FREE FOOD HANDLER COURSE

Consuming contaminated food can cause problems in the body that can lead to death.

Food can be contaminated throughout the process in which the handler intervenes, so extreme precautions must be taken.

The foods that present the greatest risk of contamination are:

• Minced meat
• The milk
• The eggs
• The bakery
• Poultry meats
• The salads

The most common forms of food contamination are the following:

• Contact with other contaminated foods
• Contact with saliva when sneezing, coughing, etc
• Through the dust.
• By hands when touching animals or contaminated things
• Through contact with raw foods

The most important factors to control bacterial growth and avoid poisoning are:

The weather

The longer a food spends in optimal conditions for bacterial growth, the more dangerous its consumption will be.

The temperature

• Below 4ºC bacterial growth slows down and stops below 0ºC.
• Above 50ºC bacteria begin to be destroyed and above 100ºC most of them die.

The humidity

The presence of water favors the growth of bacteria and other organisms. It is best to dehydrate them or keep them in dry places.

The acidity

The higher the acidity, the lower the bacterial growth, which is achieved by adding vinegar, lemon juice...

To avoid bacterial contamination, a series of rules must be followed, including:

• We will have raw foods and cooked foods separated.
• Food will be separated from cleaning products and medications.
• Keep food away from saliva (when coughing, talking,...).
• Our food should be kept away from the trash.
• Avoid contact with animals when handling food.

Regardless of the PRL measures that have been implemented, as well as the measures related to food handling based on current regulations, in the face of the risk of contagion of COVID19, it is recommended to separate the areas of the different workers by means of marks on the floor. or other similar measures. Before starting each service you must:

• Carry out a general disinfection of work surfaces.
• Place disinfectant soap dispensers next to the sink.
• To dry, paper will be used, which will be disposed of in a trash can with a non-manually operated lid.

The condition of food should always be inspected before storing it in the warehouse.

There are two types of conservation:

• Cold.

Food will be refrigerated if kept at temperatures between 4ºC and 0ºC and frozen if kept at temperatures below -18ºC. The cold chain must be maintained and it must be remembered that food that has been thawed should never be refrozen or the freezer overloaded.

• At room temperature

Food at room temperature should be stored in cool, dry places and away from garbage. They should never be in contact with the floor or walls to prevent insects and rodents from accessing them.

Special attention must be paid to hygiene, both of the facilities and utensils and especially the hygiene of the handler.

Utensils and facilities should be washed with detergent and disinfectant but there should never be any traces of these products left. In particular, crockery, cutlery, handlers' clothing and any appliance or utensil that has been in contact with food must be cleaned every day.

Periodic inspections should also be carried out on ventilation ducts, pipes, etc., and garbage should be thrown out every day to prevent the appearance of rodents and insects.

In personal hygiene, special attention should be paid to:

• Hands

Always clean (they should be washed with hot water and antibacterial soap) and with short nails, or with gloves.

• Hair

Short or gathered with a hairnet or chef's hat.

• The mouth, the nose...

Protected with a mask if you are going to prepare food to be consumed cold.

• Clothes

Without external buttons and easily washable.

• Wounds, pimples, etc.

Always protected with plasters, bandages, etc.

• Diseases

You should stop handling food as soon as you feel discomfort or notice the appearance of stains or pimples.

The HACCP system (Risk Analysis and Critical Point Control) is a system that is based on the fact that once the problems and risks that a food may present are known, control and surveillance systems can be established to detect a deviation from the limits.

Consequently, actions can be planned to avoid problems instead of waiting for them to occur to control them, thus fewer products will have to be rejected at the end of the chain and the output of safe food will be guaranteed.

State regulations regarding handlers have changed quite a bit in recent years.

The most important change establishes that it is up to the company that hires the handler to supervise their training, that is, the company that hires the handler must ensure that their training is correct. It is also established that it is the responsibility of food companies to ensure the hygiene of their facilities and their food products and to implement appropriate control systems in accordance with the Critical Point Analysis and Control (HACCP) systems.

This new rule is indicated in ROYAL DECREE 109/2010, of February 5

According to Regulation 1169/2011, known as the Food Information Law (Allergens), since December 13, 2014, every food operator is obliged to report on the allergens present in their products through a system that allows them to be clearly identified.

There are many possible allergens, it is only mandatory to report those that contain any of the following 14 elements*:

• Cereals containing gluten.
• Crustaceans and crustacean products.
• Eggs and egg-based products.
• Fish and fish-based products.
• Peanuts and peanut-based products.
• Soy and soy-based products.
• Milk and its derivatives.
• Nuts.
• Celery and derived products.
• Mustard and derived products.
• Sesame grains and products based on sesame grains.
• Sulfur dioxide and sulfites.
• Lupins and products based on lupins.
• Mollusks and products based on mollusks.