E. coli

I saw this interesting article today. It's about 'E. coli outbreak spreading in Germany'. http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/1131662/1/.html

I realised that E.coli is really a very deadly bacteria such that 'more than 270 people in Germany have fallen seriously ill' and that ' Two people have died'.

In addition, 'Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli causes haemolytic uraemic syndrome (HUS), which can result in acute renal failure, seizures, strokes and coma.'

I hope the authorities are able to find out the cause of the problem so that similar incident will not occur and those people will get well.

Food poisoning

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Singapore/Story/STIStory_669829.html
This article is about a third preschool hit by food poisoning. 'To date, 235 children and 12 teachers have been hit by symptoms of food poisoning, including vomiting, diarrhoea, abdominal pain and fever, after eating meals provided by the caterer'.I feel very sad for the children as they are so young and have to suffer.
' The company said it was cooperating with the authorities to ascertain the cause of the incidents, and has been working with an independent consultant to review its supply chain procedures. Its staff was also going through a special refresher course on hygiene procedures'. I'm glad the caterer has had its operating licence suspended since last Thursday and they are trying to improve to ensure similar incidents will not occur as they will have good hygiene practices and proper food handling in future.

Rat in the Toa Payoh foodcourt

http://www.asiaone.com/News/AsiaOne+News/Singapore/Story/A1Story20110513-278582.html
Last week, i came across this article: Honey, there's a rat in the Toa Payoh foodcourt. When i saw the heading, i was shocked but also relieved as i seldom visit that foodcourt. Even if i do, i only order Rojak from another stall which is supposedly famous.

Its said that 'Koufu carries out pest-control checks on all its food outlets every month, as well as general checks three times a day and that hygiene standards set by the firm were met by the HDB Hub foodcourt' but 'Following a complaint made last Friday, an NEA spokesman said: "NEA checked the stall the next day and found signs of rat infestation in the stall and several hygiene lapses - food waste on the floor, a dirty food chiller and an uncovered refuse bin".'

I find it quite scary as if they had carry out checks, why will there still be a rat found in the food premises. This only shows their checks may not be thorough enough or they should carry out checks more often. This also make me wonder whether there is food safety in all other hawkers or foodcourts. Hopefully, after this incident, NEA and related companies will tighten up on their checks and do more to ensure good food hygiene in all food areas.

Bistro Walk

I have been working in Bistro Walk for six weeks ready. I really feel very sad to throw away those left over food and gloves everyday, it notices me how important is food safety in restaurant.
Once upon a time, I was cutting chilli in the kitchen with my bare hands, as it was only small amount of chilli and it needed urgently. Therefore, I did not wear gloves. Around thirty minutes later, my hand started burning like fire. I immediately soak my hands in the ice water for a very long time. However, it did not get better. You cannot imaging how regards I was by doing that as I had been suffer from it for the entire day. That is one of the most important lesson I had learnt during the six weeks.

HACCP on ice cream

Other than the 3 CCPs i mentioned in my previous post, i found out that flavoring the ice cream mix is also a CCP.

- CCP: Flavoring mix
- Hazards: Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella
- Critical limits: No pathogenic microorganisms
- Monitoring: Supplier guarantee and good hygiene practice
- Corrective actions: Changing supplier / discarding
- Records: Delivery checks, QAQC
- Verification: Review of suppliers, review records

Justifications:
- Addition of ingredients to pasteurized mix constitutes a critical control point.
- There is no further lethal process is given to the product.
- Thus, important that all operations at this point to be done in a sanitary manner and that ingredients are free of pathogenic microorganisms.
- Most likely pathogens to be encountered at this point are Listeria mono-cytogenes and salmonella.

In light of the Japan earthquake causing possible leakages of radiation from nuclear plants, AVA has been monitoring food imports from Japan to ensure that they are safe for consumption. They are being tested for radioactive contaminants. Four samples of vegetables imported from Japan were found to contain radioactive contaminants. AVA will dispose off the affected vegetables in an appropriate manner. To further assure the consumer, MOH stated that the short term consumption at these detected levels of radioactive contaminants would not pose a health hazard. AVA imposes a “hold-and test” programme before releasing the other imports into the market for sale to ensure that they are safe. They will suspend the import of products that are found to contain radioactive contaminants.

Isn't it great that we have AVA to monitor our food supply with stringent measures? Without them, we would be facing huge risk of food borne illnesses and so on. Another case highlights the product recall announced by US FDA regarding the brand "Skippy" peanut butter containing Salmonella. However, none of the batches that contain that hazard has been imported into Singapore. Thus, consumers don't have to worry about purchasing that in our country. However, they are advised to discard off those that are bought outside of Singapore for food safety purposes.

hygiene checks

Went on a Hygiene inspection today for my SIP with my in charges to high school today. It was quite an eye opener and realise that it is important to educate and emphasize on food hygiene to the vedors as they are the direct handlers of food. We've identified several good and bad hygiene practices and my teacher just sent me a checklist when doing health inspection and what we had to look out for when visiting the canteens. Will be doing inspection in school canteens soon. Can't wait to start. Well, Bain Marie is very important in food hygiene yet many of us do not take that into consideration to keep food within the safety zone.