What is food safety really all about? This question could create weeks of discussion but to sum it up in just a few words it is about having the knowledge to protect our customers and our establishments from serving unsafe food. The price to pay for unsafe food are too many to mention and none of them are good so we must educate and reeducate ourselves on the best methods of serving safe food.
With this said there are four principles that we need to understand that can make food unsafe and if controlled can eliminate, or reduce the likely hood of a food borne illness. These principles are;
- Time and temperature abuse
- Cross contamination
- Personal Hygiene
- Clean and sanitary
If the basics of these four principles are fully understood and applied in our ever activity in the food handling process we are on the way to a successful food safety program.