What is ready to eat food, and how do we handle it. (Angelica)

Can anyone tell me, what's wrong with the picture above? 

Just a bunch of students baking some bread right? Nothing bad about that.

Wrong.

Chances are, you've probably already guessed it from my title, that this blog post is going to be all about the term " ready to eat" food. 

Let me first tell you more about this term that we frequently use, and how to handle food that is classified as such.

"Ready to eat food" refers to food that will not or no longer undergo cooking, and will be directly served to the customer in its current degree of preparation. For example, sandwiches and salads.

This also means that we have to be extra careful when handling such food, as there is no cooking process involved to kill off any microorganisms that might be transferred through handling.

As such it is necessary to take proper steps in making sure that we do not contaminate ready to eat items. We can do this by wearing disposable gloves and using clean utensils during handling. As well as making sure that our work tops are free from contaminants, such as detergents. 

So back to the picture. What's wrong is that the people handling the bread are not wearing gloves or using kitchen utensils to do so. And this has resulted in contamination of the ready to eat bread, posing a risk to consumer health. 

You wouldn't want to eat a salad that has been touched by the bare hands of a food handler would you? So don't expect your guests to do the same. Practice good food hygiene by always wearing clean disposable gloves and using clean utensils when handling ready to eat food, as it is pivotal to preventing food related illnesses.

Preventing cross contamination, learning to recognize colours. ( Angelica)

A chopping board is an integral part of any kitchen system, wouldn't you agree? We use it as a surface to prepare our daily Mis En Place. Or prepare our cooked food for plating. Whichever, it is vital that as a food handler, you are able to distinguish the uses of each chopping board according to its colour. 

Now, of course, each establishment will have their own method of colour coding. But the system and functionality of such, remains the same in every kitchen. Its purpose is to minimise and prevent cross contamination, by giving you visual cues 

( colour, in this case) so that you know which board to use for which job.

Cross contamination is defined by the dictionary as the process by which bacteria or other microorganisms are unintentionally transferred from one substance or object to another, causing harmful effects.

An example can be seen in one of the pictures I have attached to this post. It's a slice of matcha bread with azuki bean filling on a red chopping board. And if you take a look at the image next to it, you will see a chart that shows you the coloured boards this kitchen uses for various food items. The red board is to be used only for preparing raw, uncooked meat. And that the white board should be used instead for the bread! 

Now imagine if I just butchered a raw chicken on that red board, before using it for my bread. The bacteria and other microorganisms from the raw meat juices from the chicken would contaminate the ready-to-eat bread. This would potentially cause an out break of food poisoning! 

 Hence it is of paramount importance, to be aware of the colour coding system your establishment uses for their chopping boards. As failing to do so, could result in a jeopardy of consumer health and other undesirable consequences. 

Basic food hygiene and safety-Proper food storage (Wei Si)

In this blog post, I will be zooming into another important yet overlooked aspect of basic food hygiene and safety- proper food storage Without any qualms , I am sure the food poisoning incident which occurred in 2009 that caused 2 fatal cases after the consumption of Indian Rojak is familiar to many. The stall owner had placed the sauce directly below the raw seafood and it was served to the customers without the owner's awareness of this deadly disaster. The victims of this case had consumed the sauce which was contaminated with raw seafood juices and it has resulted with shocking more than 140 case of severe food poisoning and even 2 fatal cases. It was an unfortunate predicament and it was as a result of improper food storage which led to that malady. Such incidents evokes much terror in most of us, however it also evidently highlighted the importance of proper food storage. For storage of food in the freezer, it is important that the temperature of the refrigerator is kept constant and temperature of chillers should be kept at 0-4 degree Celsius and freezer temperature should be kept at -18 degree celcius or lower, it is also strongly recommended that a non mercury thermometer should be kept in place in order for users to monitor the temperature of fridge hence if there's a discrepancy of temperature one can immediately rectify the problem and fix the fridge. Food should also be stored at the correct temperature as soon as it has been delivered or prepared. This prevents growth of harmful bacteria and minimises the risk of food spoilage. To prevent cross-contamination of the cooked or ready-to-eat food with the drippings from the raw food, cooked and ready-to-eat food should be stored above raw food. Food should also be stored in separate, properly-covered containers in the refrigerator to prevent cross-contamination. Also, food should always be stored at least 30cm away from the floor so that to prevent the entry of bacteria and filth from the floor to enter the food

All in all, the above are simple guidelines in proper food storage, I believe that by adhering to these simple guidelines faithfully and religiously, I believe it would reduce the risk of any form of food contamination. Not only would this give the consumers a sense of relieve in eating the food but it also ensure great standard of hygiene practises. A little goes a long way and food safety involves everyone in the food chain hence if everybody do their part I believe less unfortunate events would happen and more people would be happier and at ease with eating the food.

Kitchen cleanliness (Clemens)

In this blog post, i will be focusing more on the cleanliness of the kitchen environment,not only in terms of hygiene, but also safety . From the floors to the kitchen top and the stove, our kitchen has to be clean at all times! Imagine a kitchen where utensils and knives lay haphazardly around the table tops, sauces spilled all over the floor, expectant of an unwary person to slip and fall and maybe even rusted greasy griddles that are still in use! I will first talk about the hygiene aspect. A dirty kitchen is an open invitation to pests such as roaches or rats.These pests can come from anywhere like garbage bins and as they walk over or nibble on food, cross contamination happens. These pests carry all sorts of diseases and germs, that could infect our diners. After a busy dinner , food should not be left out on table tops ,but instead, be kept in the chiller or in air tight containers in a pest free dry store. Anything that has been spilt should be wiped up immediately as well. This greatly reduces the chances of cross contamination from occuring. To keep the kitchen pest free, It is important to have a scrub down of the kitchen every night and even more important to have pest control come in every month to do routine checks of the place.Cooking tops should be cleaned and sanitized as often as possible top keep it clean and safe for use. One poor example would be in the picture below of where the griddle pan is not properly maintained and allowed to rust.

The next point that i will be talking about is kitchen safety. Knives are the pride and joy of chefs however leaving them on the kitchen tops is not the way to showcase their beauty. Knives must always be kept in a knife block or placed neatly on white towels after usage. This would minimize any unfortunate accidents from occuring. another thing, kitchen utensils should not be allowed to pile up in kitchen sinks even in a container of soapy water. Many people would think that by putting their kitchen utensils and knives in hot soapy water, they are so top speak "washing them" and can reuse them when needed. The water would soon turn from clear to a murky colour. This is one of the most common ways that cuts can occur as an unwary person could stick their hand into the water trying to find a tasting spoon, and end up getting cut by sharp objects.

Personal hygiene -Nails (Clemens)

Why is it important to keep our hands and nails clean when working in the kitchen?We all know that we have to keep our hands and nails clean at all times in the kitchen and at this day and age, it seems like common sense.However, not many people are applying that 'common sense' in the kitchen!You will be surprised at the types of bacteria present in our nails. We use our hands the most in the kitchen setting. From rubbing marinades into large pieces of meat to cutting vegetables,it is important to keep our hands, especially our nails clean. Other than that, our nails need to be free of any dirt as well. The most common bacterial skin pathogens are Staphylococcus aureus and group A β-hemolytic streptococci. Herpes simplex is the most common viral skin disease. Of the dermatophytic fungi, Trichophyton rubrum is the most prevalent cause of skin and nail infections.Long nails might seem like an asset in the kitchen as well as it makes peeling garlic or opening tags a lot easier.However ,if we were to keep long nails in the kitchen,dirt and other contaminants will get trapped easily and we risk our customers falling sick.

. Nail polish is also a big no no in the kitchen. This is because nail polishes normally contain the following chemicals:Toulene– A chemical known to cause reproductive harm and dizziness,Formaldehyde– This known carcinogen is found in many nail polishes,Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) -This chemical is banned in Europe and is known to cause reproductive problems, especially in boys, as well as an assortment of other chemicals which are harmful to the body.

. As cooks or chefs, we hold a great responsibility to the health of our customers and should not compromise on any parts of our own personal hygiene.

Personal Hygiene- Hair (WeiSi)

What is Food Safety? In essence, food safety prevents the infection of food and ensuring that it is safe for consumption. Without any qualms, food safety is extremely crucial and not to be messed around with. If one does not take food safety seriously, the malpractice of the food preparation can cause malady. There have been many unfortunate instances whereby death has been caused due to one's negligence in food handling process. However, if one treats food safety seriously and conforms to the friendly practises, all is well. Food safety covers a large scope of work, not only does it cover proper hand sanitation, food storage and cleaning method, but also practising personal hygiene. In this blog post, I'll be talking about proper upkeep of hair. It's important to keep your hair prim and proper. Not only does that translate into a look of professionalism but also ensure food hygiene standard. Do not belittle a strand of measly hair. A strand of hair can actually cause your food hygiene certificate to be violated. A strand of hair alone carries colossal amount of germs and bacteria and imagine if that falls into any food, it could cause undesirable consequences. Furthermore, if the bacteria on the hair carries food borne diseases, it could inflict serious damage and irreversible effects. Therefore to prevent a mishap as such from happening, we should take it upon ourselves to ensure and have a good upkeep of the hair. As hair is easily shed and can cause sickness if consumed by others, it is hygienic and safest to cover the head when in a food handling area. This can be done with a clean hat or a hair net. Dirt and bacteria can be found in facial hair, so any facial hair should be kept clean. If the facial hair is long, it should be covered as well. It is also hygienic to avoid hair brushing or handling in a food preparation area.

Personal Hygiene - Proper Handwashing (Benjamin)

Written by: Benjamin Sng
Your personal hygiene plays a critical role when handling food. Without proper hygiene, you may face the possibility of contaminating your food with bacteria. Present on your hands are billions of bacteria that cannot be seen with the naked eye. Below is an example of how your hand would look like if bacteria could be seen.

Source: http://hdimagelib.com/germs+on+hands

To practice good personal hygiene, one should follow these 8 simple steps to washing your hands.
1. Wash palm to palm.
2. Between fingers.
3. Back of hands.
4. Base of thumbs.
5. Back of fingers.
6. Fingernails.
7. Wrists.
8. Rinse off soap and wipe dry.
Below is a simple illustration of how these steps can be carried out.

Source: http://eapmalaysia.blogspot.sg/2013/06/washing-hands.html

Washing hands well is a very important step in ensuring no contamination occurs. What could happen? Studies have shown that about 15-40% of healthy humans are carriers of Staphylococcus Aureus which is a naturally occurring bacteria commonly found on skin especially around open wounds. Should your food products be contaminated with S. Aureus, consumers may face the risk of infection and food poisoning. Another possible cause of food poisoning would be Dysentery which occurs when germs are picked up by unwashed hands and transferred to consumables.
Playing such an important role in food safety, how can one properly learn hand washing? There is a product commonly used for hygiene training - Glo Germ™. It mimics the appearance of bacteria when poured onto hands and viewed under a black light and is easily removed with thorough hand washing. Below is an example of the product in action.

Source: http://www.hometrainingtools.com/a/glo-germ-projects

In conclusion, proper hand washing is the basic essential of every food handler and non-food handlers alike. All you need to do is take 8 simple steps and you can greatly lower the chances of contaminating your food and harming your guests. I strongly encourage everyone to instill this practice upon entering the kitchen before beginning any tasks.