Food hygiene is essential for ensuring food safety. Failure to take proper hygiene practices often leads to unfortunate outcomes. Considering the risk involved in the consumption of unsafe food, food businesses are required to follow strict hygiene procedures to ensure the safety of consumers.
What is Food Hygiene Legislation?
Food hygiene legislation refers to the laws guiding food hygiene. These laws may vary depending on the state or country but they are all aimed at achieving the same goal, which is food safety.
Food hygiene is an important requirement for those in the food industry however, some businesses compromise on safety. The hygiene regulations were formed to ensure that businesses prioritize the safety of consumers.
Join us as we highlight simple and important food hygiene requirements to help ensure food safety.
5 Simple Food Hygiene Requirements for Dummies
Most of the laws guiding food hygiene may vary a little, based on the region, but they are mostly similar. These requirements are mostly referred to as the 5Cs of food hygiene, namely-
#1 – Check
Food Hygiene is not only needed during the course of preparing the food. Its importance goes way back to when the items needed for the preparation of the food were being purchased. One of the major issues that lead to foodborne illnesses is the consumption of expired products. Ensure that you do a thorough check on any food items to ascertain if it is safe for consumption. Check for signs of spoilage, the expiry date, and lastly, ensure that the packages are intact. Taking other precautionary measures without this first step is pointless.
#2 – Clean
The importance of thoroughly cleaning the environment and space where food preparations take place can not be overemphasized. All food contact surfaces are to be thoroughly washed and sanitized, and this includes food preparation tools and the entire workstation. Maintaining a clean food preparation space also involves pest control. It is the responsibility of every food establishment to ensure that they run their business in a pest-free environment. Food exposed to insects or animals like rodents becomes fully contaminated and can cause severe food-borne illnesses when consumed. Food business owners or managers can either get rid of the pests by themselves or hire professionals to help. If you are clueless about how to get rid of pests from your food establishment, joining a pest control forum online will help guide you through the process.
#3 – Cook
Cooking food thoroughly kills any bacteria in it. Food businesses are required to ensure that raw foods are cooked thoroughly and at the right temperature to ensure that they are fit for consumption. Cooking at the right temperature determines the lifespan of the food. After cooking, it is important to maintain the appropriate temperature required before the food is consumed or stored in the refrigerator.
#4 – Chill
Food is not supposed to be reheated more than once. The best way forward is to store the food in the refrigerator. While chilling has proven to be the safest way to store food, the food should be kept chilled below 5°C. It is also important to note that the food should not be stored for so long in the refrigerator. Ensure that the food is properly covered when chilling it, to avoid contamination. Lastly, clean the refrigerator before storing food in it.
#5 – Cross-contamination
Cross-contamination is likely to occur when the practices listed above are not properly followed. Cross-contamination involves the transfer of bacteria from one place or thing to another. For example, transferring bacteria from your hands to the food preparation surface or from the cooking tools to the food. The first step to avoiding cross-contamination is to ensure that raw food is kept far from cooked food. Other procedures include ensuring that your food preparation surfaces and tools are clean, thoroughly washing your hands, maintaining a pest-free workspace, and so on.
Conclusion
Food hygiene is an important practice that is necessary not only for food establishments but also for individuals. Consuming unsafe food can lead to both severe and minor illnesses. One of the most popular food-borne illnesses is food poisoning. Food poisoning occurs when the food is contaminated. This food-borne illness is often drastic, especially when not properly treated.
It is the right of every consumer to consume safe food. Failure to maintain proper food hygiene compromises the quality and safety of any food prepared. Making poor-quality food puts the health of consumers at risk, and it also puts your business at risk.
Follow the 5Cs of food hygiene to ensure that you meet up with the right standard that guarantees food safety.
