what is hygiene?
Hygiene refers to the set of practices perceived by a community to be associated with the preservation of health and healthy living. While in
modern medical there is a set of standards of hygiene recommended for different situations, what is considered hygienic or not can vary between
different cultures, genders and etarian groups. Some regular hygienic practices may be considered good habits by a society while the neglect of
hygiene can be considered disgusting, disrespectful or even threatening
Hygiene is an old concept related to medicine, as well as to personal and professional care practices related to most aspects of living. In
medicine and in home (domestic) and everyday life settings, hygiene practices are employed as preventative measures to reduce the incidence and
spreading of disease. In the manufacture of food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic and other products, good hygiene is a key part of quality assurance
i.e. ensuring that the product complies with microbial specifications appropriate to its use. The terms cleanliness (or cleaning) and hygiene are
often used interchangeably, which can cause confusion. In general, hygiene mostly means practices that prevent spread of disease-causing
organisms. Since cleaning processes (e.g., hand washing) remove infectious microbes as well as dirt and soil, they are often the means to achieve
hygiene. Other uses of the term appear in phrases including: body hygiene, personal hygiene, sleep, mental hygiene, dental hygiene, and
occupational hygiene, used in connection with public health. Hygiene is also the name of a branch of science that deals with the promotion and
preservation of health, also called hygienic. Hygiene practices vary widely, and what is considered acceptable in one culture might not be
acceptable in another
WHAT IS HACCP?
HACCP is a systematic approach to implement a safe environment in food and manufacturing industry. The full form of HACCP is Hazard Analysis
Critical Control Point.
Do staff have to be trained in food safety/hygiene?
Answer: Yes all food handlers need to be trained on the Basic food safety & Hygiene before they work with food.
Does the FSSAI carry out food safety/hygiene training?
Answer: No, FSSAI ( Food Safety Standards Authority of India) will be responsible for the Licensing and inspections , they also provide
regulations for exporting and importing food and food safety.
Does the FSSAI register, approve or endorse any training consultants or their training programmes?
Answer: Not exactly. Training consultants must be certified from any of the certification agency whicg is approved by internationally in the
respective food safety training levels and they should have a Qualification to conduct the trainings.
Can I use timber (hardwood) chopping boards or must I use plastic boards?
Answer: As per FSSAI standards your are not supposed to use any wooden cutting boards for food
How do I clean my heavy timber chopping board?
Answer: First you need to clean all food particles from the chopping board then put salt on that over night , then clean with hot water in the
morning.
What is the law regarding selling contaminated food?
Answer: As per FSSAI and International standards your are not supposed to sell any contaminated food
What does the ‘use by’ date mean?
Answer: The last day of the product peak quality give by the manufacture
What does the ‘best before’ date mean?
Answer: The date of the product shelf life and quality remain safe after that should be discard
Can I use food past its “use by” date?
Answer: No
Can I use food past its ‘best before’ date?
Answer: No
I want to open a new food business. What do I need?
Answer: You need to get the approval from the FSSAI with all documents related
Do I need to register my Food business?
Answer: Yes - You must.
Do all food handlers need to wear protective clothing like gloves and hairnets?
Answer: Yes food handlers should wear hair net and when they handling ready to eat food they should wear gloves.
I would like to make a complaint with food I bought locally. What can I do about it?
Answer: You can directly contact the FSSAI website there is a column called Feedback..
What should I do if I find something in my food (a foreign object) that shouldn’t be there?
Answer: You should contact the restaurant mangers then you can raise the issue in FSSAI Feedback section.
How do I complain about contaminated food?
Answer: You can not prove which food got contaminated. For that first you need to send the food samples for testing to a laboratory , if your
reports says its got contaminated then you can raise the same complaint in the FSSAI website Feedback section.
What should I do if I find insects or foreign bodies in my food?
Answer: Raise in FSSAI feedback
Where can I obtain food hygiene training for people working in food businesses?
Who investigates cases of infectious disease?
Answer: WHO
Is it ok for a food handler to serve food and handle money?
Answer: No , which can cause cross contaminate food.
What temperature should you store food at?
Answer: As per FSSAI Hot food should be stored at or above 63°C and cold food must be stored at or below 5°C
Is it illegal for a shop to have out-of-date food on display?
Answer: Yes
Can animals go into food businesses?
Answer: No , they may cause cross contamination of food.
The corner shop I use is not very clean or tidy - can the Council send someone round to inspect it?
Answer: There is no council in India.
What can Environmental Health Officers do about a case of food poisoning?
Answer: They will investigate on the cause . In India FSSAI food health inspectors can only investigate.
How can I make a complaint about an item of food I have bought?
Answer: You need to prove the issue with that food then complaint in FSSAI feedback.
I have become ill after eating at a local restaurant - what should I do?
Answer: You need to raise the issue in FSSAI local health department then they send you for the medical tests once the test proves that you
fallen ill because that food , then they tale action.
Can I run a food business from my home?
Answer: No , FB requires facilities and layout which will be approved by the FSSAI.
What are the dietary sources of vitamin D?
Answer: Sun Light, Fish, Milk, Olive , Cheese etc.
What is the recommended daily intake of vitamin D?
Answer: Need to expose to sunlight in the early hours, can take tuna fish, salmon, milk & yogurt etc.
What are the symptoms of vitamin D deficiency?
Answer: Cardiovascular disease, Asthma in children, milk allergies.
What are the FSAI recommendations regarding Vitamin D?
Answer: There is some regulation from FSSAI you can see Food product standards and food additives.
I thought breastfeeding was the best option for my baby. Am I wrong?
Answer: Yes, so that baby can get passive immune system.
I feed my baby infant formula. Do I need to use a supplement as well?
Answer: Yes.
I am pregnant and taking a vitamin D supplement. Does this mean my baby will not need to take a supplement?
Answer: Yes, because through mother it will transfer from Placenta, helped by IgM ( Immune globulin M)
Are babies the only group at risk of vitamin D deficiency?
Answer: Not exactly adults could be.
Should everyone be taking a vitamin D supplement?
Answer: Yes
Are foods stored in a rotation use-by date basis?
Answer: Yes, so that we can avoid spillage.
Is there a dedicated holding area for foods on hold or involved in a recall?
Answer: Its not applicable for all, manufactures who also involve in distribution they need to have.
for every food establishment It is recommended to conduct the food hygiene audit at least once a week so you can learn and improve knowledge the hygiene measures taken up in the kitchen in order to maintain the food safety, i.e., the cleanliness and the best practises according to the Indian as well as the international standards.
There are several measures those are to be followed by kitchen department in order to prevent the contamination of food items. Those are as follows:-
• Personal hygiene of the food handlers
• Cleanliness
• Food storage practices
• Cooling methods
• Re-heating methods
• Hot and cold holding procedures
• Allergens practices, and
• Maintaining the HACCP standards
It is also important to know that what are the conditions in which the food gets contaminated?
The project tells us about hazards. Starwood has got its own hazard standards, normally itis of three types
• Physical
• Chemical
• Biological
Now, contaminations of food are also of different types they are:-
Physical contamination-
This can occur in a variety of ways at different stages of food processing and production. Some examples are:
• Soil from the ground when harvesting;
• A bolt from a processing plant when packaging;
• A hair from a cook in the kitchen.
Care must be taken at each stage to prevent physical contamination.
Chemical contamination-
This can occur in a variety of ways at different stages of food processing and production. Some examples are:
• Chemicals from the farm;
• A cleaning product used in the processing plant when packaging;
• Fly spray used in the kitchen when preparing food.
Care must be taken at each stage of food production to prevent chemical contamination.
Bacterial contamination-
As soon as food is harvested, slaughtered or manufactured into a product it starts to change. This is caused by two main processes:
• Autolysis – self destruction, caused by enzymes present in the food;
• Microbial spoilage – caused by the growth of bacteria, yeasts and moulds.
---frequently asked questions on food safety and hygiene?
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