Hygiene for food is very important to maintain health and safety, while for consumers, a health threat can occur due to foodborne diseases, which can be very severe. There are four types of hygiene for food: personal hygiene, food storage hygiene, food preparation hygiene, and kitchen and equipment hygiene. The blog provides an overview of the key elements of food hygiene for maintaining food safety to high standards.
In this blog, I would like to provide an overview of hygiene for food. The aim is to improve knowledge of health and safety by having food that does not cause life threats. The focus areas are:
Hygiene for food is important in the food industry. Without hygiene for food, health disappears. There are four types of hygiene for food. It is important to know all of them.
- Personal hygiene
- Food storage hygiene
- Food preparation hygiene
- Food equipment and kitchen hygiene
What is Food Hygiene?
Definition and Importance
Hygiene for food is defined in terms of the handling, preparation, and storage of food, from production to the point of consumption, to preclude contamination and preserve the quality of the food. The term also encompasses measures taken to keep food safe from microbial contamination. Maintaining standards of hygiene for food is therefore important because, without them, pathogenic bacteria can be transmitted and spoilage can thus ensue.
The principles of good hygiene for food (e.g., clean hands of food handlers, clean-stored and prepared food) all serve to preserve the wholesomeness of food in the mouth of the consumer. Standards exist to protect the consumer and the reputation of the establishment.
High quality hygiene for food can decrease the danger of food-borne diseases, which are one of the main causes of death and disability. If enterprises follow all the hygiene requirements and standards, it can widely reduce the chance of food contamination, therefore extending the safety period of food.
Impact on Public Health
Inadequate hygiene for food can cause foodborne illnesses. These are illnesses caused by food that is contaminated in some way. Contaminants include bacteria, viruses, and parasites, and they can lead to a wide range of symptoms. For example, mild foodborne illnesses can lead to vomiting and diarrhoea, while severe cases can cause dehydration, coma, and sometimes even death.
Foodborne illnesses have a serious negative impact on people all over the world. From the statistics, it emerges that each year millions of people are stricken with foodborne illnesses. The World Health Organisation (WHO) states that about 600 million cases of foodborne diseases occur annually, which cause 420,000 deaths. These facts confirm the vitally significant role of hygiene for food.
Besides health problems, foodborne illnesses trigger large-scale economic losses. There is a risk of loss of productivity, a marginal increase in expenditure on health services, and damage to the reputation of businesses in the food industry. It is imperative to maintain practices of hygiene for food to prevent threats to public health along with the aforementioned ill effects.
Proper hygiene for food is not just a body of regulations but part of basic public health.
Personal Hygiene
Importance of Personal Hygiene in Food Handling
Food safety is something that should be on each of our minds. Personal cleanliness is important for food safety. If food handlers do not properly groom themselves, it can contaminate food with bacteria or pathogens, which can lead to food-borne illnesses.
Good personal hygiene prevents the transfer of bacteria from the body to the food. Typically, the hands are contaminated by touching the face, sneezing, or coughing on them.
That is why personal hygiene for food handlers is of great importance to food safety.
Key Practices
Hand washing techniques and frequency: Proper handwashing is an extremely effective way to prevent the spread of contamination. Workers should wash their hands thoroughly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds. Employees should wash their hands after going to the restroom and after handling unrefrigerated and ready-to-eat food items. They should also wash their hands after touching contaminated surfaces and utensils.
Proper Attire and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE): If people dress the part, they are more likely to maintain cleanliness. Food handlers should wear clean uniforms. They should also wear hairnets and gloves so they do not contaminate food. Personal protective equipment such as gloves and masks should be used during food preparation and be changed often, following proper personal hygiene.
Health checks and policies for food handlers: Regular health checks are needed to ensure food handlers are healthy and do not work while suffering from an illness such as nausea, diarrhoea, or a rash. Some food safety programmes require health checks as a prerequisite to working with food and may keep sick employees from working with food. Conditions that could affect the health of customers (diarrhoea and vomiting), food (salmonella poisoning), or the food handler’s co-workers (skin infections) must be reported and can cause the worker to be excluded from food handling until recovered.
Training and Awareness
Regular Training of Staff: Continuous training for food handlers is necessary to provide them with updated knowledge about best practices in personal hygiene. To make the staff at your cafe understand the importance of personal hygiene, the training programmes should ensure that they are well-versed in the basics of personal hygiene and the proposed procedures. It is also crucial to train staff with an understanding of the connection between personal hygiene and food safety.
Regular training is crucial to ensure food safety at the cafe by providing helpful guidelines and building a culture of food safety for all staff members.
Examples of effective personal hygiene training programmes: Training that includes practical demonstrations, role-playing, and frequent assessments is some of the most effective. The Food Hygiene Rating Scheme in the UK (FHRS) focuses on providing a thorough training and certification programme for food handlers. The goal of this programme is to create a safe environment for food preparation by enforcing appropriate personal hygiene. Another effective training programme in the UK is Food Alert, run by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Food Storage Hygiene
Proper Food Storage Techniques
To ensure food safety and quality, storage is extremely important. There are many considerations for appropriate food storage, but temperature is one of the most important. Different kinds of food should be stored at different temperatures to prevent bacteria from growing. For example, perishable foods (like meat, dairy, and seafood) should be stored at or below 5°C, while foods that are frozen can be stored at -18°C or lower. This is so that all foods stay fresh with their colours, shapes, and smells well preserved. To prevent foods from spoiling, we must maintain the correct temperature.
Another key technique is First In, First Out (FIFO). That’s where older stock is sent away first, before that of a new supply, to minimise the risk of foods spoiling before they’re used, thus saving food produced for those who need it, plus the costs of their storage and distribution. Organising storage areas so that items are used from top to bottom or right to left according to the FIFO principle maximises the time that foods can be eaten within a safe shelf life.
Safe Storage Practices
Metal utensils: Avoid cross-contamination by keeping raw and cooked foods separate, especially raw meats. Bacteria from raw foods, especially red meat, can transfer to cooked foods and cause food-borne illness. Use different bins for storing raw and cooked foods. Never allow cooked foods such as grains and beans to touch bench tops or other surfaces that have raw foods on them.
Proper labelling and dating of stored foods: Stored food items should be labelled with the date of storage, seller, and expiration date. This practice would make a huge difference in ensuring that perishable foodstuffs aren’t kept longer than what is safe or less than what’s needed. This would reduce the risk of the storage or use of spoilage foods or foods beyond their expiration date. Obviously, these labels must be clear and accessible while stored in clear plastic liners.
Use of Appropriate Containers and Packages: Storage containers and their packaging should be selected with care. Food should be protected from contaminants and moisture in airtight containers, and the packaging should be food-appropriate, for example, plastic wrap and vacuum-sealed bags for fruit, vegetables, and meat, respectively.
Avoiding Cross-Contamination
Tips to Avoid Cross-Contamination: Cross-contamination happens when dangerous bacteria are transferred from one food source to another.
If you want to avoid that, store raw meats on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator so that their juices can’t drip down onto other food items.
Also, use different cutting boards and utensils on foods that were cooked rather than raw ones. Be sure to wash your hands long and well if you’ve handled any raw food.
Keep Storage Areas Clean and Sanitised: Storage areas, including refrigerators, freezers, and pantries, should be cleaned regularly to remove spills, dirt, or bacteria buildup. Make sure to use the right cleaning agent and sanitizer to keep these areas free of harmful bacteria or other contaminants.
Food Preparation Hygiene
Cleanliness of Preparation Areas
Food preparation areas need to be kept clean so that there is no chance of contamination. Any dirty area should be scrubbed and cleaned with hot, soapy water to get rid of all the bacteria or germs. After scrubbing, every surface that will be used needs to be sanitised by using the appropriate disinfectant. This ensures everything is ready to be used.
Work surfaces require special attention. After each use, especially with meat, poultry, seafood, and other raw foods, the work surface should be cleaned with hot, soapy water and then sanitised with the appropriate disinfectant.
Working on colour-coded cutting boards and utensils is a great way to prevent cross-contamination: give each type of food its own colour (raw meat gets the red cutting board, and the green cutting board is reserved for the vegetables; raw fish gets the blue cutting board), and keep raw foods separate from foods that are ready to eat.
Safe Cooking Practices
Every kind of food has a particular internal temperature on which its cooking depends to deactivate pathogenic bacteria. Temperature time is therefore an important concept, as each food item has a unique range that needs to be reached to make it safe for consumption. For example, the endogenous temperature of poultry ranges from 70 to 75 degrees Celsius, while ground meats have an internal temperature of 70 degrees Celsius.
Without a food thermometer, food could be undercooked and possibly contaminate the gut with some disease-causing organism. The food thermometer is the only fast and accurate way to reduce the risk of certain infections resulting from some pathogens residing in raw food. Puncture the thickest part of the dish, but make sure you avoid bones, fat, and other obstacles.
Handling Leftovers
Leftover foods can cause foodborne illnesses efficiently using safe processes to keep leftover foods.
The best way to keep your leftover foods is to cool them properly and keep them in shallow containers. It’s efficient because the food will cool faster and spread evenly. It is even better to cool your leftover foods as soon as possible in big enough containers to maximise the surface area. Leftover foods should be stored and reheated so that they do not grow bacteria.
Reheating safely is also important. Leftovers should be warmed through until they reach a core temperature of 75°C, which will kill any bacteria present. Check the temperature with a food thermometer, and stir or shake the food to ensure it has heated evenly. Avoid reheating food more than once to heat food properly and maintain its quality.
Kitchen and Equipment Hygiene
Cleaning and Sanitizing Equipment
Keeping the kitchenware sanitised will avoid cross-contamination. There should be a daily or weekly schedule on how to maintain the cleanliness of kitchenware and equipment. Daily, the cookware, such as pots and pans, should be cleaned. On the other hand, refrigerators may only need a deep cleaning once or twice a year.
Cleaning agents and sanitizers can also be used properly or poorly. When cleaning, use food-safe cleaning products. Chemistry matters; one product cannot do the work of another if stored in different locations. Chlorine bleach or enhanced sanitizers are not a replacement for acid-based or alkali cleaners. When you use chlorine in a kitchen, it might be brighter and cleaner than before, but it won’t remove food residue. In addition, always use the products specified for the materials and surfaces that are dirtiest. Use the concentrations recommended by the manufacturer, provided the contact time for chemical sanitizers is sufficient.
Regular washing prevents the buildup of grease, grime, and food debris, which can harbour harmful bacteria. If equipment is thoroughly cleaned and sanitised after every use, it diminishes the risk of cross-contamination and ensures food safety.
Pest Control
The control of pests is one of the issues related to hygiene. The number of pests, such as rats, bugs, and birds, is increasing day by day. They convey pathogens, which could cause diseases, through the food and the kitchen utensils. Consequently, we should control pests because of their hygienic side.
Effective prevention and treatment of kitchen pests involves comprehensive and regular checks. Seal up any holes or gaps in the walls, on floors, and in kitchen cupboards; these give rodents and insects access to your kitchen. Use traps and baits when needed, and make sure all your food sources are stored in tightly covered containers.
Furthermore, keep your kitchen clean to reduce the attraction of pests. Make it a regular task to sweep or mop floors, wipe down counters and storage areas, and immediately tackle spills and food debris. Make sure to regularly call in expert pest control to treat and prevent insect infestations.
Waste Management
Food waste should be disposed of properly for the maintenance of kitchen hygiene. Organic waste, recyclables, and general waste must be discarded in the bins separately. The bins should have bags that have tight-fitting lids to hold odour and block insects.
Removing the waste as well as keeping the house clean is very vital. Some waste products from the kitchen need to be removed from time to time, and some organic waste needs to be removed frequently because it can decompose as well as that of a plant. This can also help reduce pests. We also need to clean up how we keep waste in the house. For example, trash can be placed in the freezer to help reduce odour. Trash bins are also cleaned with soapy water and sanitised with disinfectants.
If you do these things for kitchen waste, your kitchen will be clean, and hygienic bacteria will grow because everything will be clean immediately when thrown in the dustbin. This is how contamination will be avoided. Pests will not come; they will flee from the kitchen.
Regulatory Standards and Compliance
Understanding Regulations of Hygiene for Food
Main Points: Regulations of hygiene for food are set to prevent foodborne transmission of diseases and food safety. The most important one is the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) system. This is a preventive approach to food safety from biological, chemical, and physical hazards in production processes. HACCP principles include the seven golden rules highlighted below.
- Identify the hazards that can cause illness or harm.
- Identify critical control points (CCP), which is a step where control can be applied to the hazard.
- Source identification and supplier approval. Record the process and assessment of control.
- Strengthen criteria and specifications.
- Provide training and manage competence.
- Establish procedures in a HACCP plan.
- Verify controls through testing and check on corrective actions.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the UK is responsible for setting and enforcing standards for hygiene for food in the country. Any food production business, including farms, food manufacturers, caterers, and stores, must follow the rules and regulations of hygiene for food issued by the FSA. The aim of setting rules for hygiene for food in the UK is to ensure that food in our country is produced in hygienic ways that protect consumers from foodborne illness and is brilliantly labelled and traceable from feed or farm to fork. Regulations of hygiene for food are found to be not only important but compulsory for food businesses to follow.
Strictly following these rules helps businesses keep food products clean, avoid disease-causing bacteria, prevent health problems among consumers, and enjoy a good reputation for providing healthy and quality meals. 1,2 Attracting more clients helps businesses succeed and earn money, improve nutrition in the population, and raise awareness about healthy eating habits.
Compliance and Inspection
Inspection of Standards for Hygiene for Food: The role played by inspections to maintain standards for hygiene for food is great. The crux of the matter is that regular inspections must be conducted to maintain hygiene for food. To start with, the significance of these specific regulations regarding standards of hygiene for food is quite enormous. Food safety understands whether the device, like a microwave or oven, makes sure that businesses selling and serving food are following regulations and note places where improvements are needed. Inspectors assess issues such as personal hygiene, how foods are stored, the methods used to prepare food, and the cleanliness of the premises.
Tips for Inspections of Hygiene for Food: Preparing for inspections for hygiene for food means being ready at all times to get a good rating and pass, to protect yourself against possible bad reviews, and to ensure your staff’s health. Review your current hygiene practices regularly and implement changes as new laws are published. Conduct your audits to make sure you have no issues before an official inspection arrives. Keep evidence of all your cleaning, temperature logs, and staff training in good order. These can be used to demonstrate to your inspector that you’re taking food safety seriously.
An inspection doesn’t just mean passing. It’s a golden chance to see how you can tighten up your food safety protocols for hygiene for food. If the inspector highlights an area of concern, address it immediately to bring yourself back into compliance. It’s always best to maintain your speciality regularly and establish a unique touch.
Certification and Training Programs
Why Certifications of Hygiene for Food Matter: You need certificates for hygiene for food because they provide proof that you can meet industry standards within the context of food safety.
They give your customers and the authorities reassurance of your commitment to ensuring the food they consume is safe.
You should also note that certification of hygiene for food makes you more competitive in your market since certified organisations are commonly preferred by consumers.
Food Safety Programmes: Our certification programmes have set a high standard for the industry. For instance, anyone who works in the food industry in the UK must have a Level 2 Food Hygiene Certificate. It gives employees a basic knowledge of food safety, covering topics like personal hygiene, food contamination, and temperature control.
The next step up is the Level 3 Supervising Food Safety in Catering certification, ‘for anyone responsible for supervising and handling food’, i.e., any manager or supervisor. It is a more qualitative and theoretical course, training the supervisor, who is often the day-to-day driver of effective food safety management systems. There are also various HACCP (hazard analysis and critical control points) certifications, such as the Level 2 HACCP Training. This one is for companies dealing with production and processing operations, as well as food services.
Earning these certifications means completing training courses and demonstrating your principles of hygiene for food through assessment. Refresher courses are particularly important to keep up with the latest food safety developments and rules.
Conclusion
In this blog, we cover these four important principles of hygiene for food that matters: personal hygiene, food storage hygiene, food preparation hygiene, and kitchen and equipment hygiene. Each of these has the potential to prevent and help keep a food environment free from contamination.
It is important to do everything you can for hygiene for food to avoid food-borne health problems. If you can ensure that best practices and regulatory requirements are met at all times, then you should have food that is safe to eat.