Food is an essential human need, yet mishandling can pose serious hazards. It’s reported that more than 4 million Canadians, about one-seventh of the population, suffer from foodborne illnesses annually.
Fortunately, we can learn valuable lessons from common mistakes in the food industry and leverage scientific knowledge to establish a comprehensive food safety program. We would like to share insights from our learnings in FOODSAFE Level 1, organizing them into three parts.
- Three primary causes of foodborne illnesses are chemical contamination, such as detergents; physical contamination, such as hair and insects; and biological contamination, including pathogens. Among these, biological contamination is the most prevalent hazard in the food industry, and should be extremely careful to the handling practices. Recently, an outbreak of the Salmonella infections came from the cantaloupes. Our team considers being knowledgeable about contamination sources and Top 10 Allergies food is quite important in Unit 1 & Unit 2.
Reference from below Unit:
Unit 1
The Causes of Foodborne Illness
-Food Contamination
-Food Allergies and Food Services
Unit 2
Microbes & Foodborne Illness
-Spores and Toxins
-FATTOM
-Potentially Hazardous Foods
- It is essential to establish a Food Safety Plan and a Sanitation Plan for the operation of restaurants, catering services, and café in Canada. Besides, it is crucial to ensure all staff members, including managers and workers follow the Food Safety Plan procedure to serve food and to eliminate food contamination cases. If you are a beginner to start a Food Safety Plan, it is suggested to take reference from the example provided by the government of British Columbia.
If you need advice on Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points, please feel free to contact our team.
Reference from below Unit:
Unit 3
Food Safety Plans and HACCP
-Hazards
-Critical Control Point
-Monitoring Actions
-Corrective Actions
-Sample Food Safety Plans
- Preparing food involves numerous critical details, including thawing, preventing cross-contamination, proper cooling methods, and monitoring internal cooking temperatures and hot-holding temperatures. Throughout the course, we’ve highlighted common mistakes in these areas. For example, a busy worker prepared the meal for dinner at noon. Unfortunately, the worker ignored to verify the internal cooking temperature of the food and overlooked the necessary cooling time, leading to insufficient temperatures that failed to eliminate pathogens. As result, the food became a source of biological contamination. Furthermore, this improperly cooled food remained within the danger zone temperature range from noon until evening, which caused a serious foodborne illness to the customers. This year, a critical danger of E-Coli outbreak from the food of shared kitchen happened in daycares which has caused many health damages.
Reference from below Unit:
Unit 4
Food Handler Health & Hygiene
Unit 5
Receiving & Storing Food Safety
Unit 6
Preparing Food Safety
-Thawing
-Preventing Cross
-Contamination
-Cooking to right temperature
-Hot Holding Foods
-Cooling Foods
Unit 7
Serving Food Safety
Unit 8
Cleaning, Sanitizing & Pest Control
Unit 9
Premises Requirements
Having completed these courses, our team strongly recommends that anyone working in the food industry participate in this food safety program. Hazards in food handling are often imperceptible but occur frequently. We aim to make a meaningful contribution to both the food industry and public health by providing tangible data and promoting daily preventive measures in collaboration with you.
Related Links
Link1: https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/public-health-notices/2023/outbreak-salmonella-infections-malichita-cantaloupes.html
Link2: https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/health/keeping-bc-healthy-safe/food-safety/food-safety-sanitation-plans/food-safety-plans-examples
Link3: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/smith-calgary-e-coli-outbreak-update-1.6979566