Handy hints for food safety compliance in 2014

The New Year is an excellent time to remind staff of the importance of continued vigilance to ensure all the food served to residents is safe - all the time!

Suppliers - Make sure that all your suppliers are able to supply good quality produce that is in date, has all the packaging intact, and is at the correct temperature for the product being received.

Delivery - All deliveries should be checked before the invoice is signed to ensure that all goods ordered are in the delivery and that all potentially hazardous food is checked for the correct temperature.

Storage - Store food as quickly as possible in the appropriate area, such as the fridge, freezer, or dry store.

Processing - Food should be prepared as close as possible to the time of service, not too far in advance. Do not prepare raw and ready to eat foods together and always use good hygiene practices when preparing food.

Cooking - Always ensure food is cooked properly and to the correct temperature, this will greatly increase the safety of the food.

Holding and Serving - Quite simply, keep hot food hot (60 C or above), and cold food cold (5 C or below). Your facility may also use the 4hr/2hr preparation rule, make sure all forms for this, and all other temperature forms are filled in correctly.

Clean up - All food handling utensils must be sanitised and this usually involves the dishwasher in the kitchen. The dishwasher must be working at a temperature that will easily kill bacteria, (most will run at 82 C on the rinse cycle). Surface spray sanitisers are used for larger equipment and tables.

Its also important to make sure that proper maintenance is carried out on essential equipment, such as the dishwasher so that there is less chance of them not working when required.

The other thing to remember is that your food safety manual at each facility should be reviewed at least every 12 months to make sure that it covers all the processes on site so that it is always "current". 

As a reminder of why food safety is so important I would recommend that you check out the youtube video on our home page about the death of Mrs Zella Ploghoft from Salmonella poisoning, the account of which is told by her husband.