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Cross -Contamination a Threat to Food Industry
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In today's fast paced world, we do not often stop to think that the meal we are eating may be our last. It is not a pleasant thought and it is easier to dismiss the idea as something that happens to either people in far-off places. Most of food borne illnesses are mild and would not slow down a healthy adult, but 20% of food borne illnesses are severe enough to require hospitilalization. On top of that, 2 to 3%of these acute illnesses develop life-long complications.
People who contract food borne illnesses are not the only parties that suffer. The restaurants responsible for such outbreaks will pay a heavy price.
Why food borne illnesses are so common? One answer is cross-contamination. It is one of the leading causes and it can strike during almost any phase of the preparation cycle.
 What is Cross-contamination? |
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Cross-contamination is the transfer of disease -causing microorganisms, such as bacteria and viruses, from one food to another.
Cross-contamination can happen in a variety of ways:
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Contaminated food may come in direct contact with other foods.
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Uncontaminated food may come in contact with a contaminated utensil, piece of equipment, or working surface. |
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Food handlers with dirty hands or wearing soiled uniforms may contaminate food. | | |
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| How Cross-Contamination take place in the kitchen |
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| They are many opportunities for food to fall victim to cross-contamination as it travels through the different areas of the kitchen. However, the greatest threat of cross-contamination is during the preparation phase. |
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Not properly washing and sanitizing cutting boards and knives between differents tasks. |
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Using an unsanitized towel to clean food preparation surfaces is dangerous. Dirty towels may harbor thousands of bacteria, which can be spread all over the surface of the table or equipment and can be tranferred to foods. |
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Storing cooked meats in the container that held them when they were raw. |
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Personal hygiene. Employees who do not wash their hands between tasks, especially between handling raw meats and cooked foods, are very likely to be the culprit if a food borne illness occurs. | | |
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| Who is a food handler? |
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Food handlers are those of your staff who are involved in any activity in your business that involves food or surfaces likely to come in contact with foods. It includes staff working in the field of manufacturing, processing, preparing (such as chopping, cooking, thawing), delivering, transporting or packing of food as well as personnel responsible of cleaning the premises and equipments. Food handlers should target for food safety and food hygiene. Food safety is ensuring food safe to eat and food hygiene is keeping your food premises and equipments clean. Food handlers need those skills and knowledge to keep food safe. |
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| How to Tackle Cross-contamination: |
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As large as the hazard of cross-contamination is, they are many ways to combat the problem. First and foremost, proper training of all food handlers must take place. Nobody would arrive at work in a restaurant with the deliberate intention of making others sick, especially if it could result in the death of a costumer. However, if the employees do not receive proper food safety training they may just do that. Employees need to understand what they can do to prevent the spread of pathogens, and why that is important. It is the management responsibility to properly train employees on personal hygiene, proper cleaning and disinfection of surfaces and equipments. Encouraging employees to follow proper procedures, especially during busy times is crucial in preventing cross-contamination.
The second important step in preventing cross-contamination is to provide employees with appropriate prevention tools such as color-coded equipments and storage containers. Using color coded equipments that is one of the easiest and most effective ways to combat cross-contamination. |
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It takes a concerted effort to keep food safe, and these efforts must extend past those mentioned in here. Cross-contamination is a serious threat at every stage in the flow of food through the kitchen. Employees and management should take appropriate actions to make sure food is kept safe from the moment it is received until the moment it is served to the customer. The rewards of these food safety efforts will be immense. The trust of customers will be earned and expensive lawsuits will be avoided. Tremendous time and effort goes into building a good reputation, but it only takes a minute to forever scar it. Employees will be less likely to make the mistakes that commonly lead to food borne illnesses if they are properly trained and given the tools needed. Taking a proactive stance on food safety will shield against the perils of a food borne outbreak.
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© 2008 Boecker Public
Health Services SAL. All rights reserved
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