Food safety
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Why is food hygiene important?
Good food hygiene and personal hygiene is
important to make sure that the food we eat is safe.
Harmful (pathogenic) bacteria can spread very
easily and cause food poisoning.
Food poisoning is very common, causing many
thousands of reported cases each year.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Food poisoning
Symptoms of food poisoning include:
• Nausea;
• Vomiting;
• Stomach pains;
• Diarrhoea.
In severe cases, food poisoning can even cause
death.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Ages and stages
Anyone can be affected by food poisoning or
food-borne illness but some people are
particularly at risk:
The very young – this is usually due to an
underdeveloped immune system and the fact that
they often put things in their mouths, whether they
are edible or not. Eggs served to children should
be thoroughly cooked to reduce the risk of food
poisoning from Salmonella.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Ages and stages
The elderly – this could be due to having an
immune system that is less effective at fighting
diseases. This could be caused by the ageing
process but also due to long term diseases such as
diabetes. Food poisoning in the elderly is often
caused by foods being eaten after their use by
date – they are perhaps less likely to throw food
away than a younger person as they are used to
making foods last and avoiding waste. Rising
prices and the overall cost of living may also have
an influence on their reluctance to throw food
away.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Ages and stages
People who are ill, convalescing or who have
weakened immunity to disease – this leaves
them vulnerable to viruses and bacteria. If
someone with diabetes shows symptoms of food
poisoning, they should seek medical advice as
they may experience problems controlling their
blood sugar levels.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Ages and stages
Pregnant women and their unborn baby –
eating certain foods during pregnancy can lead to
food poisoning. Pregnant women should avoid
eating:
• Meat pâté, soft cheeses made from
unpasteurised milk and washed salads which
can contain the bacteria Listeria;
• Soft blue cheeses (such as gorgonzola and
Roquefort) and soft cheeses with white rinds
(mould ripened - such as brie and camembert);
• Raw milk;
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Ages and stages
• Raw shellfish, as it carries a risk of food
poisoning. Thoroughly cooked shellfish is
safe to eat.
• Raw or lightly cooked wild fish, in dishes
such as sushi, unless the fish has been
frozen first as wild fish can sometimes
contain parasitic worms but freezing or
cooking kills any worms.
Also shark, marlin and swordfish should be
avoided, as they can contain high levels of
mercury that can harm a baby’s developing
nervous system.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Preventing food poisoning
In order to reduce the risk of food poisoning,
food handlers, whether in their own home or a
place of work, should be particularly careful with
their own personal hygiene. Food handlers
should:
• Keep themselves clean;
• Tie up long hair. Dirt and bacteria can be
present even on clean hair so hair should be
tied up to prevent it falling into food. Stray
hair can also be a physical hazard and not
very pleasant for someone else to find in their
food!
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Personal hygiene
• Remove jewellery and watches as they
can harbour dirt and bacteria. A plain
wedding band is allowed as this is
easier to clean and is less likely to be
contaminated with bacteria;
• Remove outer clothing, such as jumpers,
roll up long sleeves and wear clean
protective clothing such as an apron.
Remember, the protective clothing is
worn to prevent bacteria from your
clothes contaminating the food rather
than to keep your clothes clean!
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Personal hygiene
• Thoroughly wash and dry hands before and
after handling food and after visiting the toilet.
Ideally hot water and anti-bacterial soap
should be used;
• Cough or sneeze away from food and always
thoroughly wash hands after blowing noses.
A food handler must tell their employer if they
are suffering from any symptoms of food
poisoning or if any friends or family members
are as they could be a carrier. A carrier can be
infected but not show any symptoms.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Food purchase
When buying meat, look for quality.
The Northern Ireland farm Quality Assurance
Scheme is a code of practice operated by beef
and sheep farmers. It is recognised at home
and abroad as a symbol of the quality and
character of the farm on which meat is
produced.
It gives the consumer the best possible
assurances that it will be as safe, healthy and
wholesome as possible.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Food purchase
In order to prevent bacterial multiplication and
reduce the risk of food poisoning, when buying
food you should:
• Only buy from a reputable supplier or shop;
• Check the food to make sure that it is good
quality, e.g. fruit isn’t badly bruised or mouldy;
• Check that packaging isn’t damaged and don’t
buy tins that are dented or ‘blown’ (have a
domed rather than flat top). Air can enter
damaged tins allowing bacteria to multiply to
dangerous levels;
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Food purchase
• Check that food is within date;
• Choose your chilled and frozen food at the end
of your shopping trip;
• Always ensure that red meat and poultry is
properly wrapped up and even store in a
separate bag;
• Use a cool bag and ice blocks and pack chilled
and frozen foods together;
• Get your shopping home and into a fridge or
freezer as soon as you can.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Food dates
There are two types of date mark that are a legal
requirement in the UK. They are:
• Use by – highly perishable packaged food,
such as cooked meat, fish, dairy products and
ready meals, must by law be marked with a use
by date. Do not use any food or drink after the
end of the use by shown on the label even if it
looks and smells fine. Using it after this date
could make you ill from pathogenic (harmful)
bacteria – remember that you can’t see, smell
or taste the bacteria that cause food poisoning.
It is against the law to sell or serve food beyond it’s
use by date.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Food dates
• Best before – this would appear on less
perishable foods such as tinned or frozen foods,
bags of flour, crisps and biscuits along with
bottles and cans of drink. It should be safe to
eat food after the best before date shown on the
label, but food might begin to lose its flavour
and texture, e.g. a white ‘bloom’ might appear
on chocolate that is out of date. It is safe to eat
but might not be the quality that you would
normally expect.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Food storage
Storing food safely in the correct place for the
correct amount of time can reduce the risk of
food poisoning considerably. Correct storage
helps to:
• Prevent illness linked to food;
• Preserve the food’s taste, appearance and
nutritional value;
• Avoid spoilage and wasted food.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Food storage
Correct storage also helps a food business to:
• Provide adequate supplies when they are
needed;
• Control costs and keep within a budget;
• Comply with food laws and avoid prosecution
for selling unfit or unsafe food.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Dry storage
‘Dry stores’ would be anywhere that nonperishable foods would be stored such as bags of
flour and sugar. A dry store could be a cupboard
on the wall at home or a large walk in industrial
larder. In order to prevent food spoilage and pest
infestation, dry stores should:
• Be well ventilated, clean and light;
• Food should be stored off the floor and away
from walls to prevent pest infestation;
• After shopping new tins and packets should be
stored behind older ones so that they are used
in date order which helps to prevent wastage.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Chilled storage
High risk, or perishable foods should be stored in
a fridge below 5°C* to slow down bacterial
multiplication. It is also important to organise your
fridge to prevent bacterial cross-contamination,
i.e. juices from raw meat dripping onto cooked
foods.
Always ensure food is cold before storing in the
fridge. If it is too warm, the heat will raise the
temperature of the other foods in the fridge
increasing the risk of bacterial multiplication.
Store food in containers large enough to hold any
juices, cover and label.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
* Below 5°C is the
recommended
temperature for good
practice but 8°C is the
legal maximum
temperature for cold
storage
Chilled storage
Store raw food below cooked foods.
Decant the contents of tin cans into plastic
containers otherwise the metal can leach into
the food.
Empty and clean fridges regularly with an
anti-bacterial spray.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Frozen storage
When food is stored in a freezer, the liquid that
bacteria needs to multiply is turned to ice and
growth is stopped. Food should be stored
between -18°C and -23°C.
It is important to remember that once the food is
defrosted, bacteria may start to multiply so it
should be stored below 5°C to slow this down or
cooked straight away.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
*Below 5°C is the
recommended
temperature for good
practice but 8°C is the
legal maximum
temperature for cold
storage
Frozen storage
Freezers, like fridges, should be kept clean and
tidy:
• Cover and label food;
• Keep food tidy;
• Don’t over stock;
• No warm food – the heat will melt the liquid in
the other foods allowing any bacteria present to
multiply;
• Clean and defrost regularly;
• Use food in date order to prevent wastage.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Food preparation
Preparing food too far in advance and not
storing it correctly is one of the major causes
of food poisoning.
It is important that high risk foods, in
particular, are kept either very cold (below
5°C) or very hot (above 63°C). The
temperature range between these is known
as The Danger Zone and bacteria can
multiply easily if they have food, warmth,
moisture and time.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Bacterial multiplication
Bacteria multiply through a process called
binary fission. If the circumstances are right,
bacteria can divide in two every 10 – 20 minutes.
In just 3½ hours one bacterium may become
more than 1 million!
Therefore, it is essential that time and
temperature controls are followed to reduce the
risk of food poisoning.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Time and temperature control
5-63°C – the danger zone where bacteria grow most
readily. Keep food out of the danger zone.
37°C – body temperature, optimum temperature for
bacterial growth.
8°C – maximum legal temperature for cold food, i.e.
your fridge. Check fridge temperatures regularly.
5°C – the ideal temperature your fridge should be. Do
not overfill your fridge. Air needs to circulate to
keep the food cold.
-18°C - the temperature your freezer should be.
Never put warm food in a freezer.
70°C - cooking at this temperature or above will kill
most bacteria. If you don’t have a food probe, make
sure your food is piping hot.
85°C – food should be reheated to at least 85°C. Only
reheat once.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Cooling hot food quickly
In order to reduce the risk of bacterial
multiplication, hot food should be cold enough
to go in the fridge within 90 minutes. This can
be achieved by:
• Dividing dishes into small portions, e.g. a
lasagne or cottage pie. This increases the
surface area which means quicker cooling;
• Decanting food into chilled containers or ice
baths;
• Use cooling areas (but not the fridge or
freezer);
• Cold running water for cooling rice and
pasta.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Rice
Rice can be contaminated with spores of the
food poisoning bacteria, Bacillus cereus.
These spores protect the bacteria during
cooking, preventing them from being
destroyed.
However, when the cooked rice is left at
warm temperatures (between 5°C and 63°C)
and not kept hot (above 63°C) or cold
(below 5°C), the spores will burst releasing
the bacteria inside to multiply.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Rice
The longer the rice is kept at a warm
temperature, the more the bacteria will grow
and multiply.
These bacteria then produce a special
chemical (a toxin) which can cause illness.
The toxin is not destroyed even if the rice is
reheated.
In order to reduce the risk of food poisoning,
it is essential that any rice dish is cooled as
quickly as possible and then stored in the
fridge if not being eaten straight away.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
The 4Cs
An easy way to remember the rules for good food
hygiene is to remember the 4Cs:
• Cleaning – you can prevent the spread of
harmful bacteria by keeping your hands, work
surfaces and utensils clean;
• Cooking – proper cooking kills the harmful
bacteria that can cause food poisoning. It is
important to cook food, especially meat,
thoroughly. Make sure that food is cooked
right through, and that it is piping hot in the
middle;
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
The 4Cs
• Chilling – It is very important to keep certain
foods at the right temperature to prevent
bacteria growing and toxins (poisons) forming.
Always look at food labels to see whether foods
should be kept in the fridge.
• Cross-contamination – this is when bacteria
spread from one food to another. This could be
through raw foods touching or dripping onto
ready to eat foods, dirty equipment, pests or
poor personal hygiene.
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015
Acknowledgement
For further information, go to: www.food4life.org.uk
© LMC 2015
© Livestock & Meat Commission for Northern Ireland 2015