Essential tools for food safety surveillance in catering services: On-site inspections and control of high risk cross-contamination surfaces

The aim of this study was to assess the routine food safety procedures carried out in catering services so as to provide a useful monitoring program for managers based on the relevant deviations detected in the observational survey and activities carried out in 15 catering services located in Navarra (region of northern Spain). The main hygiene standards, food handler practices and compliance with the HACCP system were evaluated by means of visual inspections (checklist), monitoring of critical control points (food storage and food processing temperatures, total polar compounds) and microbiological analysis of food-contact and hand-contact surfaces. While general high scores were obtained in the observational survey (73.3% above 36 points), none of the evaluated services had obtained the maximum rate of 48 points. The mayor deficiencies were related to the presence of dirty uniforms, improper hand washing or use of gloves, incorrect disinfection of vegetables and the missing records of stated critical points (temperatures and polar compounds in oil). The performed monitoring activities confirmed the safety of frying oil in all the kitchens, despite the fact that only 33% of them applied scientific methods to measure polar compounds. By contrast, holding temperatures were unsatisfactory in 77% of cold dishes and in 19% of hot meals. Despite the fact that 77% of food contact surfaces were considered acceptable (<4 CFU/cm²), high levels of total mesophilic microorganisms and Enterobacteriaceae were detected in hand-contact surfaces such as aprons and handles. The periodic visual supervision focusing on hygienic practices and the microbiological surveillance of surfaces of high risk for cross-contamination should provide valuable information for improving the knowledge, attitudes and practices of food handlers regarding food safety.     

Biofilm formation in food industries: A food safety concern

Foodborne diseases have always been a threat to human health. They are considered an emergent public health concern throughout the world. Many outbreaks have been found to be associated with biofilm. It is well documented that biofilm has become a problem in food industries as it renders its inhabitants resistant to antimicrobial agents and cleaning. In this review, biofilm formation in dairy, fish processing, poultry, meat, and Ready-To-Eat foods industries are discussed, as well as the biofilm forming abilities' of various microorganisms and the influence of food contact surface materials on biofilm formation. In addition, the conventional and emergent control strategies used to gain more proximity to efficiently maintain good hygiene throughout food industries is discussed.     

Microwave oven safety: A food safety consumer survey in Malaysia

Microwave oven is an indispensable tool in every household. However, the proper usage of the microwave ovens was neglected and thus, causing food safety concerns, especially microbiological hazard in microwaved heated food. Therefore, a survey was initiated to gauge the consumer’s knowledge of microwave oven safety concerning the food safety of reheated food. A total of 29 survey questions was designed that covered 5 demographic questions and 24 others on the knowledge and practice of microwave oven safety and food safety attitude. The survey was blasted out to 329 respondents via email. Overall, 189 (57.4%) returned respondents demonstrated low level of knowledge of the microwave oven safety, which indicated improper education of the microwave oven despite knowing the norms on the microwave oven usage. In addition, consumers demonstrated low levels of practicing microwave oven safety. The outcome of the survey also showed consumer’s neutral attitude towards food safety. There was no statistically significant association between the variables and demographic. The minimum knowledge of microwave oven and food safety shown by the consumers requires the attention to improve the food safety educational programs by including the knowledge on microwave oven safety for the betterment of the public health.     

Use of food safety objectives to satisfy the intent of food safety law

Corporate food safety objectives and a HACCP based management system were used to resolve a simple, but very costly, conflict between the strict interpretation of food safety regulations and the commercial ability to serve safe food that fulfils the intent of the law. A case study will be presented in which rare roast beef was removed from the menu after health authorities found that the product was served at less than 60 °C, a violation of national regulations.A risk assessment and risk management strategy specific for serving rare roast beef was developed. The documentation clearly and scientifically demonstrates how physical processes for cooking, hot holding, service and cooling were validated to support the company's commitment to food safety and business excellence. Working instructions for each step of preparation and service of rare roast beef were validated. A specific HACCP plan was developed to manage the daily adherence to the working instructions. This HACCP plan is integrated into an overall systems approach to daily kitchen routines, so as not to place undue burdens on staff or management. Food safety objectives enable the company to communicate why the procedures to serve rare roast beef are safe. This rational approach to linking the explanation of procedures with safety is important for internal training, long-term program stability and external public relations.     

A review on food safety and food hygiene studies in Ghana

Food safety and hygiene in Ghana was studied using desk top literature review. Food research was highly concentrated in the capital city of the country and most research focus were on commercial food operations specifically street foods and microbiological safety with limited information from institutional catering and other forms of food hazards. The media currently serves as the main source for reporting of food borne diseases. Food establishments and other sources contributing to food borne diseases included restaurants, food joints, food vendors, schools and individual homes. Limited use of prerequisites measures and food safety management systems was identified. Recommendations on regulating the General Hygiene Principles, implementation of HACCP to strengthen the food sector, regular food safety and hygiene workshops and training for food handlers that commensurate with their roles were made. Government support for SMEs and food handler's health screening were made.     

Consumer purchase habits and views on food safety: A Brazilian study

This study aimed to evaluate the attitudes towards food safety among consumers in the city of São Paulo, the major consumer market in Brazil. Focus group sessions were conducted with 30 adults responsible for food choices and purchases. Results indicated a preference for supermarkets over street markets, for the variety of foods, convenience and confidence in the safety assurance. On the other hand, the “naturalness” of the products in the street markets was the main reason for purchases in those places. Participants showed concerns with respect to food additives, hormones and pesticides – technological rather than “natural” hazards. Minimally processed and ready-to-eat foods were considered convenient products meeting the need for time/labor-savings in the kitchen, although suspicion about wholesomeness and safety came up among consumers. Lack of awareness regarding potentially risky behaviors was observed, including handling and storage of foods in the domestic environment. In conclusion, this study suggests that Brazilian regulators should create more effective risk communication combining technical information with actual consumer perceptions of food risks.     

Implementation of a food safety management system according to ISO 22000 in the food supplement industry: A case study

This work aims to present a methodology to carry out hazard and control measures assessments to properly establish operational prerequisite programmes (oPRPs) and the HACCP plan in the food supplement industry according to the ISO 22000 standard. This study focused on the manufacture of propolis, royal jelly and vitamin C ampoules, sold as energy boosters. Seven of the 13 hazards identified in this study were significant: two hazards were in the reception step (residues of pesticides, antibiotics and/or heavy metals (code 2) and contamination by pathogens (code 3)), two in the ingredients weighing step (cross-contamination by metabisulphite (code 9) and contamination by pathogens (code 10)), one in the mixture preparation step (contamination by pathogens and/or proliferation of microorganisms (code 11)) and two in the ampoule-filling and -sealing step (cross-contamination by metabisulphite (code 12) and contamination by pathogens (code 13)). After assessing the control measures, critical control points (CCPs) were determined in the hazards with codes 2, 9 and 12, which could be managed by an HACCP plan. The remaining hazards were managed by establishing oPRPs. Implementation of the ISO 22000 standard in the food supplement industry guarantees food safety and helps improve their competitiveness in the global market.     

Knowledge of food safety and handling in households: A survey of food handlers in Mainland China

The objective of the study was to provide a picture of knowledge of food safety and handling in households and identify a demographic profile of “high-risk” groups with the poorest knowledge. A national survey of food handlers in Mainland China (n = 482) was conducted using previously validated closed questionnaires. The questionnaire consisted of 26 knowledge questions, which included 5 scales that covered key concepts of food safety and handling in households, and 7 demographic questions. The respondents demonstrated a very low level of knowledge and the mean score awarded to them was 7.95 (knowledge scores from 0 to 26). The data were further analyzed to determine differences in knowledge between populations of different demographics. Differences were found between male and female respondents (p < 0.01), urban and rural respondents (p < 0.01) and respondents with different income levels (p = 0.04). Two “high-risk” groups with the lowest level of knowledge are 1) male food handlers with a per capita annual income of less than 30,000 CNY (4773 USD) and 2) female food handlers who live in rural areas and have a per capita annual income below 30,000 CNY (4773 USD) and deserve special attention. This is the first national survey in Mainland China and the results suggested that developing educational programs related to food safety and handling in households of Mainland China are urgently needed.     

A generic model of the integrated food supply chain to aid the investigation of food safety breakdowns

Increasingly it is becoming important to study and manage aspects of food production in relation to the total food chain implications and not one stage in isolation. As part of a major UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) funded project on Breakdowns in Food Safety a novel generic model of the integrated food supply chain was described which attempts to break the chain into its component parts. A hierarchical approach has been used which describes three levels: 5 stages, 9 operational steps and a series of 27 unit operations, each of which have been defined. In addition, 21 types of “generic” breakdown have been identified which could occur at any stage of the food chain. This approach has been used to collect data from 8515 breakdowns in food safety.     

A review of food safety and food hygiene training studies in the commercial sector

This review summarises the methods and results of studies conducted worldwide on the effectiveness of food safety and food hygiene training in the commercial sector of the food industry. In particular it focuses on those studies that have tried to evaluate the effectiveness of such training. Forty-six studies of food hygiene training are included which used some outcome measure to assess the effectiveness of training. The short-term nature and variety of measures used limited the majority of studies. The need for the development of evaluation criteria of effectiveness of food hygiene training is discussed.     

Relating microbiological criteria to food safety objectives and performance objectives

Microbiological criteria, food safety objectives and performance objectives, and the relationship between them are discussed and described in the context of risk-based food safety management. A modified method to quantify the sensitivity of attributes sampling plans is presented to show how sampling plans can be designed to assess a microbiological criterion. Examples presented show that testing of processed foods for confirmation of safety is often not a practical option, because too many samples would need to be analysed. Nonetheless, in such cases the classical “ICMSF cases” and sampling schemes still offer a risk-based approach for examining food lots for regulatory or trade purposes.     

Effective implementation of food safety initiatives: Managers’, food safety coordinators’ and production workers’ perspectives

The purpose of this research is to identify factors motivating HACCP implementation in small and medium food companies, factors essential to successful implementation, and challenges during implementation. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted with various personnel in eight establishments in Ontario. These generated 239 pages of transcribed data. Trends and patterns in the data were identified using NVivo7 software. The main motivating factors were the likelihood of future regulation, the value of HACCP for marketing, and avoiding food safety problems. Management commitment was the most commonly cited element of successful implementation. Food safety managers/coordinators faced the greatest variety of challenges during implementation.     

Implementation of non-regulatory food safety management schemes in New Zealand: A survey of the food and beverage industry

Using a questionnaire survey, this paper examines the motivations, challenges, and impacts, and the role of third-party certification bodies' (CBs) in the implementation of non-regulatory food safety management schemes (FSMS) in the New Zealand food and beverage industry. The survey involved 115 manufacturing enterprises out of which 95.7% indicated that they had one or more FSMS in place, and 43.5% stated that they implemented one or more non-regulatory FSMS. Three main categories of non-regulatory FSMS have been implemented in New Zealand: public international standard schemes, public industry sector schemes and private individual firm schemes. The most important motivation for implementing non-regulatory FSMS is meeting the requirements of major customers. As a consequence of the implementation of non-regulatory FSMS, desirable changes have been experienced by the respondents, such as the improvement of product traceability, increasing food safety awareness of employees, satisfaction with the ability to maintain customers, decreasing the cost of wastage and reduced customer complaints. The results also indicated that the major challenges encountered during the implementation of non-regulatory FSMS were increased paper work, record keeping and documentation, and the cost of development and implementation. The costs of system design and development, and external audit fees are the major implementation costs of non-regulatory FSMS, while external surveillance audit fees and product testing are the significant operating costs of non-regulatory FSMS. The third-party CBs' service was rated by 66.0% of respondents as an important tool for them to continuously improve their food safety management.     

石油库消防系统自动化建设和改造的特点及发展趋势

以港口浦油库消防系统实施自动化改造为例,重点介绍了设置自动报警装置和实现消防泵房自动化的一些基本做法,如采用压力式泡沫比例混合装置,自动启闭的阀门,设置恒压系统,对消防水池进行配套改造等。此外,还介绍了实现消防自动化的发展方向。     

Dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls contamination in poultry liver related to food safety – A review

The present article reviews the most important scientific literature on dioxins and PCBs found in poultry liver and their relation with food safety and consumers' health. Dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent organic pollutants with high chemical stability; they are lipophilic compounds and they are not destroyed by microbial, photochemical, chemical or thermal degradation. Dioxins and PCBs are ubiquitous environmental contaminants, which are present in all marine plant and animals, birds, mammals and humans and bioaccumulate through the food chain. In the last years, there has been concern regarding food contamination with different chemical substances and their effect on food safety. More particularly, at the end of the 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, there were a series of incidents related to dioxin and PCBs, which directly affected human or contaminated the soil and accumulated in feed and then in food products, such as poultry liver. It was shown in case of dioxin incident that tetra and penta-chlorinated congeners (the most toxic ones) accumulates selectively in poultry livers. Maximal concentrations have been fixed in the European legislation for dioxins and PCBs in food from animal origin, in order to protect the consumer. Data about background poultry liver contamination are scarce and the few available show levels below the legal limit for dioxins, but data are still lacking for DL-PCBs.     

A generic model for evaluating consumer food safety behaviour

This paper presents a detailed approach that can be used to evaluate the food safety behaviour of consumers. The preparation of a chicken and mushroom meal is used as a model. Hazard analyses were conducted and an audit hazard check-list compiled. A standard measure of hygienic food handling behaviour, a food operation risk (FOR) score, was devised, tested and refined. Additionally, a food safety risk (FSR) score, indicating the degree of likely risk to the consumer was developed. Early results indicate that these techniques are suitable for investigating the food safety behaviour of a larger sample of consumers with a range of home-produced food products. It will be useful to those involved in hygiene auditing and intervention and could benefit small scale caterers attempting to develop HACCP plans for their operations.