Food handler course

A food handler is anyone who directly handles food, packaged or unpackaged, the equipment and utensils used with it, or surfaces that come into contact with food. Cooks, waiters, butcher, greengrocer or bakery staff, delivery drivers and factory workers are all food handlers.

Safe food is food that will not harm the person who eats it when it is prepared and eaten as intended. Food hygiene means all the conditions and measures needed to guarantee that safety at every stage of the food chain: from primary production ("farm to fork"), through processing, packaging, storage, transport and sale, to the consumer.

Why your job matters so much

• Foodborne illnesses are among the most common public health problems. Many start with the way food is handled.
• They mainly affect the most vulnerable: children, older people, pregnant women and people who are ill.
• About two thirds of outbreaks come from food served in restaurants, cafés, school canteens and in people's homes.
• An outbreak damages people's health and also the business: loss of trust, fines and even closure.

Infection and intoxication

• Infection: eating food contaminated with living germs (bacteria, parasite larvae or eggs). Example: Salmonella in eggs, meat or chicken.
• Intoxication (poisoning): eating food containing chemicals or toxins produced by some germs. Example: the staphylococcus toxin, which survives heat.

The most common symptoms are stomach pain, vomiting and diarrhoea, sometimes fever. Some can be fatal.

Duties and inspections

Everyone who works with food must be trained in food hygiene and always follow their company's rules and procedures. Health inspectors visit premises without warning and can fine or close a business that does not comply.

Remember: the measures to prevent contamination are simple. If you always apply them, you protect customers, your family, your company and your own job.

A hazard is a biological, chemical or physical agent in food that can harm health. Contamination is the presence of that agent in the food or its environment.

The three types of hazard

• Physical: foreign objects that can cause choking, cuts or broken teeth: glass, wood, metal, stones, hair, buttons, jewellery, pieces of glove or toothpicks, and inedible parts of the food itself (bones, fish bones, egg or mussel shells).
• Chemical: residues of cleaning and disinfecting products, insecticides, pesticides, lubricants or paint; natural toxins (marine biotoxins, mould mycotoxins) and substances migrating from packaging. They are usually caused by mistakes: poor rinsing, a spray landing on food or mixing up containers.
• Biological: living organisms, many of them microscopic: bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi (moulds and yeasts). They are the main cause of foodborne illness. In ideal conditions bacteria double their number every 20 minutes: in a few hours one can become millions.

Germ contamination cannot be seen, smelt or tasted: food can look fine and still be contaminated.

Where germs live

Everywhere: air, soil, non-drinking water, rubbish and food scraps, dirty utensils, raw food, animals and pests, and our own bodies (hands and nails, hair, nose, mouth and throat, infected wounds, faeces and urine).

How contamination reaches food

• Primary (at source): during production (harvest, slaughter, milking, fishing). Example: an egg contaminated with the hen's droppings.
• Direct: through the food handler. The simplest and most common: sneezing or coughing over food, touching it with wounds or dirty hands.
• Cross-contamination: the transfer of a contaminant from one food (usually raw) to a clean one, directly or via hands, boards, knives or surfaces. Examples: raw meat juice dripping in the fridge onto ready-to-eat food; cutting raw chicken and then vegetables on the same unwashed board.

Pests (flies, cockroaches, rats, mice, ants, birds) and rubbish are major carriers of germs.

What helps bacteria grow

• Nutrients: protein-rich foods such as milk, meat, eggs, creams and their products.
• Water / moisture: sauces, mayonnaise, creams, meat or cooked pasta. Dry foods (dry pasta, cereals, milk powder) do not favour them.
• Temperature: they multiply fastest at body temperature (36-37 °C). The danger zone is from 5 °C to 65 °C.
• Time: the longer food stays in the danger zone, the more they grow.
• Oxygen: most need air, but some grow without it (large pieces of meat, canned food).

What slows them down: acidity (vinegar, lemon), sugar (jams) and salt (salted foods).

High-risk foods

Cooked food eaten cold or reheated; raw meat, fish and shellfish; minced meat; unpasteurised milk and dairy; custards, pastry creams and desserts with egg and milk; eggs and egg-based sauces; cooked rice, pulses and pasta; cut low-acid fruit at room temperature. They must not stay in the danger zone for more than 2 hours.

Knowing the most common germs helps you understand why the rules exist. Symptoms vary with the amount eaten and the person's health.

The faecal-oral cycle

Many foodborne illnesses spread when a sick person, or a healthy carrier (no symptoms but sheds germs), does not wash their hands after using the toilet and then touches food that others eat. That is why handwashing is the golden rule.

If you are ill

If you have diarrhoea, vomiting, fever, a respiratory infection or infected wounds, tell your supervisor and avoid handling food until you recover.

The handler is the main carrier of contamination when hygiene rules are not followed. Your attitude and habits are the most effective prevention.

Health and body hygiene

• Work only in good health. Tell your supervisor if you are ill.
• Shower every day before work.
• Nails short, clean and unvarnished. Hair clean and tied back.
• No rings, bracelets, watches, earrings or piercings: they harbour germs and can fall into food.

Work clothing

• A clean, light-coloured uniform (dirt shows better) used only at work. Never cook in street clothes or go outside in your uniform.
• A hat or cap that covers all your hair, an apron when needed and shoes used only at work.
• Keep work clothes separate from street clothes. Never use your clothes as a towel.
• Do not go to the toilet wearing your work uniform (or protect it).

Handwashing: the fundamental rule

When: always when you start work and every time you change task; after using the toilet, touching raw food (meat, fish, chicken, eggs), rubbish, money, animals or cleaning products, smoking, blowing your nose, coughing or sneezing, and touching your face, hair or nose.

How:

1. Roll up your sleeves and remove rings, bracelets and watch.
2. Wet hands and forearms with hot water, using a pedal, sensor or elbow tap.
3. Apply soap (liquid is best).
4. Rub every area well: palms, backs, between fingers and wrists, for at least 20 seconds.
5. Brush your nails.
6. Rinse with plenty of water.
7. Dry with single-use paper towels.

Wounds and gloves

Cover any wound with a waterproof dressing and wear a food-safe glove over it. Gloves do not replace handwashing: change them when they tear, when you change task and when they get dirty. Never use cleaning gloves to touch food.

Forbidden while handling food

• Smoking, eating, drinking, chewing gum or spitting in the work area.
• Coughing or sneezing over food (use your elbow or a disposable tissue and wash your hands).
• Touching your nose, mouth, hair, ears, spots or wounds.
• Tasting food with your fingers or with the same utensil you cook with.
• Licking your fingers.
• Picking up food with your hands when you can use utensils. Hold plates by the rim, glasses by the base and cutlery by the handle.

Visitors to the kitchen must follow the same hygiene and clothing rules; ideally only kitchen staff should go in.

The temperature rule

• Refrigeration: below 5 °C germs slow down (fridge air around 4 °C).
• Freezing: at -18 °C or colder. Cold does not kill germs: they go dormant and wake up when food thaws.
• Danger zone: between 5 °C and 65 °C, where they multiply fast.
• Heat: cooking to 70 °C or more at the core destroys most germs. Hot food is held above 65 °C (hot cupboard, bain-marie).

Keep hot food hot and cold food cold. Never leave cooked food at room temperature for more than 2 hours.

The 2-4 hour rule: cooked food that has been up to 2 h in the danger zone can be served, kept hot or refrigerated; between 2 and 4 h it must be eaten straight away; after 4 h it must be thrown away.

Cooking and reheating

• Cook meat, chicken, eggs and fish thoroughly. Meat and poultry juices must run clear, not pink. Use a thermometer in the thickest part.
• Core temperatures: poultry, stuffed meats and meat products at least 71 °C; mince and burgers 71 °C; pork above 74 °C; reheated leftovers and stuffing 74 °C.
• Reheat in one go until the centre reaches at least 70-74 °C. In a microwave, check there are no cold spots.
• Dishes with minced meat are made and eaten on the same day.

Cooling quickly

Food not eaten straight away must be cooled fast: from 60 °C to 21 °C within 2 hours and from 21 °C to 5 °C within another 2 (4 h maximum). Use a blast chiller, split food into small portions in shallow stainless-steel containers (5-10 cm), stand them on ice and stir. Do not put big hot pots in the fridge: they warm everything else.

Defrosting

Never at room temperature or on the worktop. Safe methods: in the fridge (bottom shelf, in a container), in the microwave followed immediately by cooking, or as part of cooking for small pieces. Label the defrosting date. Defrosted food must not be refrozen (unless it is cooked first).

The cold chain

Frozen food must stay frozen from the factory to your freezer. If it arrives soft or with frost and liquid, the chain is broken: do not refreeze it. Put chilled and frozen deliveries away immediately.

Receiving goods

Check smell, colour, texture, packaging, labelling and date, and measure the temperature: chilled about 4 °C (fish close to 0 °C), frozen -18 °C. Reject anything that fails and move goods from cardboard or wooden boxes into clean containers of your own.

Storage

• Nothing on the floor: a cool, dry, ventilated, clean store with products at least 15 cm from floor, walls and ceiling, on shelves.
• FIFO rotation: first in, first out; what expires first goes in front or on top.
• Everything covered and labelled with contents and date of preparation or opening.
• In the fridge, cooked and ready-to-eat food at the top; raw food at the bottom (meat and fish in the coldest part, so they cannot drip). Fruit and vegetables in the drawers. Do not overload the fridge: cold air cannot circulate.
• Do not keep open cans in the fridge: move the contents to another container.
• Cleaning products are always stored away from food.

Handling some foods

• Meat: 2-4 days in the fridge; mince spoils faster than a steak. Wash hands and utensils after handling it.
• Fresh fish: scaled and gutted, covered and in the fridge; lasts about 2 days.
• Eggs: in the fridge and unwashed (washing removes their protective layer). Food businesses use pasteurised egg and industrial mayonnaise: home-made mayonnaise with raw egg is very dangerous.
• Fruit and vegetables eaten raw: remove outer leaves, wash with plenty of drinking water and disinfect by soaking about 5 minutes in water with a few drops of bleach suitable for drinking-water disinfection; then rinse well.
• Cans: never use dented, swollen, rusty, unlabelled or expired cans.
• Frying oil: do not burn it (smoke means toxic substances), do not mix different oils, strain it and change it when it darkens.
• Ice: always from drinking water; use a clean scoop, never your hands or the glass.

The WHO 5 keys

1. Keep clean.
2. Separate raw and cooked.
3. Cook thoroughly.
4. Keep food at safe temperatures.
5. Use safe water and raw materials.

Cleaning is not the same as disinfecting

• Cleaning: removing visible dirt (food scraps, grease, soil).
• Disinfecting: reducing microorganisms to a safe level, with chemicals or heat.

Without good cleaning, disinfection does not work. The right sequence:

1. Remove solid scraps (scrape).
2. Wash with hot water and detergent, scrubbing.
3. Rinse with drinking water.
4. Disinfect: with disinfectant at the dose and contact time on the label, or with water above 80 °C.
5. Rinse if the product requires it and air-dry (or use single-use paper).

Clean and disinfect before starting, when finishing and during work if needed. At the end of the day everything must be clean, tidy and put away.

Utensils and surfaces

• The dishwasher is the best way to wash: it uses high temperatures. Scrape plates first and do not overload it.
• By hand: cleanest items first (glasses), dirtiest last (pans); hot water and soap; plenty of rinsing; air-dry on a rack.
• Dismantle and deep-clean blenders, mincers, slicers and anything with blades.
• No wooden boards or utensils, and no broken or rusty utensils: they harbour germs. Single-use cloths; clean sponges, scourers and mops, replaced often.
• Colour-coded boards and knives to prevent cross-contamination: green, fruit and vegetables; blue, fish and seafood; red, red meat; yellow, poultry and white meat; white, cheese, bread and dairy; brown, cooked food and cold meats.
• Mop the floor daily. Never sweep while food is being prepared or served: dust contaminates.

Cleaning chemicals

• Store them in their own cupboard, away from food, always in the original labelled container.
• Never pour them into water bottles or food containers (or the other way round): this causes serious poisoning.
• Never mix products (e.g. bleach with ammonia or acids): they release toxic gases.
• Read the label and hazard pictograms (corrosive, irritant, toxic, flammable, harmful to the environment); ventilate, avoid splashes and wear gloves, goggles or a mask when indicated. If in doubt, ask your supervisor.

Pest control

Flies, cockroaches, rodents and ants carry germs. Prevention: premises in good repair without cracks, insect screens on windows, grilles on drains, doors closed, constant cleaning (also behind and under equipment), food covered and rubbish well managed. Tell your supervisor if you see signs of pests. Flies do not come into a clean kitchen.

Rubbish and waste

• Bins with a lid and pedal, away from food preparation and always closed; emptied and cleaned daily.
• Wash your hands after touching rubbish.
• Separate waste: organic (brown), packaging (yellow), paper and cardboard (blue), glass (green), general waste (grey/orange). Used oil goes to a special container or recycling point, never down the drain.

Records and HACCP

Every business has a food safety management system (HACCP, based on controlling critical points) and mandatory records: fridge temperatures, cleaning, goods received... Fill them in with the date and your signature when it is your turn. They prove to inspectors that work is done properly.

Dates on labels

• Use-by date: after it the food is not safe and must be thrown away. Found on highly perishable products (meat, fish, fresh dairy).
• Best-before date: until then the food keeps all its qualities. Afterwards it may lose flavour or texture but is not dangerous if stored properly.

Always check dates when receiving, storing and using products. If in doubt, ask your supervisor.

Allergies and intolerances

• Food allergy: an exaggerated immune response to a food (allergen). It can cause hives, swelling, breathing difficulties and even death (anaphylactic shock). A tiny amount is enough.
• Intolerance: a less dangerous reaction (diarrhoea, vomiting, discomfort). The most common: lactose (milk sugar) and gluten (coeliac disease).

The 14 mandatory allergens

EU law (Regulation 1169/2011) requires information on these 14 allergens on labels and also in bars, restaurants and canteens:

1. Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats...)
2. Crustaceans (prawns, shrimps, crab...)
3. Eggs
4. Fish
5. Peanuts
6. Soya
7. Milk (including lactose)
8. Tree nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, cashews, pistachios...)
9. Celery
10. Mustard
11. Sesame
12. Sulphites (sulphur dioxide, in wine, vinegar, dried fruit...)
13. Lupin
14. Molluscs (mussels, clams, squid, octopus...)

Working with allergens

• Many allergens are invisible: a blended seafood soup, bread with sesame, a sauce with mustard.
• Always follow the established recipes and allergen sheets; never change ingredients without telling anyone.
• Avoid cross-contact: prepare allergen-free dishes first, with clean or dedicated utensils, boards and oil, wash your hands and store food separately and labelled.
• An allergen does not disappear with cooking: frying in the same oil or using the same board is enough to cause a reaction.
• If a customer asks about allergens, only give the information on the menu or the establishment's allergen sheets, or ask your supervisor. Never answer "I don't think it has any".