Food Safety Basics (Part 4)

Food Storage, Display, Transport, Cleaning and Temperature Checking

All food contains bacteria, some of which can cause food poisoning. If bacteria are given the right conditions, they can multiply very quickly and become dangerous. Temperatures of between 5 and 60 degrees Celsius are known as the danger zone so it is very important that in storing and displaying foods they spend as little time as possible at these temperatures.

Food Storage Temperature - Foods that contain meat, dairy or fish (not already processed by heat) are 'high-risk' foods and must be stored at the correct temperature. This means:

• kept frozen (hard) at -15 degrees Celsius or colder; or
• kept cold at 5 degrees Celsius or colder.

Defrost freezers regularly and don't overload them as this sometimes causes frosting. Check the temperature of refrigeration equipment with a calibrated thermometer regularly.

Time - Do not keep food in storage for too long. Note the dates that food was purchased or prepared. Remember the 'first in first out' rule for food rotation. Chilled food should not be out of refrigeration for very long. Throw chilled food out after it has been at room temperature for two hours or longer. Only keep enough food at room temperature that can be used within two hours.

Contamination - Store raw food separately from cooked food, or below it, so that no drips can fall from the raw food on to the cooked or ready to eat food. Cover all food with lids, foil or plastic wrap. Do not keep unused food in an opened can - transfer it to a suitable container. Chemicals, cleaning equipment and personal belongings must be stored away from food.

Displaying Food - Sometimes we display food when it is available for purchase or before serving and it is important to observe the following guidelines:

• wrap or cover all food on display.
• tag or label food trays where necessary, not the food.
• refrigerated displays should keep the food at 5 degrees Celsius or colder.
• hot displays (like bain-marie or pie warmers) should keep the food at 60 degrees Celsius or hotter.
• do not use hot display equipment (like bain-marie or pie warmer) to reheat food.
• do not overload hot display equipment by stacking food above the level of the trays.

Transporting Food - Food that is delivered to you should come in a food transport vehicle designed to keep food safe and clean. If using a private vehicle, the food area should be free of dirt, dust and animal hairs. There should never be any animals in a food transport vehicle.

Raw food should be wrapped or in bags and ready to eat food should be covered and secured within an Esky. Food which has to be kept cold should be transported at the correct temperature using an Esky with ice packs or refrigeration unit.

Cleaning - Keeping the kitchen or food preparation area clean is one of the best ways of avoiding food contamination. Clean means clean and sanitised surfaces with no dirt, no left-over food and no vermin or insects.

You can make sure the kitchen is really clean by conducting regular cleaning programs:

• do your cleaning the same way every time - for example, wash down the walls before the benches, benches before floors.
• clean all your equipment and food preparation areas every time, before and after you use them.
• clean all surfaces of the kitchen when it is needed. Remember to clean drawer and cupboard handles also.

You will need to prepare a regular cleaning schedule that shows:

• exactly what and where to clean.
• how often to do each job.
• which chemicals to use and the proper way to use them.
• who is responsible for each cleaning job.

Paper towels are better for cleaning than cloth. If you use cloth, make sure that they are washed in hot water after every use. Store chemical and other cleaning equipment away from food preparation areas.

Six steps to good cleaning:

• pre-clean - scrape, wipe or sweep away any food scraps then rinse with water.
• wash - use hot water and detergent to take off any grease or dirt.
• rinse - rinse off any loose dirt or detergent foam.
• sanitise - use a commercial food grade sanitiser and follow the instructions.
• final rinse - wash off sanitiser (check instruction to see if needed).
• dry - allow to air dry.

Temperature Checking - keeping food at the right temperatures is very important to stop bacteria from growing.

Remember:

• keep frozen food frozen hard (-15 degrees Celsius or colder)
• keep cold food cold (5 degrees Celsius or colder)
• keep hot food hot (60 degrees Celsius or hotter)
• avoid the danger zone (5-60 degrees Celsius) for high-risk foods.

To make sure that food is at the correct temperature, you need to check temperatures regularly and to do this properly you will need an accurate thermometer. You can check the accuracy of your thermometer yourself using the following procedure:

• crush ice into container.
• add enough pre-cooled water to make the ice/water mixture a slurry.
• insert thermometer into the mixture.
• wait three minutes and record the temperature.
• take two more temperature readings one minute apart
• if the three readings register at 5 degrees Celsius or more then the thermometer is not accurate. Try a different thermometer and repeat the testing procedure.