Food Safe Certification

what is the point of food safe certifications

to prevent food borne illnesses

what is the fecal-oral route

the route of feces to one’s food/water —> most food-borne illnesses are due to this trac

food-borne illness vs food poisoning

• food poisoning is from chemicals in food only

• food-borne illnesses is caused by ingestion of harmful micro-organisms

what is pathogen

harmful microorganism (bacteria, virus, fungi, parasites)

what i potentially hazardous food

food that is more likely to make one sick —> has the key things to make a pathogen grow quickly

what is non-hazardous food

food that does not have qualifications to make pathogen grow quickly

• can still cause illness though if contaminated

definition of cleaning

using friction to loosen/remove debris and microorganisms

• usually with brush/fingers and water

definition of sanitizing

emerging food-contact surfaces in hot water or food-contact surfaces to reduce microorganisms to safe levels

• sanitizers remove 99% of pathogens in 2 minutes

what is it called when a sanitizer removes 100% of pathogens

Sterilization —> not practical in most food service establishments

what is difference between disinfectant and sanitizers

disinfectants are too strong and harmful for food environments

• the word “sanitize” must be on a product for it to be safe to use aroun food

what is the danger zone (temps and definition)

4 degrees C to 60 degrees C

• this is the zone in which pathogens grow quickly

• important to keep potentially hazardous food out of this zone quickly —> the longer in the zone —> the more likely an illness can occur

what is the most dangerous temp in danger zone

37 degrees C (middle of zone)

• this is body temp

• bacteria grow fastest here

what is the number one cause of food-borne illness

temperature abuse of potentially hazardous food (i.e. undercooking, cooling too slow, thawing at room temp)

what is the number 2 cause of illnesses

cross contamination (i.e. raw meat touching ready-to eat meat)

how many canadians fall ill with pood borne illnesses each year

1 in 8 canadians

list all the levels of government that regulates the food service industry

Federal, Provincial, Municipal

how does the federal government regulate food industry

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspects manufactured food made in or transported to Canada

  • enforces the Food and Drug Act —> sets the standards for all food

  • oversees recalls

  • also regulates foods often linked to illnesses: meats/poultry, dairy, seafood, eggs…

how does the provincial government regulate food service industry

• Public Health Act and Food Safety Act

  • allow health inspectors to inspect health hazards

• splitting province into 5 Regional Health Athoritiies

• Food Premises Regulation (part of Public Health Act enforced by Inspectors) = minimum food safety standards that must be followed anywhere that serves food to the public (including: temperatures, hygienen, sanitization, washrooms, maintenance

• handles permits of operation

what is a health hazard

• something that endangers public health or interferes with the suppression of infectious agents

• a prescribed condition/thing that is associated with injury/illness

what are the 4 “Power laws” that inspectors are allowd to enforce

• Power of Entry —> unannounced inspections

• Power of Seizure —> take away food they think is contaminated

• Power of Destruction —> destroy food they think is contaminated

• Power to Make an Order —> making service places comply with food safety regulations

what are the requirements for permits to operate

• operator must have permit from Public Health Inspector

• permut is visible to public

• Permit restricts type of food served and how it’s prepared

• floor plans are approved by inspector

what are the 4 roles of a Public Health Inspector

1) inspect food premises so food is safe to eat

2) educate food handlers on proper food safety —> teach during inspections

3) enforce food premises regilations from Privincial food safety regulatuion

4) help Develop a food safety program with the operator (HACCP)

what does the municipal government do to regulate the food service industry

create bylaws that the federal/provincial law don’t cover that can deal with local issues

what are the 4 types of microorganisms

1) viruses

2) parasites

3) bacteria

4) fungi (mould + yeast)

what are viruses

• tiny tiny things (smaller than bacteria) → they grow and reproduce in cells

• they are not living things

• can survive on surfaces

what happens with an illness via virus

• illness comes on quick and lasts a short time (1-2 days)

• very contageous —> can be passed on by human hands to food or contaminated waters to seafood

• handlers can be carriers

what are examples of viruses in food

• hepatitus A

• norovirus

• rotavirus

what are parasites

• living things that feed off humans and animals → poop and contaminate things and cause illness

• can be single celled or multi cellular worms

• DO NOT GROW ON FOODS

• live longer than bacteria

• transfered through consuption of fecal contaminated water or food

• symptoms of these illnesses last longer than bacteria

whats the best way to control parasites

• proper cooking temps

• boiling water for drinking for one minute

• freezing kills

what are the single-celled parasites called + some assicuated illnesses

protozoa => Giardia, Clyclospora, Cryptosporidium, Toxoplasmosis

what are mulriple celled parasites called + associated illnesses

helminth => trichirella, Taenia Saginata (tapeworms)

what are some bad bacteria strains

Salmonella, E. Coli., Campylobacter, Listeria, Botulism, Bacillus Cereus, Staph aureus

qhat are the two ways in which pathogenic bacteria can cause a food=borne illness

1) Bacterial infection

2) bacterial intoxication

What is Bacterial Infection

• illness caused by eating contaminated food with bacterial pathogens

• bacteria mulriply in food and then in intestines

• symtoms start slow (within 103 days or up to 2 months)

• the amount and type of bacteria determines when symptoms start and how intense it is

what kinds of bacteria casue INFECTIONS

• Salmonella (in chicken and eggs)

• E.Coli. (in beef)

• Campylobactor (in processed meats)

• Shigella (in veggies)

What is bacterial intoxication

• get sick from the waste bacteria produces (I.e. toxins)

• not all toxins are destroyed by cookingf

• start of symptoms is quick (1-6hrs) and last 2 weeks

• symptoms: vomiting, nausea

what bacteria can cause bacterial intoxication

• botulism (home-canned veggies)

• Staph aureus (ham)

• Bacillus Cereus (rice and gravy)

Bacterial infection vs intoxication illnesses

Infection: slow onset of symptoms, last long —> diarrhea, cramps, fever

Intoxication: quick onset of symptoms, last 2 weeks —> vomit and nausea —> usually due to temperature abuse

how do bacteria grow

• one divides into 2 in as quick as 20 minutes in correct conditions

• some bacteria enter spore state —> do not grow but still alive

what are spores

protective state some bacteria take when growing conditions not ideal —> still alive but not growing

• once ideal conditions resume, bacteria continues growing

• spores cannot be destroyed by cooking —> use barrier method to make sure conditions are not good for spore to go away

botulism can be a spore —> their toxin is more dangerous

what are the 5 ideal conditions for bacterial growth

• high protein

• high moisture

• neutral pH

• excess O2

• in temps between 4 degrees C to 60 degrees C (danger zone)

what is the barrier method

removing just one of the ideal conditions for bacterial growth

• most common is temperature control —> keeping outside of danger zones

what are carriers

people who are infected without showing symptoms —> can still transfer into food prep and contaminate others

• good handwashing for this reason

what are the 3 factors that make people more or less likely to get sick

1) immune status (high risk people: young kids, elderyly, weak immune systems, pregnant women)

2) how many organisms you ate —> need to have an infectious dose in order to get sick

3) type of organism you ate

what is FAT TOM

all the ideal conditions for bacteria to grow

FOOD: nutrients for the bacteria (water and protein and carbohydrates)

ACIDITY: needs a neutral pH (between 4.5-7.5) —> does not like acidity

TIME: enough time in danger zone —> duplicates every 20mins, 2hr in danger zone is bad

TEMPERATURE: likes the temps in the danger zone (freezing does not kill bacteria)

OXYGEN: aerobic bacteria love oxygen (anaerobic do not like it)

MOISTURE: the amount of water activity (Aw) —> free water available

• lowering the free water available makes food safer (adding salts, freezing, dehydrating, cooking)

what is best before vs expiry date

Best before: promise from manufacturer that a product will be freshest until that date → quality not great after → can still be sold and consumes

Expiry: cannot sell or consume

• not a sudden risk but nutritional quality can no longer be guaranteed after that date

what is colonization

term describing pathogenic bacterial that grows on the outside of one’s body without causing illness

• can get others sick if touch body then touch food without washing hands

what is a type of pathogenic bacteria that can be collonized on someone

Staphylococcus aureus (staph) lives on peoples skin —> can cause vomiting quick if consume contaminated food

what is an allergy

an overreaction of the immune system to unwanted substances

what is direct microbial contamination

physical transfer of pathogens from contaminated food source to a person —> no food involved

what is an indirect transmission of pathogens

spread of pathogens via intermedate object like food or water

steps for dealing with complaints of a food-borne illness

1) refer to manager

2) manager should get as much info as possible about the illness

3) call the health department —> the customer should do the same

why is raw ground meat more dangerous than raw whole meats

whole meats involve less direct contact with food handling equipment —> the middle is safe and uncontaminated —> don’t have to cook all the way through

raw ground meats touch food handling equipment from all parts —> must cook through

why is tenderized meat not safe to eat undercooked

the needles puncture into the middle of the meat —> contaminating inside of whole meat

examples of temperature abuse

• leave food out to thaw in room temp

• not cooling foods fast enough through danger zone

• not regridgerating food at proper temp

• not thoroughly cooking foods

• not hot-holding food at proper temp

3 types of thermometers

• indicating thermometer —> for inside a fridge

• laser/infrared thermometer —> instant temp read-out

• Probe thermomenter —> for internal temperatures

what is the flow of food

all the steps it takes to get from receiving to reheating leftovers

what is cold holding

keeping food in fridge or freezer

what are the 4 safe ways to thaw food

1) in fridge at 4 C or less

2) in microwave —> not the best

3) running under cold water over plastic wrap

4) cooking from frozen

what is hot holding

holding cooked food above 60 C until it is ready to serve —> heat lamps are not enough

what are the two stages of cooling food

1) 60 C - 20 C within 2 hours

2) 20 C - 4 C within 4 hours

total of 6 hours alotted to cooling

what is the cycle of transmission

a cycle where contamination at any point in cycle can spread throughout

includes: food handlers, food, equipment

what is direct cross-contamination

contaminated food touches or drips onto cooked food

• meat juice, chemical cleaner, pest feces

what is indirect cross-contamination

using same equipment or utensils to handle raw food then cooked food right after —> can also happen with hands

what is a food safety management system

a general set of food safety practices and standards for use in food premises

• includes HACCP

what does HACCP stand for

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point —> goal: eliuminate cases of food-borne illnesses

• has 7 steps

what is step 1 of HACCP

Hazard Analysis: assess risks throughout a recipe by breaking down each step of the recipe

What is step 2 of HACCP

identifying critical control points —> this is a posibly hazardous step in food prep

What is Step 3 of HACCP

critical limits must be set for each Critical Control Point identified —> these are the riles and temperature minimums that one must follow to make the CCP safe

What is step 4 of HACCP

Monitor the CCPs —> ensure all critical limits are achieved with each CCP

• the CLs must be recordable

What is Step 5 of HAACP

Corrective action —> action if time/temp is unsafe —> must record corrective action

Step 6 of HACCP

verification: double check the HACCP system is working —> verified by someone not involved in monitoring

Step 7 of HACCP

Documentation and recording

What is a Preventative Maintenance Program

a plan ensuring all equipment works to manufacturere’s specifications —> maintenance and calibration

how often must equipment that is continuously used at room temp need to be cleaned and sanitized

every 4 hours

steps of receiving

• check truck for no contamination and proper shipping temps —> reject anything warm or refrozen

• check meat for discoloured, smell, etch

• check fish with sunken or coudy eyes

• check fish for cracks feathers feces (Grace C)

• Check Dairy for being pasturized

• Check MAP foods for packaging

what are MAP foods

Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) —> reduces or replaces O2 with other gases to keep bacteria from growing

should caterers prepare large amounts of food ahead or small amounts

SMALL

what are the 3 types of chemical sanitizers

• Chlorine based —> household bleach (2mL bleach in 1L of water —> 100ppm

• Quaternary Ammonium based —> 200ppm

• Iodine —> 25ppm

what are the two types of mechanical dishwashers

1) Low Temp —> uses chemicals

2) high temp —> uses heat only (82 C for at least 10 seconds)

how to clean equipment at “clean-in-place'“

must sanitize with twice the concentration

what is a sanitization plan + 3 components

a written procedure of sanitization for safety

1) list of cleaning and sanitizing agents

2) list of pesticides

3) cleaning schedule

how long should one wash their hands for

20 seconds

tips for pest control

• use screen doors and windows

• fill all holes —> steel wool, concrete

• check deliveries

• eliminate food sources

• have pest control company on contact

characteristics of cockroaches

• can live up to 2 years and lay up to 500 eggs

• live and breed in dark, warm, moist, places

• lay eggs in cardboard

characteristics of flies

• attarcted by smells of rot, garbage

• breed in garbage and feces

• a small problem can get bad quick

• spread diseases via their hair and suction cups on feet and their vomiting

rodents

• serious health hazard

• poop and pee on food

• breed quick

• active in dark

what is an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) System

system to keep pests away and get rid of them

what are the two types of pest control measures

1) operator applied

2) professional applied

what are the 3 rules for developing an IPM program

1) good sanitation + housekeeping

2) pest-proofing building

3) work with pest control company