Food Hygiene – Bacteria bin Kumanmikro

Assalamualaikum and Salam Sejahtera to kawan-kawan semua…

Bacteria in webster’s new world dictionary is microorganisms which have no chlorophyll and multiply by simple division, some bacteria cause diseases but others are necessary for fermentation.

Usually, we can’t see bacteria but you’ll definitely understand if somebody get food poisoning, that most probably caused by bacteria in the food they ate. This is because bacteria are a living tiny organism in food and become harmful in our body system. Facts said there are two kinds of bacteria which concerns chefs or food handlers, that is :

· helpful bacteria, this kind of bacteria assist in the manufacture items like cheese and yogurt.

· harmful bacteria, which is mostly results from cross-contamination, wrong storage temperature, a badly ventilated kitchen and unhygiene personnel.

Basically bacteria can’t move on their own, it is usually carried by:

· hands
· coughs and sneezes
· unclean equipment, utensils and work surfaces
· air and water
· insects
· poor waste disposal

There are three types of bacteria found in the food industries, that is:

1. Salmonella is usually found in poultry, meats, eggs, raw foods and shellfish.
2. Staphyloccus aureus (pronoun as stapailokus eurius) causes food poisoning due to poison produced in the food by food handler, from cuts, sores, sneezes or cough. Avoiding it by handle food as less as possible and wash your hand after using toilet.
3. Clostridium perfringens are a type of bacteria that are liable to survive light cooking, therefore foods need to be cooked thoroughly.

Bacteria growth by splitting in half and under favourable conditions for growth can double in numbers every 20 minutes so that, in about six hours, one million could be produced from one single bacterium. (wah.. banyak tu, but only if you can see it, you’ll be scared). Favourable conditions for growth are warmth, moisture and time. Bacteria grows between 8’C and 63’C (this is what we called the ‘danger zone’).

Bacteria cannot be killed but we can prevent it from spreading by:

• Complying with rules of hygiene.
• Always keep food under right temperature.
• Ensuring high standard of cleanliness for yourself and equipment.
• Ensure that food is obtained from reliable sources.
• Wash raw fruits and vegetables before use.
• Using separate equipment and knives for cooked and uncooked food.
• Protection of foods from vermin and insects

Wrong – blue chopping board is for raw seafood only – Adeh! tangan sapakan nie? mun ada kitchen inspection wah ni abis eh… tutup cha Spag ah… memang tangan si Denise nie, mun nda si Mahdi or c Jimmy, tangan sapa nah? sapa dapat jawab ku bagi casserole sebiji… haha

Using of colour coded chopping board is one of our effort to avoid cross contamination but in some places, chefs doesn’t really care about it, most chefs use one chopping board for everything, like meat, seafood, vegs bread and etc. Some chefs would take effort to sanitize their chopping board everytime after use for each item.

This is where a fault kitchen management effects, such regulations must be implemented and to make sure everyone in the working area understood and obeyed.

Colour coded chopping board:

Red = raw meat
yellow = cooked meat
blue = fish
green = fruit and salad
white = dairy/bakery
brown = vegetables

Always keep your kitchen clean, sweep anything that is on the floor or even mop – Chef Nash, menyapu dengan mengunakan penyapu bertaraf lima bintang nya yang di gelar ‘Nimbus 2009 – The kalatmata edition’.

Food hygiene is everyone’s responsibilities either you are cooking in a restaurant, home, canteen, or gaerai-gerai makan, the need to understand food hygiene is not only for your own good but for others too, so no one would get food poisoning.

Sampai jumpa lagi, Ciao!!

Chef Nash