Health & EnvironmentPosted on 10.08.2021

How hygienically is the food handled?

It’s how it’s prepared, cooked, cooled, stored, and what measures are taken to prevent food being contaminated with bacteria.

Preparing

  • Reheating – It’s very important to reheat food properly to kill harmful bacteria that may have grown since the food was cooked. Guide & video
  • Food allergies – It’s important to know what to do if you serve a customer who has a food allergy, because these allergies can be life-threatening. Guide

Cooking

  • Cooking safely – Check that food is cooked thoroughly to kill harmful bacteria. Guide & video
  • Foods that need extra care – Some foods need to be treated with extra care to make sure they are safe to eat. Guide
  • Ready-to-eat food – It’s important to handle ready-to-eat food safely to protect it from harmful bacteria. Guide
  • Confirm/check you’ve cooked correctly – It’s important to show how you check that dishes on your menu are properly cooked. Guide
  • Keeping food hot – It’s very important to keep food hot until serving to prevent harmful bacteria from growing. Guide
  • Prove it – Sometimes you might want to use a probe to prove that your methods are safe. Guide

Cooling

Keeping food cold helps to stop harmful bacteria growing

  • Chilling hot food – Harmful bacteria can grow in food that is not chilled down as quickly as possible. Guidevideo
  • Defrosting food – Harmful bacteria can grow in food that is not defrosted properly. Guide

Storing

  • Chilled storage and display – Storing food at the right temperature to keep it safe. Guide & video
  • Freezing – It’s important to take care when freezing food and handle frozen food safely. Guide

Preventing Cross Contamination with Bacteria

Hygiene

  • Staff hygiene & illness – It’s vital for staff to follow good personal hygiene practices to help prevent bacteria from spreading to food. Guide video
  • Handwashing – Effective hand washing is essential to help prevent bacteria spreading to food. Guide & video

Equipment

  • Cloths – Cloths can be one of the top causes of cross-contamination in the kitchen. It’s essential to use them safely to prevent bacteria from spreading. Guide
  • Keeping equipment separate – Controlling cross-contamination by using clean and separate equipment to keep food safe. Video

Storage

  • Separating foods – Keeping raw and ready-to-eat food separate is essential to prevent harmful bacteria from spreading. Guide
  • Keeping food covered – Keeping food covered to protect it from harmful bacteria, and prevent chemicals and objects falling into food. Video
  • Physical and chemical contamination – It’s very important to prevent objects and chemicals getting into food. Guide