Use Hygienic Practices for Food Safety flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Due diligence defence

A legal defence in which the food business proves it took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence, usually through documented procedures, checks, training records, and corrective actions.

Traceability requirement

The legal duty to record the supplier of incoming food and the immediate customer receiving outgoing food, so that a product can be traced one step back and one step forward.

Improvement notice

A formal enforcement document served when a business breaches food hygiene law, specifying the contravention and the action required within a stated period to achieve compliance.

Allergen information duty

The legal requirement to provide accurate information on the fourteen regulated allergens for all food sold, including non-prepacked food where written or clearly signposted details must be available.

Food business operator

The person or organisation legally responsible for the food business, holding ultimate accountability for food safety, legal compliance, staff training, and the safety of food placed on the market.

Manager food safety role

The manager converts legal duties into written procedures, assigns named responsibilities, verifies that records are completed, and ensures corrective actions are taken and documented.

Food handler duty

Each handler must keep themselves clean, follow hygiene procedures, report illness or symptoms, avoid contaminating food, and record checks honestly and in real time.

Supervision of untrained staff

New or untrained food handlers must work under direct supervision until they are trained and assessed as competent for the tasks they perform.

Exclusion from food work

Anyone with vomiting, diarrhoea, or a diagnosed foodborne infection must be excluded from food handling until symptom-free for the period set by the business's return-to-work policy.

Reportable symptoms

Symptoms and conditions such as diarrhoea, vomiting, jaundice, infected wounds, and ear, eye, or skin infections must be reported to the manager before starting or continuing work.

Covering a wound

Cuts must be covered with a waterproof detectable dressing, often a coloured plaster, and a glove added in high-risk areas to prevent physical and bacterial contamination.

Return-to-work clearance

A handler who has had diarrhoea or vomiting typically needs clearance under the business policy, commonly 48 hours after the last symptom, before resuming food handling.

Hand washing triggers

Hands must be washed before starting work, after breaks, after toilet use, after handling raw food or waste, and after cleaning or touching the face or hair.

Correct hand wash sequence

Wet hands, apply soap, lather and rub palms, backs, between fingers, thumbs, and wrists, rinse under running water, then dry thoroughly with a hygienic method.

Hand sanitiser limit

Sanitiser is not a substitute for hand washing when hands are visibly soiled or after toilet use, because it does not remove soil or reliably kill all pathogens.

Glove use rules

Gloves are single-use, changed between tasks and after handling raw food, never washed or reused, and do not replace the need to wash hands.

Three hazard categories

Biological hazards include bacteria, viruses, and parasites; chemical hazards include cleaning agents and allergens; physical hazards include glass, metal, and pests.

Cross-contamination prevention

Separate raw and ready-to-eat food, use colour-coded equipment, store raw food below ready-to-eat items, and clean and disinfect surfaces between uses.

Allergen cross-contact control

Prevent unintended allergen transfer by segregating ingredients, using dedicated equipment, verifying cleaning, and communicating accurate allergen information to customers.

Physical hazard controls

Control brittle materials with breakage logs and inspections, cover food during storage, and use metal detection or sieving where the process requires it.

Danger zone

The temperature range of roughly 5°C to 63°C in which bacteria multiply most rapidly, so high-risk food should spend minimal time within it.

Hot holding requirement

Hot food must be held at 63°C or above, and reheated food must reach 82°C or above before being served promptly.

Cooking core temperature

A common safe standard is a core temperature of 75°C for at least 30 seconds, particularly for poultry, minced meat products, and rolled roasts.

Rapid cooling rule

Cooked food should be cooled quickly, ideally from 63°C to 8°C within 90 minutes, by dividing into shallow containers and refrigerating promptly.

Two-stage cleaning method

Clean the surface with detergent to remove soil and grease, rinse, then apply a food-safe disinfectant at the correct concentration and contact time.

Cleaning schedule contents

A written schedule states what is cleaned, how often, by which method and chemical, who is responsible, and how the completion is recorded and verified.

Pest proofing measures

Seal gaps and entry points, keep doors and windows screened, store waste in lidded bins, and remove food and water sources that attract pests.

Signs of pest activity

Droppings, gnaw marks, grease trails, insect casings, live or dead pests, and damaged packaging indicate infestation and must be recorded and investigated.

Corrective action record

A record stating the problem found, the product affected, the action taken such as disposal or reprocessing, and who verified that the issue was resolved.

Temperature log purpose

A dated record of fridge, freezer, cooking, and hot-holding temperatures that proves controls were met and supports investigation when a limit is exceeded.

Hazard analysis document

A written assessment identifying each significant hazard, the control measure and critical limit applied, the monitoring method, and the corrective action if a limit fails.

Notifiable incident reporting

Suspected food poisoning, confirmed notifiable infections, and pest infestations must be reported to the manager immediately and to the relevant authority where required.