Sunday, August 10, 2008

Food Safety (Gidalarin Guvenligi)

***Cross Contamination is the physical movement or transfer of harmful bacteria from one person, object or place to another. It is a key factor in food borne illness (food poisoning), and it’s common sources are: food, people, equipment and work surfaces.
Make sure:

* thoroughly washing hands after handling raw foods, especially raw meats,
* using separate cutting boards and food contact surfaces for raw and cooked / pre-cooked and pre-prepared foods,
* not to make contact between raw and cooked/pre-cooked and pre-prepared foods
* not placing bulk food containers on bench surfaces,
* using correct sanitation procedures for all utensils and equipment,
* that cleaning cloths are single service or are adequately sanitized,
* keep raw foods and ready to eat foods separate.

*** High Risk Foods are those perishable foods which can support the growth of harmful bacteria and are intended to be eaten without further treatment such as cooking, which would destroy such organisms.
They include:
* All cooked meat and poultry.
* Cooked meat products including gravy, stock, and roll/sandwich fillings.
* Milk, cream, artificial cream, custards and dairy products.
* Cooked eggs and products made with eggs, eg. mayonnaise.
* Shellfish and other seafood.
* Cooked rice.

***Signs of food spoilage:
* Bad odors (off odors) occur.
* Foods become slimy as the bacterial population grows.
* Foods become discolored by the microbial growth.
* Foods go sour when certain bacteria produce acids.
* Yeasts and bacteria often produce gaseous by- products that can affect food.

***Do not sprinkle the cinnamon right after you pour the rice pudding to the bowls. This would let the microorganisms grow fast contacting the cinnamon with the hot surface of the rice pudding and this may lead to food borne diseases. Make sure you sprinkle the cinnamon just before serving the cooled rice pudding.

***Most probable growth conditions of microorganisms:
* In the presence or absence of oxygen.
* At temperatures between -7 to around 70°C.
* Over a pH range from 0 to 11.
* At water activities above about 0.6. (Spoilage of any particular food will be by the organisms most suited to the conditions in and around that food.)

***While thawing the frozen fish, first leave it in the fridge (4C) for 12 hours, then thaw it at room temperature for 4-5 hours and cook immediately. Make sure you do not leave the frozen fish directly at the room temperature. This would cause the pathogenic organisms to grow and spread over the fish quickly.

***Cooked vegetables can be kept max 4 days and cooked meats 3 days in the fridge.

***Make sure you do not keep cooked or raw fish in your fridge more than 2 days.

***The cold atmosphere in the fridge do not kill the bacteria, it just stop their growth and decrease the infection risk.

***Do not use the frying oil twice; make sure not to consume burnt food. Burnt food and oil contains carcinogenic agents.

***Do not consume raw egg. Its digestion is difficult and a food borne disease can occur, also the biotin, from the group of Vitamin B will be damaged.

***The best way to keep honey is to place it to a cool and dark place. It should not contact with sunlight. Do not leave its cover open, honey will gather moisture and its taste will turn somewhat bitter. If you do not pay attention for keeping honey, it will crystallize and lose its nutrition value.

***Hard plastic or glass cutting boards are less porous than wooden cutting boards, so they are the safest for cutting raw poultry, meat, fish and seafood.
Wooden cutting boards can be used for foods like fresh produce, bread, nuts, dried fruits...

***When a cutting board gets deep scratches and cuts, toss it out!

***You should always wash your hands, knife and cutting board thoroughly in the dishwasher or very hot, soapy water after cutting or skinning raw poultry. Do not reuse the knife and cutting board until it has been thoroughly cleaned. Never place cooked poultry on the same platter that you used for your raw poultry. When taking chicken outside to grill, cover a plate with foil, place the raw chicken on top of that, and then remove the foil for after the chicken has been cooked. Use smart food storage techniques to protect yourself from Bacteria in raw chicken.

Many clinical assistant have seen the unhappy results of improper food handling, all of which could have been avoided with a little care and knowledge.

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