A food handling program teaches that cross contamination occurs when harmful bacteria spreads to food from other food, surfaces, hands or equipment. Cross-contamination commonly occurs if equipment used for raw food preparation is then used for cooked or ready-to-eat food. We’ll examine some preventative measures taken to eliminate cross contamination in the packaging industry, as well as what retailers in the UK are offering-up in their product lines to lower the risk of salmonella poisoning as well as other harmful risks associated with cross contamination. Food Safety Regulations Prompt Manufacturers to Reconsider Equipment Around the world, food manufacturers face mounting concerns about safety and.. READ MORE »
Expiration dates can be useful—they inform consumers of the last date by which a food product’s flavour or quality is best. However, they can also sometimes be misleading. Experts with food safety training know there are a wide range of products that can be safely eaten well past their best before dates, and some that consumers should avoid. Foods to be avoided include ground beef, deli meats, poultry, fresh berries, and soft cheeses made with unpasteurized milk. If you are planning to pursue a food safety diploma, read on to learn more about best before labelling, and which goods can.. READ MORE »
Studies performed by the Public Health Agency of Canada show that approximately one in every eight Canadians gets sick as a result of domestically acquired food-borne diseases. While Canada does have very strict food safety procedures, it is important to understand that there are many precautions that should still be taken to prevent the spread of food-borne illness. This includes ensuring that hands are clean and thoroughly washed before and after handling food, refrigerating prepared food, ensuring that food items are fully cooked before consumption, and much more. If you plan to pursue a food safety diploma, you will learn.. READ MORE »
Move over Golden Delicious and Granny Smith, there’s a new apple in town and apparently this one has something that no other apple does—it’s got non-browning properties. When a typical apple is bruised, bitten or even sliced, its polyphenol oxidase (PPO) mixes with its polyphenolics to create a brown coloured melanin—which is where that unappealing brownish colour comes from. With Arctic apples, however, the combination of these two proteins never actually occurs, therefore bypassing the colour change. If you plan on pursuing food quality training, or enrolling in any quality control courses, this is one innovative item you may want.. READ MORE »
North Americans have recently acquired a taste for healthier food options that contain natural ingredients. Simple ingredients with little-to-no chemical additives have grown in demand and major food companies are either getting on board with this trend on their own, or being forced on board by food bloggers and health activists who publicly expose their products as potentially harmful. While many food chains have removed harmful chemicals from their products in European countries, Canada and the US seem to lag behind. If you plan on enrolling in a food safety college in North America, you might be interested in learning.. READ MORE »
A recent report by the Conference Board of Canada, in collaboration with the University of Guelph’s Food Institute, found that Canada’s food safety system was ranked the best in the world, as the country tied for first place with Ireland in comparison with 15 other countries. Individuals who have had food safety training know that this particular standing emphasizes Canada’s victory in various areas regarding food safety. These include Canada’s ability to effectively respond to emergencies, and its capability to communicate such emergencies with the public. The results featured in this report were determined by examining three particular areas of.. READ MORE »
Food thermometers are used to determine the internal temperatures of food items such as eggs, beef, poultry and much more. Anyone who has had food safety training understands that using a thermometer to take the temperature of food is the only way to accurately measure whether or not the product has been thoroughly cooked. Because bacteria like Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria can live and grow in uncooked food, ensuring that these items have reached their proper cooking temperatures will also guarantee that any lingering bacteria is killed in the process. This means that using a food thermometer can actually.. READ MORE »
Graduates of food safety training programs will often move on to pursue careers in quality assurance, regulatory affairs, or perhaps even plant sanitation. Professionals working in plant sanitation recognize that cleaning and disinfecting are some of the most important activities that can be performed in a food production plant. Many of us have been exposed to the consequences of an unsanitary food plant – whether it was by personally consuming bacteria-ridden food or hearing about someone else’s unfortunate experience. Failure to produce food items in a hygienic environment can result in the spread of food-borne illnesses as well as food.. READ MORE »
Holiday entertaining can be stressful because there is so much to think about – how many guests will there be? What should you serve? Does anyone have allergies? But while you’re cooking up a variety of delicious options, a very important detail might slip your mind: do you have enough space in your fridge to store everything? If you haven’t had any food quality training, you might think you can get away with storing food outside, or in a colder area of your house – however if you’re not religiously monitoring the temperature of those items, they could get contaminated!.. READ MORE »
It is common for food safety tips to be passed down through generations and word of mouth. However, we know through new scientific discoveries that what was deemed safe in 1920, is not necessarily safe today. While you may have never fallen deathly ill from bad food, there may very well be potential food safety hazards looming in your own kitchen right at this moment. Most of the time food borne illnesses go unreported, and people will ignore the reality that the food they cooked at home made them sick. Truthfully, no amount of pharmaceutical training can substitute for careful.. READ MORE »
