Good personal hygiene

1.       Hands

·         Wash hand regularly and thoroughly

·         Keep fingernails short and clean

·         Do not use nail varnish

·         Principal agents in transferring pathogens to food and handling should be minimum

2.       Skin

·         Uninfected wounds should be completely covered with detectable (green or blue) water proof plasters

·         Staff with cuts and skin infection should not handle food

3.       Hair

·         Shampoo regularly

·         Hair must be completely enclosed by suitable head covering, eg hairnets, helmets and hats

·         Combing of hair and adjustment of head covering should be done in cloakrooms, before putting on protective clothing then on food

·         No hairgrips and clips are allowed

4.       Nose, ears, mouth

·         Coughs and sneezes carry droplet infection for a considerable distance

·         Staff with bad colds should not handle open food

·         Wash hand after blowing nose

·         No eating of sweets whilst working

·         No spitting as it can result in food contamination

·         Staff with discharges from ears or eyes must not handle food

·         Single-use paper is preferred, instead of soiled handkerchiefs

5.       Smoking

·         Smoking is prohibited in rooms containing open food or whilst handling open food as it can cause food contamination through the fingers touching the lips whilst smoking

6.       Jewellery & perfume

·         Should not wear earrings, watches, jeweled rings or brooches to prevent microbial and physical contamination

·         Should not wear strong-smelling perfume as they may taint foods, especially food with a high fat content

7.        Protective clothing

·         Outdoor clothing musy not be brought into food rooms. Keep them in the staff lockers or cloakroom

·         Anti-slip, unlined and easy to clean boots for wet areas

·         Gloves should not be left on food contact surfaces

·         Hands must be thoroughly washed before putting on the gloves

·         Protective clothing must not be worn outside food premises or for travelling to and from work

It is worn to protect the food from risk of contamination

Good sanitation and cleaning procedures

Training

staff should be properly trained and supervised in cleaning and sanitation.

Purpose:

Training should be used to:

Providing employees with a new level of competency.

Introduction of various cleaning and sanitization methods and products to

 employees.

 Reinforce existing procedures.

 Basic knowledge of microbial contamination, contamination sources,

and their how to avoid them.

The consequences of microbial contamination and the risks if appropriate sanitary practices isn’t followed.

Sanitary practices include:

Good housekeeping

Personal hygiene

Equipment operation and design

A clear understanding of each process of cleaning and sanitization

Proper and safe use of cleaning and sanitizing agents

 Concentration, dilution, and contact time of cleaners and sanitizers

 Product and chemical residues, including cleaners and sanitizers

The routine log should include:

Date, start and end times of the cleaning

 Date, start and end times of the sanitization; include expiration time

Product and batch preceding the cleaning and sanitization

MANUFACTURING FACILITY

A. Design and Maintenance

Buildings should be designed for easy and effective cleaning and sanitization.

This design should allow minimum cross contamination.

 Building should have the integrity of the sanitary design.

The layout should be arranged to accommodate the flow of materials, cleaning operations, in the facility. Separate areas should be

maintained for material receipt, storage, weighing, compounding, filling, packing etc.

These surfaces are inclusive of equipment, piping, under stairs, behind tanks, storage cupboards, walls etc.

The design of building openings should prevent potential contamination.

Such as, automatic closing doors, screened vents , screens on windows, sealed pipe entries, and loading bays.

These should be kept in good condition.

 External walls and entry points should be designed to disallow any access to pests,

vermin, birds, and insects.

Building systems, including heat, air conditioning, and compressed air, should

be monitored to ensure that they do not contribute to contamination.

Appropriate drainage should be installed to get rid wastewater.

 Equipment should be elevated from the floor.

Floor, walls and ceiling surfaces should not have any cracks, crevices, and/or any

open joints.

Finishes should be smooth and non-porous to allow for easy cleaning and

sanitization.

 Peeling paint must be removed.

Eliminate conditions that contribute to build up of debris.

 Adequate storage should be provided for items not in use in order to minimize

clutter.

hand washing facilities should be provided.

There are several methods for cleaning and/or sanitizing.

1. Manual

Scrubbing of equipment or parts using a brush, cloth, or pad using cleaning solution. It is an effective, but very time consuming method.

2. Soak

Soaking of utensils or equipment parts in containers with a proper

detergent solution for a span of time.

3. Spray

Low or high-pressure sprays are used to remove soil.

4. Fog

Fogging is a method of creating a mist for the employment of sanitizers.

This method should only be carried out in closed systems and by properly

trained personnel or staff members.

A cleaner (CHEMICAL)

A chemical or a blend of chemicals formulated to get rid of

undesirable soils from surfaces. These chemicals are solvents, acids,

bases, detergents and water based chemical blends. Companies are focusing on

aqueous cleaners because of the concern for the environment and employee/staff exposure to these chemicals.

A cleaner should be non-corrosive, soluble, have good wetting action,good penetration properties, good emulsification and soil dispersion properties, good rinsing properties, economical and readily available, environmentally friendly and non-hazardous or toxic.

The higher the cleaning process temperature is, the more efficient and effective the cleaning.

5. Time

Soaking can and will take many hours.

So high pressure sprays are used as they only require a few seconds or minutes. Cleaning time should be considered in the validation of the entire cleaning process/system.

6. Rinse

It is essential to rinse as this procedure completely removes any debris on equipments during cleaning. Therefore assuring that there is no cleaner residue.

7. Drying

To reduce corrosion, prevent any microbial re-growth,

All equipment should be properly dried after rinsing.

SANITIZERS

“A sanitizer is either a chemical or physical agent that is effective in reducing microbial contamination on product contact surfaces.”

Reducing of pathogens and microorganisms as well as reducing any other organisms to a acceptable level.

B. Characteristics and Selection of an Efficient Sanitizer

Reducing microbials to 99.9%

And is effective against unwanted and undesired organisms.

Effective in a short contact time.

Non-toxic at use levels.

Non-corrosive.

Compatible with products and equipment.

Free from odours and residue.This is an example of filthy hands under black light.

Poor Personal Hygiene
Cleaning methods ,proper sanitation, food storage and personal hygiene are important factors when it comes to food safety. Unclean and unsanitized hands, dirty clothing, messy hair and bad habits are the causes of food contamination; through bacteria, dirt and germs. After consuming the food that is contaminated one might experience illnesses such as food poisoning.

      Problems due to bad personal hygiene, cleaning and sanitation:

-    Outbreak of food borne illnessesPersonal:  - medical fees, loss of work time.To the company: discarding of food, bad reputation which leads to the loss of customers , fewer sales, loss of production time, legal fees, high cost for insurance coverage.Individual employer’s: productivity losses, hiring temporary staff and shortage of staff, new inexperienced employees.

Respiratory diseases:

Colds, Sore throats, Pneumonia, Scarlet, Fever, and Tuberculosis

Gastrointestinal diseases:

Vomiting, Diarrhea, Dysentery, Typhoid

Other symptoms include:

-Fever

-Infectious

-Hepatitis

Hands should be washed before entering the food handling area, as well as after using the bathroom, using a tissue, eating, drinking, smoking, using cleaning supplies or handling raw food

- To prevent food borne illnesses as microorganisms can be transmitted to the food

- Entry into the food, for example via fruits, vegetables or fish and shellfish;

- By providing breeding sites for flies and insects that spread diseases;       

- Problems include sticky residue on pans, rust in the ice machine and the fact that the grill,
refrigerators ,floors, walls and ceiling all need cleaning.

- Accumulation of grease

During our research on Prata Paradise, we observed the unsanitary habits of the shop.

This is what we found: 

1. Never wear gloves for ready to eat food (peanut, ikan billis)

2. Same person that prepared food was handling dishwashing stuff and did not wash his hands.

3. No proper footwear (slippers and sandals)

4. Wearing shorts (risk of staphylococcus areus)

5. No apron

6. Attire observed is from home (clothes wear from home to workplace)

7. Did not wash hands before serving food.

8. No separate equipment for food preparation and cleaning.

9. Not washing of hands after mopping.

10. Soiled plates, bowls, utensils have no proper storage area before washing (allowing pest to infest)

11. Good morning cloth used to wipe surfaces repeatedly without washing

12. No proper sanitizer spray for cleaning surfaces

13. Hands not washed after reading newspaper

14. Teh terik brought from kitchen to dishwashing area and disposal area (workflow is not smooth and risk of cross contamination)

15. Using his hands to remove ice from the scoop he has used.

16. Handling of money and food

Kitchen:

Clumping of equipment and no accessibility for cleaning