FSAI Level 2 Food Safety Skills flashcards

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

Danger zone temperature range

The range between 8°C and 63°C in which foodborne bacteria multiply most rapidly; time in this range should be minimised for high-risk foods.

Core cooking temperature

For poultry, minced meat and food for vulnerable groups, the centre must reach 75°C for at least 30 seconds, or an equivalent time-temperature combination.

Cooling time limit

Cooked food should be cooled from 63°C to 8°C within 90 minutes, using a blast chiller, shallow containers or an ice bath, and then refrigerated.

Reheating temperature requirement

Reheated food must reach 82°C throughout, should be reheated only once, and must never be reheated after a previous reheating.

Hot holding temperature

Hot food on display or holding must be kept at 63°C or above, checked with a probe or data logger, and the checks recorded.

Chilled storage temperature

Chilled high-risk food should be held at 8°C or below, with 5°C or below used as best practice to slow bacterial growth.

Freezer storage temperature

Freezers should operate at −18°C or colder; defrosting must be done in a refrigerator, microwave for immediate cooking, or under running water.

Probe thermometer calibration

Check a probe in ice water at 0°C and boiling water at 100°C; clean and disinfect it before and after each use.

Handwashing minimum time

Wet hands, apply soap, lather and rub for at least 20 seconds including fingertips, thumbs and wrists, rinse, then dry with a single-use towel.

Vomiting and diarrhoea exclusion

Anyone with vomiting or diarrhoea must be excluded from food handling and should not return until 48 hours after symptoms stop, or as advised medically.

Fitness to work reportables

Food handlers must report vomiting, diarrhoea, fever, jaundice, sore throat with fever, infected cuts and skin infections on exposed skin to their manager.

Protective clothing rule

Clean protective clothing must be worn only in food areas, changed when soiled, and never worn outside the premises or into toilets.

Hand sanitiser limitation

Sanitiser is not a substitute for handwashing; it does not work on visibly soiled or greasy hands and does not remove bacterial spores.

Jewellery and nail rule

Jewellery, wristwatches, false nails and nail varnish are prohibited or restricted in food areas because they trap dirt and create physical hazards.

Bacterial growth conditions

Bacteria need food, moisture, a suitable pH near neutral, and time in a warm temperature range; removing any one condition limits multiplication.

Spore-former risk

Clostridium perfringens and Bacillus cereus spores survive cooking, so slow cooling of cooked rice, meat and stews allows them to germinate and multiply.

Staphylococcus aureus toxin

S. aureus is carried on skin and in the nose and produces a heat-stable toxin, so reheating does not make contaminated food safe.

Listeria monocytogenes

Listeria grows at refrigeration temperatures and is especially dangerous to pregnant women, older people and immunocompromised people; strict shelf-life control is needed.

E. coli O157 control

E. coli O157 has a very low infectious dose and is controlled by thorough cooking, such as 70°C for 2 minutes, and by preventing cross-contamination.

Norovirus control

Norovirus is not destroyed by normal cooking and is controlled by hand hygiene and excluding infected food handlers from food areas.

Clostridium botulinum

This anaerobic bacterium grows in low-acid, low-oxygen, low-salt foods; its toxin is destroyed by boiling but its spores only by high-temperature canning.

Cross-contamination routes

Contamination can pass directly from raw to cooked food, or indirectly via hands, utensils, surfaces, drip and pests; segregation and cleaning break these routes.

Allergenic hazard property

Unlike bacteria, allergens cannot be removed by cooking, freezing or dilution, so control relies on segregation, labelling and cleaning between products.

Physical hazard controls

Foreign-body controls include supplier specifications, sieving, metal detection, X-ray, visual inspection and a documented glass and hard-plastic register.

Chemical hazard controls

Use approved chemicals, follow dilution instructions, rinse food-contact surfaces, and store chemicals separately from food in labelled containers.

High-risk food definition

Ready-to-eat foods high in protein and moisture that support bacterial growth, such as cooked meats, dairy, seafood, rice and gravies.

Two-stage cleaning method

Clean with detergent and hot water, rinse, then apply food-safe disinfectant at the correct concentration and contact time, and allow to dry.

Disinfectant contact time

A disinfectant must remain wet on the surface for its stated dwell time, often 30 seconds to 5 minutes, to achieve the claimed microbial reduction.

Pest proofing measures

Screens, door strips, mesh, sealed gaps and self-closing doors prevent pest entry; monitoring uses bait stations, sticky traps and documented pest control visits.

Food-contact surface standard

Surfaces touching food must be smooth, impervious, non-toxic, corrosion-resistant and free from cracks, crevices and hard-to-clean joints.

Waste storage requirements

Waste must be held in lidded, leak-proof, easy-to-clean containers, removed frequently, kept away from food areas and never allowed to overflow.

HACCP seven principles

Identify hazards, determine CCPs, set critical limits, monitor CCPs, take corrective action, verify the system, and keep documented records.

Critical limit definition

A measurable value that separates acceptable from unacceptable, such as 75°C core temperature, pH 4.6, or storage at 8°C or below.

Traceability requirement

Records must allow food to be traced one step back to the supplier and one step forward to the customer, using batch or lot codes.

Training record content

Records should show the trainee's name, date, content and trainer, and are kept as due diligence evidence alongside HACCP documentation.