Section 1 Food safety and the law
What does food safety mean?
It involves cleaning,temperature control,storage,handling and serving food,personal hygiene,pest control,premises and equipment,management systems and training.There will be procedures that you follow in your place of work to provide the consumer with safe food.
Food safety protects the health of the consumer by identifying hazards and putting in place control measures to reduce the risk of contamination.
Often we read headlines like:
Pupils at a school have fallen violently ill in an outbreak of suspected food poisoning.They are thought to have picked up salmonella from the meals prepared in the kitchens
Two new cases of e.coli food poisoning have been confirmed…
Every year millions of people in the UK have food poisoning.
Have you had food poisoning?You may have experienced the following symptoms diarrhoea,vomiting,nausea,(feeling sick)stomach pain.You may also have had a fever and visited a doctor.
The ten main causes of food poisoning:
1. Preparing food too far in advance then stored at room temperature
2. Inadequate cooling-leaving food to cool for to long before storing in the fridge
3. Inadequate reheating-not reheating food to a high enough temperature to destroy harmful bacteria
4. Contaminated food-using cooked food contaminated with food poisoning bacteria
5. Undercooking-not cooking food to a high enough temperature to destroy harmful bacteria
6. Inadequate thawing-not thawing poultry thoroughly
7. Cross contamination –transfer of bacteria from raw food to cooked food
8. Raw food consumed-meat,shellfish and eggs
9. Improper hot holding – storing food below 63c
10.Infected food handlers contaminating food and equipment
Not everyone who has food poisoning bacteria knows that they have got it.Some people can carry the bacteria without showing
any symptoms.These people are classed as carriers
Certain groups of people are more at risk from food poisoning:
Elderly people
People who are already ill
Pregnant women
Babies
Young children
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Remember
Symptoms of food poisoning include
Vomiting (being sick)
Nausea (feeling sick)
Stomach pain
Diarrhoea
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Section 1 – Food safety
High standards of food safety enable everyone to enjoy their food without illness.Poor food safety can have a bad effect on the business and consumers
Benefits of good food safety
Satisfied customers,a good reputation which could lead to an increase in business
Compliance with food safety laws
Less food wastage and possibly lower food costs
Good working conditions and better job security
Results of poor food safety
Consumers suffering from food poisoning
Legal action and costs,with possible closure of business leading to redundancies
Customer complaints and possible reduction of profit
Bad reputation
Poor working conditions
High food costs(food may have to be thrown away)
Food safety protects everyone,poor standards of food safety threaten,health,profit and jobs.
Contaminated food is harmful to health because it contains something that should not be there.
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Remember
Food- anything that people normally eat or drink,including ice or alcohol
Contaminated food –food that could be harmful to health
Case- the occurrence of an illness affecting one person
Consumers – people who eat food and drink
Food poisoning –an illness caused by eating or drinking contaminated food
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Section 1 – Food safety and the law
Food safety laws are designed to protect consumers from illness.Food business’s, must by law have a food safety management system in place.This system will identify any hazards to the food and put control measures in place to reduce the risk of contamination.
Hazard(to food)- anything that could cause harm to the consumer
Example - glass, found in a jar of pickled onions
Risk – the likelihood that harm will be caused
What is the likelihood of the glass causing harm to a consumer
Symptom- signs of an illness
Cuts in mouth
Control measure- an action that will reduce a hazard to a safe level
Ensure food does not become contaminated with glass
You may be involved with the food safety management system in your place of work,think about what controls are already in place.example temperature control
The following are examples of food safety management systems:
Safer food better business has been developed by the food standards agency to support small food business’s to plan and organise food safety within their business.It involves recording safe food procedures,completing a cleaning schedule,recording training of staff and suppliers information
Hazard analysis critical control points identifies any hazards to the food and puts control measures in place to reduce the risks.It is designed for food factories and can be used in large scale catering or retailing
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Remember
You must by law have a food safety management system in place
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Section 1 – Food safety and the law
Food safety legislation is enforced by the local authority.The person who gives advice, assistance and enforces food safety is called an environmental health officer or trading standards officer
They have the power to:
Enter and inspect premises
Remove food samples and equipment
Investigate outbreaks of food poisoning and possible offences
Take business’s to court for breaking food safety laws
The aim of an environmental officer is to protect the public from harm so always be supportive to their enquiries
If a court decides that the law has been broken it may result in:
A fine
A prison sentence
Closure of a business
A criminal record
A ban on the owner/manager working in the food business
Examples of prosecutions for breaking the food safety law:
“A public house has been fined £11,000 after environmental health
officers found kitchens in a filthy state,equipment was caked in rancid grease”
“A baker must pay £7,000 after he admitted selling a pasty which contained 30 live maggots”
“a restaurant has been ordered to pay more than £8,000 in fines and costs after admitting breaking food safety regulations including failure to include a food safety management system”
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Remember
An environmental health officer offers advice,assistance and enforces food safety
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Section 1 – Food safety and the law
By law food handlers must:
Keep themselves clean
Keep the workplace clean
Work to prevent food contamination
Wear suitable, clean,washable protective clothing
Store,prepare,and display food at safe temperatures
Tell their employer if they have food poisoning symptoms or certain other conditions/illness’s that could affect the safety of the food
Drawing3 of chef picking his nose
Employers and the law
Owners and employers must make sure
Premises are registered with the local enforcement authority
Premises are designed,equipped and operated to prevent contamination
Adequate washing facilities with hot and cold running water are provided
Adequate supply of drinking water must be supplied
Ensure food handlers are supervised and instructed and appropriately trained in food safety
Implement a food safety management system
Drawing 4 of dirty kitchen,bad food practices
Can you spot how food handlers are breaking the law?
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Remember
Food handler –anyone whose work involves food
Keep yourselves and workplace clean,this is the law
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