An introduction to contaminated food
How does food become contaminated?
Different hazards contaminate foods in different ways. There are four types of hazards that you must be aware of:
Biological
Physical
Chemical
Allergenic
Remember B for bacteria.
Biological contaminants are microscopic organisms (small bacteria that we cannot see without using a microscope). These contaminants include bacteria, viruses, moulds and parasites.
2. Physical contaminants
Physical contaminants are harmful objects that can be found in food. Examples include hair, plasters, glass and bolts. These contaminants may cause those eating the contaminated food to cut themselves, break their teeth or choke.
How does food become contaminated with physical hazards?
Damaged equipment can cause parts and bits to drop off into the food.
Chemical contaminants
The main chemical hazards involve the incorrect use of cleaning chemicals and the provision of foods that are contaminated with:
Chemicals
Pesticides
Weedkillers
Poisons from pest control procedures
Food additives
To avoid chemical hazards:
Purchase food from a reputable supplier.
Check food products for any chemical hazards.
Work safely with cleaning chemicals.
Follow the manufacturer’s instructions on how to use cleaning chemicals.
Use only cleaning chemicals approved by your employer for the appropriate task.
Never mix chemicals.
Store chemicals away from food in labelled containers.
ETD’s Online Food Safety Level 2 (Catering)
To get more information about working with food safely, you can purchase ETD’s online Food Safety Level 2 (Catering) Course. Follow these five simple steps to get started.
Create a free company account or single user account, selecting the £12+ VAT payment scheme.
Purchase your user accounts using the online Elavon platform.
For company accounts, create your user accounts (using unique usernames) and activate each user by pressing the ‘activate’ button.
Purchase your online training by selecting the courses that you require. Ticking a course will instantly assign it to the user’s account.
Once the courses have been assigned, single users can access the course under ‘my courses’. Company users can log into their account, go to ‘my courses’ and start the training.
If you require any assistance with the online training, then please contact our support team, who will be happy to help.
