Malta Food Handling Licence A key terms

Any person who works with unpackaged food, food equipment, utensils or food contact surfaces, and who is therefore legally required to protect that food from contamination and to maintain good health and hygiene.

All the practices and conditions needed to keep food safe from contamination at every stage, from receiving and storage through preparation and cooking to service and cleaning, so that it is fit to eat.

The assurance that food will not cause harm to the consumer when it is prepared and eaten according to its intended use, covering biological, chemical and physical risks at all handling stages.

The unwanted presence of a hazard in food, such as bacteria, viruses, chemicals, foreign objects or allergens, introduced by people, equipment, pests, packaging, water or the environment.

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points: a systematic, documented approach that identifies hazards in a food process, sets control points with limits, and monitors them to prevent unsafe food reaching the consumer.

A step in a food process where a specific control measure is essential and can be monitored to prevent, remove or reduce a significant hazard to an acceptable level, for example the cooking step.

The defence of showing that reasonable, documented precautions were taken at every stage to prevent a food safety failure, including records of temperature checks, cleaning, training and supplier checks.

The ability to identify and follow a food, its ingredients and its packaging through all stages of production and distribution, one step back to the supplier and one step forward to the customer.

A disease that a food handler must report to the person in charge, such as vomiting, diarrhoea, fever with sore throat, or a diagnosed infection like typhoid, because it can be spread through food.

Any biological, chemical or physical agent in food that has the potential to cause illness or injury to the consumer, whether it is present naturally or introduced during handling.

A living organism or its toxin that can cause foodborne illness, including bacteria such as Salmonella, viruses such as norovirus, parasites, moulds and their associated toxins.

A harmful substance that can enter food, such as cleaning chemicals, pesticides, veterinary residues, unapproved additives, or toxins formed by moulds, usually through poor storage, misuse or accidental spillage.

A hard or sharp foreign object that can injure a consumer, such as glass, metal fragments, stones, bone, plastic, jewellery or plasters, often entering food through damaged equipment or careless handling.

Micro-organisms that cause illness when eaten or when they produce toxins in food, for example Salmonella, Listeria, E. coli and Staphylococcus aureus; they do not necessarily change the look, smell or taste of food.

A dormant, highly resistant form of some bacteria, such as Clostridium and Bacillus species, that survives cooking and ordinary cleaning and can germinate into active bacteria when conditions become favourable again.

Illness caused by eating contaminated food, with symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and fever, which may appear hours or days after the meal and can be severe for vulnerable people.

The transfer of harmful micro-organisms from human or animal faeces to the mouth, commonly through unwashed hands, contaminated water, raw food or dirty surfaces, and the main route for norovirus and E. coli.

The multiplication of bacteria, which needs food, moisture, warmth and time; in the danger zone a single cell can become millions within hours, so time and temperature must be controlled.

A normally harmless food protein that triggers an immune reaction in sensitive people, with the fourteen regulated allergens including milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, nuts, peanuts, cereals containing gluten, soya, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites, lupin and molluscs.

The accidental transfer of an allergen into a food that should not contain it, through shared utensils, fryers, boards, hands or spills, which can cause a severe reaction even in tiny amounts.

The habits and appearance a food handler maintains to protect food, including clean clothing, tied-back hair, short clean nails, no strong perfume, and reporting illness before starting work.

The thorough cleaning of hands with soap and warm running water, including between fingers, thumbs, wrists and under nails, drying with disposable towels, and repeating whenever hands may have become contaminated.

A designated sink with warm running water, liquid soap and disposable drying materials, used only for washing hands and never for food preparation, equipment washing or waste disposal.

Clean, suitable outer garments such as aprons, tunics, hair coverings and where needed gloves, worn to keep food free from contamination and changed regularly or when soiled.

The rule that a food handler with vomiting, diarrhoea or a relevant infection must stay away from food work, and remain excluded for the required period after symptoms stop, to prevent spreading illness.

Keeping food at temperatures that prevent harmful bacteria multiplying, namely very cold for chilled storage, very hot for holding cooked food, and out of the danger zone during preparation and transport.

The temperature range between 5°C and 63°C in which bacteria multiply fastest; food should spend as little time as possible in this range, with chilled food kept at or below 5°C.

The temperature at the centre or thickest part of a food, which must reach at least 75°C for a sufficient time when cooking to destroy harmful bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli.

Bringing previously cooked and cooled food back to a safe serving temperature, typically to at least 75°C throughout, and reheating only once to avoid repeated exposure to the danger zone.

Reducing the temperature of cooked food quickly, ideally from hot to chilled within a short, documented time, by portioning into shallow containers or using blast chilling, so bacteria do not multiply.

A calibrated thermometer used to check the internal temperature of food and refrigeration equipment, which must be cleaned and disinfected before and after each use to avoid contaminating the food.

A written or electronic record of fridge, freezer and cooking temperatures taken at set intervals, kept as evidence that food was handled safely and that temperature controls were working.

A label showing when food must be used by or thrown away, such as a use-by date on high-risk chilled foods or a best-before date on longer-life foods, which must never be exceeded or altered.

A stock rotation method in which older stock is used before newer stock, achieved by placing new deliveries behind existing items and checking date marks regularly, to reduce waste and prevent spoilage.

Holding perishable food at or below 5°C in clean, well-ventilated refrigeration with space for air to circulate, covered food, and raw items stored below or separately from ready-to-eat food.

The transfer of harmful bacteria or other hazards from raw food, dirty equipment, hands, cloths or surfaces to ready-to-eat food, which is prevented by separation, colour coding and effective cleaning.

Food that is eaten without further cooking or washing, such as cooked meats, salads, cheese, sandwiches and bakery products, and which therefore must never come into contact with raw food or dirty utensils.

The practice of keeping raw meat, poultry, fish and eggs physically apart from cooked and ready-to-eat food, using separate areas, boards, knives and containers, and storing raw items below cooked ones.

Chopping boards, knives and utensils marked with distinct colours and used only for one food category, such as red for raw meat and green for salad, so that hazards are not carried between foods.

A two-stage process of removing visible dirt and grease with detergent and then treating surfaces with a disinfectant or very hot water to reduce micro-organisms to a safe level, followed by proper drying.

Any surface or item that touches food, such as worktops, boards, knives, containers and packaging, which must be smooth, non-absorbent, easy to clean and in good repair to prevent contamination.

Accurate, up-to-date written or verbal details about what is in a dish, including the fourteen regulated allergens, which staff must provide to customers and must never guess when asked.

People at higher risk of serious foodborne illness, including pregnant women, young children, older people and those with weakened immune systems, for whom particular care with high-risk foods is essential.