Useful Information
FOOD SAFETY TRAINING FOOD SAFETY TRAINING
Microbiology is the study of microscopic life forms, so why do you, as a Food Handles need to know about such things? The answer is that Micro-organisms are
responsible for the largest number of Food Poisoning cases in the world. Organisms are described as ‘independent life forms' they are divided into categories
such as; animals, plants, fungi and Bacteria.
What makes these Micro-organisms (particularly Bacteria) so dangerous to humans? They are: - extremely small and invisible to the naked eye, they have a
relatively simple in structure and are extremely adaptable to different conditions, they occur everywhere. What they have in common is their ability to cause either
Food Safety Problems or Spoil Food or both. Bacteria, unlike humans who have millions upon millions of cells bacteria have only one single cell, but this tiny
machine is responsible for all its own functions needed to stay alive. They depend, as humans do on consuming organic matter to continue to live, grow and
multiply. Today we are going to continue with this subject since it is probably the most important single topic in the prevention of Food Poisoning. Here we are
going to study just one of the many bacteria types in some more detail. Bacteria are given Latin names and each have at least two; the first is the family name and
covers a complete group of much the same general characteristics, the second name is more specific and refers to a related smaller group making them in-
distinguishable from one and other. The particular bacterium we are going to discuss here is called: Bacillus cereus and is one of those nasty bacteria in the
grouping defined as Pathogenic, in other words it is dangerous to humans and can cause food poisoning. The individual cells are Rod- shaped and they are
capable of producing Spores. Spores enable the bacteria to retain its DNA for the purpose of reviving itself after suffering from some event in the environment that
is not to its liking. This makes it harder for us (humans) to kill of these bacteria because spores if you remember have a tolerance to much higher temperatures
than those bacteria without this ability. Bacillus cereus is Gram positive. Where does Bacillus cereus come from? Usually to be found in soil, dust and vegetation.
It’s very common in the natural world. Commonly associated with foods such as, cereals, grains and rice based products , corn cornstarch for example its also
found in soya beans and products, meat, fish, milk, vegetables pasta and tofu, a very wide veritity of foods indeed. One very common situation is where rice is pre-
cooked, stored at room temperature and/or then not subjected to a very high re-heat, all of which encourages bacterial growth.
Bacillus cereus produces one of two kinds of toxins (poisons)
1.causes problems in the upper gastro-intestinal tract and the other
2 directly into the intestinal tubes.
The resulting illness is particularly unpleasant. It takes about 1 to 6 hours after eating food infected with Bacillus cereus to cause victim symptoms such as
vomiting, abdominal pain and sometimes diarrhoea which can last between 12 and 24 hours. The second type of toxin causes similar symptoms but the onset is
longer perhaps 8 to 16 hours, because the food is moving to lower down in the gut.
The structure of Bacterium
The cell structure is made up of a number of different layers, the ‘wall is a rigid layer and is what provides its shape, underneath the ‘wall’ there is a membrane
which works in conjunction with the ‘wall’ and acts like a security barrier the contents of the cell and the immediate world around it. This arrangement enables the
cell to exchange nutrients into the cell and expelling waste in the opposite direction. If the membrane is damaged the cell will die and this is how disinfectants and
antibiotics often work. Some bacteria also have an additional outer layer of a gel like substance designed to prevent drying out of the cell, if this is interrupted the
cell dies. Chemical disinfectants can dry out this layer, known as the ‘capsule’ and the bacterium dies. The internal structure of cells can be simple to very complex.
Microbiology is the study of microscopic life forms, so why do you, as a Food Handles need to know about such things? The answer is that Micro-organisms are
responsible for the largest number of Food Poisoning cases in the world. Organisms are described as ‘independent life forms' they are divided into categories
such as; animals, plants, fungi and Bacteria.
What makes these Micro-organisms (particularly Bacteria) so dangerous to humans? They are: - extremely small and invisible to the naked eye, they have a
relatively simple in structure and are extremely adaptable to different conditions, they occur everywhere. What they have in common is their ability to cause either
Food Safety Problems or Spoil Food or both. Bacteria, unlike humans who have millions upon millions of cells bacteria have only one single cell, but this tiny
machine is responsible for all its own functions needed to stay alive. They depend, as humans do on consuming organic matter to continue to live, grow and
multiply. Today we are going to continue with this subject since it is probably the most important single topic in the prevention of Food Poisoning. Here we are
going to study just one of the many bacteria types in some more detail. Bacteria are given Latin names and each have at least two; the first is the family name and
covers a complete group of much the same general characteristics, the second name is more specific and refers to a related smaller group making them in-
distinguishable from one and other. The particular bacterium we are going to discuss here is called: Bacillus cereus and is one of those nasty bacteria in the
grouping defined as Pathogenic, in other words it is dangerous to humans and can cause food poisoning. The individual cells are Rod- shaped and they are
capable of producing Spores. Spores enable the bacteria to retain its DNA for the purpose of reviving itself after suffering from some event in the environment that
is not to its liking. This makes it harder for us (humans) to kill of these bacteria because spores if you remember have a tolerance to much higher temperatures
than those bacteria without this ability. Bacillus cereus is Gram positive. Where does Bacillus cereus come from? Usually to be found in soil, dust and vegetation.
It’s very common in the natural world. Commonly associated with foods such as, cereals, grains and rice based products , corn cornstarch for example its also
found in soya beans and products, meat, fish, milk, vegetables pasta and tofu, a very wide veritity of foods indeed. One very common situation is where rice is pre-
cooked, stored at room temperature and/or then not subjected to a very high re-heat, all of which encourages bacterial growth.
Bacillus cereus produces one of two kinds of toxins (poisons)
1.causes problems in the upper gastro-intestinal tract and the other
2 directly into the intestinal tubes.
The resulting illness is particularly unpleasant. It takes about 1 to 6 hours after eating food infected with Bacillus cereus to cause victim symptoms such as
vomiting, abdominal pain and sometimes diarrhoea which can last between 12 and 24 hours. The second type of toxin causes similar symptoms but the onset is
longer perhaps 8 to 16 hours, because the food is moving to lower down in the gut.
The structure of Bacterium
The cell structure is made up of a number of different layers, the ‘wall is a rigid layer and is what provides its shape, underneath the ‘wall’ there is a membrane
which works in conjunction with the ‘wall’ and acts like a security barrier the contents of the cell and the immediate world around it. This arrangement enables the
cell to exchange nutrients into the cell and expelling waste in the opposite direction. If the membrane is damaged the cell will die and this is how disinfectants and
antibiotics often work. Some bacteria also have an additional outer layer of a gel like substance designed to prevent drying out of the cell, if this is interrupted the
cell dies. Chemical disinfectants can dry out this layer, known as the ‘capsule’ and the bacterium dies. The internal structure of cells can be simple to very complex.
Attention all Food Handlers
Have you obtained your Food Safety Level Two Qualification?
The Food Safety topics I am going to provide you with a more detailed and in-depth knowledge of the Subject than hitherto. Over the coming weeks a mini
course on the topic will be presented, building to a complete coverage at Level Three Standard , thus it will serve you well and provide a good basis for up-grading
your qualifications in Food Safety.
You will remember from your initial Food Safety Training that there are three main types of contaminates , Bacterial, Physical and Chemical. Since this is of the
most important of all, You should also recall that the division of Bacteria is again divided into at least three sections_
Good Bacteria, those that are useful to humans for the production of Beer, Yoghurt, Cheese, and much more.
Spoilage Bacteria, which make things go OFF such as moulds, make fruit go soft and ROT. Then there are :-
Pathogenic bacteria, which carry or cause disease in humans and are of considerable concern in the protection of food. This group of contaminants are the
largest contributors to Food Poisoning statistics than any other cause. Why? Before we can answer that question we have to know a little more about the nature of
these bacteria.
What are bacteria anyway? They comprise single cells of vegetable matter, so that doesn't sound too poisonous does it? You want to bet?
Bacteria Size: Bacteria are very small indeed typically they are between 1 and 2 micrometers One millionth of a meter or 10 x 10–6m. You cannot see a single
bacterium with or without a optical microscope, generally we only see large colonies.
They are also colourless, so before they are examined under the microscope they are stained with a very special dye, it is called Gram Staining. Named after a
Danish physician Hana C.J.Gram who developed it around 1880 the technique involves the use of crystal violet dye, iodine and alcohol or acetone to distinguish
two groups of Bacteria. The Reaction detects the difference in the composition of the Bacterial Wall. Bacteria that stay the violet colour of the dye are described as
being Gram positive while Bacteria that go Pinkish in colour are said to be Gram negative. This forms a good guide to which types of Toxins the Bacteria
produce.
What are the origins of Bacteria? The roots of the various bacteria families go back in time before the days of the dinosaur. They are among some of the most
established living things on the planet. We the people of this planet Earth are really the only the latest arrivals, and thus we should understand that that is why
there is only one species of Humans, whereas bacteria having been around for so long a time have developed into many different forms. Every time there is an
opportunity in the environment such as a gap of space or time or food source a bacterium will try to fill it, because if it can manage to survive in such a slot then it
is safer from other competitors. Bacteria have not just survived but flourished in some of the most extreme conditions we could imagine, they can be found in the
deepest oceans and in all layers at the top of the atmosphere surrounding the Earth. You therefore cannot avoid coming into contact with bacteria of some form or
other , there are so many different types, and many that have not even been identified yet. Like all such groups they will by the law of averages contain many good,
some bad some pure dangerous, and some just a nuisance. But back to Food Poisoning Bacteria where do they fit in the scheme of things and where are they
found. Here we concern ourselves with those that cause humans to become ill. The majority of these bacteria live in the immediate environment to ourselves
(people) and enjoy much the same conditions.
Pathogenic Bacteria, like temperatures in the range of +8 ºC to +63 ºC , compare this to humans whom have a body temperature of 37. º C (average +-).3 Actually
Bacteria can be divided into to four main groups when considering their ideal multiplication temperature.
Psychrophiles Range 5 º to 20 ºC Mid range 10 º C,
Psychrotrophs Range 0 º to 50 ºC Mid range 20 º C,
Mesophiles Range 10 º to 50 ºC Mid range 35 º C,
Thermophiles Range 40 to 80 ºC Mid range 50 º C
Pathogenic Bacteria, like Food particularly High Protein foods, so do Humans , we both need it to grow and survive. Pathogenic Bacteria, must have access to
water or at the very least moisture, so do Humans. Dry food products therefore are not suitable for bacterial growth. But, Bacterial Spores can survive complete
lack of water but of this more a little later. Pure water is said to have a aw 0f 1.00 and bacteria need 0.95 or above to stay alive, at the other end of the scale Jam
has around a 0.75 aw which is too low for bacteria to survive, although other micro-organisms such as moulds could. This comes about because the sugar in
the Jam binds molecules and denies the bacteria access to the water. Salt also provides this water denying trick. Pathogenic Bacteria, for the most part prefer a
neutral atmosphere , not too acid nor too alkaline On the 14 point pH scale ,7 is neutral and these bacteria favour somewhere in the range of 6 to 8 Generally
bacteria do not survive in levels of pH below 4.5. Orange juice for instance is around pH 4.0 Not all Pathogenic Bacteria require Air, in fact some of the forms
prefer completely different atmospheres to ourselves. This is one reason why we cannot trust Vacuum Packageing to effect the keeping qualities without the use
of some other measure such as refrigeration.
1. Obligate Aerobes are a group of Bacteria that need Oxygen.
2. Obligate Anaerobes multiply without Oxygen,
3. Facultative anaerobes multiply with or without oxygen
In order to multiply humans take tens of years per generation. Bacteria are far quicker, well they have a few advantages on us. For a start they are very simple
structures, have very few component parts. They don't have to have sex ( some would say they are losing out there, others might have a different view). They
multiply by Binary fission (one becomes two, two becomes four and so on) and they can do that in as short a time scale as ten minutes per generation. If you
remember about evolution each generation can differ from the previous one by only a small amount but because Bacteria can produce new generations so
quickly they can and do adapt themselves quite rapidly producing new strains to overcome what they see as obstacle to their well being.
Be sure to look out for the next issue, we shall be telling you a lot more about Bacteria and their various ways and some of the latest methods to control them.
Have you obtained your Food Safety Level Two Qualification?
The Food Safety topics I am going to provide you with a more detailed and in-depth knowledge of the Subject than hitherto. Over the coming weeks a mini
course on the topic will be presented, building to a complete coverage at Level Three Standard , thus it will serve you well and provide a good basis for up-grading
your qualifications in Food Safety.
You will remember from your initial Food Safety Training that there are three main types of contaminates , Bacterial, Physical and Chemical. Since this is of the
most important of all, You should also recall that the division of Bacteria is again divided into at least three sections_
Good Bacteria, those that are useful to humans for the production of Beer, Yoghurt, Cheese, and much more.
Spoilage Bacteria, which make things go OFF such as moulds, make fruit go soft and ROT. Then there are :-
Pathogenic bacteria, which carry or cause disease in humans and are of considerable concern in the protection of food. This group of contaminants are the
largest contributors to Food Poisoning statistics than any other cause. Why? Before we can answer that question we have to know a little more about the nature of
these bacteria.
What are bacteria anyway? They comprise single cells of vegetable matter, so that doesn't sound too poisonous does it? You want to bet?
Bacteria Size: Bacteria are very small indeed typically they are between 1 and 2 micrometers One millionth of a meter or 10 x 10–6m. You cannot see a single
bacterium with or without a optical microscope, generally we only see large colonies.
They are also colourless, so before they are examined under the microscope they are stained with a very special dye, it is called Gram Staining. Named after a
Danish physician Hana C.J.Gram who developed it around 1880 the technique involves the use of crystal violet dye, iodine and alcohol or acetone to distinguish
two groups of Bacteria. The Reaction detects the difference in the composition of the Bacterial Wall. Bacteria that stay the violet colour of the dye are described as
being Gram positive while Bacteria that go Pinkish in colour are said to be Gram negative. This forms a good guide to which types of Toxins the Bacteria
produce.
What are the origins of Bacteria? The roots of the various bacteria families go back in time before the days of the dinosaur. They are among some of the most
established living things on the planet. We the people of this planet Earth are really the only the latest arrivals, and thus we should understand that that is why
there is only one species of Humans, whereas bacteria having been around for so long a time have developed into many different forms. Every time there is an
opportunity in the environment such as a gap of space or time or food source a bacterium will try to fill it, because if it can manage to survive in such a slot then it
is safer from other competitors. Bacteria have not just survived but flourished in some of the most extreme conditions we could imagine, they can be found in the
deepest oceans and in all layers at the top of the atmosphere surrounding the Earth. You therefore cannot avoid coming into contact with bacteria of some form or
other , there are so many different types, and many that have not even been identified yet. Like all such groups they will by the law of averages contain many good,
some bad some pure dangerous, and some just a nuisance. But back to Food Poisoning Bacteria where do they fit in the scheme of things and where are they
found. Here we concern ourselves with those that cause humans to become ill. The majority of these bacteria live in the immediate environment to ourselves
(people) and enjoy much the same conditions.
Pathogenic Bacteria, like temperatures in the range of +8 ºC to +63 ºC , compare this to humans whom have a body temperature of 37. º C (average +-).3 Actually
Bacteria can be divided into to four main groups when considering their ideal multiplication temperature.
Psychrophiles Range 5 º to 20 ºC Mid range 10 º C,
Psychrotrophs Range 0 º to 50 ºC Mid range 20 º C,
Mesophiles Range 10 º to 50 ºC Mid range 35 º C,
Thermophiles Range 40 to 80 ºC Mid range 50 º C
Pathogenic Bacteria, like Food particularly High Protein foods, so do Humans , we both need it to grow and survive. Pathogenic Bacteria, must have access to
water or at the very least moisture, so do Humans. Dry food products therefore are not suitable for bacterial growth. But, Bacterial Spores can survive complete
lack of water but of this more a little later. Pure water is said to have a aw 0f 1.00 and bacteria need 0.95 or above to stay alive, at the other end of the scale Jam
has around a 0.75 aw which is too low for bacteria to survive, although other micro-organisms such as moulds could. This comes about because the sugar in
the Jam binds molecules and denies the bacteria access to the water. Salt also provides this water denying trick. Pathogenic Bacteria, for the most part prefer a
neutral atmosphere , not too acid nor too alkaline On the 14 point pH scale ,7 is neutral and these bacteria favour somewhere in the range of 6 to 8 Generally
bacteria do not survive in levels of pH below 4.5. Orange juice for instance is around pH 4.0 Not all Pathogenic Bacteria require Air, in fact some of the forms
prefer completely different atmospheres to ourselves. This is one reason why we cannot trust Vacuum Packageing to effect the keeping qualities without the use
of some other measure such as refrigeration.
1. Obligate Aerobes are a group of Bacteria that need Oxygen.
2. Obligate Anaerobes multiply without Oxygen,
3. Facultative anaerobes multiply with or without oxygen
In order to multiply humans take tens of years per generation. Bacteria are far quicker, well they have a few advantages on us. For a start they are very simple
structures, have very few component parts. They don't have to have sex ( some would say they are losing out there, others might have a different view). They
multiply by Binary fission (one becomes two, two becomes four and so on) and they can do that in as short a time scale as ten minutes per generation. If you
remember about evolution each generation can differ from the previous one by only a small amount but because Bacteria can produce new generations so
quickly they can and do adapt themselves quite rapidly producing new strains to overcome what they see as obstacle to their well being.
Be sure to look out for the next issue, we shall be telling you a lot more about Bacteria and their various ways and some of the latest methods to control them.
Food Hygiene and Safety Free Information for Caterers
If you are entering the food Industry for the first time in any capacity you will require some level of training before you can work with food. The amount and level
of training will depend upon what your responsibilities and duties are.
"The Food Hygiene Regulations require all food handlers to be supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters.
If you undertook a course of training in the past such as 'The Basic Hygiene Certificate' you will find that it is now out of date and you will need to up date your
skills.
Briefly the history of the Food Hygiene Certificate courses was as follows.
'The Basic Food Hygiene Certificate' finished some years ago and was replaced by
The 'Foundation Course in food hygiene' This course and certificate which is still valid up to three years from the date of issue is now being replaced by a
new qualification:-
'Level 2 Award in Food Safety' 0f which there are three sector specific versions covering the Retail, Catering and Manufacturing. There awards also have
validity of three years from date of issue.
The main reasons for these changes are that the Council of European Union now have powers over all food legislation and all member states must either
adopt or change their existing laws to come into line with the EU's position which is to provide a universal approach to Food Safety throughout the Union.
In particular the manner of the approach has been to apply a generic Safety system to all sectors of the Food industry and the aim being to ensure food safety
from farm to plate. The elected procedure is one based on the formal HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) where every food business is required
to have a written system in place before commencing or reopening a business or continuing to run a food business.
Everybody working in the food industry is affected by this new legislation which came into effect on the 1st January 2006.
People who are not food handlers but whose work takes them in to areas where their presence could affect the food, such as Waiting staff, Bar Staff, Retail
Operatives, Nursing Staff and Carers in Care Homes, and other associated personnel such as Maintenance, Cleaners,and even Gardeners if they frequently
enter the main food business building will all require a degree of training in Food Hygiene and for this purpose a New qualification 'Level one Award in Food
Safety' is now required and replaces the original ' Food Hygiene Awareness' training provided to new employees in the past. Businesses that have been using
Videos and DVDs for this purpose are now required to provide this new training in order that it will meet the much stricter guidelines set by the enforcement
agencies.
The new Level 2 Award is suitable for someone wishing to operate a small Catering outlet such as a snack bar or Van, whereas the Level 1 on its own would
not meet the Authorities requirements.
Larger firms can provide the training 'In House' and may engage suitabily qualified trainers for the purpose.
Small to medium firms can obtain the requisite training for themselves and their staff by engaging the services of specialist training providers. There are usually
several of these specialists advertising on eBay and we advise you search under 'Food Hygiene' 'Food Safety' 'Food Safety Training' or similar heading
choosing from 'All Catagories' or the Business catagories.
If you are going to start up a Food business you are still required to give 28 days notice to your local Environmental Health department, who usually reside at
the local council offices. Under the latest regulations you are also required to have a written Food Safety plan based on HACCP principles in place before you
begin trading.
We advise this can very easily be achieved since the Food Standards Agency has produced a special FREE pact for the purpose. There are actually three
different ones, one covers Scotland and is called 'CookSafe', 'Safe Catering' is for Northern Ireland and the other is called 'Safer Food Better Business' and
covers the rest of the UK. Just visit : the FSA website where you can order one for free.
This site is also worth a little time spent exploring since it is an excellent source of up to date food safety information.
ALS are leading Food Safety Training providers and are fully accredited
If you have a specific Food Safety question please email us when we will be only too happy to help you and may start a Frequenctly Asked Questions page here
if demand is suffient.
We hope you find the above helpful
Thank you for visiting
If you are entering the food Industry for the first time in any capacity you will require some level of training before you can work with food. The amount and level
of training will depend upon what your responsibilities and duties are.
"The Food Hygiene Regulations require all food handlers to be supervised and instructed and/or trained in food hygiene matters.
If you undertook a course of training in the past such as 'The Basic Hygiene Certificate' you will find that it is now out of date and you will need to up date your
skills.
Briefly the history of the Food Hygiene Certificate courses was as follows.
'The Basic Food Hygiene Certificate' finished some years ago and was replaced by
The 'Foundation Course in food hygiene' This course and certificate which is still valid up to three years from the date of issue is now being replaced by a
new qualification:-
'Level 2 Award in Food Safety' 0f which there are three sector specific versions covering the Retail, Catering and Manufacturing. There awards also have
validity of three years from date of issue.
The main reasons for these changes are that the Council of European Union now have powers over all food legislation and all member states must either
adopt or change their existing laws to come into line with the EU's position which is to provide a universal approach to Food Safety throughout the Union.
In particular the manner of the approach has been to apply a generic Safety system to all sectors of the Food industry and the aim being to ensure food safety
from farm to plate. The elected procedure is one based on the formal HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point) where every food business is required
to have a written system in place before commencing or reopening a business or continuing to run a food business.
Everybody working in the food industry is affected by this new legislation which came into effect on the 1st January 2006.
People who are not food handlers but whose work takes them in to areas where their presence could affect the food, such as Waiting staff, Bar Staff, Retail
Operatives, Nursing Staff and Carers in Care Homes, and other associated personnel such as Maintenance, Cleaners,and even Gardeners if they frequently
enter the main food business building will all require a degree of training in Food Hygiene and for this purpose a New qualification 'Level one Award in Food
Safety' is now required and replaces the original ' Food Hygiene Awareness' training provided to new employees in the past. Businesses that have been using
Videos and DVDs for this purpose are now required to provide this new training in order that it will meet the much stricter guidelines set by the enforcement
agencies.
The new Level 2 Award is suitable for someone wishing to operate a small Catering outlet such as a snack bar or Van, whereas the Level 1 on its own would
not meet the Authorities requirements.
Larger firms can provide the training 'In House' and may engage suitabily qualified trainers for the purpose.
Small to medium firms can obtain the requisite training for themselves and their staff by engaging the services of specialist training providers. There are usually
several of these specialists advertising on eBay and we advise you search under 'Food Hygiene' 'Food Safety' 'Food Safety Training' or similar heading
choosing from 'All Catagories' or the Business catagories.
If you are going to start up a Food business you are still required to give 28 days notice to your local Environmental Health department, who usually reside at
the local council offices. Under the latest regulations you are also required to have a written Food Safety plan based on HACCP principles in place before you
begin trading.
We advise this can very easily be achieved since the Food Standards Agency has produced a special FREE pact for the purpose. There are actually three
different ones, one covers Scotland and is called 'CookSafe', 'Safe Catering' is for Northern Ireland and the other is called 'Safer Food Better Business' and
covers the rest of the UK. Just visit : the FSA website where you can order one for free.
This site is also worth a little time spent exploring since it is an excellent source of up to date food safety information.
ALS are leading Food Safety Training providers and are fully accredited
If you have a specific Food Safety question please email us when we will be only too happy to help you and may start a Frequenctly Asked Questions page here
if demand is suffient.
We hope you find the above helpful
Thank you for visiting
Thank you for reading the above,which we hope you found interesting and helpful.
If there is anything specific you would like to ask please feel free to ask, post your questions by email (see
our contacts page)
This page is being added to frequently so be sure to visit again soon.
If there is anything specific you would like to ask please feel free to ask, post your questions by email (see
our contacts page)
This page is being added to frequently so be sure to visit again soon.
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
 | |  |