Avoid Bad Food Hygiene – What to look out for - By: jackauthors

We encounter food every day in our lives, we need to buy food, prepare food and of course eat food. On some days someone else will be preparing or cooking your food so you need to know what to look out for to avoid bad food hygiene. Here are some tips that will help you to identify best practice Food safety training and hopefully avoid ill health as a result.

In Supermarkets and Shops

-Raw meat, fish and poultry must always be on separate shelves from fruit and vegetables.

-Check your packaging for broken or damaged seals and labels. Even dented cans can pose a very serious health risk if you consume products within it.

-Check your vegetables for excessive bruising and holes. This is the perfect breeding ground for maggots, bacteria and other small insects.

-Avoid pre-stuffed chickens or turkeys if you are suspicious of the supermarket's hygiene standards. These are ideal breeding grounds for bacteria.

-Make sure you know where your food is coming from. In particular, you may want to ensure that your leafy vegetables do not contain pesticides. If you are not sure, give all your vegetables a good rinse before cooking on high heat and eating.

At home

-Food thermometers aren't just for posh chefs, they'll take the guesswork out of cooking so that you know that your food is definitely cooked.

-Meat should be cooked to at least 70°C (or 160°F) and poultry to 74°C (or 165°F).

-Always freeze raw meat or cook it within 2 days of purchase.

-Don't bring frozen raw meat to room temperature, always use the 'defrost' function on your microwave or defrost it in your refrigerator

-Leftovers should be eaten within 5 days of cooking. Frozen leftovers should be eaten within 2 months.

The important thing for supermarkets, restaurants, cafes or anyone who works with food on a regular basis is that all firms should at the very least, meet the UK and EU legal requirement for Food Safety Training. These courses do not take much time and will ensure that you are preparing food in a safe manner for public consumption.

Restaurants, cafes and hotels should expect formal action from the authorities if they are found to be cutting corners around food safety. The consequences are imposed immediately and can involve shutting down your business or issuing a heavy fine.

This was a costly and extremely damaging lesson for the Raja Halal Meat Shop in Harrow when environmental health officers found that none of their staff were involved in food safety training in July 2009. Neither were they registered with Brent Council, which is a must for all food businesses whether they are preparing, handling or selling food. With no food safety training and food damaged by rodents, the Raja Halal Meat Shop was closed down and fined £1857.

For larger businesses, like the Victorian Shopping Centre in Southend, fines would be much larger. This business was fined £12,000 when environmental health officers found mice droppings in food that was waiting to be sold.

Make sure you are not slapped with a permanent shut down or life bans. Don't get caught out, advise your food business managers that they should invest in food hygiene certificates.

About the Author

Vincent Norland is a expert in training food handlers and can advise on reducing preventable food related illnesses. He recommends High Speed Training for obtaining a Food Hygiene Certificate and other related online e-learning courses for your industry. The current UK and EU legislation states all food handlers need to pass then Level 2 Basic Food Hygiene Certificate.

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