Prepare for an inspection of health rating of food standards
The hygiene assessment system of the Food Standards Agency has now been adopted by most local authorities. This is more aware of the public about your hygiene assessment. With More than 300,000 catering companies displaying their food hygiene rating in their premises, there is an increased potential that a health inspection can make or undo the future of your business. Thus, even if he can be tempting to neglect some minor health violations in the hope that inspectors will not go there today, the best practice is to treat every day as the day an inspector is will present. The ideal way to prepare for an inspection is to Carry out a routine self-inspection every week.
3 ways to start now:
Have the right tools
+Have and use the same tools as the Expter. Certain common tools that inspectors carry include a flashlight, a clipboard, wipes soaked in alcohol, chemical test strips, inspection forms and a meat thermometer. (In the case of industrial manufacturing, this list may be longer.) Create your own inspection kit and use it.
Everything in your kit must be organized and in working order. When it comes to thermometers, it is important to keep them clean, calibrated and easily accessible. Wipe the probes after each use, keep the box clean by wiping any fat or grime and calibrates (if necessary) once a week with an ice bath.
Quiz on employees
+During an inspection, health officials often ask employees about the task they currently do. In the case of a chef, the inspectors will ask questions about the minimum internal recommended temperatures. This may include the recommended temperatures for chicken, fish, beef and chopped meats.
Ask questions about tasks and security to any staff member throughout the week. This will keep up -to -date knowledge in their minds and help to assess whether your training techniques are effective. The provision of recommended temperature tables is also a great way to ensure that your staff is ready to answer temperature questions.
Check the files
+A good inspector will ask employees to provide information on disease, hand washing, training, temperature and HACCP files to ensure that you are correctly monitoring security practices. Taking the time to check these files yourself keeps them in order and at hand when the inspector arrives.
Having a lot of thermometers is crucial. When the time comes to record temperatures, you will not want your employees to struggle to find one. It's always a good idea to have at least 10 thermometers at hand. One in each chef's jacket, a few for the preparation area and one to keep in the office. The more thermometers you have, the more you will be able to guarantee that the temperatures are taken.
There is no crystal ball that will tell you when an inspector presents himself. You must always be ready. If you create an atmosphere conducive to health and safety, there is no doubt - when the time comes - that you will be ready to succeed and obtain this note of 5 stars to display on your door!
Color code for food safety
Biological contamination is by far the most common cause of food contamination in Europe, representing millions of diseases related to food each year. The presence of harmful bacteria, parasites and viruses can transform a meal otherwise delicious into a potentially fatal experience.
One of the most common forms of contamination is cross contamination, that is to say the transfer of harmful bacteria from one food product to another via dirty utensils, in particular cutting boards, knives and Thermometers. Since most bacteria are killed during the cooking process, at temperatures above 75 ° C, the risk of cross contamination is higher when bacteria from foods that must be cooked in contact with foods that are not.
The elimination of cross -contamination requires good food security habits, such as frequent hand washing, utensils and work surfaces. Many professional kitchens also use color code tools used for different foods, such as raw poultry or fresh vegetables, to reduce the risk of cross -contamination.
Tips and advice
Although many kitchen utensils are coded by color, the vast majority are not, including many food thermometers. However, We have many colored products and blankets from which choose, including those found on the food safety table of the color code, and are perfect for prevent bacteria from forming and thus avoiding cross contamination.
How to keep the color code?
+In very busy kitchens, color codes can be easy to forget. It is therefore a good idea to display a wall table to which employees can refer to it quickly at any time. We sell equipment available in food safety colors.
Explanation of color codes
+Clear color codes can help staff Maintain high food safety standards who will ensure customer safety and encourage them to come back to find out more. This is particularly important in a sector where staff rotation rates are so high. A simple color code system allows new recruits to quickly connect to a team without managers having to worry about the compromise in terms of food security. The color coding of the food preparation process will help make cooking more efficient and safer.
White is used for bakery products, such as pastries, as well as for all dairy products. Note that the eggs must be prepared separately to avoid any risk of propagation of the salmonella bacteria.
Yellow is for all cooked meats. Note that cooked meat and raw meat should always be separated. The cooked meats must also be kept above raw meat in the refrigerator.
Green is used for fruits and salads.
The brown should be used when preparing vegetables.
Red Must be used for raw meats, such as unsafe steaks. It is essential that all surfaces are carefully cleaned after preparing raw meat products.
Blue is used for raw fish. It is essential that raw fish is far from raw meat, because fish is a common allergen.
HACCP-What is it and what does that mean?
HACCP means Risk analysis and critical points control. It is used to describe an internationally recognized way to manage food security and protect consumers. This is a requirement of European food hygiene legislation which applies to all operators in the food sector, with the exception of farmers and producers.
EU regulations 852/2004 (article 5) requires that companies in the food sector are implementing and maintaining hygiene procedures based on HACCP principles. This legislation replaced the 2002 HACCP Rules (HACCP).
HACCP principles
HACCP regulations are internationally recognized as the system of choice for food security management. This is a preventive approach to food security based on the following seven principles:
✔ Identify the dangers to be prevented, eliminated or reduce✔ Identify critical control points (CCP) at the steps where control is
essential
✔ Establish critical limits at CCP level
✔ Establish CCP monitoring procedures
✔ Establish the corrective actions to be taken if a CCP is not under
control
✔ Establish procedures to verify whether the above procedures operate
effectively
✔ Establish documentary files to demonstrate the effective application of
above measures
Make your haccp plan without paper
The integration of a new digital system into your business may seem difficult and take time, but it is actually very simple. Once you are configured, your daily checks could not be simpler.
The scanning of your temperature records has many advantages:
✔ Save time and money on manual work
✔ Add a time time for your readings
✔ Prevents recordings from being falsified or poorly written
✔ Keeps a more organized and accessible data archive
✔ Allows quick corrective actions to avoid expensive damage
There are three different types of thermometers that you can use to scan your temperatures:
Bluetooth thermometers
+Bluetooth thermometers combine with your device via Bluetooth connectivity. Just take your temperature and, At a bit of a button, it will transmit reading to your device, where it can be viewed, stored and downloaded using our free software. Our Bluetooth thermometers include food probes, infrared devices and a dishwashing thermometer to record the cleaning temperatures of the plates.
USB data recorders
+Data recorders automatically perform readings at programmed intervalss. Readings are stored in the instrument and can then be transferred to your PC using a USB connector. These are most often used for ambient readings, such as refrigerator/freezer temperatures and the temperature or ambient humidity. But they can also be used to follow the internal temperature of perishable foodstuffs over a given period, for example during transport. Once connected to your computer, the data can be analyzed, shared and printed using our free software.
Wi-Fi data recorders
+Like USB data recorders, Wi-Fi recorders perform readings at programmed intervals. But instead of having to connect to a computer to download the measurements, these are automatically transmitted via Wi-Fi. The advantage is that users can monitor the results in real time, and even receive alerts by email for beach readings. This offers the highest level of security where temperatures are critical, making it possible to take corrective measures instantly and to avoid expensive damage.
Why choose an infrared thermometer?
Infrared thermometers are Ideal for taking remote surface temperature measurements. They provide relatively precise temperatures without ever having to touch the object you measure. However, they are not a good choice to measure the internal temperature of an object.
Infrared thermometers are very fast, generally giving reading in a fraction of a second, or the time required for the thermometer processor to carry out its calculations. Their speed and relative ease of use have made infrared thermometers invaluable public safety tools in the catering industry, manufacturing, CVC, asphalt and concrete, laboratories and countless other industrial applications .
Choose an infrared thermometer When it is not practical to insert a probe into the object to be measured, or if the surface is simply out of reach And that a surface probe will not do the trick. You may need an infrared thermometer to measure objects:
✔ Fragile (computer circuits)
✔ Dangerous (gears, molten metal)
✔ Impenetrable (frozen food)
✔ Susceptible to contamination (food, saline solution)
✔ Displacement (transporter band, living organisms)
✔ Out of reach (air conditioning conduits, eardrums)
Infrared thermometers and catering applications
Food -based bacteria generally arise on the surface of food. Infrared thermometers can therefore be useful for checking food holding temperatures on plates, service areas, buffets and heated trays.
But infrared thermometers are not very effective in measuring the quality of food cooking. Critical temperatures for food security, such as 5 ° C and 60 ° C, must always be checked using an internal probe.
What infrared thermometers to use?
+There are three ideal infrared thermometers for catering applications. THE Raytemp 8 And Raytemp 38 Apply with removable K -type probes, while the thermometer Thermapen ir has an integrated foldable probe to allow internal temperature measurements.
Infrared and liquid thermometer
+If you use an infrared thermometer with liquids like soups and sauces, pull a ladle full of liquid from the bottom of the pan before taking a measure to better compare the internal temperature. To measure semi-solid materials such as stuffing, corn or potato puree, insert a spoon in the center of the material, pulling it back to create a vacuum and point your infrared thermometer in the void .
Finally, be aware that vapor, even when a liquid does not end, can condense on your thermometer and affect the accuracy of your measurements.
Temperature measurements inside a refrigerator or freezer
+The infrared thermometers used to measure temperatures inside a refrigerator or freezer must generally be stored inside the refrigerator or freezer so that they are ready to start when you have them need. To measure the contents of the frozen pallets, be sure to open the palette, to remove at least one box and point your thermometer up to one of the central boxes to make sure that your reading reflects the temperature of the frozen material Inside the palette and not only the surfaces exposed to warmer air.
What is the pH and why should you maintain correct levels?
PH is a measure of the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution. This is measured in figures; The lower the figure, the more acidic the solution. The higher the figure, the more alkaline the solution.
The impact of incorrect pH levels can vary from one application to another. For example, plants absorb nutrients in a certain PH range, so an incorrect level can affect the growth rate and fruit yield. During brewing, an incorrect pH can produce poor quality taste and affect the shelf life. At the other end of the pH scale, a fruit juice producer will have to control the pH to avoid poor quality and the risk of health problems if the pH goes too low. An incorrect pH level within the pharmaceutical industry could lead to the production of unwanted toxins. A coherent and precise measure of the pH is fundamental to obtain the desired result.
Maintain your pH meter
If you don't take care of your pH meter, incorrect pH levels can occur.
✔ At least, you should always clean the pH electrode while holding it under a current tap. If the pH electrode is excessively dirty, a cleaning solution can be used or purified water. Leave the electrode in the cleaning solution for
✔ After soaking all night, rinse the electrode then dip it in a 4 pH buffer solution before rinsing the electrode one last time. The electrode should then be ready to use.
✔ When it is not used, make sure that the pH electrode is kept moist in a storage solution or a PH 4.01 solution. If the sensor dries completely, the performance of the instrument will be assigned and its invalidated warranty.
✔ If an electrode has dried or slowly becomes reacting, it can be rejuvenated by soaking it overnight in a cleaning solution. Avoid touching the glass bulb at the end of the pH electrode at any time, as this could easily damage it.
