Food Safety For Schools
July 1998
DON'T END UP IN HOT WATER
This pamphlet is a guide to help those preparing and handling food in schools, to use safe food handling practices to prevent food poisoning (the transmission of disease through food). These simple and common sense suggestions will help you prepare, handle and cook food with care and confidence, helping to ensure that your food will remain wholesome and of good quality through all stages of preparation until it is finally eaten.
HIGH RISK FOODS
High Risk Foods are those perishable foods that can support the growth of harmful bacteria and are intended to be eaten without further treatment such as cooking, which would destroy such organisms. They include:
- All cooked meat and poultry.
- Cooked meat products including gravy, stock, and roll/sandwich fillings.
- Milk, cream, artificial cream, custards and dairy products.
- Cooked eggs and products made with eggs, eg mayonnaise.
- Shellfish and other seafoods.
- Cooked rice.
Don't leave High Risk Foods sitting at room temperature.
FOOD SAFETY
SUPPLY AND TRANSPORT
- All foodstuffs must be obtained from Registered food premises.
- The food must either be kept in clean containers with lids, or be effectively wrapped to prevent contamination.
- Check the temperature of delivered high risk and other readily perishable foods. Are they below 4°C, or above 70°C?
PREPARING
- Ensure fruit and vegetables are washed thoroughly, and check all foods for signs of spoilage before preparing them for eating.
- Frozen food should be thawed either in the fridge or microwave rather than at room temperature. Use the food immediately after thawing and don't refreeze foods.
- Raw and high risk foods must be kept separate during preparation.
- Cutting boards and bench surfaces must be thoroughly cleaned, especially after preparing raw meats and before preparing any high risk food. Preferably separate boards should be used.
COOKING
- Preheat ovens so food can cook as quickly as possible.
- All meat, especially poultry must be cooked thoroughly (80°C minimum internal temperature), with the juices being clear - no longer pink.
DISPLAY and SERVICE
- High risk foods must not be left sitting at room temperature.
- Cold high risk foods must be kept at 4°C or below.
- Serve hot food hot - too hot to handle. If there is a delay before serving hot foods, then they need to be kept hot - not just warm, (preferably at 70°C or above).
- All displayed food must be adequately protected from possible contamination.
STORING
- Keep dry foods (flour, rice, pasta etc) in airtight containers.
- Food in the fridge should be kept at 4°C or below.
- Use high risk foods within 2 days.
- Store raw food in the fridge on shelves below high risk and ready to eat foods.
- Frozen foods should be kept between -12°C and -18°C.
- Label and date the food put in the freezer and to avoid "freezer burn" and drying out, it needs to be well wrapped.
PERSONAL HYGIENE
HANDS
As your hands are often in direct contact with food they are one of the main routes for contaminating food and transferring food poisoning bacteria.
HAND WASHING
All those handling food must wash their hands -
Before handling any food or equipment.
After handling raw meat and chicken and before they handle other foods.
Immediately after blowing their nose, coughing, sneezing, going to the toilet, smoking, eating, combing or touching their hair, handling waste food or rubbish and handling cleaning equipment.
FOOD HANDLING
All those handling food must -
- Not prepare or handle any food for sale if they have suffered from diarrhoea in the last 2 to 3 days.
- Not cough or sneeze over or around food.
- Avoid unnecessarily handling food, but should use tongs, forks, spoons, scoops, or other suitable utensils where possible.
- Not smoke while preparing or handling food.
- Cover any cuts or sores on their hands with a bandage, or use plastic gloves.
- Be clean and wear clean clothing.
- Keep hair from touching food.
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