QUESTION 1 (a)
Food can be contaminated biological, chemically and physically. Please explain.
ANSWER 1 (a)
Many people had food contamination and not even known it. The symptoms of food contamination are very similar to those associated with the flu. The type of microbe, how much contamination is in the food, and the general condition of the affected person determines the severity of the symptoms. Food contamination is generally classified as a food borne infection, intoxication or toxin - mediated infection. The awareness of how different microbes cause food contamination will help a person to understand how they contaminate food. A food borne hazard is a biological, chemical or physical hazard that can cause illness or injury when consumed along with the food.
BIOLOGICAL FOOD CONTAMINATION
Biological hazards include bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. They are very small and can only be seen with the aid of a microscope. They are also commonly associated with live animals, humans and raw food products. These are the most common cause of food contamination and the primary target of a retail food safety program.
Bacteria
Bacteria are single celled microorganisms that require food, moisture and specific temperatures to multiply. Bacteria can cause food borne infections, intoxications and toxin - mediated infections. Most bacteria are destroyed or controlled by monitoring time and temperature, good personal hygiene practices, effective cleaning, sanitation program and measures that minimize cross contamination
Viruses
Viruses are now thought to be the number one cause of food contamination. The viruses that cause food disease differ from bacteria in several ways. Viruses are much smaller than bacteria and they require a living host either a human or an animal to replicate. Viruses do not multiply in foods. However, a susceptible person needs to consume only a few viral particles in order to experience an infection. Viruses are normally transferred from one food to another or contaminated water supply to a food. Proper hand washing and separation of raw and ready to eat foods are important keys to controlling the spread of food borne viruses
Parasites
Parasites are another important biological hazard. Parasites are small or microscopic creatures that need to live on or inside a host to survive. Many parasites can enter the food system and cause food borne illness. Parasites infections are far less common than bacterial or virus contamination.
Fungi
Yeast and molds make up the group called Fungi. When yeast grows in a food it leads to undesirable characteristics of food including the production of gases, acids and alcohol. The food may taste or smell sour and the packages may swell also. Molds usually grow in foods low in moisture. Both yeast and molds do not cause food contamination but if they grow long enough on foods they can produce a substance called 'mycoxin' which can cause illness and cancer.
CHEMICAL FOOD CONTAMINATION
Chemical hazards are usually classified as either natural occurring or manmade chemicals. Natural occurring chemicals includes toxins produced biologically organism. Manmade chemicals include substance added, intentionally or accidently to a food during processing. There are various kinds of Natural Occurring chemicals such as allergens, ciguatoxin, mycotoxins, scombrotoxin and shellfish toxin, where else cleaning solutions, food additives, pesticides and heavy metals are manmade chemicals. Chemicals and other non food items should be labeled clearly and never be placed near food items. Food additives and contaminants resulting from food manufacturing and processing can also adversely affect health.
PHYSICAL FOOD CONTAMINATION
Physical hazards are foreign objects in food that can cause illness and injury. They include items such as fragments of glass, metal shavings from dull can openers, unfrilled toothpicks that may contaminate sandwiches, human hair and jewelry, or bandages that may accidently be lost by a food handler and enter food. Stones, rocks, or wood particles may contaminate raw fruits and vegetable, rice, beans, and other grain products. Physical hazards commonly results from accidental contamination and poor handling practices that can occur at various points in the food chain from harvest to consumer. Washing raw fruits and vegetables thoroughly and visually inspect food that cannot be washed such as ground beef. Food handlers must be thought to handle food safely to prevent contamination by unwanted foreign objects.
QUESTION 1 (b)
What is the definition of portable water, explain its uses.
ANSWER 1 (b)
Water is and has always been a very important drink to people because of its essentialness to the survival of all living things. Water composes about 70% of the human body after the exclusion of fats. The world health organization has suggested about eight glasses of water per day which is relevant to 168ml. Water plays a very important part in the growth of a human body as well as a supplement to many other fluids in our body.
What is portable water? Portable water or more commonly known as Drinking Water is water with a sufficient high quality to be consumed or to be drunk without immediate or long term risk. In most modern countries, the water is supplied straight into their house pipe system, but still only a small amount is used for cooking or drinking. In most parts of the world, people have insufficient amount of portable water and normally look for different resources which are usually polluted with disease and toxins which can lead to many chronic illness and can sometimes lead to death and lifelong miseries when used in cooking and drinking. Normally, many water supply networks supply their water system from the tap, no matter if it's used for drinking, cooking, cleaning, washing, or even landscaping as well as irrigation.
PORTABLE WATER ACCESS
Even though our planet earth is covered by 70% water, most of it is salted. Freshwater is available in most populated places in the planet and sometimes can come in very expensive and the supply might not always be available. There are various sources of water such as:
Ground: This includes groundwater, hyporheic zones and aquifers which are body of permeable rock that can contain or transmit groundwater.
Precipitation: Water collected from rain, hail, snow falls and fogs. These methods are much easier for collecting water.
Surface Water: Water which flows from rivers, stream, lake and also glaciers. A mass quantity or amount could be collected through this method.
Biological Sources: Plants, tree and flowers. A very small amount of water could be taken with this method.
The Sea: Water could be taken from this source through a process which they call 'Desalination'. This is process where they would remove a large amount of salt from either water or minerals.
Spring Water: This is a natural resources from which many bottled waters come from. This source of water is rich with minerals and is highly recommended for many people.
All this sources provide us drinking water which is commonly purified by a filtration system. The most common way to transport water is through plumbing and pipes systems which can lead to a very high investment. Some system requires high operating cost. Because of its high prices, most less wealth countries cannot afford to have their own water system.
QUALITY OF THE WATER AND CONTAMINATION
In most parts of the world, the most popular raw water contamination is from the sewage system. In the year 2006, based on research, waterborne diseases caused a staggering 1.8 million deaths worldwide and to add insult into injury, about 1.1 billion people did not have access to clean drinking water. It's very obvious that in the fast growing world, a good and proper quality of water is needed. The existing water purification system should be in every part of the world. In many rural parts of the world, the only source of water is from streams which are highly contaminated by sewage. Contaminations which are commonly directed to water are chemical contamination which commonly happens with water with very poor treatment system. Chemical are most likely to pose more of a chronic health risk through the forming of heavy metals even though some substance like nitrates and nitrites can bring a faster impact to the human body. Bacteria is also a known fact to water contamination but could easily be killed when the water is properly boiled.
DRINKING WATER REGULATION
European Union: The EU set a legislation on the drinking water quality and many other factors such as where to, how much to, and when to collect water from the natural resources. Every member of the union should come up with their own measures to ensure that the legislation is followed.
United Stated of America: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have set a standard for tap water and the public water system. As well as the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act (FFDCA), even with all this rules and regulations which are implemented, there is still evidence that United States federal drinking water regulations do not promise you safe drinking water.
QUESTION 2(a)
What should the manager do about an employee who reports to work with the following symptoms: fever, coughing, and a sore throat?
ANSWER 2 (a)
SEPARATING YOUR EMPLOYEES
There are a few important reasons why you as an employer, to keep away your employees from another sick employee. Firstly, sick personnel cannot perform their duty to the best they usually can compare to the non sick personnel. This can cause a loss to an establishment and could also be counted as a waste of time especially if his or her work is needed to be done by somebody else. Secondly, viruses that are causing the employee to be sick are known to spread easily even with the slightest touch thus, this can lead into another employee falling sick and unavailable to work. Already having one sick employee is a hassle, imagine having two or more. So as a manager, it is important to educate your employees about emergency sick leaves and so on. It is also important to educate your employees about the consequences of coming in your place sick.
PREVENTION
The best way for an employer to make sure his employees are always healthy is to not have many sick employees in the first place. Employers play an important part in controlling over germs and viruses spreading. Hand washing should be encouraged and signs should be constantly posted at every potential harmful place for employees to wash hands. Hand sanitizers should also be provided for the employees to use. Employees should be encouraged to exercise a lot and at times have exercise session amongst staff and so on. Sick employees who turn up to work should be quarantine and kept away. Employees who misuse their sick leaves should be punished and actions must be taken. As an employer, we should think of the other employees as well and their well being is our responsibility to be taken care of because without them there would not be any work done in tour work area that day.
SICK LEAVE ABUSE
There a lot of cases where employees abuse their sick leaves and this can cause mayhem in the work area. Other employees could feel that they are mistreated and feel unappreciated. As an employer, it is important to check if the employee is really sick or just giving excuses. Normally, employees that are sick would not make the phone call saying that they are sick or whatsoever, they would probably ask a friend or family member to make the phone call. It's important to check if they are really sick. They employer should refer the employee only to a panel clinic where doctors there are registered to serve the company. Medical certificates and sick leave letters should be presented and certified only by a panel doctor to ensure that the employee is not abusing his or her sick leaves.
QUESTION 2 (b)
Why is hand washing so important?
ANSWER 2 (b)
The cleanliness and personal hygiene of employers are extremely important. If an employee is not clean thus, it can invite into various kinds of problems. Good personal hygiene is essential for those who especially handle foods. Desirable behavior include, knowing how to properly wash your hands, maintaining good personal habit such as bathing, washing and restraining hair, keeping your fingernails short and clean and also washing hands after using the toilet.
Just think of all the things a food handler's hands touch during a typical workday. They may take out the trash, cover a sneeze, scratch an itch, or mop up a spill. When you touch your face or skin, run your fingers through your hair or a beard, use the toilet, or blow your nose, you transfer potentially harmful germs to your hands such as:
Staphylococcus Aureus: This virus can cause a person to experience nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps and also headaches.
Hepatitis A: This virus can cause a person to experience fever, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, fatigue, swelling of the liver and also jaundice which can cause death.
Shigella Spp: This Virus can cause you bacillary dysentery, diarrhea, fever, abdominal pain, cramps and dehydration.
People involved with food handling and preparation must always know how and when to wash their hands. Using proper method and very good cleaning agents can play a major part in the cleanliness on a person's hand. The most important thing in hand washing is soap, warm water and frictions. There are 7 simple rules to follow when it comes to washing hand:
Firstly, we should properly wet our hands thoroughly.
Rub the back of both hands.
Interlace fingers and rub hands together.
Interlock fingers and rub the back of both hands.
Rub thumbs in a rotating manner followed by the area between index finger and thumb for both hands.
Rub fingertips on palm for both hands.
Rub both wrists in a rotating manner. Rinse and dry thoroughly.
The 7 steps should be followed as certain areas in the hands are often missed during hand wash.
IMPORTANCE OF HAND WASHING
Many other establishment other then restaurant practices hand washing. Establishments such as hospitals, orphanages and many more also practices hand washing. This is important as it's a measure taken to reduce spreading of germs and viruses that can cause injury or illness. Germs can transmit to the hands by sneezing, scratching, coughing or rubbing of the eyes and then can be transferred to other family members, work mates or friends. Simply by washing your hands, you can help prevent such illnesses as the common cold or eye infections. But when it comes to food handling, a staff should always wash his hands every time before food preparation, after touching a bare human body parts, after using the toilet, after coughing, sneezing, using a handkerchief or tissue, after using tobacco, eating or drinking. Hands should also be washed during food preparation when switching from raw foods and ready to eat products, after engaging in any activities that may contaminate hands such as taking out the garbage, wiping counters or tables, handling cleaning chemicals, picking up drop items or even answering the phone. The use of hand sanitizers is highly recommended by many establishments but hand sanitizers should be formulated with safe and approved ingredients, when washing hands, thoroughly rinse under clean warm running water, around fingernails and between fingers. You should only dry your hands using a single service paper towel, an electric hand dryer or a clean section of a continuous rolled cloth towel that is only if it's allowed in your work area. You should not ever dry your hands on your apron or a dishtowel. Another reason why its important to wash your hands are because when your hands carry germs, it could spread to the food prepared, thus causing the guest that eats it to fall sick and even worst serious health injuries and illness which can lead to a potentially high law suit and thus lead the establishment into a high financial lost.
According to a popular research done, hands should be washed at a separate sink which should only be used for hand washing. Sinks that is used for food preparation and dish washing should be left away from hand washing as this also may cause germs to spread. It is important for a manager to always check if his staffs are washing their hands or not because he is the person who would be blamed if anything goes wrong. So everyone must play their part in ensuring the work place is always a safe and uncontaminated place of work.
GENERAL CONCLUSION
In conclusion, the employers and employees of the hospitality industry play an important part in ensuring retail food safety as well as work place safety. There are various ways of food to get contaminated such as biologically, physically and also chemically. As a food handler, it's important to ensure the food must not get contaminated through any ways possible as more than your establishment's reputation would be jeopardized. Constant washing your hand with appropriate agents help a lot in ensuring food safety. Practice of proper hand washing is also a must as germs and viruses are capable in hiding in non visible areas as well. As an employer, it's also important to understand the importance of not allowing and sick employees to continue working in your work area because of the harm and threat they may carry along when they are at they work area. There are a lot of steps and ways to keep your sick employees away from the healthy ones. This should be done to avoid any spread of viruses and germs. Educating your employees of the importance of using their sick leaves is a key to a successful and healthy work place.
There are a lot of sources of portable water in the world, natural sources such as the sea, spring water, natural water and much more others should be well preserved to ensure the availability of water for the future generations. There are various rules and regulations of portable water use and extractions have been opposed around the world to control the usage and extraction of portable water sources. During my course of completing my assignment, I've learned the importance of water as well of personal hygiene for me and also people around me. I would like to thank Miss Chew for the guidance and support she offered to me during my course of completing these assignments.
