Food Safety Applications Practical 1

3.1 Hawker handling food with tongs. 

3.2 The food display counter
This hawker centre store sells economic bee hoon and nasi lemak with a variety of sides that the customers can choose.

From picture 3.1 (although not very clear), the hawker was handling the food with tongs while serving the customers. This is good as there is no direct contact on the food, preventing contamination. However, on the other hand, her hand was holding the takeaway packaging without putting on a glove. This can potentially contaminate the packaging should the hawker not wash their hands prior to the service. This could result in Staphylococcus aureus that can be found in our skin to be transferred onto the food. I have also noticed that they do not wear hairnets or face mask when handling the food, this could lead to contamination if one of the hawker is sick or hair falls into the food. 

From picture 3.2. it depicts their food display counter. The food counter seems like it does not have a build-in food warmer. Thus, their food may get cold fast and be prone to the temperature danger zone. This could result in spore-forming Clostridium perfringens to form in the food that has been left out in the temperature danger zone for too long.

In terms of cleanliness, the store has done a good job. The store is very organized and there is no litter or dirt in sight. The food racks were at least 30 cm above the ground level to prevent pests from contaminating. Although the store does not have a food warmer to keep their food at a >65°C,

They only prepare the next batch of food when there is only 10% of what is left. This would prevent the food from turning stone cold should there be no customers around.

NEA Grading System Checklist   

                       

FILE REF
NAME OF INSPECTIONS OFFICER : YOUR NAME Choo Yan Wen
TYPE OF FOOD SHOP : Economic Bee Hoon Shop
NO.	CRITERIA		SCORE	REMARKS
	HOUSE KEEPING
1	PREPARATION AREA
	a) Floors		4/5
	b) Walls		4/5
	c) Utensils/Crockery		4/5
	d) Preparation Table		4/5
	e) Exhaust Systems		4/5
	f) Sinks/Wash Hand Basin		4/5
	g) Refuse Management		4/5
	h) Overall Tidiness of Preparation Area		5/5
2	OTHER ASPECTS (if any)
	a) Pest Control System		-
	HYGIENE
3	PERSONAL HYGIENE
	a) Conditions of Gloves or Tongs		3/5	Only tongs
	b) Clean Clothing		4/5
	c) Personal Cleanliness (Finger nails, Hair, etc)		3/5	No hair nets
4	FOOD HYGIENE
	a) Food Properly Protected		3/5
	b) Conditions of Implements		2/5
	c) Cleanliness of Refrigerators/Chillers		3/5
	d) Proper Storage of Cooked and Uncooked Food		3/5
	e) Storage Temperature Control System		3/5
	f) Cleanliness of other equipment (eg. Dispensers, Ovens, Dish-Washers etc)		4/5
5	FOOD TRANSPORTATION (if any)
	a) Clean Interior		-
	b) Provision of Containers / Trolleys		-
	c) Clean Delivery Equipment		-
6	AUTOMATION – BONUS (if any)
	a) Provision of Ice-making Machine		-
	b) Provision of other automated machineries (exclude Drinks Dispenser)		-
7	OTHERS – BONUS (if any)
	a) In-House training		-
	b) Incentive/Demerit System		-
	c) Central Cleaning System		-
Total			61/85
%			71.7
Grade			B

Grading System Grade A: >85% Grade B: 70% – 84% Grade C: 50% - 69% Grade D: <50%

Based on the NEA grading system checklist, the store is graded a B.

To have an improvement to the store, they should invest in a food warmer to keep their food warm at all times and prevent microorganism growth as this could risk their business if anyone gets sick. Secondly, they should start putting on facial masks and hair nets to prevent any contamination from the mouth or hair falls. Although they are using tongs when handling the food, they should also put on a pair of glove as a safety measure. Lastly, they should clean their refrigerators and freezers regularly so that food don't get cross contaminated.

FILE REF

NAME OF INSPECTIONS OFFICER : YOUR NAME Choo Yan Wen

TYPE OF FOOD SHOP : Economic Bee Hoon Shop

NO.

CRITERIA

SCORE

REMARKS

HOUSE KEEPING

1

PREPARATION AREA

a) Floors

4/5

b) Walls

4/5

c) Utensils/Crockery

4/5

d) Preparation Table

4/5

e) Exhaust Systems

4/5

f) Sinks/Wash Hand Basin

4/5

g) Refuse Management

4/5

h) Overall Tidiness of Preparation Area

5/5

2

OTHER ASPECTS (if any)

a) Pest Control System

-

HYGIENE

3

PERSONAL HYGIENE

a) Conditions of Gloves or Tongs

3/5

Only tongs

b) Clean Clothing

4/5

c) Personal Cleanliness (Finger nails, Hair, etc)

3/5

 No hair nets

4

FOOD HYGIENE

a) Food Properly Protected

3/5

b) Conditions of Implements

2/5

c) Cleanliness of Refrigerators/Chillers

3/5

d) Proper Storage of Cooked and Uncooked Food

3/5

e) Storage Temperature Control System

3/5

f) Cleanliness of other equipment (eg. Dispensers, Ovens, Dish-Washers etc)

4/5

5

FOOD TRANSPORTATION (if any)

a) Clean Interior

-

b) Provision of Containers / Trolleys

-

c) Clean Delivery Equipment

-

6

AUTOMATION – BONUS (if any)

a) Provision of Ice-making Machine

-

b) Provision of other automated machineries (exclude Drinks Dispenser)

-

7

OTHERS – BONUS (if any)

a) In-House training

-

b) Incentive/Demerit System

-

c) Central Cleaning System

-

Total

61/85

%

71.7

Grade

B

Grading System

Grade A: >85%

Grade B: 70% – 84%

Grade C: 50% - 69%

Grade D: <50%