Food Safety: Safe Food Practices Is A Key For Success In The Food Industry

Food safety

Statement of Inquiry: Safe Food practices is key for success in the Food Industry.

What are the major causes of food poisoning in the Food and Hospitality Industry?

Bacteria and viruses: this is one of the most common causes of food poisoning. The severity or the symptoms of food poisoning may vary depending on which bacteria or virus has contaminated the food.

Parasites: a parasite is an organism that derives nourishment and protection from other living host organisms. The most common foodborne parasites in the united states include protozoa, roundworms and tapeworms.

Allergens: a condition where the immune system has an abnormal response to certain foods. Some of those foods can include nuts, milk, egg, fish, etc.

Moulds, toxins and contaminants: this is one of the leading causes of food poisoning. It includes bacteria, viruses and parasites. (FoodSafety.gov, 2019)

Investigate 3 recent outbreaks of food poisoning?

In February 2019 in Adelaide 51 people had fallen ill, with 19 hospitalised due to a salmonella case that were linked to three Angkor bakery stores. It was believed to have been caused by raw egg butter. (ABC News, 2019)

In March 2019 eggs had to be recalled from Woolworths, Coles and some local stores in Tasmania, Adelaide, Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns after five people in Victoria had gotten sick due to salmonella, linked to the Bridgewater poultry farm in Victoria. (ABC News, 2019)

Between January 16 and April 10th in 2018 22 people fell ill, with 7 deaths and a miscarriage linked to cases of listeria found in rockmelon in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Tasmania. The cause is supposedly from dust storms in Sydney. The aftermath caused rockmelon sales to drop by 90 precent. (ABC News, 2019)

What are the consequences of food poisoning?

Some common consequences of food poisoning can include diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, a mild fever, etc. some potentially life-threatening consequences can include a high fever, symptoms of dehydration, difficulty when speaking or seeing, bloody urine or diarrhoea that lasts longer than 3 days. (Mayo Clinic, 2019)

Why do food recalls happen in the food industry?

The most common causes of food recalls that occur in the food industry is from contamination. This includes cross, physical and bacterial or virus contamination. An uncommon cause of food recalls can include incorrect labels, best before dates or ingredients listed. Cross contamination is where traces of foods that some people may be allergic too (milk, nuts, eggs, etc.) have been found. Physical contamination is where an object such as glass, plastic, wood, hair, dirt, etc. has been found in the food. (Zeppelin, 2019) Bacterial or virus contamination is where harmful bacteria spreads to a food and multiples. The most common bacteria found is salmonella. (Foodsafety.com.au, 2019)

What measures are in place to prevent food poisoning and what are the legal requirements and fines?

Some measures that are in place include; ensuring hands are washed before handling food, dishes, cutlery, equipment, etc. are washed thoroughly and under hot water with detergent, food preparation areas are kept clean (benchtops, ovens, microwaves, etc.), hair is tied back or kept in a hairnet, jewellery is removed, open wounds are covered, etc. (Management and Safety, 2019). If the food is deemed unsafe and causes an injury or illness to the person who has consumed it (injury from consumption of a foreign object like glass, wood, etc. or an illness such as food poison from chicken that hasn’t been handled safely) the penalty you can receive for selling unsafe food is $40,000 for an individual and $200,000 for a corporation. Other offences could include misleading advertising, packaging or labels, if the customer has asked for gluten-free bread and they receive the wrong bread, etc. penalties you can receive for these offences is $40,000 for an individual and $200,000 for a corporation. Another legal requirement includes making sure your premise is clean, no equipment is broken or needs repair and making sure food handlers are clean. If an environmental health officer deems your premises to be unclean you can receive a maximum penalty of $5,000. If there is a second offence you could possibly be fined for $10,000 or more. (Melbourne.vic.gov.au, 2019)

Bibliography:

1. FoodSafety.gov. (2019). Food Poisoning. [online] Available at: https://www.foodsafety.gov/food-poisoning [Accessed 29 Jul. 2019].
2. Foodsafety.com.au. (2019). Food Safety and the Different Types of Food Contamination. [online] Available at: https://www.foodsafety.com.au/resources/articles/food-safety-and-the-different-types-of-food-contamination [Accessed 8 Aug. 2019].
3. The University of Illinois-Chicago, S. (2019). Food poisoning: Treatment, symptoms, and causes. [online] Medical News Today. Available at: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154555.php [Accessed 8 Aug. 2019].
4. Zeppelin. (2019). Top reasons why food recalls happen – Zeppelin. [online] Available at: https://zeppelin-uk.com/top-reasons-food-recalls-happen/ [Accessed 8 Aug. 2019].
5. Mayo Clinic. (2019). Food poisoning – Symptoms and causes. [online] Available at: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/food-poisoning/symptoms-causes/syc-20356230 [Accessed 8 Aug. 2019].
6. ABC News. (2019). Raw egg butter blamed for 51 salmonella cases in Adelaide. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-02-21/raw-eggs-product-blamed-for-salmonella-outbreak/10832812 [Accessed 8 Aug. 2019].
7. ABC News. (2019). Salmonella egg contamination could result in slaughter of 200,000 birds. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-03-23/salmonella-egg-contamination-could-cause-bird-cull/10931996 [Accessed 12 Aug. 2019].
8. ABC News. (2019). Rockmelon listeria outbreak that killed seven largely caused by dust storms, report finds. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-10-11/listeria-rockmelon-report-finds-outbreak-caused-dust-storms/10365636 [Accessed 12 Aug. 2019].
9. Management, R. and Safety, W. (2019). 10 ways to minimise food poisoning risks in your workplace. [online] Health & Safety Handbook. Available at: https://www.healthandsafetyhandbook.com.au/10-ways-to-minimise-food-poisoning-risks-in-your-workplace/ [Accessed 13 Aug. 2019].
10. Comcare.gov.au. (2019). Virtual Workplaces Food safety & allergies. [online] Available at: https://www.comcare.gov.au/virtual_wo8880rkplaces/office/rooms/kitchen/Food_safety_And_allergies [Accessed 13 Aug. 2019].yhyyy7htf5
11. Melbourne.vic.gov.au. (2019). [online] Available at: https://www.melbourne.vic.gov.au/SiteCollectionDocuments/legal-runningfoodbusiness.pdf [Accessed 14 Aug. 2019].