Objectives

Food safety and personal hygiene

The types of food contamination
Food safety
Employees personal hygiene

Hong Kong Food Safety Internal

player

Important contribution factors in Hong

Kong
Contamination

Cross contamination of ready-to-eat food by raw food

Contaminated raw food
Poor personal hygiene
Inadequate cleaning of equipment
Contamination by food handlers, e.g. hands, cloths and
equipments

Temperature
Inadequate cooking/ reheating
Inappropriate storage temperature
Inadequate cooling and cold holding

Time
Prolonged storage
Preparing food ahead of planned service

Consequences or costs of poor

Merits of Good Food food
Hygiene safety
and Price for Bad Food Hygiene
Merits of Good Food
Hygiene
Regulation
s

Business

Price for Bad Food

Hygiene

Comply with statutory

requirements
Comply with licensing
requirements
and

conditions
Reduce the chance of
food poisoning incidents

Breach the law and be

prosecuted
Be
fined
or
pay
lawsuit fees
Victims may bring civil
action

Earn
reputation
and
boost business

Improve productivity

Lose goodwill
Reduce productivity
May cause closure of
business

Employees

Elevate morale

Reduce staff turnover

Good
working
environment

Lose work days

Increase staff turnover
Unemployment

Food

Extend shelf life of food

Food wastage

Food Safety Terminology

Food Safety: assurance that food will not cause
harm to the consumer when it is prepared and
/or eaten according to its intended use (free
from harmful substances)
Food Hygiene: all conditions and measures
necessary to ensure the safety and suitability of
food at all stages of the food chain
Food Suitability: assurance that food is
acceptable for human consumption according to
its intended use

Food Safety Terminology

(Food poisoning)
An acute illness usually of sudden onset, due to
the consumption of contaminated or poisonous
food
Common causative agents:
Bacteria:
Pathogenic type Vibrio spp ( ), Salmonella spp ( )
Toxin type Staphylococcus aureus ( )
, Clostridium botulinum ( )

Chemicals:
Pesticides

Natural toxins (Biochemicals)

Plant type mushroom, sprout potato
Animal type puffer fish

Viruses e.g. Norwalk ( ) group and Hepatitis A

Food Safety Terminology

(Food Borne Disease)
Differs from food poisoning in that:
A relatively small number of organisms
is capable of causing the illness
The food acts purely as a vehicle and
the multiplication of the organism within
the food is not an important feature of
the illness

Food Borne Disease

We divide the illnesses and the bacteria
that cause them into two categories:
Caused directly by the invasion of the body
by bacteria (Food infection)
Caused by bacterial toxins produced either
directly on the food or produced in the body
after ingestion (Food intoxication)

Food Hazard and

Contamination

A food hazard ( ) is anything that can

contaminate the food or cause harm to the
consumer.
Food contamination ( or ??) or
refers
to
any
harmful
substances
unintentionally added to food. These
substances may come from natural sources
or environmental pollution, or arise from
food processing.

Food hazards occur from one of three

sources: Chemically
Biologically
Physically

Food hazards
Chemical contamination are chemicals or compounds
that can potentially harm the heath of humans. In the
short term it may cause severe vomiting, but in the long
term may lead to serious illnesses such as, cancer and
damage to organs such as the liver, kidney, brain, etc.
Biological contamination is living organism or agent
derived by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and mammal and bird
antigens that can cause many health effects.
Physical contamination is both objectionable (because
it can be seen by consumer, unlike chemical or biological
contamination) and harmful to health causing:
Broken teeth
Cuts
Choking

Food Hazards

Biological Contamination
High-risk group:
young children
elderly people
chronic patients
pregnant women

Pathogenic micro-organisms linked to food poisoning and food-borne

illness:

Examples of bacterial food

poisoning:

Bacteria

Source/ Contaminated
Food

Characteristics of Bacteria

Bacillus Cereus Rice and rice based items, Spore former

meat, fish, milk, vegetables, Production of two toxins

pasta, soya beans
Clostridium
Botulinum

Soil and water

Canned food

Poor competitor
Formation of neurotoxin (
)
double vision, difficulty in
speaking and swallowing

Clostridium
human and animal intestine, Spore former, anaerobic,
Perfringens soil, dust

Listeria
chilled
or
delicatessen Psychotropic able to grow at 1
Monocytogenes products soft cheeses, cold 3

cut, pate
E. coli 0157 H7 raw meat, undercooked meat Extremely resilient organism
High mortality rate

products and raw milk

Gut origin

Salmonella

Raw meat and products, Cannot form spores

undercooked eggs and egg Dies at 70
products

Common symptoms of bacterial food

poisoning

Viruses
Much smaller than bacteria and highly infectious
one third smaller than bacteria
No complete cell structure and cannot reproduce
independently can only multiply within a cell
Examples include:
Hepatitis A
Norwalk (Norovirus)
Rotavirus

Viruses
Remember do not require the food/water for
multiplication
Viruses are typically water borne
Contamination at source (food eaten raw) and by
handling
Normal cooking temperatures denatures viruses
Raw foods most implicated in outbreaks
Infective dose very small can be a single virus
Very contagious and person to person spread is
common outbreaks
Spread by faecal oral route

Viruses (Hepatitis A)
If infected you gain life long immunity
Symptoms:
fever,
nausea,
vomiting,
abdominal pain, liver disease
IP: 15 50 days
illness lasts several days to several months
Gastro-intestinal tract usual source but blood
and urine also implicated
Implicated foods: sewage contaminated
water, raw shell fish, vegetables, salads
Control: standard food hygiene practices,
water quality, approved shell fish beds

Viruses (Norwalk Viruses)

Small round structured viruses
Source: human intestine and sewage
contaminated water
IP: 1 2 days, illness lasts 1 3 days
Implicated foods: shellfish, vegetables,
salads and water
Symptoms: nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea
and abdominal pain
Control: standard food hygiene practices,
water quality, approved shell fish beds

Viruses (Rotavirus)
500,00 cases and 1 million deaths
worldwide each year
Effects young children causing severe
diarrhoea and dehydration
Source: humans, sewage contaminated
water
IP: 1-3 days, duration 4-8days
Control: standard food hygiene practices

Parasites
Parasites are organisms that can live on or in
a host as well as to derive benefit from or at
the expense of its host.
They can be found on various kinds of food,
such as meats, seafood and fresh produce.
Two main types of parasites found in food are
protozoa ( ) and helminths ( ) (also
known as worms).

Causative agents of food poisoning

outbreaks

Cross-contamination
Cross-contamination usually
involves a vehicle of contamination
something that helps the bacteria to
travel from one surface to another.
E.g. Raw to cooked food
Vehicle can be:
Food handler
Food contact surface
Equipment and utensil

Food Safety System - HACCP

HACCP is an abbreviation for the

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point

The HACCP technique itself is a logical system of
control, based on the prevention of problems.
Systematic and general approach allows design of
operation specific programs
A management tool used to protect the food supply
against biological, chemical and physical hazards
Design and evaluation of control systems
26

Origin of HACCP
Pioneered in the 1960s
First used when foods were developed for the
space program
Adopted by many food processors and the U.S.
government
The first work on HACCP was done at the Pillsbury
Company, in collaboration with NASA

27

Seven Principles of HACCP

1. Conduct hazard analysis and identify preventive
measures
2. Identify Critical Control Points (CCPs)
3. Establish critical limits
4. Establish monitoring procedure for Critical
Control Points (CCPs)
5. Establish corrective actions
6. Establish verification procedures
7. Establish record-keeping and documentation
procedures
28

WHY HACCP??
A Food Safety Plan minimizes the limitations of
traditional food management systems such as endproduct testing and inspection
Make the product safely
Minimize the possibility of food poisoning
Enhance the consumers confidence
Promote the competitive advantage
In a long run, a Food Safety Plan lowers production cost
on raw material wastage and food recall
Enhance reputation and credibility of enterprise

29

Principle 1
Identify the potential hazards associated with a
food and measures to control those hazards are
identified. A food safety hazard is any
biological, chemical or physical property that
may cause a food to be unsafe for human
consumption.

30

Principle 2
Determine the Critical Control Points (CCPs) in a
food's production -- from its raw state through
processing and shipping to consumption by the
consumer--at which the potential hazard can be
controlled, eliminated, or reduced to
acceptable levels.

31

Principle 3
Establish preventive measures with critical
limits ( ) for each control point. For a
cooked food, for example, this might include
setting the minimum cooking temperature and
time required to ensure the elimination of any
harmful bacterial.
A critical limits is defined as The maximum or
minimum value to which a physical, biological, or
chemical hazard must be controlled at a critical
control point.
32

Principle 3- some examples

Maximum value:
E.g. Maximum temperature for cool storage - 4
C.
Minimum value:
E.g. Milk Pasteurization 71.7 C for 15 seconds.
E.g. Industrial meat cooking are that the centre
temperature achieves 70C for at least 2
minutes.

33

Principle 4
Establish procedures to monitor the critical
control points. Such procedures might include
Who, What, When and How of monitoring.
Example:

The
The
The
The

Who is the cook on duty.

What is the temperature of the oven.
When is every hour ( / 5 minutes).
How is the oven temperature device.

34

Principle 5
Establish corrective actions to be taken when
monitoring shows that a critical limit has not been
met.
Corrective actions include

Raise the cooking temperature

Extend cooking time
Adjust
Recall and discard products

35

Principle 6
Establish procedures to verify that the system is
working properly--for example, testing time and
temperature recording devices to verify that a
cooking unit is working properly.
Some examples of verification are:
The calibration of process monitoring instruments
Direct observation of monitoring activities and corrective
actions
Sampling of product
Monitoring records review and inspection

36

Principle 7
Establish effective recordkeeping to document the
HACCP system. This would include

Records of hazards
Their control methods
The monitoring of safety requirements
Action taken to correct potential problems.

37

Examples of application of food

safety plan
Step: Reheating
Hazard
Survival of
food
poisoning
bacteria

Control
Limits
Heat food to
a
core
temperature
75
or
above
as
quickly
as
possible

Monitoring Procedures
What

How

When

Caf food
temperat
ure

Use
thermomet
er

Each
batch

Who
Chef

Corrective
Actions
Continue
reheating
food
to
required
temperature

Records
Temperatu
re record
sheet

Step: Hot Holding

Hazard

Control
Limits

Monitoring Procedures
What

How

When

Who

Corrective
Actions

Record
s
Temperat
ure record
sheet

Crosscontamina
tion

Cover/ wrap
all food

Storage
conditio
n

Visual
checking

During
workin
g

Chef
assistan
t

cover/ wrap the

food
Discard
contaminated
food

Growth of
food
poisoning
bacteria
and
formation

Keep food at
63
or
above

Tempera
ture
of
food in
holding
containe
rs

Use
thermom
eter

Every
two
hours

Chef
assistan
t

hot
Adjust
holding
apparatus
to
keep food above
63
Discard food if it

Food Legislation of Hong

Kong

Main Ordinance Part V (Food and Drugs) of the, Public

Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, Cap 132 (
)

Subsidiary Legislations made under Section 55 & 56

Colouring Matter in Food Regulations

Dried Milk Regulations
Sweeteners in Food Regulations
Food Adulteration (Metallic Contamination) Regulations
Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations
Food Business Regulation
Frozen Confections Regulation
Harmful Substances in Food Regulations
Imported Game, Meat and Poultry Regulations
Milk Regulation
Mineral Oil in Food Regulations
Preservatives in Food Regulations
Slaughterhouses Regulations

Licensing
Operators of the following food business
required to obtain a license from FEHD (Food
and Environment Hygiene Department ) before
operation:
1) Restaurant
2) Food factory
3) Fresh provision shop
4) Bakery
5) Factory canteen
6) Siu mei and lo mei shop
7) Frozen confections factory
8) Milk factory
9) Cold store
10)Slaughterhouse

The right conditions

For bacteria to multiply they need:
Time
Under optimum conditions bacteria can double every 10 to 20
minutes. For example, if food contains 1,000 bacteria in the
beginning, their number can reach 1,000,000 within 1 hour and 40
minutes. Such amount of bacteria per gram of food can cause
illness.

Warmth
In the danger zone i.e. 4 to 63 bacterial multiplication occurs
fastest and needs controlling.

Moisture
Critical for multiplication and this is the reason why it is vital to dry
surfaces, where possible, after washing up to deny bacteria
moisture. This is also one of the reasons why the sink and surround
in a kitchen often has the highest level of bacteria.

Food
The available food for bacteria to utilise, survive and multiply. Food
rich in moisture and protein such as milk and meat, are very
suitable for the growth of bacteria. They are also called high risk
food.

Most suitable temperature for

bacteria growth
It is called optimum temperature:
between 20 to 45 oC
Temperature danger zone
4 to 60
Food should not be placed at temperature
danger zone for over 2 hours
Influence of high temperature on
bacteria
Above 60: most of the bacteria would
stop growing
Over 60 : bacteria start to die off, and
the higher the temperature, the less time
it takes to kill bacteria
Bacteria can produce spores, which can
survive at high temperature
Cook food thoroughly by maintaining the
core temperature at 75 for at least 15
seconds

Chilled Storage- principles of safe

storage

Clean chiller regularly to avoid dirt and ensure effici

The temperature of the refrigerator should be

kept between 1 to 4

Cover and label food

Keep food tidy and orderly

Dont overstock

FIFO (First In First Out)

43

Chilled Storage- principles of safe

storage

No warm food

Separate raw and ready-to-eat foods

If raw and ready-to-eat are to be stored in the same u

Ensure raw is on shelves below ready-to-eat food

Preferably, use separate units

Open cans should not be stored in refrigerator

44

Bad Practices

45

45

Bad Practices

46

Storage food properly ?

47

Storage food properly

48

Frozen Storage principles of safe

storage

At -18

Clean freezer and defrost regularl

Defrost thoroughly

Cover and label food

Keep food tidy and orderly

Dont overstock

No warm food

FIFO
49

Safe methods for defrosting

foods

You can defrost foods in a:

Chiller < 5
Microwave (following manufactures instructions)
Well cover with an appropriate container and place within the
chiller
Use specialist defrosting unit
Do not re-freeze thawed food
Check before cooking to ensure that the product is completely
defrosted
Food must not be thawed out at room temperature
Unless thawed food is processed immediately, it should be held
at 8 or below until being used
Food thawed in microwave ovens should be cooked immediately.

50

Safe cooking temperatures

Food must be cooked thoroughly, especially meat and
poultry. Adequate cooking time is needed to allow food to
attain the temperature capable of killing bacteria and
completely cooked
Raw animal food (e.g. poultry, pork, minced meat), the
centre of the food should reach a temperature of at least
75 for 15 seconds, or an effective time / temperature
combination (e.g. 65 for 10 minutes, 70 for 2
minutes)
Food which do not require heating before consumption
should not be put under room temperature, and should be
stored under refrigeration immediately after processing
51

Safe cooking temperatures

It is important that foods are cooked thoroughly and
the target temperature is achieved throughout.
Undercooking will enable bacteria to survive
Microwave cooking
Rotated or stirred food throughout or midway
during cooking
Heated to a temperature of at least 75 for 15
seconds in all parts of the food
Allowed to stand covered for a minimum of 2
minutes after cooking to obtain temperature
equilibrium
52

Cooling & Reheating

Cooling

Food that has been cooked, and is intended to be kept under

refrigerated storage prior to serving should:
Be cooled from 60 to 20 within 2 hours or less; and
From 20 to 4 within 4 hours or less
Containers should not be stacked up during cooling and there
should be a free space in between containers to allow cold air
inside the refrigerator / cooling cabinet free circulation

Reheating

Food that has been cooked and cooled, when reheated, should be
reheated to 75oC or above as quickly as possible. Normally, the
reheating time should not exceed 2 hours.
Food that has been reheated should not be cooled and reheated for
a second time.
53

Serving

Keep food above 60 or below 4 (be more safety, is can be up to 63 )

Minimize bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food

If gloves are used to handle ready-to-eat food, they should be of single-use

Ice to be used in food and drink should not be handled with bare hands

Refresh food displays with completely fresh batches of food. Avoid mixing old
food with fresh batches

Do not wipe utensils with aprons, soiled cloths, unclean towels, or hands

Never re-use single-use items, such as straws, paper towels, disposable cups
and plates

Once served to a consumer, portions of leftover food should not be served

again

54

Food Display

55

Food Displaying
Display food should be stored inside cold (at 4 or
below), or hot (at 60 or above) cabinet, unless it is
intended for short time display
Ensure the food intended to be displayed frozen
remain frozen (preferably at 18 or below)
Ensure the package of pre-packaged food intact and
unbroken
Cover unpackaged ready-to-eat food with lids or
protect it with food guards/sneeze guard
Sushi
and
sashimi
displayed
for
immediate
consumption in conveyer belt should be properly
covered and should not be left on the belt for too long
(less than two hours)
56

Hot holding
Hot holding, by law, must be at or above 63.
Food will have been cooked or re-heated to higher
temperature and if held at 63 or above food will be
out of the danger zone.
If the temperature of the food drops below 63, it
must be sold within two hours or destroyed because of
the potential for bacterial survival and multiplication.

57

World Health Organization

(WHO)

58

Date marking

All pre-packed foods come with a date indication on the

label. These are either use-by or best-before dates.

Use-by date on ready-to-eat

foods illegal to sell
food past its use-by date

Best-before date canned, dried

and frozen products can be sold
past best-before date, but safety
and quality could be compromised
59

Personal hygiene
Human body is the source of many types of
contamination and also a common medium
of cross contamination. Food handlers must
always keep up with a high personal hygiene
standard to ensure food safety.
Good appearance
Hair should be short and covered with hat
Heavy make-up, strong perfume or aftershave
should be avoided
Open wound should be covered by bandage
Clear and tidy uniform and shoe
60

Personal hygiene
In food preparation areas, one should avoid the
following behaviours which may result in contamination
of food:
Storing personal belongings, such as handbags, shoes and
dirty clothing, in any food preparation area
Smoking cigarettes or tobacco
Spitting
Chewing, eating, sneezing or coughing over unprotected
food or food contact surfaces
Sitting, lying or standing on any surfaces of equipment
touched by food
Touching ready-to-eat food with bare hands or tasting food
with fingers
Combing/touching hair or other parts of the body such as
nose, eyes

Staff engaged in food handling should not be

assigned to handle cash simultaneously.

61

Personal hygiene issues.

Before commencing work, work uniform and aprons (or clothings)

must be clean and fit for the purpose

Wear mouth masks when handling food as far as possible

Do not wear work uniform outside food handling area

Daily clean uniform or even change twice

Should shower daily for and after service

Tell the manager before work if they have suffered from diarrheas,
vomiting or skin problems

Shampoo your hair as often as necessary to keep it healthy and

clean

Keep your fingernails clean, well-trimmed, and free of nail polish

62

Personal hygiene

The purpose of protective clothing: to protect the food from the

handler

What properties should protective clothing have?

Light (so dirt can be seen),

washable,
no pockets,
no buttons or potential physical contaminants,
disposable, etc

Reasons for wearing:

a. Hat/hair net
stops hands touching hair and ears (sources of Staphylococcus aureus) and
stops hair falling into the food (contamination)

b. Beard snood
stops facial hair falling into the food

c. Apron/ Chef jacket/Trousers

protect the food from contamination that might be on the food handlers
clothes

d. Dedicated shoes
to stop any contamination from the soles of outdoor shoes. Also for health and
safety reasons e.g. to prevent slips

e. Gloves
sometimes used to handle ready-to-eat food to act as a skin barrier, but if
hands are kept clean, there should be no need to wear gloves

63

Personal Hygiene (Keep hands

clean)

Experimental results on hand

washing:
When hand basin is used for hand washing,
about 26% of the bacteria will remain
With running water, about 20% of the bacteria
will remain
When soap is being used, almost all bacteria
will be removed

64

Hand washing
One of the most important actions you can take
prevent contamination.
But why is hand washing so important?

65

Hand washing
1.

It is normal for a population of harmful micro-organisms to

be carried on our hands at any time.

2.

However activities in our every day life such as handling raw

meat or visiting the toilet can significantly increase the
presence of more harmful ones.

3.

It is vital in preventing contamination of food by food

handlers. Harmful bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella and
Staphylococcus aureus and viruses (e.g. norovirus) present
on the hands of food workers.

4.

These micro-organisms are so small that you are unable to

see them with the naked eye.

5.

It is not only important to wash your hands, but also to do so

properly.

6.

Bacterial can be removed by proper hand washing techniques.

66

Washing facilities

Hand wash facilities with

hot
and cold water, soap and
drying facilities

Separate food and

equipment
sinks with hot and cold
water

67

When should you wash you hand?

Before:
staring food preparation
before wearing plastic gloves
handling high-risk food

After:

taking a break
sneezing
wearing plastic gloves
blowing the nose
preparing ready to eat food and raw materials
touching contaminated articles (solid dishes, packaging,
garbage)
toilet
eating or drinking
touching the face or hair
68

Six Steps for Hand Washing

1. Wet hands and exposed portion of forearms with warm water.
2. Using soap, work up a lather that covers hands and forearms.
3. Vigorously rub hands together for at least 20 seconds. Pay
particular attention to the areas under the fingernails and
between the fingers.
4. Rinse hands and forearms in clean water.
5. Dry hands and forearms.
6. Turn taps off with paper towel if available.

69

Why dont we use the cloth for drying

hand or cleaning?

70

Temperature indicate

Cook
Freezer temperature
Boiling point
Bacteria stay
Reheat
Upper limit to
danger zone
Body temperature
Lower limit of
danger zone
Disinfect
Refrigerator or
chilled product
maximum
temperature (for
fresh vegetable)