Food safety is a major public health issue, without food safety measures, the population will be at risk for foodborne illness. It is estimated that roughly 1 in 6 Americans or 48 million people get sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 die of foodborne illness (CDC, 2018). Food safety is all measures to ensure that food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared and or eaten according to its intended use (Codex Alimentarius). Ensuring everything that encounters food is clean, during handling, preparation and storage of food. After viewing the suggested video I’ve identified several faults with the food preparation process.
Prevent cross contamination by always prepare dishes that do not require cooking first. Keep foods separate, use colour codes cutting boards for meal preparation, green – fruits & vegetables, yellow – cooked meat, blue – sea foods, white – dairy bakery, red- raw meat. Discard cutting boards that have cracks and crevices. Thoroughly wash with hot, soapy water all surfaces that comes into contact with raw meat, poultry, fish and eggs before moving on to the next step when preparing several dishes. When juices from raw meats or germs from unclean objects touches cooked or ready to eat food such as fruits and salads cross contamination occurs. Cross contamination occurs when bacteria from raw foods are transmitted via hands, knife and other kitchen utensils. Frozen foods should be defrosted in the fridge on the bottom shelf and prepared immediately after being defrost, not left sitting on the chopping board or counter top.
To prevent bacteria/microorganisms from multiplying. Fresh fruits and vegetables should be thoroughly cleaned and washed even if you are going to peel them, this is done to prevent contaminating the food when you cut into it. It is important to avoid scratching hair, or any other body parts during meal preparation, hair should always be covered or tied back so that it does not fall into food. If ill (e.g. flu or gastric upset) you should not work with food remain at home you may spread disease to other people or contaminate food, bacteria are quickly and easily spread through coughing and sneezing. Food handlers must wash their hands after sneezing and coughing, touching raw foods, eating and drinking, smoking, handling rubbish and especially after handling chemicals. Jewellery carry lots of bacteria and should be left at home or a secure place, must not be worn on hands or dangling from ears, to avoid getting into food. Safety in the kitchen is of vital important, spills should be dealt with immediately to prevent accidents such as a fall.
Mittens are to be used when handling hot foods, not a towel, dish cloth or your hands. Preventing injury to self and others who may enter the room. Safety first! To prevent food bourn illness, the above interventions are necessary in preventing the spread of illness causing bacteria. Adhering to the four steps in food safety, clean, separate, chill and cook will reduce the risk of food bourn illness and help keep your family safe from food poisoning. Remember, “cleanliness is next to godliness” and cleanliness is a major factor in the prevention of foodborne illness, keeping everything clean that comes into contact with food. Foodborne illness is common, preventable and costly therefore prevention is much better than cure.
