food safety training Archives

Spores and Toxins in Food

Spores and toxins in food can be a cause of a serious food poisoning. Spores are a bacteria’s survival package. Some bacteria when faced with adverse conditions such as rising temperatures will form a survival spore. A spore has a protective shell which can withstand higher temperatures than those reached in cooking.

Spores in Food

Water boils at 100°C. This means that most of cooking will be only a little hotter. However, spores can survive temperatures of up to 120°C. When the heat returns to room temperature, the spore opens. Once this happens, the bacteria starts growing to form another colony. This is why hot holding at temperatures above 63°C prevents spores become active, whereas rapid cooling does not give a chance to spores to open.

Two common spore-forming bacteria are Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus. Some foods such as red kidney beans simply need to be cooked to break down the toxins and render them harmless.

Toxins in Food

Some toxins are produced by careless defrosting food (e.g. scombrotoxin). Toxins are poisons that are produced by bacteria and plants. Toxins can be deadly, such as that produced by Clostridium botulinum. The verocytotoxin produced by E. coli and its relatives causes damages to kidneys and the intestine. This may result in death, especially in the elderly and the very young. Seafood can also contain dangerous toxins. One of these toxins can cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP). Paralytic shellfish poisoning as the name suggests, causes paralysis. Shellfish such as mussels feed on smaller animals that produce this toxin. In large groups these animals can be seen as a red bloom known as ‘red tide’. There are monitoring systems such as satellite images, that warn where and when shellfish must not be harvested.

Spores and Toxins in Plants

Plants can contain toxins. Some toxins are produced by moulds. These toxins include aflatoxin, which can seriously harm the liver. Such toxins are found in cereals and dried fruits that have been poorly stored. All these examples demonstrate the importance of always obtaining quality food from reputable suppliers.

Preventing Food Poisoning

There are 4 simple steps to prevent food poisoning. As SafeFood writes in their article Food poisoning: causes, symptoms and treatment, steps you can take to prevent food poisoning are:
Clean – always wash your hands before and after handling and eating food, after visiting the toilet or playing with pets or animals.
Cook – make sure that food is thoroughly cooked in order to destroy any harmful bacteria that might be present.
Chill – keep food cool in order to prevent bad bacteria from growing; make sure that your fridge is at the correct temperature to keep cold foods chilled – aim to keep your fridge at 5°C or below.
Prevent cross-contamination – separate raw and cooked foods during storage and cooking and never let raw food, for example raw meat, come into contact with food that is ready-to-eat.

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

Unwitting Food Poisoning

Unwitting food poisoning is the result of people being unaware of basic food safety. It is usually brought on by implementing unsafe practices, taking chances and common misconceptions. Examples of common misconceptions are washing raw chicken before cooking or smelling food to make sure it’s not gone off.

What is Food Poisoning

Food poisoning is any disease of an infectious or toxic nature caused by the consumption of food or water. This includes all food and waterborne illness regardless of symptoms. They usually appear within 1 to 72 hours after eating contaminated or poisonous food. You can read some additional information about food poisoning in our blog entry Food Poisoning from 10th February 2023.

Most cases of food poisoning are the result of people not working properly in the kitchen. Another often cause is not paying proper attention to the delivery and storage of food. This is the case when we talk about food handling at home and in a food business.

By nature most food poisoning is unwitting food poisoning. However, it is most certainly always preventable. This is why training and education are important. To ensure you know how to handle food safely we recommend completing one of eLearn Safety online Food Safety courses. The Food Safety (HACCP) Level 1 is a good starting point.

Causes of Food Poisoning

There are many causes of food poisoning, all of which are avoidable. The most common causes are:

Contamination of food by bacteria and viruses. This is most often by not washing hands frequently or properly.
Not heating food sufficiently to kill bacteria.
Holding food: keeping it not hot enough (above 63°C) or for too long a period. This will allow bacteria to grow.
Not keeping food cold in the refrigerator, allowing bacteria to grow in a warm environment.
Contaminating food, which will not be cooked, with bacteria. This is why it is important to keep cooked and raw food separate.
People carrying bacteria and in turn contaminating the food. This may be in the form of an infected boil or cut. Some people can carry dangerous bacteria without sign of being ill.
Eating poisonous fish.
Chemicals that may be present in food such as insecticides, excessive additives and fungicides.
Metals in food such as lead, copper and mercury.
Eating poisonous plants such as nightshade, or mushrooms such as toadstools.

How Does Unwitting Food Poisoning Occur

As Matthew Gilmour, a Research Scientist and Director of the Food Safety Research Network at Quadram Institute in a report published on RTE (originally published by The Conversation) points out – small routine things, such as ‘sniff test’ might facilitate unwitting food poisoning. We all usually do it, as an unconscious reaction, in a hope to detect any issues with the stored food. However, most food poisoning microbes have no smell. In addition, microbes like Listeria and Salmonella are going to be near impossible to pick up with the sniff test.

As Dr. Gilmour points out “energies are best spent on storing [food] at the right temperature and cooking them for the right amount of time, rather than trusting […] nose to sniff out a pathogen”.

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

Hand Washing for Food Handlers

Hand washing for food handlers is an essential aspect of cleanliness and hygiene. When it comes to food hazards, food handlers are potentially one of the biggest risks in terms of food safety. However, to extend this, hand washing is not important only in a food preparing environment, but in a domestic one as well.

Hand Washing at Home

According to a research by BMC Public Health, Denmark tops the ranking when hand hygiene of consumers is looked into. According to a study Hand hygiene practices during meal preparation—a ranking among ten European countries, the ranking is as follows: Denmark, Greece, Norway, Romania, Hungary, Germany, UK, Portugal, France, and Spain. However, the overall conclusion of the study was that the hand washing is often done incorrectly by skipping areas of hand when washing, or washing one’s hands not long enough. Unfortunately, this is also true when handling risky food such as raw chicken. According to the study, the young families and pregnant women are most likely to neglect a proper hand washing technique. On the other hand, the elderly individuals generally do not wash their hands when required.

Hand Washing for Food Handlers – Why is it Important

Most likely, the single most important activity in the food preparation area is proper hand washing. Hands are used for everything – scratching your nose, touching your phone, keys, emptying bins, handling cash, and finally touching the food that is being prepared. It is incredibly easy to cross-contaminate food just by using unwashed hands.

Food workers have a moral and legal responsibility to ensure that they do not contaminate food. One of the characteristics of a good food worker is a positive attitude towards hygiene and a willingness to help maintain a high standard at the workplace. Hand washing is at the top of hygiene importance.

Food hygiene legislation places a legal responsibility on food workers, proprietors and visitors to maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness.

Keep the body clean – Food workers should wash or shower daily to remove the layers of dirt, dead skin, sweat and bacteria that build up on the body which can be passed onto food.

The law requires that:

Food workers are required to maintain a high degree of personal cleanliness and wear suitable clean clothes, and, if necessary, protective clothing.
It is an offense for an employee of a food business to fail to comply with Annex II of the Regulation EC no. 852/2004 (on the hygiene of foodstuffs).

Want to learn more? Explore eLearn Safety fully online Food Safety (HACCP) Level 1 course.

When to Wash Hands

Hands can never be washed too often, but they can be washed not often enough. This is especially important when hand washing for food handlers is in question. Always aim to wash your hands:

Before changing into work clothes to avoid transferring dirt and bacteria onto them.
Before handling food of any type.
After handling one type of food and before handling something else, especially after handling raw meat, poultry, seafood, raw eggs and dairy.
After cleaning surfaces, utensils or any equipment.
After handling waste.
After handling money.
After blowing your nose.
After coughing or sneezing.
After touching hair or face.
After going to the toilet.
After eating, drinking or smoking.

The main point to take is – Wash Your Hands regularly!

Hand Washing for Food Handlers – How To Steps

Hands must be washed at a wash hand basin supplied with running hot and cold water. Liquid bacterial soap and an approved means of hand drying should be used. The hands, front and back and the gap between the thumb and forefinger must be washed using a rubbing action. It is not satisfactory to run fingers under the tap and then to dry hands on uniforms.

Hands should be thoroughly dried.
Separate sinks need to be available for hand washing!
The correct way to wash your hands:
If required, make sure your sleeves are pulled up or turned up and they don’t cover your wrists.
Wet your hands under warm running water.
Use enough soap to form a good lather, and soap all parts of your hand, fingers and thumbs right up to the wrist.
Keep washing your hands for about 20 seconds.
Rinse your hands under running water until they are free of all traces of lather. Use fingers to help remove the suds.
Turn off the tap with an elbow or paper towel.
Dry hands thoroughly using fresh paper towels.

To learn more watch the below video prepared by SafeFood.net titled How to wash your hands properly.

Hand Washing for Food Handlers – Why Does it Matter?

Hand washing for food handlers is extremely important as correct hand washing will remove bacteria such as E. Coli and salmonella. Bacteria on the hands have an ideal environment, They have food, moisture and a temperature of around 37°C allowing speedy reproduction and a higher risk of infection. This is why hands must be kept meticulously clean at all times.

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

Food Safety and its Importance

Food safety and its importance matter for many, but mostly two ‘main’ reasons:

The most important reason of ensuring food safety is that no one should be made ill by the food they eat. Good food practices, supported and guided by law, will ensure protection for becoming ill due to unsafe food.
The other reason is that providing customers with quality and safe food keep them coming back. This is undoubtedly good for business.

What is Food

There are many various definitions of what food is, but for the purposes of catering, food may be defined as:

Any substance or product, whether processed, partially processed or unprocessed, that is intended to be, or reasonably expected to be, ingested by humans.

Therefore food is not only meal such as, burgers, steaks, salads, etc. Food includes drink, chewing gum, sweets, condiments, ice, flavourings and any substance, including water, intentionally incorporated into food during its manufacture, preparation or treatment.

Food Poisoning

Food safety and its importance can often by undervalued. But ignoring it might have series consequences. If food safety practices and handling standards are poor, food may become contaminated. This might result in people who consume said food to become ill. In extreme cases, food poisoning can be fatal.

If an incidence of food poisoning is traced back to particular business, both, the owner of food premises and an employee who was deemed negligent in preparing/serving the meal could be found liable. They could be prosecuted, and possibly fined, imprisoned, or have their business closed down. At the very least, it will most likely result in loss of customers.

Establishing good practices with regard to food safety will keep both customers and staff safe, and be good for business.

The Symptoms of Food Poisoning

Food poisoning is an unpleasant illness which usually occurs within 1 to 72 hours of eating contaminated or poisonous food. Symptoms can be various and can include abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhoea and vomiting as the body seeks to remove the poisons and prevent damage to the vital organs. The condition can last usually from 1 to 7 days, but can last longer. Other symptoms that suggest a case of food poisoning is particularly serious and requires medical attention include passing blood, either by vomiting or in diarrhoea, slurred speech, blurred vision, or mental confusion.

Identifying the source of the poisoning is necessary, but not always straightforward. This is because the illness might not have been caused by the last food to be eaten.

Prevention

Catering businesses can make a huge difference by following procedures and practices that promote food safety. It doesn’t have to be complicated. In fact, simple systems and rules work best as people find them easier to remember and stick to. All of the procedures and practices together form what is known as Food Safety Management System. You can read more about it in our blog entry from 5th May 2023 titled Food Safety Management System (FSMS).

The Food safety Authority of Ireland is a statutory body with main function to ensure that food produced, distributed or marketed in Ireland meets the highest standards of food safety and hygiene reasonably available and to ensure that food complies with legal requirements and recognised codes of good practice.

Food legislation is enforced on behalf of the FSAI by a network of official agencies working under service contract to the FSAI.

Enforcement of Food Safety Standards

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act, 1998 contains enforcement provisions which are in addition to the powers to prosecute and other provisions on specific pieces of food legislation. The provisions in the FSAI Act provide a means of reacting to and dealing with situations posing a risk to public health.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has the power to carry out the following in order to determine compliance with food legislation:

The inspection, approval, licensing or registration of premises and equipment, including premises or equipment used in connection with the manufacture, processing, disposal, transport and storage of food.
The inspection, sampling, and analysis of food and food including food ingredients.
The inspection and analysis of food labelling.

In July 2023 the FSAI issued ten Enforcement Orders served on food businesses. Commenting, Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive, FSAI, said that while the majority of food businesses adhere to food safety regulations, it is clear that some businesses are not fully compliant. Dr. Byrne continued ” … All food businesses, from the established to the newly opened, must fully adhere with food safety regulations at all times. Enforcement action will be taken for transgressions, in the interest of public health protection.”.

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

The Seven Principles of HACCP

Food handling businesses are legally obliged to put in place, implement and maintain a permanent procedure based on the seven principles of HACCP.

At first, the HACCP system may seem complex. However, the HACCP process is just a step-by-step process that examines how food is handled. The purpose of this process is to ensure the food produced is safe to eat.

The word HACCP is an abbreviation for Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point. To better understand the process, this abbreviation can be split in two parts:

HA – Hazard Analysis and how we identify all possible risks, and
CCP – Critical Control Point. For example, the CCP for cooking food is 75°C and no cooked food should be served at a temperature below this. The exact temperature of cooked food can be measured using a probe.

List of The Seven Principles of HACCP

The Seven Principles of HACCP are as follows:

1. Identify all the hazards that food might be exposed to.

This includes physical, chemical, microbiological and allergenic hazards. Once these hazards are identified, all the preventive measures for each hazard should be listed. Food safety hazard is anything that affects the safety and quality of food. A food safety hazards can endanger the health of a consumer. They can originate in the ingredients, the production process or the final product itself. Some additional information can be found in our blog entry from 5th May 2023 titled Food Safety Management System (FSMS).

2. Identify the Critical Control Points.

There will be various points in the process where hazard exists, but not all of them can or need to be controlled. Food may contain bacteria when delivered, but as long as the food is heated thoroughly and sufficiently to kill all bacteria later on in the process, controlling the microbiological hazard on delivery is not critical. However, carrying out the heating step correctly is vital.

3. Determine Control Actions for each CCP.

Once the critical control points have been identified, control actions can be decided and written down. Precise and clear measures and targets should be defined and documented for every CCP. The actions to be taken will obviously depend on the situation.

4. Establish the monitoring methods for each CCP.

The control actions are then monitored at given intervals. This is to ensure daily control of critical processes. Monitoring in food service relies on various temperature measurements. Daily audits should be carried out to ensure equipment is set up and working correctly. In addition, regular audits will ensure that the hygiene processes are completed satisfactorily and that the food safety policy has been followed. The frequency of monitoring depends on the level of risk. All monitoring results should be recorded.

5. Establish a registration and documentation system (good record-keeping).

Keeping records of all monitoring results and procedures is helpful to ensure and to demonstrate that a food business has taken all reasonable precautions to minimise risks. Good documentation endorses the quality of the work performed.

6. Establish the corrective actions for each CCP.

For all CCPs, pre-planned corrective measures should be defined for situations when the control criteria are not met. For example, if food has not been cooked well enough, it should be cooked again or thrown out. The procedures to regularly measure the CCPs, as well as the responsible person for each task, need to be defined.

7. Verification.

Checking that the HACCP system works. Any food safety system needs to be kept up to date. Audits, microbial testing, review of documents and evaluations of employee training will help to ensure this and that the HACCP system is working well and comprehensively. A regular review of practices should be carried out regularly to ensure that all the procedures are being actively followed at all times.

The Safe Catering Guide

Any Food Safety Management System, HACCP included, must be documented. All records must be maintained and available for inspection when required. Records are important to demonstrate the system is being implemented and managed effectively. Records might include HACCP documentation, deliveries, temperature monitoring, pest control, sampling, customer complaints, cleaning schedules, staff training, etc. For convent, affordable and efficient staff training solutions please check eLearn Safety fully online food safety courses. The HACCP system should be reviewed annually, if there are any changes, or if something goes wrong.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland has developed a guide that is based around the HACCP system. The Safe Catering Pack contains colour coded, easy to understand tick charts that cover hazards, controls and critical limits, monitoring/verification and corrective actions. General food safety information is also included as well as a wide range of forms for monitoring and taking records. This guide also includes specific/chemical contamination and food allergies.

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

Pest Control

Pest Control in any food handling premises is an extremely important process. Food pests are a source of food poisoning organisms. When one talks about pests, the majority of people think of rats, mice, birds, flies, etc. Whilst they are a major food safety hazard from the Pest Control perspective, domestic pets are also a significant hazard. By being pets they are often not considered a danger. However, domestic pets should never be allowed into food handling areas. They carry bacteria in their fur, feathers, skin, saliva and intestines. Stroking or fussing cats, dogs or other pets will contaminate food handlers.

What is a Food Pest

A food pest is an organism that lives on or in human food. Pests can contaminate food with bacteria and disease, but they can also cause physical contamination from droppings, urine, fur, feathers and even dead bodies.

Importance of Pest Control

Pest problems can result in lost revenue through damaged stock, gaining a bad reputation and in some cases legal action against the business.

According to the FSAI News Article from 13th July 2023, 12 Enforcement Orders served on food businesses in June. Some of the reasons for the Enforcement Orders in June include: a history of rodent activity with droppings found near fruit juice intended for children; open, ready-to-eat foods such as fresh lettuce suspected as having come into contact with rodents, with a likely risk of Salmonella; heavy cockroach activity in the kitchen, with dozens of live cockroaches spotted moving around food preparation areas, on the walls, floors, fridges, and inside food storage containers; a lack of adequate traceability systems and procedures for all products, undermining consumer safety; a failure to maintain the cold chain with insufficient fridge space to safely store high risk foods such as cooked rice and pasta; rodent droppings noted in the service area and near food storage; risk of cross contamination with ready-to-eat food such as smoked salmon stored next to raw food such as chicken and pork chops; and inadequate ventilation throughout the premises, evident by the large build-up of mould on the walls, ceilings and external doors.

Premises Maintenance as Part of Pest Control Process

Food premises often provide ideal conditions for pests as they provide food, warmth, shelter and water. It is therefore important to make sure premises are properly maintained to avoid pest infestation.

It should be part of any food handling business’ routine to check for signs of pest infestation. If any kind of pests activity is noticed and reported, this has to be dealt with immediately. It may be necessary to seek professional help from a pest control contractor or a local authority. It is always preferable to treat the problem by removing the pest. This avoids the possibility of it dying inside the food area and causing further contamination. Extreme care should be taken if chemical controls are to be used.

Pest Prevention

Prevention is better than cure and good housekeeping can play an important role in pest prevention. Some of the steps towards preventing pest infestation are:

Food should be always stored correctly in pest proof containers and off the floor.
Storage areas must be easy to clean and allow for easy access to check for signs of pests.
Food should never be stored outside as this attracts pests.
Rubbish areas should be kept clean and waste should be kept in bins with tight fitting lids. Untidy waste areas can attract pests by making food easily available.
Waste areas should be cleared regularly as rubbish can provide shelter, warmth, food and moisture for pests.
Ensure goods are used within the appropriate date to help prevent problems with stored product pests.
External water sources such as dripping taps or broken drain pipes can attract pests. These should be properly and regularly maintained.
Deliveries of goods should always be checked for signs of infestation. delivery should not be accepted if any signs of pests activity can be seen.
Make repairs as soon as possible to damaged drain covers, door bases or other parts of the building that will allow access to pests.
Fit insect screens on windows and doors that open directly into food preparation areas.

All pests damaged goods should be removed and destroyed.

Common Food Pests

Common food pests that can be found in almost any, rural or urban setting are:

Rats and Mice – rats live in sewers or in nests around buildings. In a year one pair of mice and their offspring can produce 2,000 babies if left undisturbed.
Flies – Land on animal faeces and rotting food, collecting bacteria on the hairs of their bodies. They may fly from food to food causing cross-contamination.
Cockroaches – They are nocturnal insects. They like warm and dirty places. Eggs take around 2 months to hatch and each egg case may carry between 10- to 30 eggs depending on the species.
Ants – May be attracted by unprotected food.
Birds – Birds carry many pathogenic bacteria and can cause significant damage.
Stored Product Pests – Weevils may be found in flour and other dry goods. They are normally quite harmless in the egg stage, and enter the food during food growth.

Food premises can be (and have been as mentioned above) closed down as a direct result of pest infestation. Pest problems should never be ignored!

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

Food Temperature Danger Zone

Food temperature Danger Zone is between 5°C and 63°C. Bacteria that cause food poisoning grow at temperatures between 5°C and 63°C above refrigeration temperatures and below cooking temperatures. This is why this temperature range is considered to be a Danger Zone. However, the bacteria grow best at warm temperatures, approximately 25° to 40°C.

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.

Dangers of the Danger Zone

Keeping high-risk foods out of the food temperature Danger Zone is essential to stop harmful bacteria growing to dangerous levels. The more time that food spends in the Danger Zone, the greater the risks are. It is therefore vitally important that close attention is paid to time and temperature controls throughout the ‘farm-to-fork’ process.

Food handlers should be aware of the following situations where food can spend too much time in the Danger Zone and cause a food hazard:

Leaving food to stand at room temperature.
Heating too slowly.
Cooling too slowly.
Leaving food in direct sunlight.
Combining hot and cold foods.

Food Temperature Danger Zone and Temperature Controls

The risk of bacteria multiplying to dangers levels can be reduced by:

Always keeping hot food hot (above 63°C) and cold foods cold (below 5°C).
Minimising the time between preparing and serving food.
Never leaving food out on counter tops at room temperature.
Keeping food in a hot or cold display – never allow the food to be left sitting on top where customers can contaminate the food by handling or sneezing.
Ensuring there is a sufficient space to carry out food preparation safely. There should also be sufficient space for food storage.
Never using food past its Use by date as it could be unsafe. Using or selling food past its Use by date is illegal. Food can be used after its Best before date provided that the food is still in 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.
Ensuring good stock rotation for all foods whether stored in a hot cabinet, fridge or dry goods store.

The Most Common Food Poisoning Bacteria

The most common food poisoning bacteria are:

Salmonela bacteria. Salmonela are most commonly found in poultry but are also found in pig meat and other foods. Salmonela 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.

Additional useful information on how the spread of food poisoning bacteria can be stopped can be found in Temperature Control page of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI).

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

Safe Methods of Defrosting Frozen Foods

To ensure food which has been frozen before use is safe to eat, safe methods of defrosting frozen foods have to be considered. There are some foods that are safe to cook straight from frozen. These are generally pre-prepared foods and manufacturer’s instructions will be on the packaging. All other foods will need to be defrosted thoroughly before cooking.

Problems with Defrosting Frozen Foods

Defrosting food can produce a number of problems. The most common is cross-contamination if defrosting was not done correctly. The other common problem is under cooking. Frozen food is frozen in its core and it might take longer before it is safely cooked. This can be forgotten during the meal preparation and the food can stay undercooked.

The liquid from the food, a result of defrosting, that comes off raw meat can contain high levels of harmful bacteria. This can contaminate ready to eat foods if not treated carefully. The liquid has to be discarded carefully. All surfaces with which it came into contact must be cleaned and disinfected thoroughly. Protection of food whilst defrosting is very important. The food must be protected from physical and chemical contamination.

Tips for Defrosting Food Safely

To ensure safe food, defrosting must be carried out in appropriate conditions. The food can be defrosted in:

Defrosting Unit.
A Microwave Oven with Defrosting Cycle.
A Refrigerator.
Under Cold Running Water.

The food can be defrosted in the fridge. A space should be made on the bottom shelf for frozen food. The frozen food should also be ideally sealed so that there is no chance of accidental contamination of other foods during handling. The fridge defrosting method will ensure that the food stays at a safe temperature as the food thaws.

The food can be defrosted under cold running water. As the outside of the food will defrost faster than the centre, this will help to keep it cool. If food is defrosted using cold running water, it must be placed in a container that does not retain water. For example, the colander can be used as a container.

Food can also be defrosted in the microwave. The care, however, must be taken to avoid cooking the surface while defrosting the centre.

Some ready-to-eat foods, such as cakes, may be safely defrosted at room temperature, following either the manufacturer’s instructions or the guidelines in the Food Safety Management System.

Why is Applying Safe Methods of Defrosting Frozen Foods Important

When the food is defrosted, it should be cooked as soon as possible after it has been defrosted. It is very important, however, to check that the food is completely defrosted before cooking. The food should be checked by sight. It should also be checked with fingers or a skewer. If any ice crystals remain inside the food, for example in the body cavity of the chicken, then the food needs to be allowed to thaw for longer. If the cooking process begins before the centre of e.g., a joint of meat has fully thawed, then while the outside will cook perfectly, the centre may not reach a temperature high enough to kill bacteria.

Key Points to Remember

When defrosting food, it is useful to remember these key points:

Keep food that is defrosting separate from other food and equipment to avoid cross-contamination.
Defrost small pieces of raw food in a container at the bottom of the refrigerator.
make sure food is defrosted all the way through and there are no ice crystals in the food.
Defrosting can be done using clean, cold water. If food is defrosted using cold running water, it must be placed in a container that does not retain water. Avoid splashing the contaminated water onto other food surfaces.
If using a microwave, make sure the food is defrosted all the way through.
Never refreeze a food product unless you have cooked it first.

SafeFood, an organisation that promotes food safety and provides nutritional advice has some additional useful tips on how to defrost food safely in their article How to defrost food safely.

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

Starting a New Food Business

It is very important when starting a new food business to be in compliance with all relevant food safety laws. The main purpose of food law is to ensure a safe food supply. In addition, its purpose is to protect consumers’ interests in relation to food. When a business starts handling food they are regarded as a ‘food business operator’. It is a legal responsibility to make sure that the business complies with food law and produces safe food.

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is responsible for enforcing food legislation in Ireland. The FSAI carries out this enforcement through service contracts with official agencies.

Official agencies (such as HSE) carry out inspections, take samples and conduct audits of the food businesses they supervise. This is to check that the food businesses are complying with the law. They will also take enforcement action if they discover a food business has broken the law. Enforcement officers from the official agencies are also a good source of food safety information.

Starting Points to Starting a New Food Business

At the initial stages of starting a food business, it is important to contact the official agency appropriate to the nature of the business. This is so the food business can be registered and, if necessary, apply for an approval number.

To operate legally a food business:

Be registered or approved.
Have a set of controls in place to ensure safe food – formally known as a Food Safety Management System (see Safe Catering Pack).
Have an effective traceability system in place, which will allow withdrawal or recall of food from the market if a safety problem is discovered.
Ensure that everyone handling food in the business has received enough food safety training to allow them to do their job safely. For fully online food safety training, please explore food safety course via eLearn Safety online training platform.
Comply with the relevant food law.

A wide range of food is available in Ireland today. Whether that food is produced by a large multi-national company or a small local food producer, it must be safe for consumers to eat.

The Main Responsibilities of a Food Business

The main responsibilities of a food business are:

The food business must ensure it does not include anything in food, remove anything from food, or treat food in any way which means it would be damaging to the health of people eating it.
The food business must ensure that the food it serves or sells is of the nature, substance, or quality which consumers would expect.
The food business must ensure that the food is labelled, advertised and presented in a way that is not false or misleading.

To summarise, the food for human consumption should be protected from contamination. In addition, it should be fresh and of good quality with accurate and correct labelling. Everyone deserves to be protected against food that might make them ill and that is exactly what the law aims to do. By operating an effective Food Safety Management System, businesses can abide by the law more easily. The Food Safety Management System does not mean ‘additional’ work. It means aiming to do things in the right way, every day. Good procedures will go a long way towards ensuring success.

Ensuring Compliance with Food Law

The food business ensures compliance with food law by operating a Food Safety Management System. The system must be based on HACCP (Hazards Analysis Critical Control Point) principles.

By law, a food business must be able to show what procedures are followed to ensure that the food it makes or sells is safe to eat. These procedures must be written down. Everyone who handles food must be trained and qualified in safe food handling practices. The up-to-date records of all training and refresher training should be kept on records. All food handlers must receive appropriate instruction in the essentials of food hygiene before they are allowed to start work.

When it comes to food, it is important to consider accountability and traceability. A food business must be able to show where food stuff came from and where it goes to. This is important if the business sells to a retailer, but not if it sells to a customer. There has to be a clear path to indicate ‘who did what’ when food handling is in question.

Operating an effective Food Safety Management System means that food business practices are routinely checked and recorded. This will enable the business to comply with legal requirements. It will also help compile a ‘due diligence’ defence, should one be needed.

Additional Information

For useful information about starting a new food business in Ireland, please refer to FSAI Resources Booklet for Small Food Businesses. In addition, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) provides beneficial content for new businesses and those already running businesses. They often organise and moderate webinars aimed at those wishing to start a new food business. More information is available on the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) website.

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