Cleaning and food safety are inseparable terms. A clean kitchen is one that has been thoroughly cleaned to prevent the contamination of food by living and non-living contaminants. Cleaning safely does not mean cleaning areas and surfaces you can see only. Cleaning safely means cleaning in places you cannot see.
High priority cleaning should be given to items that are frequently touched. Examples include water taps, door handles, light switches, etc. These should be cleaned more than once a day to prevent contamination and should be cleaned and allowed to dry naturally after every shift. Allowing items to dry naturally removes the chance of contamination by using towels.
A kitchen must be properly cleaned and sanitised. It is of utmost importance to follow the guides and instructions provided with the cleaning agents to prevent chemical contamination of food.
The following six-point cleaning plan is one example of achieving cleaning and food safety:
All kitchen work areas should be cleaned after each task.
You can find out all about essential food safety in eLearn Safety fully online food safety course Food Safety (HACCP) Level 1 which is based on the training criteria set down by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland’s Guide to Food Safety Training Level 1.
There are many additional resources available online that look into great detail of cleaning and food safety. For example SafeFood has plenty of very useful information on their website page titled Kitchen hygiene and food safety.
To keep the kitchen clean, always ensure the following:
Never store chemicals in the same area as food. If food gets contaminated, it can seriously harm all that consume contaminated food.
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 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.
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.
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:
Want to learn more? Explore eLearn Safety fully online Food Safety (HACCP) Level 1 course.
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:
The main point to take is – Wash Your Hands regularly!
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.
To learn more watch the below video prepared by SafeFood.net titled How to wash your hands properly.
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.
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 matter for many, but mostly two ‘main’ reasons:
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 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.
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.
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.
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:
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.”.
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 is one of the most important hygiene requirements expected of the employees working in the food handling industries. The food business operator must ensure that all employed staff are trained in good hygiene practices and that they behave in a manner that will not contaminate food.
The human body is an excellent home for bacteria. Humans carry a number of potential food poisoning bacteria on and in our body. It is very important that food handlers have a very high standard of personal hygiene to prevent contamination.
Bacteria on the hands have an ideal environment for growth and spreading. They have food, moisture and an ideal temperature of around 37°C; all ideal factors for bacterial growth. The role of hands in transferring pathogens to high-risk food is one of major causes of outbreaks’ of food poisoning not only in Ireland, but worldwide. The Health Protection Surveillance Centre publication ‘Preventing Foodborne Disease: A Focus on the Infected Food Handler’ provides a very insightfully report on preventing foodborne diseases with a focus on the infected food handler.
Hand washing is a crucial step in preventing food contamination by food handlers. By using proper hand washing techniques and as often as possible, harmful bacteria present on the hands of food workers are removed. Some examples of harmful bacteria are E. coli, Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus and viruses (e.g. norovirus) .
All food handling staff must wash their hands including forearms when exposed with a non-perfumed soap and:
Hands should be followed as follows:
The hands should be washed using designated hand wash basins only. After washing the hands must be dried using disposable paper towels. Towels are never to be shared! Alcohol and disinfectants are only effective if used on clean hands. They are not meant to be used as a method of hand disinfection – unless hands have been thoroughly washed prior using disinfectant. Taps should be turned off with either elbow or whilst holding a paper towel.
This short instructional video prepared by SafeFood demonstrates how to wash hands properly: How to wash your hands properly.
The use of disposable gloves is not a substitution for hand washing. In fact, gloves are a potential cause of food contamination as they can provide the ideal environment for multiplication of micro-organisms. Disposable gloves should only be worn for short periods and hands must be washed before and after use.
If gloves are however used regularly, a glove policy should be provided and all employees must be trained on how and when to put gloves on and how they should be used to prevent contamination. Clear instructions regarding the changing and disposal of damaged and contaminated gloves is a must.
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
