Food safety is extremely important in order to reduce food-borne illness incidents in Australia. There are approximately four million cases of food-borne illness in Australia every year and many of these cases are linked to food safety issues. In particular, time and temperature control, storage of food and preventing contamination of food are three key factors of food safety that must be managed properly and trained on.

What is the most important factor in keeping food safe?

Cleanliness Helps Prevent Foodborne Illness Cleanliness is a major factor in preventing foodborne illness. Washing hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds can help eliminate germs from your hands.

What are the 7 principles of food safety?

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY – The National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods (Committee) reconvened a Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) Working Group in 1995. The primary goal was to review the Committee’s November 1992 HACCP document, comparing it to current HACCP guidance prepared by the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene.

Based upon its review, the Committee made the HACCP principles more concise; revised and added definitions; included sections on prerequisite programs, education and training, and implementation and maintenance of the HACCP plan; revised and provided a more detailed explanation of the application of HACCP principles; and provided an additional decision tree for identifying critical control points (CCPs).

The Committee again endorses HACCP as an effective and rational means of assuring food safety from harvest to consumption. Preventing problems from occurring is the paramount goal underlying any HACCP system. Seven basic principles are employed in the development of HACCP plans that meet the stated goal.

1. These principles include hazard analysis, CCP identification, establishing critical limits, monitoring procedures, corrective actions, verification procedures, and record-keeping and documentation.
2. Under such systems, if a deviation occurs indicating that control has been lost, the deviation is detected and appropriate steps are taken to reestablish control in a timely manner to assure that potentially hazardous products do not reach the consumer.

In the application of HACCP, the use of microbiological testing is seldom an effective means of monitoring CCPs because of the time required to obtain results. In most instances, monitoring of CCPs can best be accomplished through the use of physical and chemical tests, and through visual observations.

• Microbiological criteria do, however, play a role in verifying that the overall HACCP system is working.
• The Committee believes that the HACCP principles should be standardized to provide uniformity in training and applying the HACCP system by industry and government.
• In accordance with the National Academy of Sciences recommendation, the HACCP system must be developed by each food establishment and tailored to its individual product, processing and distribution conditions.

In keeping with the Committee’s charge to provide recommendations to its sponsoring agencies regarding microbiological food safety issues, this document focuses on this area. The Committee recognizes that in order to assure food safety, properly designed HACCP systems must also consider chemical and physical hazards in addition to other biological hazards.

For a successful HACCP program to be properly implemented, management must be committed to a HACCP approach. A commitment by management will indicate an awareness of the benefits and costs of HACCP and include education and training of employees. Benefits, in addition to enhanced assurance of food safety, are better use of resources and timely response to problems.

The Committee designed this document to guide the food industry and advise its sponsoring agencies in the implementation of HACCP systems.

What are the types of food safety?

Food Safety Hazards – There are four primary categories of food safety hazards to consider: biological, chemical, physical, and allergenic. Understanding the risks associated with each can dramatically reduce the potential of a foodborne illness. Each have their own unique characteristics, but all can be avoided through a robust food safety management system (FSMS),

Why is food safety important?

Overview – 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 causes more than 200 diseases, ranging from diarrhoea to cancers.

What is the number one rule for food safety?

1. Wash your hands well and often – Washing your hands well and often is the golden rule of food safety. Your hands are full of bacteria, and you pick up new bacteria every time you touch something. According to the Seattle Times, your cell phone alone has about 25,127 bacteria per square inch.

How can we prevent food safety?

Spring has long been the time of year for annual cleaning projects around our homes. However, when it comes to safe food handling, everything that comes in contact with food must be kept clean all year long. Food that is mishandled can lead to foodborne illness.

• Clean: Wash hands and surfaces often.
• Separate: Don’t cross-contaminate.
• Cook: Cook to proper temperatures.
• Chill: Refrigerate promptly.

Cleanliness is a major factor in preventing foodborne illness. Even with food safety inspection and monitoring at Federal, State, and local government facilities, the consumer’s role is to make sure food is handled safely after it is purchased. Everything that touches food should be clean. Listed below are steps we can take to help prevent foodborne illness by safely handling food in the home:

1. Wash hands with warm, soapy water for 20 seconds:
   • before and after handling food
   • after using the bathroom
   • after changing a diaper
   • after handling pets
   • after tending to a sick person
   • after blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
   • after handling uncooked eggs or raw meat, poultry, or fish and their juices.
2. If your hands have any kind of skin abrasion or infection, always use clean disposable gloves. Wash hands (gloved or not) with warm, soapy water.
3. Thoroughly wash with hot, soapy water all surfaces that come in contact with raw meat, poultry, fish, and eggs before moving on to the next step in food preparation. Consider using paper towels to clean kitchen surfaces. If you use dishcloths, wash them often in the hot cycle of your washing machine. Keep other surfaces, such as faucets and counter tops, clean by washing with hot, soapy water.
4. To keep cutting boards clean, wash them in hot, soapy water after each use; then rinse and air or pat dry with clean paper towels. Cutting boards can be sanitized with a solution of 1 tablespoon of unscented, liquid chlorine bleach per gallon of water. Flood the surface with the bleach solution and allow it to stand for several minutes; then rinse and air or pat dry with clean paper towels. Non-porous acrylic, plastic, glass, and solid wood boards can be washed in a dishwasher (laminated boards may crack and split). Even plastic boards wear out over time. Once cutting boards become excessively worn or develop hard-to-clean grooves, replace them.
5. Don’t use the same platter and utensils that held the raw product to serve the cooked product. Any bacteria present in the raw meat or juices can contaminate the safely cooked product. Serve cooked products on clean plates, using clean utensils and clean hands.
6. When using a food thermometer, it is important to wash the probe after each use with hot, soapy water before reinserting it into a food.
7. Keep pets, household cleaners, and other chemicals away from food and surfaces used for food.
8. When picnicking or cooking outdoors, take plenty of clean utensils. Pack clean, dry, and wet and soapy cloths for cleaning surfaces and hands.

Because bacteria are everywhere, cleanliness is a major factor in preventing foodborne illness. By keeping everything clean that comes in contact with food, consumers can be assured they are helping to do their part to Be Food Safe,

What is the best way to prevent food safety?

Following four simple steps at home—Clean, Separate, Cook, and Chill—can help protect you and your loved ones from food poisoning. Learn the basic facts about food poisoning, who is most at risk, and how to prevent it.

How is food stored safely?

Refrigeration Tips –

Marinate food in the refrigerator. Bacteria can multiply rapidly in foods left to marinate at room temperature. Also, never reuse marinating liquid as a sauce unless you bring it to a rapid boil first. Clean the refrigerator regularly and wipe spills immediately. This helps reduce the growth of Listeria bacteria and prevents drips from thawing meat that can allow bacteria from one food to spread to another. Clean the fridge out frequently. Keep foods covered. Store refrigerated foods in covered containers or sealed storage bags, and check leftovers daily for spoilage. Store eggs in their carton in the refrigerator itself rather than on the door, where the temperature is warmer. Check expiration dates. A “use by” date means that the manufacturer recommends using the product by this date for the best flavor or quality. The date is not a food safety date. At some point after the use-by date, a product may change in taste, color, texture, or nutrient content, but, the product may be wholesome and safe long after that date. If you’re not sure or if the food looks questionable, throw it out. The exception to this is infant formula. Infant formula and some baby foods are unique in that they must be used by the use-by date that appears on the package.

What are the 3 C’s in food safety?

Enlarge In the health and social care sector, the four C’s are especially important for food hygiene safety. Cleaning, Cooking, Cross-contamination and Chilling all come into play during the food handling process and must be implemented properly at all times.

Jack Gloop