Glenelg Shire, PO Box 152, Portland, 3305 Ph. (03) 5522 2200 www.glenelg.vic.gov.au The Secret Recipe Volume 2, Issue 1 November 2009 Food Hygiene Quiz 1. 1. 1. 1. Hot food required for service the next day should: Α) Α) Α) Α) Be placed in the refrigerator immediately after cooking Β) Β) Β) Β) Be left in the kitchen to cool for 6 hours C) Be cooled rapidly then refrigerated and reheated to above 60ºC D) Be cooled rapidly then refrigerated and reheated to 45ºC Answer on back page. This Issue: Can Pests contaminate your food? 1 Food Safety Slipping Through the Cracks 2-3 Tea Towels vs. Disposable Paper 3 Aussies Still Failing Hand Washing 4 Can Pests Contaminate your Food? Excluding pests from your premises reduces the opportunities for food contamination. Pests transmit spoilage and food poisoning micro-organisms directly onto food or food contact surfaces. The most common pests that have the potential to create a public health impact are flies, cockroaches, rats, mice and grain beetles. The design and construction of your food premises should restrict the entry of pests; however, good housekeeping surveillance is essential to ensure that any pests that do enter your premises are quickly detected and eradicated before they have the potential to contaminate your foods and potentially have an adverse impact on your income. All food businesses must play an active role in ensuring pests cannot contaminate their foods. This includes both stored foodstuffs and manufactured foods. Onsite food surveillance will require your staff to regularly assess the premises for signs of pest entry and once detected, appropriate action needs to be taken to ensure that the entry point is sealed, the pests are eliminated and all nests or signs of infestation are removed from the premises. Some preventative measures that you should take are: • Keep all food preparation areas and storage areas clean. • Make sure that any scraps of food on the floor, shelves and preparation areas are cleaned up. • Clean grease traps and drains regularly. • Store food in glass or food grade utensils with tight fighting lids. • Do not leave dirty dishes or used utensils in the food preparation area for extended periods. • Regularly empty, clean and sanitise garbage bins and garbage areas. • Seal cracks and crevices around windows, doors, tiles, vents, walls and service pipe entry points. • Install fly-proofing on all external doors and windows including fly strips, air curtains, self closing doors and fly screens to windows. • Inspect all food deliveries for signs of infestation, including damaged packaging, droppings, contamination and gnawing marks. • Ensure the area around your premises is clear of wood piles, old machinery, garbage or weeds and other places pests can nest, hide and breed. If you have been unable to prevent infestation, it is best to seek professional pest control advice. Food Hygiene Quiz Answers 1. C - Be cooled rapidly then refrigerated and re- heated to above 60ºC. 2. B – Helps reduce microbial load. 3. D - Staphylococcus aureus Got any of these wrong? Perhaps its time to refresh / update your food safety skills. Contact Council for a list of training providers. Aussies still failing hand washing test 29% of men and 8% of women failed to wash their hands after using the toilet in the food hall of a shopping centre, according to an observational study of 200 people by the Food Safety Information Council. Dr Michael Eyles, Chair of the Food Safety Information Council, said the observational results were very disappointing, especially as there had not been any statistically valid improvement since the 2002 observational study where 27% of men and 9% of women failed to wash their hands. “Correct hand washing is an important public health issue as you might find that you and your family may not only get less food poisoning but also less viral diseases like colds and flu,” Dr Eyles said. “We need to take the time to wash our hands with soap and running water and to dry thoroughly. “There is evidence that Australians do know how to wash their hands correctly as a national telephone survey in November 2008 showed that 98% of respondents recognised that you should wash your hands using soap and dry thoroughly on disposable paper towel. This is a considerable improvement on the first Food Safety Information Council survey in 1997 when 18.4% of respondents didn’t know the importance of washing their hands before preparing food. “The observational study showed that young girls were best at washing and drying their hands correctly. Overall men, especially older men were the worst performers,” Dr Eyles concluded. The Food Safety Information Council tips on washing your hands correctly are to remember the 20/20 rule of 20 seconds washing with soap and water and 20 seconds drying thoroughly: 1. Wet your hands and rub together well to build up a good lather with soap as the suds help to carry the bacteria away. Do this for at least 20 seconds and don’t forget to wash between your fingers and under your nails. 2. Rinse well under warm running water to remove the bacteria and dirt from your hands. 3. Dry your hands thoroughly on single use paper for at least 20 seconds. Touching surfaces with moist hands encourages the spread of bugs from the surface to your hands. Always wash and dry your hands: • Before commencing or re-commencing any activities in the food preparation area. • Between handling raw foods and cooked foods. • After handling raw meat, fish or chicken. • After blowing your nose, coughing, sneezing or scratching or touching body parts and using the toilet. • After handling money. • After handling or disposing of waste. Environmental Health Officers Greg Andrews & Bree Porter Email: [email protected] Ph: (03) 5522 2229