Controlling food hazards

• Cross-contamination is the spread of bacteria or allergens from raw food, surfaces, equipment or hands to ready-to-eat food. Prevent it with separate colour-coded equipment, handwashing, cleaning and keeping raw and cooked foods apart.
• Storage: raw meat is covered and stored on the bottom shelf, so juices cannot drip onto food below it. Use FIFO and label with dates.
• Temperatures: fridge at 5 °C or below (the legal maximum for chilled food is 8 °C). Freezer at -18 °C or below. Danger zone 5 °C to 63 °C. Cook to a core of 75 °C, checked with a probe. Hot hold at 63 °C or above. Cool cooked food within 90 minutes. Reheat to 75 °C, once only.
• Delivery: probe chilled and frozen items, check dates and packaging, and reject and record anything out of temperature.
• Personal hygiene: clean apron, hair covered, no jewellery, cuts covered with a blue waterproof plaster, hands washed. A food handler with vomiting or diarrhoea stays off work for 48 hours after symptoms stop.
• Physical contamination (hair, jewellery, plasters, glass, packaging, pests) is prevented by hats, no rings or watches, blue plasters, covered food and pest control, such as fly screens kept closed.

Cross-contamination

Bacteria or allergens spreading to ready-to-eat food from raw food, surfaces, equipment or hands.

Core temperature

The temperature at the centre of the food. Cook to 75 °C.

Probe

A thermometer pushed into the thickest part of food.

Physical contamination

Something that should not be there getting into food, such as hair or glass.

Blue plaster

A waterproof plaster in a bright colour so it is easy to spot if it falls into food.

Hot hold

Keeping hot food at 63 °C or above until it is served.

• Washing raw chicken before cooking. This splashes bacteria around. Cook it thoroughly instead.
• Thinking colour-coded boards alone stop all cross-contamination. They are one control.
• Mixing up temperatures. Fridge 5 °C or below, hot hold 63 °C or above, core 75 °C.
• Thinking a chef with diarrhoea can work if they wash their hands. They must stay off for 48 hours after symptoms stop.

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