Unit 31 Food Safety Management Assignment Solution

Programme	Diploma in Business (Marketing)
Unit Number and Title	Unit 31  Food Safety Management Assignment Solution
QFC Level	Level 5

Introduction

The organization who are engaged in the business of selling food items have to put great emphasize on the safety of the product to protect the health of the customer. The Food which is consumed by the customer has the great impact on the heath of the customer and are contaminated by the bacteria, virus, parasite, toxins and chemical that can cause food borne disease or food poisoning. Most of the people has faced health problem by consuming the food which was contaminated due to improper storage, insufficient cooked, or other contamination. The government frames the certain rules for these business as the product sold by them has the direct effect on the heath of the consumer and emphasize great control over it. These type of company are required to follow certain safety measures to prevent the contamination of the food. The organization can use various method at their workplace to provide the safety to the food organization. Each organization as per the safety of its procedure should frame rules and measures which are to be followed at the workplace. For the safety of the product the organization needs to regularly review the process which is followed and the changes which are required in the current process to increase the safety of the product.

Task 1

1.1A review of the controls available to prevent food contamination

The safety of the food is the essential role of the industry who are engaged in the business of selling food product and beverages. The common problem which the consumer faces are food poisoning, vomiting, stomach pain, and headache or may affect the health in the long run. The Food items generally are highly affected by the bacteria and affects the health of the customer. The creation of toxins in the food items can be controlled by using various measures which prevent the contamination of food items. The organization is also required to follow certain measures at the workplace to provide the safety of the food items. The organization needs to frame policy and action to cover the entire food chain, from production to consumption. Food safety are the conditions and practice that prevent the quality of the food to prevent contamination and food borne illness (Lipcsei & Kambhampati,2016).

The organization to control the physical contamination of the goods need to emphasize on the packaging method which prevent food from contamination. The organization needs to protect the premises where the food is processed or produces from pest as they infect the food items. The focus should be on basis hygiene improvement to prevent the food from contamination. The organization needs to concentrate on training the employees to maintain the basis hygiene at the workplace.The management needs to check that the staff should not chew gum, eat or smoke in the area where food is produced and processed. The management needs to check that the workers do not wear jewelry at the workplace and maintain hygiene. The workers needs to adopt various safety measures while working at the workplace such as gloves, head covering to prevent the food (Salehi, Khaniki, Shoghi, Sanaei & Haghi, 2016).

For protecting the food from chemical contamination the organization needs to maintain proper storage of the food items to prevent them from bacteria. The organization needs to train the staff in respect of the hazard and exposure to risk such as chemical, hazardous as well as other factors which impact the health of the customer through food contamination. The organization needs to mention the last date of the use of the product within which the contamination of the food can be avoided. The organization needs to identify the key area of the business where the hazard can occur and should build regular supervision over these areas.

1.2 An analysis of the different sources of food contamination

The food are affected by the bacteria and viruses which enters the food items and makes them inappropriate for consumption. These bacteria enters the human body through food items and effect the health of the consumer. The different sources of the bacteria and virus are present in the environment which enters the food items and grow very faster to infect the food. The main sources of contamination are physical, chemical and microbial sources-
Physical contamination: physical contamination are substance that become the part of the food items and doesn’t make major changes in the food items. However they affect the health of the consumer and may create hazard for the consumer. For example If unintentionally some metal or other items fall in the food item while processing or packaging will not spoil the food but will cause injury to the health of the consumer. The food is highly affected by insects and rodents which contaminate the food. Firstly these insects and rodents eat and destroy large amount of food and secondly the microbes enter the food product through these insects. To prevent the food from insects and rodents the organization needs to use appropriate pest control measures at the premises (Uggioni & Salay, 2013).
Chemical contamination: The organization which are using pest control may have the chances of the food contamination through chemicals. The organization generally uses the pest control to prevent the food from insect and rodents. If these chemicals enters the food supply they generally affect the health of the consumer. To prevent the food from chemical contamination the organization needs to check the chemical used at the workplace and analyze their effect on the food items. The organization needs to train their employees in handling the chemicals effectively and should avoid the effect of these items in the food items. The management needs to keep proper storage of these items to prevent them to enter the food product. These chemicals can also enter through water as water is used in processing the each kind of food items. The organization to prevent the food needs to regularly check the sources of water supply and the presence of chemicals in the water which will affect the food. For example a few amount of zinc in the water is good for health but the high volume of the zinc may affect the health of the consumer may cause death.
Microbial contamination: The physical and chemical contamination generally doesn’t changes the state of the food on the other hand the microbial contamination makes undesired changes in the food items and spoils the food. The food is generally considered spoiled when its appearance, texture, flavor, or order changes. The food is generally considered spoiled when a contamination or naturally occurring enzymes causes the food to deteriorate or change the food in undesired way. The change in the state of the food is generally due to bacteria, fungi, mold etc. These bacteria has a huge effect on the health of the consumer (Bhupathiraju & Tucker, 2011).

1.3 A discussion of food preservation method and an evaluation of their effectiveness.

There are various methods to prevent the food from spoilage which an organization can use for the safety of its customer. These methods helps in preventing the growth of the bacteria within the food and makes food safer for the consumption. The organization can use various method which prevent the food from the external method which affect the business.The government also provide various measures which the organization can follow to prevent the food from spoilage. These foo also helps in preserving the food for longer period. They generally reduces the development of bacteria in the food items and thus helps in using the food for the longer period. The basis method available to preserve the food are as follows-
Acidification: Certain food are preserved by storing them in certain chemicals. For example vinegar can be used to preserve the food for the longer period and prevent the growth of the bacteria and kills germs which affect the food items. These acids also help in improving the taste of the food and increase it use for the longer period. There are many fruits and vegetable which can be preserved for the longer period by storing in the vinegar.
Fermentation: This method is used by many of the organization to preserve the food for the longer period. The food is fermented by allowing one type of microbes to act on the food items to convert some of its components into alcohol and acids. The various ways which the organization can use in fermentation are yeast, lactic acid bacteria, fungi or other bacteria (Guillier, Duret, Hoang, Flick & Laguerre, 2016).
Dehydration: This method is used from the ancient time and helps in preserving the food for longer duration. Many of the fruits and vegetable are preserved by removing moisture from the food items.  This process slow down the development of bacteria in the food item and helps in preserving the food for longer period. The moisture from the food is generally removed by proving the heat to the food items by dehydrator, oven or keeping it in sunlight. The food after the dehydration is preserved in the air tight container to prevent the moisture to enter the food item.
Root cellaring: The root cellar is a cool, dark, and humid area which are generally used the preserve the root crops. To preserve the food they are kept in the place which doesn’t gets too warm and stays free from frost. The consistency of the temperature helps in preserving the food for the longer period. The storage area should have free flow of air and away from the outside wall which helps to preserve the food for the various seasons.
Canning: Many of the organization uses canning to preserve their food for the longer period. Canning involves heating the food in the sealed pack jar to destroy microorganism which cause the food contamination. This method also prevent the food from the effect of the external environment which affects the quality of the food.  In this process canning moisture is driven and vacuum is formed in the jar to preserve the food for the longer period. The organization choose water canning or pressure canning as per the requirement of the food. The food which is stored in the cans needs to be used within the certain period of opening to prevent the food from spoilage.
Freezing: Most of the food items are stored at very low temperature after they are produces to stop the development of the microorganism.  This helps in maintain the freshness of the food for the longer period. In this method the food is packed when they are fresh in the certain temperature to preserve for the longer period. This helps in avoiding the change in temperature which helps in maintain the freshness of food.
Salting: The salting of the food item is also the most important technique and is used since ancient time to preserve the food for the longer period. The presence of various salt in the food reduces the development of the microorganism and helps in preserving the food. This method can also be used with the other method to prevent the food from contamination.

Task 2

2.1 A summary of the methods for the safe storage of food, with an emphasis on temperature control system

There are various method which the organization can use to prevent the food from spoilage. The Organization on the basis of the requirement of the product needs to choose the best way to preserve the food. There are many food items which can be prevented for the longer period by providing the temperature as per the requirement of the product. The organization needs to maintain the appropriate temperature of the product till the product is used by the customer. To prevent the food and increase the duration it is must to maintain the food and appropriate temperature. The spoilage of the food items generally depends upon the temperature, humidity, sock rotation and method of packaging. The effective storing of the food helps in preserving the food throughout the years and makes it cheaper for most of the times. The organization at their premises needs to use certain measures to prevent the food from contamination.

The organization keeps the food under certain temperature to avoid the hazard related to the consumption of the spoiled food. To ensure the safety of the food they are either stored in too hot or too cold condition. The organization makes the use of the refrigerator to delay the process of the spoilage rather than preventing. Most of the pathogens develop slowly when they are kept under cold condition which is generally around 5 degree Celsius or below. The organization needs to store the refrigerator away from the cooking area to prevent it from heat. To prevent the food the refrigerator needs to be regularly cleaned up from inside or outside. The refrigerator needs to clean throughout to control the food from disinfection (Hamilton, Peverill, Müller & Brattebø, 2015).

The organization needs to defrost the food items before cooking them as it is easy to cook the food which is at the room temperature to prevent the food from contamination. The food needs to be cooked as soon as it is defrosted to prevent the growth of pathogens. The cooking temperature of the food is enough to kill the major pathogens but some toxins and spores might survive. For preventing food is cooked and immediately stored and is rapidly chilled in the blast chiller and stored there till the final use. This is generally used by the restaurant business to prevent the food from contamination.

Generally the catering system seals the food in vacuumed pouch and chill the food and reheated when to serve. This help in improving the quality of the food and increases the nutritional value of the food item. The organization can quickly freeze the food after it is cooked when there is huge demand and the food is prepared in advance to meet the demand. The organization can also keep the food hot after it is cooked and is directly kept in the cupboards, hot buffets or bains-marie to maintain the quality of the service. The problem is that the food cannot be kept under the hot temperature for the longer period as it cost a lot to heat the food item.The food needs to be rapidly cooled after it is cooked to prevent from spoilage. For this the food is generally divide into parts to quickly cool down as the bigger pieces take longer time in cooling.

2.2 An evaluation of the importance of personal hygiene, cleaning, disinfection and pest control

The organization must maintain the personal hygiene, cleaning, disinfection and pest control at the premise where food is produced or processed to prevent the food from contamination. To avoid the hazard they needs to regularly examine the premise and find the key area where there are chances of hazard. The proper hygiene at the workplace helps the organization to prevent the food from contamination. The organization needs to follow certain rules at the organization to avoid and prevent hazard. To maintain the basic hygiene at the workplace the organization needs to check that workers uses proper equipment while working on the food items and the items needs to be clean. The workers also needs to use safety measures while working on the food item to prevent them from bacteria. The organization needs to check that the workers wash and dry there hand before working and should work when infected by any disease.

To maintain the safety at the premises it should be washed and cleaned up regularly to control the growth of the bacteria. The organization needs to make the policy which requires regular cleaning of the equipment which are used at the premises to produce or prevent the food. The organization needs to follow the rule framed by HACCP to increase the trust of the public. This also helps the company to avoid the hazard and guard the companies against certain issues. It is the responsibility of the manger to maintain the basic hygiene at the workplace. For this he needs to act proactively and identify the key area where there are chances of hazard and adopt various measures to avoid it. The organization needs to make proper schedule of the area which are to be checked and check that all the units are functioning effectively (Heldal,  Vikebø& Johansen,  2013).

For maintain the good hygiene it is necessary that all the people in the organization follow the appropriate procedure of cleanliness and wear safety measures at the workplace. The management needs to make certain rules for the workplace which help in avoiding hazard and also communicate the consequences of not following the rules.The management also required to use pest control at the workplace to prevent the food from insects and rodents. There should be proper check that the chemical used by the pest control are stored safely and doesn’t affect the food items. The organization also needs to effectively discharge the waste from the premises. The management needs to check that the waste are not accumulated near the workplace and are properly disposed.

2.3 A justification of the need for hygienic design of premises and hygiene training

The organization should design the premise in the way so that the hygiene standard are easily maintain at the organization, and facilitate in running down the cost and lower hazard and risk. The choice of design should be made after ensuring that the design facilitate availability of all the service at the workplace and is safer. The structure should be as such where there are separate segment for each work and which minimize cross contamination. The design should facilitate effective coordination between various work and facilitate in maintain hygiene (Maifreni,2015).

The premise needs to be designed in the way which help in preventing the bacteria, virus and pests to enter the premises.The design should also facilitate effective drainage of the wastage and check that there is no link of them with the place where food is stored or processed.The ceiling needs to be in the way where it is easy to conceal all the pipes and cables and access of the area of inspection, pest control, and favors proper ventilation. The ceiling of the cooking area needs to be strong enough to handle the heat which is produce while cooking the food. The walls of the premises needs to be strong enough and should be easy to clean and should prevent the entrance of pest in the organization. The organization generally uses the plastic sheet as it is easy to clean and disinfect and easy to replace. The flies and pests generally enters the premise from the doors and the windows so all the doors needs to be properly sealed to prevent the entrance of the pest and flies. The floor of the premises needs to be durable, anti- slip, and should be easy to clean. The premise should be as such which facilitate future possible expansion and have enough space to allow the safe plugin of new equipment. The premise needs to have proper ventilation which helps in reducing humidity and temperature to prevent the multiplication of the bacteria and molds. There should be also effective lighting at the workplace so the staff are safe while working and promotes a good hygiene by helping in effective cleaning the workplace (Thyberg & Tonjes, 2015).

2.4 A flood hazard risk assessment

The organization which are engage in the business environment of food and beverages needs to adopt the appropriate measures to prevent the risk and hazard. There is a huge effect of the hazard in this line of business and may sometimes lead to closure of well established companies. To avoid these risk manager needs to identify the key area of business where there are great chances of hazard. The manager needs to build a procedure which regularly check these area to prevent the business from losses. The manager can also obtain the opinion of the workers to find the problem which they are facing at the workplace. These assessment help in early detection of the hazard and provides the measures to avoid those risk. The following steps can be followed to prevent the hazard-

• Identify the area which are related to the current business.
• Create the list of people who will be affected by consuming the spoiled food.
• Find the level of risk associated with the business.
• Records the key hazard which the organization may face.
• On the basis of the record identify the measures which the organization can adopt to avoid risk.

2.5 A food safety control system

The control system implemented by the government needs to be designed in the way which helps in increasing the safety of the food which is produced within the region. It should cover all the food which is produced in the particular region.  The main focus of the control system is to check that the food and beverages which are manufactured by the organizations should not affect the health of the consumer. The system check that the organization are fulfilling the legal compliances while running their business. The system check that the management is maintain the proper hygiene at the premise which helps in preventing the food from contamination (Hamilton, Peverill, Müller & Brattebø, 2015).

To improve the quality of the outcome that the organization follows standard raw material and manufacturing process while providing food and beverages. The SFSA is the agreement between the supplier and the company that the product supplied meets the standard. The agreement helps in getting assurance that the food which is delivered is safe for consumption. The control system provides the policy available for document control, preparing document, identify the key areas for the control, collecting data and document filing and file storage. The control system also helps in effective handling of complain received from the customer.

The good control system includes that the food safety policies should state the standard and provide the way it can be achieved. It should also facilitate effective communication with employees to promote the complete understanding of the food safety issues and check that the same policies are followed at all level. The control system should facilitate the effective management of the complaint (aherzadeh .et .al, 2014).

Hazard Analyses and Critical Control Point (HACCP) is the system which control the process of the business to provide safety to the consumer. The system provide various procedure and policies which helps in preventing the health of the consumer. The system provides transparency to the customer in relation to food consumed by them. The system helps in preventing the hazards which are related to the food safety. The benefit of HACCP is that it helps in taking remedial action before the problem happens and provide easy measures to reduce the risk at the business.

2.6 A food safety guide meeting legal requirements

To prevent the safety of the customer the company is required to follow certain legal requirement to protect the consumer from contaminated food. The food safety act 1990 helps in checking that the food which is consumed by the customer doesn’t harm the health of the customer. This act helps in proving the assurance to the customer that the food they are consuming serves or offer the nature which the buyer desired from the product and also check that the food is not affecting the health of the customer. The food regulation 2016 helps in decreasing the harm from food and give purchase more trust in the food. They also helps the customer in taking action against the organization if the product mislead or harm the customer. They also help the company to avoid hazard which may cause huge loss to the company. These guidelines help the client to adopt the measures for the safety of the customer.

Conclusion

So it can be conclude that the companies who are engaged in the business of buying and selling the food items have to put lot of emphasize on the safety of the health of the customer. The organization needs to maintain basic hygiene at the workplace to prevent the food from contamination.The organization needs to choose the design of the premise which helps in preventing the food from spoilage and contamination. The control system helps the organization to prevent the hazard which may affect the functioning of the business.

References

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