Food Safety tips You Need to know:
Safety is the absence – at safe and acceptable levels – of danger in food that could harm the health of consumers. Food borne hazards can be biological, chemical or physical in nature and are often invisible to our eyes. These are bacteria, viruses or pesticide residues, among others.
A healthy diet starts with safe foods. Contaminated food can cause serious illness, and in the worst cases, death. They are called ETA.
Therefore, it is important to raise awareness and encourage measures to be taken, emphasizing all aspects and procedures related to food (cultivation, processing, transportation, storage, distribution, sale, preparation, service to consumption), including the entire food chain
Good Manufacturing Practices:
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are a series of mandatory practices and procedures found and their main objective is to guarantee the safety of food for consumption. To achieve this.
People involved in food operations, from processing to retail, must ensure compliance with programs such as Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), a system that identifies, evaluates, and controls hazards. that are relevant to food safety from primary production to final consumption.
In addition, good procedures, storage and conservation help preserve the nutritional value and safety of food, this being a shared responsibility between all components of the agri-food chain.
One of the ways that consumers have to ensure food safety before purchasing food is to check that the containers are in optimal conditions of airtightness and inviolability, that is, that they do not have alterations such as dents, openings, bumps, as well as Always check expiration dates.
Food hygiene:
After making the purchase and upon arriving home, follow the guidelines to achieve food hygiene, defined as the set of conditions and measures that must be present throughout the entire food handling process, thus guaranteeing its healthiness; For this we must:
Always use drinking water:
Wash your hands correctly before handling containers and bags and during the processing of raw and cooked foods, as well as after going to the bathroom or coughing, sneezing. Use soap and water, rubbing your hands together for 60 seconds.
Sanitize and disinfect plastic food containers such as fluid milk, dairy desserts, yogurt, cheese spreads, creams, beverage bottles, before opening them. Dry with a clean cloth or paper napkin. Click Here for Food Safety Course in manufacturing
Disinfect countertops and utensils that came into contact with food such as tables, countertops, sinks, containers. Wash with water and detergent. Rinse, disinfect with water and chlorine solution. Rinse. Do not mix detergent with chlorine due to its toxicity.
Sanitize fruits and vegetables:
The steps for it consist of washing them only with water, removing the society with your hands. Disinfect the sink with boiling water. Fill it with cold water, with a measuring jug to know how many liters we will use and a dropper. Use gloves. Proceed to dilute water and bleach (4 drops per liter of water). Submerge the fruits and vegetables for 10 minutes. Remove and dry with a clean cloth.
Always use clean and different boards and utensils to handle raw and cooked meats.
Store all foods previously washed and dried. If we are going to store leftovers in the refrigerator, they must be properly covered so that they do not release odors or spill possible liquids.
Cross contamination:
It is also important to maintain correct order and hygiene in cupboards, refrigerator and freezer. Avoid cross contamination of products taking into account their location in the refrigerator, namely:
- On top dairy and cold cuts.
- At the bottom, raw meats (store them in containers to avoid juice losses).
- In the drawers fresh fruits and vegetables.
- Store drinks, jams and jellies in the door where the highest temperature is.
- Consider the expiration date when arranging them on the shelves, placing those with a longer useful life at the back, and those that expire sooner at the front. They can also be labeled and labeled according to the date they were opened.
