Malta Food Handling Category B flashcards

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

Danger zone

The temperature range between 5°C and 63°C in which bacteria multiply most rapidly. Food should spend as little time as possible in this range during preparation, holding, cooling and display.

Core cooking temperature

A core temperature of 75°C held for at least 30 seconds, or an equivalent combination such as 70°C for 2 minutes. Measure with a clean, calibrated probe at the thickest part of the food.

Two-stage cooling

Cool cooked food from 63°C to 20°C within 2 hours, then from 20°C to 5°C within a further 4 hours. Shallow containers, portioning, ice baths or blast chillers achieve this.

Hot holding minimum

Food held for service must stay at 63°C or above, checked with a probe and recorded. Food below 63°C for more than a short period should be discarded, not reheated and returned.

Reheating rule

Reheat food to at least 82°C, once only. Food that has already been reheated must not be cooled and reheated again, because heat-stable toxins may already be present.

Frozen storage temperature

Freezers should hold food at -18°C or below. Check and record display temperatures at least twice daily and act on any deviation, including checking the food's condition.

Probe calibration

Verify a food probe using the ice-point method (0°C in crushed ice and water) and boiling-point method (about 100°C at sea level). Record results and adjust or replace probes that fail.

Safe defrosting

Defrost in a refrigerator at 5°C or below, in a microwave followed immediately by cooking, or under running potable water. Never defrost on a worktop at room temperature.

Hand-wash duration

Wash hands with soap and warm running water for at least 20 seconds, covering backs, between fingers, thumbs and under nails, then dry with single-use paper towels.

When hands must be washed

Before starting work, after toilet use, after raw food or waste handling, after cleaning, after breaks, after touching face, hair or phone, and after handling money.

48-hour exclusion rule

Staff with diarrhoea or vomiting must not work with food until 48 hours after symptoms stop. This reduces the risk of passing on norovirus and other infectious agents.

Reporting to manager

Food handlers must report diarrhoea, vomiting, infected wounds, skin infections, jaundice, or close contact with someone who has food poisoning, so the manager can decide on exclusion.

Detectable blue plaster

A waterproof, brightly coloured, metal-detectable plaster plus a finger stall covers a small hand wound. Wounds that cannot be fully covered exclude the worker from open food handling.

Protective clothing rules

Clean, light-coloured overclothing, hair fully restrained, beard snood if needed, no jewellery except a plain band where permitted, no nail varnish, false nails or strong perfume.

High-risk food definition

Moist, protein-rich food with near-neutral pH that supports rapid bacterial growth: cooked meat, dairy, eggs, shellfish, cooked rice, gravies and prepared salads.

Listeria monocytogenes risk

Listeria grows at refrigeration temperature and is the key hazard for chilled ready-to-eat foods such as smoked fish, soft cheese and deli meats. Respect use-by dates strictly.

Spore-formers and toxins

Clostridium perfringens, Bacillus cereus and Clostridium botulinum form heat-resistant spores. Slow cooling and warm holding let them grow; the toxins produced are not destroyed by reheating.

Fourteen regulated allergens

Gluten cereals, crustaceans, eggs, fish, peanuts, soybeans, milk, nuts, celery, mustard, sesame, sulphites above 10 mg/kg, lupin and molluscs must be declared and controlled.

Physical hazard examples

Glass, metal, plastic, bone, stones, jewellery, plasters and packaging fragments. Control with sieves, metal detection, brittle-material registers, visual checks and a no-jewellery rule.

Four contamination routes

Hands, surfaces and equipment, air and droplets, and pests or vermin. Each route needs its own control: hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfection, ventilation, and pest proofing.

Colour-coded chopping boards

Separate boards and knives by food type, for example red for raw meat, blue for raw fish, yellow for cooked meat, green for salad. Follow the business's own documented colour scheme.

Fridge storage order

Store raw meat, poultry and fish on the bottom shelf in lidded, leak-proof containers, below ready-to-eat foods, so drips cannot contaminate food that will not be cooked.

Allergen cross-contact

Residues of an allergen transferring to an allergen-free food via hands, utensils, oil, boards or surfaces. Prevent with dedicated equipment, separate fryers and validated cleaning.

Washing raw produce

Wash fruit, vegetables and salad in potable water before use. Unwashed produce is a recognised source of E. coli and norovirus and must be kept separate from ready-to-eat items.

Cleaning versus disinfection

Cleaning removes visible dirt and grease with detergent; disinfection reduces microorganisms to a safe level using a chemical at the correct concentration and contact time. Clean first, then disinfect.

Cleaning schedule contents

A written schedule states what is cleaned, how, when, by whom and with which chemical, and is signed off after each task. It forms part of the business's food safety records.

Pest proofing measures

Door sweeps, mesh screens, sealed gaps and pipes, air curtains and self-closing doors keep pests out. Combined with waste removal and bait-station monitoring, they form the pest control programme.

Pest activity signs

Droppings, gnaw marks, grease trails, live or dead insects, feathers, nesting material and unusual smells. Record findings and act promptly; keep contractor reports on file.

Clean-to-dirty workflow

Premises should be laid out so food moves from delivery and storage through preparation and cooking to dispatch without crossing back over clean areas, reducing cross-contamination.

Food-contact surface standard

Surfaces must be smooth, impervious, washable, non-toxic and light-coloured. Floors should be slip-resistant and coved at wall junctions to allow effective cleaning.

Waste handling requirements

Use sufficient lidded, foot-operated bins, store waste away from food areas, arrange frequent collection and keep records. Waste must never be allowed to attract pests.

Traceability requirement

Food business operators must identify who supplied each food and to whom they supplied it - one step back, one step forward - and keep records for the legally required period.

Withdrawal versus recall

Withdrawal removes unsafe food from the supply chain before it reaches consumers. Recall retrieves food already sold to consumers, with clear public information and notification of the authority.

Seven HACCP principles

Hazard analysis, determine CCPs, set critical limits, monitor CCPs, establish corrective actions, verify, and keep documentation and records. These form the basis of the food safety management system.

Critical control point

A step where control is essential to prevent, eliminate or reduce a hazard to an acceptable level. Each CCP needs a measurable critical limit, monitoring and a documented corrective action.

Verification versus validation

Validation proves the chosen controls can scientifically control the hazard. Verification confirms the system is working in practice, through calibration, record reviews, audits and product testing.