HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY DETECTING HARMFUL MICROORGANISMS HEALTH AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS (EXAMPLES FROM CONQUEST FOODS)

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1 HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY DETECTING HARMFUL MICROORGANISMS HEALTH AND SAFETY PRECAUTIONS (EXAMPLES FROM CONQUEST FOODS) Relevant to: Applied Science Unit 1 Identifying biological hazards Carrying out health and safety checks in the workplace Following correct health and safety procedures in the workplace Avoiding contamination by microorganisms

2 HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY CHECKING FOR HARMFUL MICRO-ORGANISMS Food manufacturers, retailers, and other businesses dealing with foods, must have special health and safety procedures in addition to the normal procedures for any other workplace. This is to prevent food from becoming spoilt or contaminated by any substance which should not be present. It is especially important to check for the presence of micro-organisms which might cause food poisoning or other disease. A food manufacturer may send food to shops all over the country. If any contamination of the factory with micro-organisms was not detected, then infected food could be distributed to the shops. Hundreds or thousands of people could become ill as a result. For this reason food companies like Conquest Foods carry out rigorous checks to detect any harmful micro-organisms every day. These checks must involve all employees, their clothing, and all surfaces and equipment. Also all visitors must follow strict hygiene procedures, including the wearing of protective clothing eg sterile coverings for hair and shoes. Also everyone must wash their hands with disinfectant soap. Hygiene is so important that all food factories are regularly inspected by independent inspectors. If any factory is found to be failing to meet the proper health and safety procedures it can be shut down.

3 EXAMPLE OF HEALTH AND SAFETY PROCEDURES AT CONQUEST FOODS Conquest Foods is a company based in Thorne, near Doncaster, which produces a range of frozen potato products. As part of their Health and Safety procedures, they carry out regular Swab Tests of a comprehensive range of locations where contact with food and food products occurs. These tests, which are all carefully checked and recorded, look for the presence of harmful micro-organisms, which cause food poisoning. Swabs are taken from every piece of equipment and surface concerned. A Swab is very like a cotton wool bud, with a plastic handle about 15cm long. Swabs come in sealed, sterile (completely free from micro-organisms) plastic bags, together with a sterile tube, containing a special soft charcoal material which will protect the swab sample until it has been analysed. The test is very simple and quick to carry out. The following example shows the procedure for checking for the presence of bacteria called Listeria which can cause food poisoning.

4 NOTES ON LISTERIA SWABBING PROCEDURE: The company has identified all the areas where Listeria may be found. All of these areas must be swabbed regularly. For Listeria special attention must be paid to fans and drains in the factory The Listeria Locations sheet refers to places which must be swabbed. The sheet is used to check all the necessary swabs have been taken, and to keep accurate records. The Public Health Laboratory Service (PHLS) is a major national organisation, which is responsible for the protection of public health by keeping a check on all possibilities of infectious disease. It receives large numbers of specimens and samples every day from organisations (like food factories and hospitals), where micro-organisms are a special hazard. Scientists at the PHLS analyse all the samples they receive, and send the results back to the organisation hopefully an all clear! QC (QC Freezer) refers to Quality Control. This is a very important function in any company. In a food company like Conquest, Quality Control usually has responsibility for carrying the health and safety checks. Similar Swab Tests are carried out for other micro-organisms. For each one there is a Locations Sheet, which must be completed and signed so that the company can keep a very careful check that all health and safety procedures have been followed.

5 The table below shows part of a Location Sheet for one of the fryers (used for frying potatoes) at Conquest Foods FRYER SWAB LOCATION SHEET Location Oil Storage Tank Result Filter Holding Tank (Holds potatoes) Float Oil Inlet (lets cooking oil into the fryer) Top belt (carries potatoes to the fryer) Bottom belt (cooked potatoes carried away)

6 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER ACTIVITY Ask pupils to examine a range of familiar food locations (kitchen at home, school kitchen, sandwich shop, supermarket) and design a suitable Location Sheet for Swab Testing. This can be a list of locations pupils think should be tested. The column for results could be replaced with a column for reasons, requiring pupils to say why they believe each location should be tested. Photographs of other, less accessible locations could also be used Place chosen (eg Kitchen, supermarket etc) Location Reason it should be tested

7 As for all food manufacturers, Conquest has strict procedures for employees in relation to Hygiene and Safety. Their Hygiene and Safety Notice is provided. QUESTIONS ON CONQUEST S HEALTH AND SAFETY NOTICE Read the health and safety notice from Conquest Foods. Which parts of this do you think may be special rules for food manufacturers (extra rules not found in work places not dealing with food) Give reasons why you think each of the extra rules has been included.

8 VISITORS TO CONQUEST FOODS Visitors to food manufacturing companies must also comply with strict procedures to prevent risks to hygiene, health and safety. At Conquest, every visitor to the site must complete a questionnaire before being allowed into the production areas. Once inside the production areas visitors must comply with the hygiene and clothing requirements of the site. A copy of the questionnaire for visitors is shown opposite.