Why is it so important to have a food safety plan? Here are the top 5 reasons I think Food Safety PLUS can help you:
- Foodborne illnesses– probably the biggest reason of them all. Nobody likes getting food poisoning. It’s extremely uncomfortable and can be fatal, especially for elderly people and very young children. A food safety plan will outline ‘risky foods’ and the precautions you should take when preparing or storing them.
- Cross–contamination– closely related to preventing foodborne illnesses, cross-contamination refers to the introduction of germs to food. There are three major avenues:
- Other foods– raw meat is the biggest issue here. Bacteria that has grown on the surface of raw meat can transfer itself to other food products if you don’t thoroughly wash your utensils, chopping boards and hands and use the correct (colored) chopping board.
- Chemicals– this includes anything, from the cleaning chemical you use on the floors, to the pesticides used on fruit and veg. Proper storage of chemicals in your kitchen is important, as is carefully washing fruit and veg before you use it.
- Humans– yes, us. Look at your hands now. How many door handles have you touched today? What money has crossed your palm since this morning? Sneezed or coughed much today? Scratched your nose? We use our hands for pretty much everything in our day-to-day lives and inevitably pick up germs. It is incredibly easy to spread germs to food, especially if you are sick or have small scratches on your hands where bacteria love to hide.
- Waste reduction– understanding the correct ways to store and prepare foods will lead to less waste. Have you ever stored defrosting meat on the shelf above that box of fruit and vegetables, only to find that the next morning the fruit and vegetables had to be thrown out because they were covered in meat juice that had dripped down onto them? Good practice ensures you won’t have to throw away contaminated food that is unsafe to use.
- Accountability – health inspectors these days like to see that a food safety plan is in place. In all likelihood, if one is available, staff will have been trained in the proper handling of food and the kitchen is likely to be a safer food preparation environment.
- Legal evidence– If your organization is taken to court over a food poisoning incident your food safety plan, the record sheets you have been maintaining and staff training logs can be produced as evidence of your commitment to food safety.