How Do You Stop Food Bacteria Growing

5 July 2024

How do you stop food bacteria growing is a difficult question. However, the answer is more straightforward than one would think. Bacteria that cause food poisoning grow at temperatures between 5°C and 63°C (the Danger Zone). This is above refrigeration temperatures and below cooking temperatures. Bacteria grow best at warm temperatures, approximately 25°C to 40°C. By adopting proactive safe food handling practices, this problem can be successfully addressed.

How Do You Stop Food Bacteria Growing – Basics

The basics of how to do you stop food bacteria growing are very simple. If food is kept out of the danger zone, either cold at refrigeration temperatures less than 5°C, or hot at greater than 63°C, most bacteria will stop growing, although they do not die. Therefore, food should be kept hot in a hot holding cabinet or kept cold in a refrigerated display unit to prevent any bacteria that may be present on the food from multiplying. Always follow the manufacturer’s instructions for use on the label.

Important Guidelines

The following is a list of guidelines that should always be observed:

Never leave food out on counter tops at room temperature, more than two hours is too long.
Food should be kept in a hot or cold display unit and not left sitting on top where customers can contaminate the food by handling or sneezing.
You should have sufficient space to carry out food preparation safely. There should also be sufficient space for food storage.
Keep hot food hot!
Keep cold food cold!
Never use food past its ‘use-by date’ as it could be unsafe, plus it is illegal to do so. Food can be used after its ‘best-before’ date provided that the food is still in a fully acceptable condition. Where this is done however, it is strongly recommended to indicate to the consumer that the food is past its ‘best-before’ date.
Always ensure good stock rotation for all foods whether stored in a hot cabinet, fridge or dry goods store.

Common Food Poisoning Bacteria

The most common food poisoning bacteria:

Salmonella bacteria. Salmonella are most commonly found in poultry but are also found in pig meat and other foods. Salmonella food poisoning is mainly associated with eating contaminated chicken and eggs and their products.
Campylobacter has relatively recently been recognised as causing food poisoning and now it exceeds Salmonella as the leading cause of bacterial food poisoning in Ireland. It is present in a wide range of animals and birds and is commonly found on raw poultry meat.
E. coli O157 and related E. coli are found in the gut of cattle and is mainly associated with eating undercooked minced beef, e.g. beef burgers, but cross contamination from raw meat can transfer these bacteria to other foods. They can cause serious illness and may even result in death.
Staphylococcus aureus is typically found on the hands and in and around the nose of healthy adults. During food preparation food handlers can easily transfer it on to food.

You can find further useful information on how you can stop the spread of food poisoning bacteria and other food safety relevant information on the FSAI website. In addition, you can learn about safe food handling by completing fully online food safety courses developed by eLearn Safety.

Online Food Safety Training

Please remember – it is a legal requirement that staff who are involved in a food environment are trained and/or supervised commensurate with their work activity!

Myelearnsafety offers fully online Food Safety (HACCP) courses.

To find out more, please check our Courses page.

Alternatively, should you need any additional information, please do not hesitate to let us know via email info@elearn.ie

eLearn Online Health and Safety Training