Part 1 Challenge to Food Safety Flashcards
T/F. Hands can be a source of cross contamination.
True
T/F. Tofu is not a potentially hazardous food.
False
T/F. Toxic metals that leach through worn cookware are a physical hazard.
False (chemical hazard).
T/F. Outbreaks of foodborn illness can be caused by improper cooling of food.
True (one of the leading causes).
T/F. Food contact surfaces include splash areas.
True.
Define: clean
Free of visible soil and food waste
Define: contamination
The unintended presence of harmful substances or microorganisms in food
Define: cross contamination
Transfer of harmful substances or microorganisms to food from other foods, people or surfaces.
Define: food contact surfaces
Any equipment, utensil or surface which normally comes in contact with food or which may drain, drip, or splash on to surfaces normally in contact with food
Define: high risk populations
People with greater risk of developing food borne illness due to weakened immune systems. Children, elderly, pregnant included.
Define: outbreak
2 or more people experience the same illness after eating the same food. Laboratory analysis should ID the food item as the illness source.
Define: ready-to-eat foods
Prepared food that will not be cooked or re-cooked before serving.
Define: sanitary
Free from harmful levels of contamination
What are 4 challenged managers face in preventing outbreaks:
The number and types of food at risk, multiple chances for contamination, type of customers you are serving, and shortage of employees trained in food safety (including high employer turnover).
What composition of foods has the highest risk for contamination?
Moist, high protein foods.
Define: potentially hazardous foods
Any perishable food capable of supporting rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms.
Give as many examples from the list of foods most likely to be contaminated as you can (goal: 11 main groups)
Milk and milk products, shell eggs, meats and poultry, fish and shellfish, tofu and other soy protein foods, plant foods that have been heat treated (baked/boiled potatoes, cooked vegetables), gravies/soups/stews/custards, sliced melons and other cut fruit, synthetic ingredients (ex textured soy protein).
Define: biological hazard
Living organisms that can multiply and grow. Bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi. Bacteria is the greatest threat.
Define: chemical hazards
Naturally occurring toxic substances, pesticides, food additives and preservatives, cleaning supplies, and toxin metals that leach through worn cookware and equipment.
Define: physical hazards
Foreign matter, such as broken glass, that accidentally gets into food.
3 sample situations where a safe food can be cross contaminated:
A contaminated food (ex meat dripping onto another food), a food handler who is carrying the harmful substance on their hands, a piece of equipment with the harmful substance on the surface.
What factors are most often named in food borne outbreaks? (7 listed)
Failure to properly cool food.
Failure to thoroughly heat or cook food.
Infected employees practice poor personal hygiene at home + work.
Preparing food a day or more in advance of being served.
Adding raw or contaminated ingredients to food that requires no further cooking.
Allowing foods to stay too long at temps favourable to bacterial growth.
Failure to reheat cooked foods to temp that kills bacteria.
Cross contamination (raw food, equipment, employees).
T/F. Some viruses can survive cooking and freezing.
True
T/F. Mould only grows on surface environments, it does not penetrate the product.
False
T/F. Severe vomiting and diarrhea are possible signs of a food allergy.
True
T/F. Bacteria can only be carried inside the body of a person or animal.
False
T/F. Pathogens are microorganisms that cause disease
True
What are some sources of biological hazards?
Bacteria, viruses, insects, plants, birds, animals, fish, and humans.
Define: allergy
Condition of heightened sensitivity to certain things such as food
Define: FAT-TOM
Conditions favourable for the growth of bacteria: food, acidity, time, temperature, oxygen, and moisture.
Define: foodborne infection
An illness that is the direct result of consuming food containing harmful living microorganisms. Symptoms usually do not appear right away. Ex salmonellosis, shigellosis, listeriosis.
Define: foodborne intoxication
Results from consuming food containing toxins, which may have been produced by harmful bacteria found in the food or be the result of chemical contamination. Symptoms usually appear within a few hours. Ex staphylococcus, clostridium botulinum
Define: protozoa
Single celled parasitic organisms found in soil and water
Define: re-work
To recycle processed food
Define: spores
Thick protective structures formed by certain bacteria in response to adverse conditions.
Define: temperature danger zone
Temperature range from 4-60 Celsius (40-140 F).
Define: toxigenic bacteria
Bacteria that produce harmful toxins as they multiply, die, and/or breakdown.
Define: toxin-mediated infection
When a person eats a food that contains pathogens which then produce illness causing toxins in the intestines. Ex bacillus cereus, clostridium perfringens, and E. coli 0157.H7
What two forms does bacteria exist in?
Vegetative state (growing and reproducing) and spore state (protect itself, becomes vegetative as soon as living conditions improve).
What are four “musts” when using time control to prevent/limit bacterial growth:
Mark food with time/date it will be cooked, served, sold, or discarded.
Serve or discard food within 2 hrs from the time it is removed from temperature control.
Discard unmarked or time expired containers or packages of food.
Develop written procedures; keep them in your food service/food retail operation, and make them available to your local Public Health Inspector.
Define: incubation period
The time between the consumption of contaminated food and the appearance of symptoms of illness.
Define: host
Person, animal, or plant on which another organism lives and feeds.
Define: carrier
A person or animal whose body carries a disease causing microorganisms.
Define: vehicle
An time, such as wind, water, human hands or dirty utensils that carries or transports disease causing microorganisms
Describe bacillus cereus
Spore-forming bacteria that is an emetic intoxication (0.5-6 hrs, associated with starchy foods) and toxin-mediated diarrheal form (6-15 hrs, meat/vegetables/soup/milk). Emetic spores quite resistant to heat and chemical treatment.
What is the highest risk pH?
4.6-7
What is the highest risk length of time in the danger zone?
2-4 hrs is enough to develop enough bacteria to cause foodborne illness.
What is the highest risk for moisture content?
Water activity level of 0.85 and lower is not hazardous, where 1.0 is pure water. Most potentially hazardous is 0.97-0.99 (meat, poultry, soft cheese)
What is the best defence against foodborne viruses?
Good personal hygiene.
Describe some features of Hep A
Causes inflammation of the liver. Incubation period is 15-50 days, so food can be handled when a person does not yet know they are infected. Poor personal hygiene, contaminated ready to eat foods, vegetables washed in non-potable water, and shellfish harvested from fecal-contaminated water.
Describe some features of norovirus and Norwalk virus
Members if calciviruses. Causes gastroenteritis, inflammation which can cause vomiting without warning. Present in the bodily fluids up to 2 weeks after feel better, so risk of contamination.
Can parasites grow in food?
No, grow in hosts. Can be passed on to hosts through food.
What is trichinosis?
Disease caused by trichinella spiralis more often found in wild animals, like bears. Disease characterized by painful abdominal and muscular cramps.
What is a common round work that lives in fish?
Anisakis simplex
What is the most common Protozoa sickness and how is it usually contracted?
Giardiasis (giardia lamblia). Contracted through contaminated food, if hands hands aren’t washed properly after using the toilet, or contaminated food.
What is cryotosporidiosis and where is it contracted from usually?
Cryptosporidium parvum, a protozoan parasite. Found in soil, food, water, or surfaces contaminated by the feces of infected humans or animals.
Define moulds and give a few examples.
Tiny fungi carried by air, water, and insects. When there is visible growth, that means it has deeply invaded the product. Responsible for spoilage. Can produce toxins, like aflatoxin produced by aspergillus flavus and aspergillus parasticus which can cause liver disease.
How do yeasts spoil food?
Eats the sugars and produces carbon dioxide. Appears as bubbles, an alcoholic smell or taste, pink discolouration or slime.
Some sources of systemic fish toxins.
Naturally occurring toxins, found in fish, moray eels, and freshwater minnows.
What is ciguatera toxin and what are some symptoms?
Amberjacks, barracuda, and smaller may eat smaller fish with this algae. Symptoms are vomiting, itching, dizziness, hot and cold flashes, temporary blindness, hot and cold sensory reversal. Not destroyed by cooking.
What is scomboid toxin and what are some symptoms?
Histamine is formed when kept in the danger zone for too long. Tuna, bluefish, marlin, bonito, mackerel, mahi-mahi, herring, and sardines have been implicated in. Can trigger allergic reaction response. Odourless, tasteless and not destroyed by cooking.
What are some examples of plant toxins (11 given)
Fava beans, rhubarb leaves, jimson weed, water hemlock, honey from bees that collect nectar from mountain laurel, milk from cows that have eaten snakeroot, jelly from apricot kernels, mushrooms, kumaa, cassava, and bamboo
What percentage of the general population have a food allergy? What percentage of children have a food allergy?
5-10%, 2-8%
Define food intolerance
Does not involve the immune system. Caused adverse reactions to naturally occurring components of the food or food substances that involve digestion or metabolism.
What are some practical steps to prevent allergen contamination (8)?
Prepare food that contains a known allergen last.
Ensure regular and proper hand washing.
Always clean and sanitize all surfaces and equipment.
Always have a recipes ingredient list readily available.
Only used approved ingredients in the recipe.
Do not re work ingredients.
Know what food components contain and what they may have come in contact with.
Properly label and store foods that have allergenic ingredients.
What 10 foods cause 90% of averse food reactions?
Peanuts, tree nuts, soy, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, sesame seeds, sulphites, and wheat.
T/F. There should be a sink designated for hand washing only in every food preparation area.
True
T/F. Beards are exempt from hair restraint requirements.
False
T/F. It is acceptable to chew gum in food preparation areas
False
T/F. People can carry around and spread a disease without showing any symptoms.
True
T/F. Gloves are a good replacement for hand washing.
False
What are the three main parts of the cycle of transmission?
Environment (surfaces, utensils, insects, air), food handler (skin, nose, hair, hands, clothing), and food.
What is a good temperature for hand washing?
43 C (110 F)
How long should be spent lathering hands?
20-30 s
How frequently should gloves be changed during continual use?
Every 4 hrs
Can employees take medication in the food preparation area?
No, should be stored and taken in a area designated for food eating.
Under what illness conditions should employees stay home?
Fever, diarrhea, upset stomach/nausea/vomiting, sore throat/sinus infection, coughing/sneezing, dizziness.
Food handlers are at high risk of contaminating food when:
They have symptoms of gastrointestinal illness, have infected lesions or cuts, of have touched anything with contaminants with their hands.
Is it necessary to wash your hands before putting on gloves?
Yes
The most important rule of foodservice personal hygiene is that employees must:
Wash their hands often
How far should dried food be stored off the ground?
15 cm
How far should stored dried goods be away from the wall?
5 cm
