Importance of safe food-handling, storage, and preparation processes
Hospitality deals with the business of food preparation in places that include restaurants, cafes, hotels, sandwich shops and even bars. This might involve food for clients that might need takeaway food or rather take the food in these places. The main objective of such undertakings is to exhibit that food handling and preparation processes are done safely for customer help.
World class hygiene enhances the safety of the clients as they take the food. It avoids harmful microorganism that can result into illness originating from food contamination. There are several causes of food poisoning that has been reported over time by the responsible authorities including U.S FDA.
Safe food handling, storage and preparation processes are vital to minimizing the dangers of food poisoning. Food storage areas should be cleaned well as part of a planned system and even in case of wastage. In most cases, the condition of the floor should be well maintained with low flows. Gullies and channels dictate the kind of operation to be applied in such processes. The best choice should be gullies but in a situation where box channels are applied, the best system to be engaged is the one with a built-in gradient. In most cases, the drainage unit should have the capacity to allow the matter to flow directly into it, such that it should able to simply clean and maintain the drainage system itself. Gratings should be avoided but it has to enable mobile racks and perfect trollies to move at a faster rate. In a situation where cold storage rooms are applied, local drainage is needed to assist in condensing water from an evaporator. To improve the drainage system, adjacent gully incorporated with a tundish to avoid spillage should be applied.
Preparing the delivery point before offloading stock is very important. An individual conducting this operation should follow Standard Operating Procedure to prepare the storage areas that include:
- Sweeping
- Washing the area
- Mopping
- Collecting every litter and any unrequired material
- Locating all things in their respective position such as pallets, trolleys, ladders and even weighing scales
- Clearing all the ways for employees and delivery drives
- Arranging the old stock to avoid confusion with the new stock being received
- Necessitating all the required tools such as utensils and other equipment to receive the new stock in an organized manner. These tools include thermometers (record food temperatures to reflect its safety), weighing scales, box cutters, and copies of purchase specifications, copies of orders made both online and faxed ones. Specifications made in purchase order should have the following aspects: weight, labels, packages, quality, delivery temperatures and thickness of the stock.
Security management should also be prepared such that alarms are inspected if they are functional and checking every area that should be locked. Other safety needs should also be availed that include first aid kit, firefighting equipment and indicating all the signs appropriately.
In the process of receiving stock, the inspection should be referenced to ascertain that the delivery conducted is according to the order made. This must be done to avoid making the mistake of receiving stock that was not ordered, ensuring that the delivery is made to the right address and to avoid time wasting in case the wrong delivery is made by sending it back to the supplier in time.
Critical role of hygiene in ensuring customer safety
To clearly understand and make the right delivery, a premise should engage the following measures:
- Confirm internal documentation
- Contact the delivery driver verbally to ensure that the right delivery is being made
- Confirm the driver’s documentation to ascertain that the right stock and the right premise is receiving the stipulated deliveries.
It is very important to conduct a smart purchasing decision unless a follow up is done at the moment of receiving such products. It is vital to make a follow-up for products that have been ordered when receiving them. Even though suppliers can be ethical, errors can also be witnessed since they are also humans. Such errors can be extensive and loses can be incurred at a costly price hence it is very crucial to continuously check that the goods being received are full and delivered. The following should be done when receiving food:
- Receive the products with enough pace
- Provide the necessary tools like carts and dollies
- Give appropriate delivery periods and discuss with the vendors
- Provide training for the receiving personnel
- Establish a recording system for future references
Issues arising when goods are being received can always arise at a given time. It is very vital for a restaurant or any food premise manager to develop an advanced receiving system that is based on common concepts and continuously practice such procedures severally. To perfectly ensure that products are successfully delivered, managers should understand the specifics of the orders given. This will not be complicated since well-stipulated form in writing a document is crucial rather than making verbal calls. The written purchases can be inspected to meet the specifications of the order. A purchase order should be presented in the receiving sector for references. The following information is always provided in the order
- The day of delivery
- Who the supplier is
- What kind of products are being received
- The number of products brought in
- The size of the purchase unit made
- Negotiation made on the price
- The quality of what should be received.
The driver making a delivery should have a delivery docket that shows the goods being delivered reached the right destination by signing the document. This is only signed by the receiver if the stock received reflects those delivered.
By analyzing the amount and the quality of foodstuff being received against the order made, the responsible person should only accept the deliveries if it meets the specifications in the purchase order. In case partial delivery is made, it is advisable to refrain from signing the order. Signing is only made after the right brand and quality have been fulfilled.
Premises involved in storage should be well maintained to avoid any damage of the products. This includes rooms that will serve as both storage and food preparation. They should have favorable conditions such that they are clean and good and the design give should be perfect for working and keeping hygienic conditions. Avoiding dirt and mold and providing healthy conditions for easy handling and storage of goods should always be the first priority. Storage facilities should meet the following:
- Hand washing aspects and toilets for employees differentiated from where food preparation takes place. These facilities should have hot and cold water with soap and hygienic drying.
- Proper ventilation in both the kitchen and toilets. This will ensure that temperatures, odors, and condensation are controlled.
- A well-functioning lighting
- Good drainage for both food preparation areas and the toilets to prevent any stagnation leading to contamination
- Cleaning chemicals should also be availed adequately to prevent any contamination
Maintaining a well-maintained drainage system
Food storage areas should be developed to allow performance of food hygienic practices that include prevention of contamination in the process of preparing food. The design of the storage area should be meet the condition for a lasting condition of the food is kept. These conditions include:
- Walls should be built with durable impervious materials is vital such that they should be washable, free from any toxic organs, simple to clean and maintain.
- Floors should also have materials that are simple to clean and easy to walk on. Such floors should have a minimum noise maintenance quality.
- Doors should also be made from the non-absorbent material.
Food storage temperatures should be dictated by the kind of foods to be stored and the period it will be stored. In most cases, bacteria are inactive in temperatures of below 0 degrees Celsius. Above 0 degrees Celsius, they become active but grow at a slow pace. But as soon as the temperatures hit 37 degrees Celsius, their activities become more active. The following is a recommendation for the best food storage temperatures:
- Frozen foods > -10 to -20 degrees Celsius > maximum temperature
- Meat and poultry > 0.6 to 3.3 degrees Celsius > is 7.2-10 degrees Celsius
- Fish and sea food > -5 to -1.1 degrees Celsius > all perishable foods
- Eggs > 7.2 to 10 degrees Celsius > room temperature
- Milk and milk products > 3.3 to 7.8 degrees Celsius > Bananas storage temperatures
- General products > 21.2 degrees Celsius
- Dry foods stuff such as sugar, flour > 15 to 22 degrees Celsius
Food waste should Almost all perishable goods should be stored in temperatures lower than 10 degrees Celsius while non-perishable goods should be stored at 10 to -20 degrees Celsius.
The humidity content of the air that favors the storage of foods, influence the development of microorganisms. Foods with low humidity cannot be affected by high temperatures such as cereals, flours, legumes, sugar, and pulses. These kinds of foods can absorb moisture when exposed to it. In case food takes in moisture, it develops to be more perishable and needs a relatively lower temperature. Microbial activities are high at high temperatures and protecting these foods become hard against these organisms. Humidity lowers the quality of food by allowing an attack by insects becoming harmful for human consumption.
In countries where there is an experience of tropics, humidity fluctuates with seasons hence become hard to protect such food. The best method of protecting food stored in such countries is placing them in amounts that are can be eaten at a rapid pace to avoid deterioration and at the same time stored in air-tight containers.
Storage rooms should be maintained tidy and neat at all time to avoid any spoilage of the stock. The best technique to eliminate spoilage is doing away with all the waste in storage areas. The following actions are vital in maintaining the storage rooms clean:
- Wrapping and packaging goods to secure them from contamination. This is done before placing these items in their respective points or even in containers. Furthermore, disposing of waste by physically eliminating crates, empty boxes and dividers are very important in protecting the stock presently.
To further prevent contamination of the storage room, cleaning the area should be done regularly. Activities such as sweeping, washing and mopping are the best activities to be done. Finding items that are not commonly used, safe or saleable should also be disposed from the stock room that includes excess food, spoilt items, and contaminated food. In addition, a stock that can be useful to the supplier should be attended to receive credit advantages.
Activities that are environmentally favorably should also be conducted and this may include:
- Re-cycling important stock. Sorting disposable goods in suitable categories is recommended such that they are placed as:
- Aluminium cans
- Glasses
- Papers
- Plastics
- Steel cans
- Fluids
Eliminating waste from the food preparation sector should be done appropriately by using containers that are easy to dispose off. Such containers should be designed to make it simple to clean, avoid contamination, protect from pest infestation and stored in favorable conditions.
References
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