packaging Stones/pebbles Wires

CHEMICAL HAZARDS

Any chemical that can contaminate food.

Chemical Hazards can come from the following forms:

1. Additives to food

2. Workplace chemicals

3. Residue from the growing and cultivating and processing of crops

4. Residue from growing and butchering and processing of animals for meat

5. Environmental chemicals
BIOLOGICAL HAZARDS

Any living organism that can contaminate food is a biological hazard.

Examples of these are:

Bacteria

Are microscopic living organisms, usually one-celled, that can be found everywhere.
They can be dangerous and certain kinds are known to be helpful.

The 3 kinds are:

Pathogenic bacteria (Bad bacteria)

Good or Helpful bacteria
Spoilage bacteria

Virus
A simple organism, it is like a parasite that cannot reproduce by itself. It needs a host to infect, wherein it
transfers its genetic code.

Fungi
A plant like organism, they do not have chlorophyll and must absorb nutrients from a host - what they are
growing on.

Parasite
An organism that lives on or in other organisms and derives nutrients at the hosts ‘expense.

ALLERGENS

Allergens are a type of hazard as well, although they affect a small group of people at any time.

The 8 major food allergens are:

Milk/Dairy Eggs Fish Shellfish Tree Nuts Peanuts Soya

Wheat Celery Mustard Sesame Mollusks Lupines Sulphites
Cross Contamination

The process by which bacteria or other microorganisms are transferred from one substance or object to another,
with harmful effect.

Possible ways of cross contamination

Direct

Contaminant in direct contact with food

Indirect

Contaminant transferred through tools or utensils

Dripping

Could happen in storage, or carelessness in the workplace

We always must

Stay Clean
Ensure your workplace is clean
Working carefully using food safety practices
Following rules in the workplace
Being Vigilant against unsafe practices
Reporting problems to Management
Participating in Training about Food Safety
Proper Waste Handling and Management
Reporting wrong practices
Part 3: FOOD-BORNE ILLNESS

Also known as Food Poisoning and can be also referred to as Food-borne disease

Toxin
A poison produced within the cells of living organisms

Pathogen
A bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease

Spoilage
The deterioration of food and perishable goods

Spoilage Bacteria damages food quality, makes shelf life shorter and cause illness.
Spoilage Bacteria can produce Toxins.

Virus
A simple organism, it is an infective agent that reproduces inside the cells of living hosts and can cause it to
multiply.

Germ
Any microorganism that causes disease

Symptoms of food poisoning

Dizziness Abdominal pain Nausea

Headaches Diarrhea Chills

Malaise Vomiting Fever

Most food poisoning is caused by bacteria, viruses, and parasites rather than toxic substances in the food. But,
some cases of food poisoning can be linked to either natural toxins or chemical toxins
The symptoms and severity of food poisoning vary, depending on which bacteria or virus has contaminated the
food.

PHYSICAL HAZARDS

Fact: Physical hazards are the most commonly REPORTED consumer complaints because the injury occurs
immediately or soon after eating, and the source of the hazard is often easy to identify.

When a consumer mistakenly eats the foreign material or object, it may cause choking, injury or other adverse
health effects.

In severe cases, it may cause choking, cuts, bleeding.

CHEMICAL HAZARDS

When ingested, can be toxic in high concentrations and may cause health risks in long term exposure.

In severe cases, chemicals can cause internal burns if ingested.

BACTERIAL HAZARDS

There are two ways bacteria can harm the human body:

Toxicity – the bacteria produce toxins which damage specific tissues in the body.

Invasiveness – the bacteria multiply rapidly at the site of infection and overwhelm the body's defense
mechanisms. The bacteria may then spread to other parts of the body

Actively growing bacteria reproduce by binary fission (dividing into two equal parts).

Binary fission can occur every 15 minutes. Imagine what 24 hours can do. Fortunately, conditions are never
ideal. Lack of oxygen, lack of nutrients and the accumulation of metabolites limit the reproduction of bacteria.
Food Pests

Food Pests
Rats, Mice, Flies, Birds, Moths, Mites, Beetles, Weevils, Ants and Cockroaches are the most common types of
food pests.
The hazards associated with pests enter food through one of two ways:
1 Direct incorporation of the filth (that is the bodies or parts of the bodies of insects, mites, rodents, birds and
other animals) into food or

2 The contamination of food or food-contact surfaces by the metabolic products released by those pests and the
microorganisms that they carry.

Pests are capable of a rapid increase in population given an abundant food supply, shelter from predators and
benign environmental conditions inside a building.

Rats and Mice

Rats and mice are attracted by food supplies but do not venture far from their shelter or nesting sites, so will
nest close to food sources.

 They can inflict damage to buildings and fixtures: damage to electrical equipment is one of the most
common problems and the brown rat can damage sewer systems
 They can create damage to machinery;
 They create contamination along access routes with urine, droppings, and filth picked up from the
environment
 They damage to food containers and packaging
 They can touch eating food in storage and on display
 They contaminate food with droppings, urine, filth
 They can be a carrier of diseases, including Salmonellosis, Leptospirosis, Toxoplasmosis, Lyme disease,
rat-bite fever
 Rodents carry ectoparasites, including ticks, fleas, lice and mites and are therefore also vectors for the
diseases that these carry;
 Rodents are reservoirs for some mosquito-borne diseases.

Flies

A number of fly species are attracted to food odours present in grocery stores, including fruit flies, drain flies
and house flies.

Fruit flies are attracted to fermenting sugary liquids, in which they can feed and breed in very small amounts.

Drain flies are attracted to rotting food, sewage and other organic waste material.

They lay eggs in organic waste that can build up in drains or polluted shallow water.

They can breed in the gelatinous bacterial films — biofilms — that form on surfaces in drains, septic tanks,
compost, etc, and are resistant to cleaning and pest control chemicals.

 Filth flies, including house flies, drain flies and flesh flies are known to be able to carry over 100
pathogens that can cause disease in humans, including Salmonella, cholera, Shigella, Campylobacter, E.
coli, Cryptosporidium, parasitic worms and fungi.
 Flies feed on faecal matter, garbage, rotting materials as well as stored and processed foods in food
processing plants.
  They will regularly move between the contaminated food sources and clean areas, carrying
contaminated filth on their bodies as well as microorganisms internally.
 Flies pick up contaminated material as they feed, in their mouth parts and on their bodies.
 Also flies such as house flies regurgitate digestive juices and defecate while feeding and resting,
contaminating foods and surfaces with microorganisms that can cause disease or decay.

Cockroaches

Cockroaches can cause particular problems in businesses that handle food because of their ability to hide in
small places, their varied diet, rapid reproduction and the diseases they can carry.

 Diseases and allergens: cockroaches can carry a large number of disease-causing bacteria, including
Salmonella, Staphylococcus, Listeria, E. coli, and also fungi, viruses and parasitic worms
 They feed on decaying matter, mould, faecal matter in sewers, from rodents and birds, and animal
carcasses, which can then be transmitted into the food production, storage and display areas on their
bodies or in excretions.
 They defecate along their pathways;
 They frequently expel saliva on surfaces to ‘taste’ their environment;
 Droppings and bodily secretions stain and leave a foul odour that can permeate infestation areas, food
and packaging;
 Cast skins and egg cases contaminate products and packaging;
 Droppings and shed skins contain allergens, and heavy cockroach populations can trigger asthma
attacks. Residual allergens remaining after cockroach control treatment will require cleaning to remove.

Stored product insects

Stored product insects (SPIs) is a generic term that covers beetles, weevils, moths and mites (which are
arachnids) infesting food in storage anywhere in the food chain from the farm to the kitchen.

Stored product pests are most likely to be in a food ingredient on delivery to the retail store or in a processed
food product when stored for a long time.

Most dried food products are susceptible to pests.

These include cereal products, seeds, nuts, dried fruit, spices, powdered milk, tea and preserved meats. All
stages of the pest can be present simultaneously, eg egg, larva, pupa, adult.

SPIs can also enter packaging made of paper, cardboard, plastic, cellophane and foil.
Part 4: Foods at Risk
High-Risk Food

Foods that are ready to eat, foods that don't need any further cooking, and foods that provide a place for bacteria
to live, grow and thrive are described as high-risk foods

Danger Zone

This is the temperature range (58C to 60C) where bacteria thrive and multiply

Ready-to-eat food

Foods that have been prepared so they can be consumed as is, without any additional cooking, are ready to eat
foods

Types of high-risk Food

Rice and pasta Gravies and soups shellfish

Eggs and egg products Prepared salads fish

Dairy products – milk, cheese Poultry Raw or cooked meats

Food that comes in packages, cans and jars can become high risk once opened and not stored
properly

F a t T o m
6 Favorable conditions for bacterial growth
 F Food
A Acidity
T Temprature
T Time
O Oxygen
M Moisture
Moisture

Just like us, bacteria require water to survive, so moisture is one of the main factors related to bacterial growth.
Foods like dried beans and uncooked rice will last for a long time at room temperature. Indeed, drying foods is
one of the earliest known methods of food preservation.

Curing foods in salt and sugar can also deprive bacteria of the water they need. They do this via a process
known as osmosis. When applied to a food's exterior, salt and sugar pull moisture from the inside of the food to
the surface, where it evaporates. Salt and sugar also bring on osmosis with the bacteria themselves — by
sucking the water out of them through their own cell walls, killing them by dehydration.

Oxygen

Another thing bacteria need is oxygen.

Because bacteria is a living microorganism, most kinds need oxygen to survive. These types are called Aerobes
or Aerobic bacteria.

The type of bacteria that don’t need oxygen are called Anaerobes.

Temperature

Temperature is one of the key factors in bacterial growth. Bacteria prefer a nice moderate temperature. Too cold
and they slow down, entering a sort of suspended animation in which they don't reproduce. They're not dead,
they're just not making more of themselves. Or at least they're doing so much more slowly.

Too hot and they get cooked, which kills them. Needless to say, killing bacteria is a very effective technique for
preventing them from reproducing. As a rule, heating food to 165 F for at least 30 seconds is enough to wipe
out any dangerous bacteria it might contain.

Time

Any food will go bad eventually, even if it's frozen or canned or made into jerky. But with preserved foods,
we're talking about months or years. With perishable foods at room temperature, its hours.
Perishable foods (like fresh ground beef you just bought) can be kept at room temperature for only a very short
time — no more than two hours in the aggregate. Meaning if you leave it out for an hour and then put it back in
the fridge, that food can still only be out of the fridge for another hour altogether. It doesn't start over with a
fresh two hours.

This is because bacteria reproduce very rapidly under normal circumstances. They do so by splitting themselves
into two identical selves, which they can do several times an hour, as can each new one. Thus a single
bacterium can become millions in just a few hours. Ensuring perishable items aren't left out for more than two
hours limits the bacteria's ability to reproduce.

This is important because it's not just the bacteria themselves that can make you sick. In some cases, it's also the
toxins they produce. You might kill the bacteria by cooking them, but those dangerous toxins will still be
present.

Acidity

Or more accurately, pH level, which is a measurement of how acidic or alkaline something is. pH values are
computed on a scale of 0 to 14, with lower numbers being more acidic.

Water is considered neutral, with a pH value of 7. Foodborne bacteria prefer a pH level in the neutral to mildly
acidic range. pH levels of 4.5 or lower are considered acidic and will inhibit the growth of bacteria.

For example, lemon juice is around pH 2–2.5; most vinegars are in the range of 2–3; jams and jellies range from
3–4.5; and ketchup is 3.5–3.9. Generally speaking, anything with a pH value of lower than 4.5 does not need to
be refrigerated.

Food

Last but not least, food refers to the fact that bacteria need to eat something, namely, whatever food we're trying
to keep from spoiling. And while fruits, vegetables, and starches are susceptible to bacterial spoilage, its high-
protein foods like meat, poultry, milk, eggs and seafood that can harbor pathogens.

These are the foods we consider "perishable," which means they need to be kept in the fridge or freezer or
preserved using pickling, smoking, canning and etc.
Part 5: Importance of Time and Temperature Control

Temperature Danger Zone (TDZ)

This is the temperature range ideal for bacterial multiplication

This the temperature between 5*C to 60*C

The rule of thumb is that food should not stay within this range more than 4 hours (WHO 2 Hours)

High Temperatures

Cooking food at 70*C (158*F) or higher kills off most pathogenic bacteria

Pasteurization

A kind of heat treatment that kills off pathogenic bacteria but not spoilage bacteria

Ultra High Temperature Processing (UHT)

Known as Ultra Heat Treatment or Ultra-pasteurization is a process where liquids (mostly dairy) are heated
beyond 135*C to sterilize. 135*C (275*F) is the temperature where all bacteria are killed.

Low Temperatures

Freezing makes most bacteria dormant

Temperatures below 5*C are considered relatively safe because bacterial activity slows down at low
temperatures.
Storage and Temperature

Ideal Refrigeration Temperature

5*C (41*F) and below

Ideal Freezer Temperature

0*C (32*F) to -18*C (64*F)

-18*C and below - deep freeze

Holding Time and Temperature

(for RTE Food)

Hot Holding 63*C (145*F)and higher

Cold Holding 5*C (41*F) and below

A general rule for vegetables is that cool-season crops should be stored at cooler temperatures (32 to 35°F),
and warm-season crops should be stored at warmer temperatures (45 to 55°F)

Poor practices in time and temperature control

Cooking food too far ahead before service

Leaving food standing at room temperature beyond 2-4 hours

Food left under sunlight

Reheating food improperly

Undercooking food particularly meat and poultry

Holding hot food below 63*C