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Food Safety for the Home Environment

Paper Type: Free Essay Subject: Nutrition
Wordcount: 3684 words Published: 27th Nov 2017

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  • Milena Marcinek

Part 1: Handling food

This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 1: Know the importance of handling food safely

Learning objective

Place in Assessment

  1. Explain why it is important to handle food safely

Question 1 Page 1

1.2 Identify hazards relating to food safety

Question 2 Page 2

1.3 Identify ways in which food should be handled safely to avoid contamination during the following operations:

  • Storage
  • Preparation
  • Cooking
  • Serving
  • Re-heating

Question 3, Page 2

1. Explain why it is important to handle food safely. [1.1]

Safe food handling prevents food from being contaminated. It is highly important to preven food contamination as contaminated food can cause not only heachache or atomach pain but also can lead to severe health problems such a kidney failure and even death. If people who are responsible for handling the food do not take enough care for safe food handling they might put people’s health at risk.

2. What are the key hazards to be aware of when it comes to food safety? Identify at least three examples in your answer. [1.2]

Bacterial Hazard: Over time food can be subject to a range of changes caused by micro- organisms such as bacteria, fmould, yeast, viruses. As a result the color, taste texture can be affected. Some of the changes look unpleasant bu they do not have to be dangerous for human’s life although some forms of bacterial contamination, caused by pathogenic bacteria, causes the food to become inedible or a potential hazard to health.

Foreign Bodies: The food may be contaminated by the foreign body even before the food is reacheing the home.

Examples of foreign body:

I pieces of metal, wood, plastic and food packaging,

II bones, shells, pips, stalks and stones.

III hairs, jewellery, plasters, nails, saliva

Allergic Hazard The most common food that cause alergic reaction are milk, soya, nuts, seafood. Even just a tiny bit of certain food can cause severe reaction. Food allergic can lead to anaphylaxis. Sufferers can experience swelling of the throat, breathing problems and potential collapse. Food labels have to always inform if the food might have any conatct with any of food that can cause allergic reaction.

Chemical Hazard

3. Complete the table below by identifying how food should be handled in order to avoid contamination during each of the operations listed: [1.3]

Operation

How food should be handled

Storage

Every type of food has an ideal storage condions. If food is storaged in a wrong way the food can quickly become inedible or unusasble.

Preparation

Keep the highest hygine standart at the place where food is being brepared.

The perosn who prepares the food should fallow the highest hygene standarts.

Cooking

Food should be cooked throughly to avaoid bacterial contamination. If the temeperature of cooking is not high enough then bacteria may survive and people eating undercooked food risks becoming ill.

Serving

It is important to ensure that hot food don’t go cold, persihable foods are not left in room temperature for longer than two hours and people do not make contact with food they do not intend to eat.

Re-heating

Food shouldn’t be re-heated more then one time.

Re-heated food must be minimum 75 degrees C.

To check the temeperature of food an appropriate thermometer should be used.

Take particular care when feeding pre-heated food to vulnerable people.

For food such as soups be sure to stir them so the whole foodstuff is at required temperature.

Now that you have completed Part 1 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment.

Part 2: Personal hygiene

This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 2: Know the importance of personal hygiene when handling food

Learning objective

Place in Assessment

2.1 Explain ways of maintaining personal hygiene when handling food that helps reduce the risk of contamination

Question 1 Page 3

2.2 Identify how and when to wash hands

Question 2a Page 4

Question 2b Page 5

2.3 Describe potential problems resulting from not maintaining personal hygiene when handling food

Question 3 Page 5

1. Explain three ways of maintaining personal hygiene when handling food. Also provide a brief explanation as to how these efforts can reduce the risk of contamination. [2.1]

a)

People should avoid touching or combing their hair while handling with food as hairs can physically contaminate the food. In commercial enviroment food handlers have to cover their hair with a hair net or other form of covering. These efforts reduce risks of getting hairs into food what is not only not pleasant but olso have a potential to be harmfull to death.

b)

People should take off jewellery while they handle the food. Jewellery can harbour bacteria and dirt and also brings a risk of phissical conatmination

c)

People should ensure their nails are short and tidy while they handle food. The food handler shouldn’t use nail varnish or fake nails that can drop of. Following this rules reduces risks of physical conatmination ( bits of nails, varnish, dirt undar nail, or pieces of fake nails can conataminate the food )

2a. Read the case study below describing a typical day for Chris. Afterwards, identify three situations where he should have washed his hands. [2.2]

Chris works in a sandwich shop every weekday from 9am to 6pm. He gets up and out of bed at 7 and jumps into the shower straight away. Once dressed, he heads downstairs for breakfast. Today, he’s decided to have his favourite; bacon sandwiches. He puts the bacon into the sizzling hot pan and waits until it is brown and crispy. He also chops up some fresh tomatoes from the fridge before putting together his meal. He is running late so takes his sandwich with him to the bus stop. He needs to finish it quickly to pay for his ticket and hold on to the side bar because the journey is unusually bumpy and busy. When he arrives at work, Chris puts on a plastic apron and gloves immediately and positions himself behind the counter awaiting his first morning customers. By lunchtime, Chris has put together 34 sandwiches and he sets about making the total 35 by preparing his own. Once he has made his lunch, Chris removes his gloves and apron and sits himself in the staff room, ready to reward his hard work. Between mouthfuls, he decides to make a cup of tea so wanders over to turn the kettle on and get a spare mug from the cupboard. He sits himself back down until the kettle has boiled which conveniently coincides with his final bite. He places his plate in the dishwasher, makes his tea and prepares to head back to his second shift.

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After returning home from work, Chris quickly uses the bathroom before beginning to prepare his dinner. He takes some chicken from the fridge and cuts it into cubes for a stir fry. Whilst doing so, his phone rings so he runs to answer it. It’s his mum, so he finds comfy place to sit down as he expects it will be a long chat!

Your answer:

a) before touching bacon, after touching bacon and before cutting tomatoes

b) When arriving to work befor he starts making sandwiches and before coming back to work after the break

c) Before cutting the chicken

2b. Prepare some simple instructions that could be used to explain the correct technique for hand washing. [2.2]

  • use warm water and good amount of soap
  • rub palm to palm
  • rub backs of both hands
  • rub palm to palm with fingers interlaced
  • rub backs of fingers ( interlocked)
  • rub each thumb clasped I nopposite hand using a rotation movement
  • rub both palms with fingertips
  • dry torhoughly in clean paper towel or use hand dryer

3. Describe three potential problems that can result from not maintaining personal hygiene when handling food. [2.3]

a) foreign object conatmination

If people who deal with handling the food dont keep high hygene standarts as covering their hair, wearing appropriate clothes, keeping nails clean and tidy or they wear jewellery while they handle any food they might contaminate food with foreign objcect such as for example : hairs, pieces of jewellery, pieces of nails or clothes.

b) Food poisoning bacteria

Lack of personal hygiene can result in food poiosning bacteria. To avoid it people handling the food should remember to wash their hands, keep the kitchen area clean, not to store rice at room temeperature for sustained period, carefool cook and cool the food, wash thoroughly the meat, fish and vegetable, not to use damaged cans, preserve food carefully, keep raw and cooked food separately, keep food at safe temeperature, keep animals away from food, avoid coughing and sneezing on food, cover cuts, pay attention to use by dates.

c) Foodborn disease

Foodborne illness is caused by consuming contaminated foods or beverages. Many different disease-causing microbes or pathogens can contaminate foods, so there are many different types of foodborne illnesses.

Most foodborne diseases are infections caused by a variety of bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Other diseases are poisonings caused by harmful toxins or chemicals that have contaminated food.

Of note many foodborne pathogens also can be acquired through recreational or drinking water, from contact with animals or their environment, or through person-to-person spread.

Here are a few dos and dont’s to prevent food borne illness:

*Don’t leave foods that need to be chilled sitting out. Refrigerate and freeze necessary foods right away.

*Do use a meat thermometer to make sure your food is cooked thoroughly.

*Do wash your hands for at least 20 seconds with warm, soapy water before and after handling any raw meats, fruits and vegetables.

*Do wash utensils and disinfect surfaces before and after use.

*Don’t defrost food on the kitchen counter. Instead, use the refrigerator, cold running water, or the microwave oven.

*Don’t let food marinate at room temperature.

*Keep marinating food refrigerated.

*Don’t over pack the refrigerator.

Now that you have completed Part 2 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment.

Part 3: Storing food

This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 3: Know how to store food safely

Learning objective

Place in Assessment

3.1 Explain how to store the following types of food correctly to avoid contamination:

  • Fresh
  • Convenience
  • High risk
  • Low risk

Question 1 Page 6

3.2 Explain why it is important to follow food storage instructions

Question 2 Page 7

1. In the table below, explain the correct way to store the different food types in order to avoid contamination: [3.1]

Food type

Storage method

Fresh

Raw meat, fish and poultry should be stored in the bottom of a fridge below ready to eat food. Fresh salad vegetables should be stored in lided boxes in a fridge to prevent it from being contaminated by drips from raw food.

Convenience

Convenience food should have a label saying what is its best storage method.

High risk

High risk food should be keeped in low temeperature enviroment such as refrigerator and only for short duration outside of that.

Low risk

Can be stored in dry, cool, dry area , ideally in the shade.

2. In 50 words or less, explain why it is important to follow food storage instructions. [3.2]

IT is importarnt to follow food storage instruction to be sure that the food is being kept in right condition and to prevent food spoiling to quickly and to reduce risk of food poisoning.

Now that you have completed Part 3 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment.

Part 4: Importance of correct food storage

This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 4: Know how food storage can affect the nutritional value of food

Learning objective

Place in Assessment

4.1 Outline how storage methods can affect the nutritional value of food

Question 1 Page 8

  1. Outline in 50 words or less, how storage methods can affect the nutritional value of food. [4.1]

Nutrition in food is prone to change with time. Exposure to light, temeperature, water or oxygen can cause all sorts of reactions in food what effects in nutritional changes of the food.

Now that you have completed Part 4 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment.

Part 5: Keeping the food work area clean

This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 5: Know how to keep the food work area clean

Learning objective

Place in Assessment

5.1 Describe why it is important to keep the food work area clean, hygienic and disinfected

Question 1 Page 9

5.2 Outline ways of keeping the food work area clean, hygienic and disinfected

Question 2 Page 9

1. Describe why it is important to keep the food work area clean, hygienic and disinfected. [5.1]

Keeping the food work area clean, hygenic and disinfected eliminates bacteria growth, reduces bacteria to safe level, creates the inviroment that is uinattractive to pests and verim, minimises the possibility of cross conatmination, results in a clean and safe enviroment for the people who are preparing the food.

2. Outline three actions that you can take in order to keep the food work area clean, hygienic and disinfected. [5.2]

a)

To avoid cross conatamination you can restrict some food preparation and cooking tasks to specific part of the kitchen. Yo can also have dedictaed equipment for certain tasks, such as colour coded chopiing boards.

b)

Disinfect food contact surfaces, hand contact surfaces as well as equipment used to clean the kitchen to avoid cross contamination .

c)

Clean the kitchen area systematically and implement kitchen cleaning scheadule.

Now that you have completed Part 5 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment.

Part 6: Checking food is cooked to the correct temperature

This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 6: Know how to check food is cooked to the correct temperature

Learning objective

Place in Assessment

6.1 Describe why it is important to ensure that food is cooked to the correct temperature

Question 1 Page 10

6.2 Give examples of ways to check food is cooked to the correct temperature

Question 2 Page 10

1. Describe why it is important to ensure that food is cooked to the correct temperature. [6.1]

Bacteria multiply in the temperature between 5 and degrees 65 Celcius. Baceria are killed in the temeperature above 75 degrees Celcius so it is important to check the food is cooked all the way through to be sure there is no threat to people’s health.

2. Give two examples of how you can check that food is cooked to the correct temperature. [6.2]

Example 1:

U can use food thermometer to check if the food is cooked in a correct way.

Example 2:

Yo can also see if food is piping hot and steam is visible before the food is served.

Now that you have completed Part 6 of your Assessment, remember to save the work you have done so far – you will need to send your work to your tutor for marking once you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment.

Part 7: Disposing of food waste

This part will help you to evidence Learning Outcome 7: Know how to dispose of food waste safely

Learning objective

Place in Assessment

7.1 Describe why it is important to dispose of food waste safely

Question 1 Page 11

7.2 Outline how to dispose of food waste safely

Question 2 Page 11

1. Describe why it is important to dispose of food waste safely. [7.1]

It is important to dispose of food waste safetly to avoid cross contamination- when the food is no longer going to be consumed it should be thrown away straight away. If we leave the unwanted food at home it can be a place where bacteria are able to thrive. Bacteria van be spread to other food that still can be consumed what causes a risk for human’s health.

It is also important to dispose of food waste in a safe way to avoid pests at home.

2. Outline two ways in which you can dispose of food safely. [7. 2]

a) Do not left food waste undercovered before throwing it away. Waste needs to be disposed of immediately

b) Clean with water food containers and food packaging. This removes small bits of food that can facilitate bacteria growth.

Now that you have completed all 7 Parts of this Assessment, go to www.vision2learn.com. Log in to the platform and send your Assessment to your tutor via your My Study page for marking. Good luck!

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