Volume 35

Heat and Food Safety

 

We mostly avoid eating spoiled food by detecting its peculiar, but still all-too-familiar smell and colour. However, bacteria such as salmonella and E.coli contaminate food without displaying any signs that are easily detectable by the senses of sight and smell. These bacteria are a major cause of food poisoning.

Temperatures hotter than 75°C kill most bacteria within a few seconds. But to do the job, it's the food's internal temperature that has to reach 75°C, not just the outside. And with the exception of poultry, cooking meats or vegetables to that degree renders them all but inedible. Fortunately, we have size on our side. Bacteria are really small, and it takes quite a lot of them to make us sick. So rather than killing them, and ruining our food in the process, we merely have to stop them from multiplying — or at least slow them down — so that there's never enough of them to do us any harm. We do that by controlling the food's temperature during every stage of storage and preparation.

Bacteria won't multiply in the colder temperatures of a refrigerator or freezer, or at temperatures hotter than 60°C. Where they thrive is between 5°Cand 60°C, a region known as the "Food Temperature Danger Zone." To substantially reduce your chances of contracting, or passing along, a food-borne illness, make sure that your perishable foods spend more than an hour in the Food Temperature Danger Zone.

Armed with the knowledge that temperature plays a critical role in controlling the effect of bacteria on foods, we can effectively minimize the chances of food-borne illness. Other factors we need to keep in mind include time, moisture, and acidity level.

Ref : 
http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/safetysanitation/a/bacteria_2.html
http://www.cooksrecipes.com/tips/meat-cooking-temperature-chart.html

 

Environmentally-Friendly Wonder Water

 

ROX 

The conventional method of sanitizing and cleaning in a foodservice facility is carried out with the use of chemicals, which is hazardous to health and harmful to the environment. Electrolysed water is touted to be the cleaning agent of the future and has been used in Russia and Japan for decades as an effective and safe sanitizer. It is also becoming the ideal choice of cleaning agent in most foodservice operations due to its low environmental impact and non-toxicity. Presently, it is slowly being accepted in other parts of the world. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency have approved electrolysed water for a variety of uses.

electro 

Electrolysed water is made by passing electricity through a diluted saltwater solution. This produces Sodium Hydroxide (NaOH), a strong base that cleans much like a detergent, along with Hypochlorous Acid (HC1O) which is a powerful disinfectant. Electrolysed water is 10 times more effective than bleach in killing bacteria. It leaves minimal residues with practically no chemical odours remaining in the food. This enables sterilization while preserving delicious flavours. 

Electrolysed water does not produce bubbles, suds or smells during cleaning, and as a result of the absence of these discernable signs, people can mistakenly think it is not working. The shelf life of electrolysed water is very short which makes it not ideal for long-term storage. The process of making electrolysed water has to be monitored frequently for achieving the right strength.

It is only a matter of time before electrolysed water becomes main-stream. There are already manufacturers producing electrolysed s water unit for the mass market although this is still in the early stages of development.

Ref:
Los Angeles Times 
Hoshizaki Electric Company

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



As it has been said..

"Good bread is the most fundamentally satisfying of all foods; good bread with fresh butter, the greatest of feasts!"

--------------------------
By
James Beard

 

 




Dr. CKP Fixit says...

The equipment layout at food storage and food preparation areas should be such that it minimises handling, so as to minimise risk of contamination.



  Websites Relevant to Foodservice Facilites Design