Food Poisoning

YEAR ELEVEN

2001 SUMMER EXAMINATION REVISION

SNACK FOODS FOOD POISONING

When food is no longer fresh, it becomes unsuitable for eating and this is known as

Food spoilage

One of ways in which food can be spoiled – and which in turn can make us feel ill and suffer food poisoning – is from

BACTERIA

These are single celled organisms found everywhere in air, water, soil and animals and people – and are extremely small and can only be seen under a microscope. The ones that cause food poisoning are called

PATHOGENIC BACTERIA

These bacteria are rather picky about the things they like to survive and the foods they like to live on. Not much going for a bacteria with a long term relationship on a lettuce leaf!

They like high protein foods: these are foods like

BACON MEAT FISH POULTRY EGGS GRAVIES SOUPS SHELLFISH PATES GAME RICE

Bacteria also rather foods that we term MEDIUM RISK foods – foods such as sandwiches, meat pies, Cornish pasties, sausages with a high fat content

The bacteria find it difficult to multiply in LOW RISK FOODS which are the ones which have a high concentration of sugar, salt, or vinegar – examples like chutney, pickles, jams, honey and marmalade.

The most common forms of food poisoning are

Salmonella Escherichia coli staphylococcus aureus listeria bacillus cereus

The symptoms of food poisoning can vary, but the general symptoms are not very pleasant – they include fever, vomiting, diarrhoea, severe stomach pains, and in the case of E. coli, internal bleeding. In some cases of food poisoning, you can be ill for as long as three to four weeks.

The vunerable groups which tragically can die from food poisoning are

THE VERY YOUNG AND THE ELDERLY

The four things that the bacteria need to multiply are

TIME WARMTH FOOD MOISTURE

The bacteria double every 20 minutes: they like the danger zone which is temperatures between 5 and 63 degrees C, liking 37C the best: food to grow on, and moisture (we all like a drink!)

They also like to ‘jump’ from raw food to cooked food which is known as

CROSS CONTAMINATION

Take the Basic Food Hygiene Certificate. A manufacturing company must have a good HACCP programme in place and ensure staff are trained to the highest level in food hygiene. From raw ingredients to delivery to the shop or supermarket, every precaution must be taken to make sure the food is safe to eat.

HERE IS A LIST OF ESSENTIAL CRITERIA FOR AVOIDING FOOD POISONING -

v         Wear clean protective clothings, overall, aprons, hats, snoods, shoes
v        Remove all jewellery
v        Cover all cuts and grazes with blue plasters
v        Ensure hair is covered at all times
v        Hands are washed with special bacterial soap and hot water prior to working with food
v        Wear plastic gloves (where applicable)
v        Do not cough sneeze or blow nose near food
v        Remember it is illegal to smoke when handling food
v        Regular maintenance of fixtures and fittings in the factory area, examples no flaking paint to drop into
       food: machines repaired immediately when broken
v        NEVER store raw and cooked food together in a manufacturing situation
v        Disposal of rubbish containers immediately they are full
v        Never leave food out – keep out of the danger zone at all times
v        Defrost foods in a fridge NEVER EVER anywhere else
v        Thaw food properly before cooking
v        Make sure food is thoroughly cooked – over 63 degrees C
v        Anyone with a stomach upset must never be allowed near or to handle food as the ‘bug’ can be passed         on to other people
v        Use colour coded boards and knives – e.g. red for meat, blue for fish only
v        Do not allow pets near food preparation areas – they carry bacteria on their fur and on their feet
v        Each tasting of food must use a clean NEW SPOON
v        Food must be covered when placed in a fridge

HOW MANY RULES CAN YOU THINK OF WHICH HAVE TO BE FOLLOWED IF FOOD POISONING IS TO BE AVOIDED?

FOOD POISONING THREE
The theme of the paper is snack foods in the context of take away foods. We need to think specifically about how food poisoning could affect the snack and take away foods. You have been given instructions to look at ready prepared hand held food products which have edible casing with fillings.

You have already learnt that these foods fall into the high risk area for bacteria.

Q. If you buy a heated steak and kidney pie, how could the shop or outlet make sure it is safe to eat?

A. The shop must heat the pie over 63C – which means it is out of the danger zone – the danger zone for us and not the bacteria. They must make sure that this temperature is maintained in their hot cabinets or in the microwaves if it is heated whilst you wait.

This type of food is a medium risk food – it has been cooked in VERY hot fat well over the 63C threshold, so it should be save if eaten straight away.

Again if made fresh for each customer, hot from the pizza oven, taken home in one of those insulated boxes, they should be safe when eaten. If however, the journey home is a long one, the pizza needs to be heated to over 63C until thoroughly piping hot ESPECIALLY in the middle of the pizza.

Salmonella specially ‘likes’chicken and it is one of the foods that can cause the most food poisoning figures in the U.K. Again the chicken is cooked well above the danger zone temperatures – and again if eaten straight away presents no problem.

If however, you decided to stop off on the way from the KFC shop to where you hope to eat the food and it goes ‘warm to cold’ in the boxes, this could invite bacteria to have their ‘feast’. The food must be heated well out of the danger zone before eating.

We have learnt that these fall into the medium risk category, but caution must still be taken when buying them. Is the cold cabinet they are displayed in at the correct temperature? Have they gone past their sell-buy date? How many people buy their sandwiches from a cool cabinet, put them in their bag or briefcase which is then put in a car with a heater on, and left in the case at their place of work. Would it be interesting to see what a temperature probe read when placed in the middle of the filling of their sandwich especially if it was prawns and mayonnaise!!!!?????????