Hygiene, Sanitation and Food Safety
Hygiene, Sanitation and Food Safety tests hazard identification, temperature control, personal hygiene, cleaning and HACCP thinking. Expect critical control point and corrective-action questions.
Hazards and controls
- Biological hazards include bacteria, viruses and parasites; chemical hazards include cleaners, pesticides and allergens; physical hazards include glass, metal and hair.
- The danger zone is 5–60°C. Keep cold food at 5°C or below and hot food at 60°C or above. Cook poultry to 74°C and reheat to 74°C.
- HACCP's seven principles: hazard analysis, determine critical control points, set limits, monitor, take corrective action, verify and keep records.
- Personal hygiene: handwashing, clean uniform, no jewellery, cover cuts and exclude sick staff from food handling.
Cleaning and storage
Clean before sanitising; sanitiser needs correct concentration and contact time. Store raw meat below ready-to-eat foods, apply FIFO and pest-proof the store.
Worked example
A caterer cooks chicken curry at 80°C, then leaves it on the counter for four hours before chilling. The batch has spent too long in the danger zone, so toxin-producing bacteria may have multiplied. Corrective action: discard the batch, record the incident, investigate cooling practice and switch to shallow pans, an ice bath or a blast chiller. Reasoning: HACCP is preventive; reheating does not reliably remove heat-stable toxins.
Traps
- Tasting food repeatedly with the same spoon.
- Thawing meat on the counter instead of under refrigeration.
- Using sanitiser at the wrong concentration or without contact time.
- Assuming strong spices make spoiled food safe.
- Storing raw meat above ready-to-eat foods.