What Is Food Safety?

Food safety involves safe handling, preparation and storage of food in order to keep it safe for consumption and free from food-borne bacteria which can cause serious illnesses. Hygiene is especially important to maintain a fair level of food safety as unhygienic conditions or practices can easily introduce bacteria to food, pathogens ones at worse. Pathogenic food-borne bacteria, like Salmonella, Listeria monocytogenes and Clostridium botulinum can easily cause serious food-borne illnesses in humans.

Food manufacturers and food-handling employees should practice good personal hygiene when in contact with food and other important steps in the food preparation area, such as Hazard Analysis and Crtical Control Points (HACCP) to promote food safety and reponsible preparation of food to be served to consumers.

TIPS TO FOOD SAFETY:

1. Clean: Wash hands and food prepartion surfaces often

Bacteria can spread from soiled hands to foods. It is important to wash hands properly and wear gloves for a preventive measure when preparing food.

2. Separate: Don't cross-contaminate

Bacteria can pass from one food to another, for example, from raw foods to cooked foods. Kitchen utensils and equipment, such as chopping boards should be washed and cleaned regularly expecially after raw food have been in contact with these surfaces.

3. Cook: Cook to proper temperatures

High temperatures of different cooking methods ensures that enzymes that cause food spoilage are denatured and harmful microorganisms that can cause food-borne illnesses in the raw foods are killed, allowing food to be safe for consumption.

4. Chill: Refrigerate promptly

Foods that are refrigerated quickly have a lesser period of time for microbes to fester as a low storage temperature would inactivate harmful bacteria and prevent them from mulitplying.

References:
http://www.foodsafety.gov/~dms/fsebac.html