Food Safety Today Keeps The Doctor Away
How to improve food safety?
Food safety is your business and getting it right and maintaining high standards every time is essential for you and your customers. Food is a necessary and vital role in maintaining life, providing our bodies with fundamental nutrients on a daily basis. Getting it wrong can prove very costly for you and your business. If you are familiar with the television programme ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ where celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay visits failing restaurants and acts as a troubleshooter to restore them from closure. The one underlying issue with most of these doomed businesses prior to Gordon getting involved is just very poor food safety.
According to the HSE (The Health Service Executive) in Ireland, the consumption of cross contaminated food can have adverse impacts on people's health leading to food poisoning. Cross-contaminated food is the transfer of harmful bacteria from one food source to another, such as food utensils, chopping boards etc. Although food poisoning may not always be serious, it is of growing concern to learn that an alarming 167 enforcement orders were issued to food businesses over the last two years as a direct result of breaching food safety legislation. This reflects a 67% decrease in enforcement orders served last year in Ireland and paints a healthier picture of our food industry compared to the previous year. However, the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) states we need to be careful with this statistic as it is not necessarily due to improved food safety thats lowering the figures, but that a large number of food safety businesses were forced to close for long periods throughout the year due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Why should you be aware of food safety?
Do you know that some common everyday food products if consumed unknowingly can lead to serious sickness and severe reaction in some cases with these food products can lead to death? This severe reaction is commonly known as Anaphylaxis. Witnessing an event such as Anaphylaxis is indeed very scary. I happened to witness an Anaphylaxis medical emergency two years ago while out for a family meal in a local hotel. The person two tables to my right started shivering and getting very anxious and irritable. A middle aged lady was very obviously distressed with her hand gestures to her face as her skin began to turn very flush with a rash and numerous blisters that were very visible on her face like bee stings. Thankfully her partner who was aware of her ongoing food allergy very quickly summoned an ambulance. To everyone's relief the casualty was approached by another diner who thankfully had a EpiPen (a type of adrenaline auto-injector) which had an immediate calming effect on the casualty. The situation could have been very serious and could have had devastating consequences for the hotel reputation as it was later revealed that the hotel's dinner menu failed to display adequate presence of peanuts on the dinner menu.
What is food poisoning?
Food poisoning enters the body through contaminated food or water which can be very serious, especially for newborn babies, children, pregnant women and the elderly particularly as many of these have a weaker immune system. These illnesses caused by bacteria from contaminated food can cause severe diarrhoea and sickness. Other serious conditions which can derive from contaminated food is the development of bacterial meningitis which is caused from foods containing the offending bacteria found in some cheeses and hot dogs.
What does HACCP stand for in respect to food safety?
HACCP stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point. It is the internationally recognised food safety management system based on a systematic approach to identifying and controlling hazards, whether microbiological, chemical or physical, that could pose a threat to the production of safe food. Put simply, it involves identifying what could go wrong in a food system and planning how to prevent it.
Is HACCP a legal requirement for all food businesses?
Yes. Since 1998 it has been a legal requirement for all food businesses to have a food safety management system based on the principles of HACCP in their business. Under current legislation, a ‘food business’ is defined as “…any undertaking, whether for profit or not and whether public or private, carrying out any or all of the following: preparation, processing, manufacturing, packaging, storing, transportation, distribution, handling or offering for sale or supply of foodstuffs”.
What are the different levels of HACCP Food Safety Courses?
There are three levels of food safety training courses available within HACCP, with each level relevant to various stakeholders within their food business. There is also a very important allergen awareness course, which highlights the impacts of food labeling and allergies.
HACCP Level 1 food safety course deals with providing awards in Food Safety for Retail, Catering and for Manufacturing sectors. This food safety course is suitable for new employees with no prior food safety experience; for front of house staff such as waiters and check out staff and is also suitable for warehouse staff in all the three sectors mentioned Retail, Catering and Manufacturing.
HACCP Level 2 food safety course is designed to give employees the knowledge of the process needed for food safety in the workplace, enabling organisations to comply with the regulations on the Hygiene of foodstuffs. It identifies critical control points as well as analysing key hazards and also covers information on how to prevent cross-contamination in the food chain.
HACCP Level 3 food safety course is designed for managers and supervisors wishing to manage the HACCP food safety management system (FSMS) in their organisation further complying with the legislation. This food safety course level 3 examines topics including types of food hazards, personal hygiene, pest control, legislation, enforcement, and the design of premises and equipment.
Allergen Awareness food safety course is designed to provide the essential information for food businesses, who must declare the presence of food allergens used as ingredients in their foods.
According to Dr. Orla Cahill, a leading Irish university lecturer specialising in the field of allergen management and control, states that food allergy cases have risen by up to 50% in the past decade, with a 700% rise in hospitalisations due to anaphylaxis which can be life threatening within minutes of onset.
The food safety allergen awareness course provides the essential information along with covering practical steps to reduce the risk from food allergens and the further steps that can be taken in house to monitor the control measures necessary to keep food safe.
Where to get food safety certificates?
The easiest way to receive your food safety certificate is by completing an recognised online training course appropriate to your requirements which typically can be completed from a reputable health and safety training organisation.
On completion of your preferred training course you can download your food safety certificate immediately. Online training is a very cost effective method of achieving certification and compliance with HACCP. The courses are flexible and cost effective meaning the candidate can progress through the modules at their own pace and at their own time, so they can fit the training in around their work and personal life.
HACCP training goes a long way to protecting you and your business and gives you greater awareness of the dangers that poor food safety standards pose, as well as covering how food safety risks actually arise and how to control and prevent them.
What are the food safety standards legislation within Ireland and the EU?
According to the European Communities (Hygiene of Foodstuffs) Regulations 2006, typical food legislation which is a legal requirement in Ireland and the EU can be best understood by referring to legislative examples such as Food Hygiene and Water.
The legislation on Food Hygiene applies to all food businesses irrespective of size or type. This legislation also includes all food stalls, mobile food businesses and home businesses. The legislation Regulation (EC) No. 852/2004) defines food hygiene as meaning “the measures and conditions necessary to control hazards and to ensure fitness for human consumption of a foodstuff taking into account its intended use”.
The food safety standards legislation on Water can be divided into the following categories:
- Drinking water - this covers water intended for drinking, cooking, food preparation and for all water used for food production; domestic or commercial.
- Bottled water or packaged water - this includes Natural Mineral Waters, Spring Waters and 'Other Waters' in bottles and other domestic purposes.
Creating a culture with constant vigilance on food safety is a fundamental requirement of all successful businesses regardless of size, also by maintaining a food safety programme in line with legislation will benefit you and your organisation all day every day.