Tip of the Week
HACCP – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points
We all get that back to school feeling in September, so it is a good time to give a quick overview of the 4 Top HACCP Points. HACCP is the process of looking at your food operation, from sourcing your suppliers to serving the food to your customer. Identify the hazards in your process, put controls in place to manage these hazards and train your staff.
No matter how well trained your staff are, if you do not provide regular refresher training, bad habits will quickly creep in. Keep your kitchen team updated regularly.
The 4 Main Critical Control Points in your HACCP are –
- Storage – Store at correct temperature. Store ready to eat foods above raw foods
- Date Labelling – All high-risk foods in your fridges & freezers need to be labelled with the use by date
- Preparation – Separate raw food preparation from ready to eat preparation. Use separate boards and utensils for raw and ready to eat foods. Have a good handwashing procedure in place.
- Cooking and Cooling – Cook high risk protein items to a core cooking temperature of at least 75°C for a minimum of 30 seconds. Cool high-risk foods within 90 minutes.
Alert
Having an up to date HACCP Policy and keeping daily food safety records is an essential part of your due diligence. As an essential part of your due diligence, record a selection of the core cooking temperatures of high-risk foods daily. When cooling high risk foods, record the start time and temperature as well as the finish time and temperature.
Weekly Food Fact
Runner beans are at their best at the end of summer. Did you know that green beans, eaten raw, are mildly toxic? Nevertheless, you can still toss raw beans in your salad or eat them fresh from the garden as long as you do so in limited amounts. Cooking (or even just blanching) will break down the toxins and render the beans safe to eat.
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