Cross Contamination and Quick Cross Reference for a Food Safety Supervisor

Food safety procedures apply far beyond just the kitchen and serving staff. Solid and sound hygiene practices must apply to all personnel operating at all levels within the hospitality service industry. This includes kitchen hands, cooks, chefs, catering staff, food and beverage attendants, housekeeping and laundry staff, sandwich hands, café and fast food outlet cooking crew, sales people, owner-operators, water carriers and bulk food distribution centers. The laundry staff member that does not properly clean the tablecloths, for example, could create a food borne illness event and a sales person with a bad cold who does not wash their hands properly can infect everyone in the workplace. The food safety supervisor employee is specially trained to recognize issues such as these, regardless if they are working in the kitchen or not. When it comes to cross-contamination for example, there is a significant risk for a potentially harmless or seemingly small issue to become a nightmarish outbreak.

Cross contamination is one of the most common causes of food poisoning and general illness.  It happens when harmful germs, found naturally in one food, are spread onto another. This can easily happen when storing or preparing food, but also when grocery shopping or even transporting food. If food is not stored or cooked correctly, cross-contamination can result in bacteria growing uncontrolled in food, causing foodborne illness or “food poisoning.” Transfer of bacteria from raw meats to uncooked foods, such as produce, is one of the biggest causes of cross contamination, but bacteria also are transferred to food from work surfaces or a person’s hand. In another case, a package of raw ground beef can leak onto the lettuce that may be on a counter. The bacteria move from the ground beef to the lettuce. These bacteria normally are killed in ground beef when it is cooked, but because lettuce is not cooked, the bacteria can grow. The lettuce has become cross-contaminated and could cause foodborne illness, unless it is cleaned and stored correctly. Even unsanitary cleaning practices can lead to cross contamination of harmful bacteria. Foodborne illness and bacteria can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and other symptoms. While some people manage foodborne illness without a problem, it can result in serious illness or even death in others. There are almost a limitless number of scenarios where cross contaminnation can occur, but as a Food Safety Supervisor, eastblishing effective hygiene practices can remove the risk in the first place.

Preventing cross contamination requires good food safety habits such as frequent washing of hands, utensils, linens, cutting boards and work surfaces. In a professional kitchen, using different colored cutting boards for different foods like raw poultry or fresh vegetables is a simple way to decrease the risk of cross contamination. As a Food Safety Supervisor, it may initially take a concerted effort to keep food safe but the long term benefits of a healthier, happier work environment and staff will make it worth the work. Take a course and cross it off the to-do list today.

This Article was written by New Orleans. Visit our site at http://therecipeindex.net/ and http://therecipeindex.net/category/healthy-drinks/ for more details.