Kenya Food Handler Certificate flashcards

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

Temperature danger zone

The range between 5 °C and 60 °C in which bacteria multiply most rapidly. Food should be kept below 5 °C or above 60 °C to limit growth.

Two-hour four-hour rule

Ready-to-eat food held between 5 °C and 60 °C for under two hours may be chilled or used; two to four hours it must be used at once; beyond four hours it is discarded.

Two-stage cooling

Cooked food must fall from 60 °C to 21 °C within two hours, then to 5 °C within a further four hours, so total cooling never exceeds six hours.

Reheating core temperature

Previously cooked food is reheated once only until the centre reaches at least 74 °C, and never reheated in a hot-holding unit or bain-marie.

Cleaning versus sanitising

Cleaning removes visible dirt and grease using detergent and water. Sanitising then reduces microorganisms to a safe level using heat or an approved chemical at its labelled strength.

Hot water sanitising

After washing and rinsing, dishes are immersed in water at 77 °C or hotter for at least 30 seconds, then air-dried rather than wiped with a cloth.

Raw below ready-to-eat

In refrigerated storage raw meat, poultry and seafood are placed on lower shelves than cooked and ready-to-eat foods so drips cannot contaminate food below.

Colour-coded chopping boards

Separate boards and knives, distinguished by colour, are used for raw meat, raw fish, cooked food and salad so cross-contamination between food types is prevented.

Twenty-second handwash

Wet hands, apply soap, rub palms, backs, between fingers and under nails for at least 20 seconds, rinse under running water and dry with a disposable towel.

When handlers must wash hands

Hands are washed before work, after toilets, after raw food or waste handling, after coughing or touching the face, and after any break away from the workstation.

Exclusion of ill handlers

A handler with diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, jaundice or an infected exposed wound must stop food work and report the condition to the person in charge immediately.

Forty-eight hour return rule

After diarrhoea or vomiting, a food handler stays away from food work until at least 48 hours after symptoms stop, unless a medical officer gives different directions.

Medical certificate of fitness

A food handler must hold a current medical examination certificate, usually renewed annually, issued after stool and any required blood or chest tests at a designated facility.

Protective clothing rules

Clean light-coloured overalls or aprons and a hair covering that contains all hair are worn; jewellery is removed from hands and wrists and wounds covered with waterproof dressings.

Prohibited food-room habits

Eating, drinking, smoking, chewing gum and spitting are not allowed in food rooms; handlers with coughs or colds stay away from open food and use disposable tissues.

Carrier exclusion

A handler who is a carrier of typhoid, paratyphoid, cholera, dysentery or hepatitis A may be excluded from food work until a medical officer clears them.

High-risk foods

Protein and moisture rich foods needing no further cooking: cooked meat and poultry, seafood, eggs, dairy, cooked rice and pasta, gravies and sauces.

Salmonella sources

Raw poultry, eggs and egg products are the main sources. Thorough cooking, chilled storage and preventing cross-contamination to ready-to-eat food are the controls.

Campylobacter control

Campylobacter is commonly carried on raw poultry. Cross-contamination through boards, knives, hands and drips is the main route, so separation and handwashing are critical.

Staphylococcus aureus source

This bacterium is carried on skin, hands and in the nose of many healthy people. It enters food by touch and produces a toxin that cooking does not destroy.

Clostridium perfringens risk

Spores survive cooking in meat stews and gravies that cool slowly. Rapid two-stage cooling and prompt reheating to 74 °C prevent large-scale growth.

Bacillus cereus and rice

Cooked rice left at room temperature allows Bacillus cereus spores to germinate and produce toxin. Rice is cooled quickly, chilled and reheated thoroughly before use.

Botulinum anaerobic risk

Clostridium botulinum grows without oxygen in low-acid foods such as home-canned or vacuum-packed products. Proper canning and acidification are the controls.

Norovirus and hepatitis A

These viruses spread from infected handlers' hands and from contaminated water and shellfish. They are not killed by cooking reliably, so handwashing and safe water are essential.

Physical contamination controls

Glass, metal, plastic and bone are controlled by breakage logs, no glass over food areas, intact utensils and inspection or sieving when goods are received.

Chemical contamination controls

Over-strength sanitiser, baits, lubricants and unlabelled decanted chemicals are prevented by storing all chemicals in a separate locked cupboard away from food.

Allergen cross-contact

Allergens such as milk, egg, peanut, gluten, fish and sulphites must be declared accurately and kept apart using separate utensils, cleaned equipment and labelled storage.

County food licence

Food premises are registered and licensed by the county government under public health law. The licence is premises-specific, displayed on site and renewed annually.

Food room siting

Food rooms must not open directly into sleeping rooms, toilets or refuse areas, must be separate from living accommodation, and must resist flooding and pest entry.

Washable surfaces

Floors, walls and worktops are smooth, impervious and washable with coved junctions, supported by adequate lighting, ventilation, self-closing doors and potable water.

Handwash basin provision

An adequate number of basins with running water, soap and disposable towels is required, and toilets must not open directly into any food room.

Licence inspection scope

Inspection covers structure, water supply, waste disposal, pest control, staff medical certificates, food handler training and temperature control equipment before a licence is granted.