Access to sufficient amounts of safe and
nutritious food is key to sustaining life and promoting good health. Unsafe
food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical substances
can cause more than 200 different diseases – ranging from diarrhea to cancers.
All five of the fundamental food safety program areas--GMPs, Sanitation,
Regulatory Compliance, Quality Control and HACCP-should include auditing as an
essential component of evaluating and verifying that established systems and
processes are working effectively. Food Safety refers to handling, preparing
and storing food in a way to best reduce the risk of individuals becoming sick
from foodborne illnesses. Food safety is a global concern that covers a variety
of different areas of everyday life. The principles of food safety aim to
prevent food from becoming contaminated and causing food poisoning.
This is
achieved through a variety of different avenues, some of which are: 1-Properly
cleaning and sanitizing all surfaces, equipment and utensils, 2-Maintaining a
high level of personal hygiene, especially handwashing, 3-Storing, chilling and
heating food correctly with regards to temperature, environment and equipment,
4-Implementing effective pest control, 5-Comprehending food allergies, food
poisoning and food intolerance, 6-Safe food preparation, 7-Safe food storage
and display, 8- Prevent crosscontamination (Disposable gloves can help prevent
cross-contamination. The same precautions should be taken when handling raw
food, and cooked or ready-to-eat foods. Wash and dry your hands thoroughly
before putting on gloves, and always use fresh gloves). 9-Controling
temperature danger zone (The temperature danger zone is between 5 °C and 60
°C). You need to keep cold foods at 5 °C or colder, and keep frozen foods
frozen solid during storage at –15 °C or colder. Hot food must be kept at 60 °C
or hotter. Do not use bains-marie and similar equipment to heat food. If this
equipment is used for heating food, the food will spend too long in the temperature
danger zone. Before placing food in the bain-marie, make sure the food is
thoroughly cooked. Ensure that the center of the cooked food has reached 75 °C.
Most bacteria are killed when food is cooked properly. Food that has been
cooked should not be left out to cool for more than 1 hour. As soon as food has
cooled, place it in the refrigerator or freezer. Thaw food thoroughly before
cooking. Bacteria can grow in frozen food while it is thawing, so keep frozen
food out of the temperature danger zone. To do this, thaw frozen food on the
bottom shelf of the refrigerator (so the juices do not drip onto other foods)
and keep it in the fridge until it is ready to be cooked. Store food in clean,
food-grade storage containers that are strong enough for the food they contain.
If containers are reusable, wash and sanitize them before using them. Do not
reuse containers that are only meant to be used once. In conclusion, Food
safety is a scientific discipline describing handling, preparation, and
storage
of food in ways that prevent food-borne illness.
المكتب الاعلامي لكلية علوم الاغذية