Food Safety Tip of the Day Chemical Contaminants If handled inappropriately, the chemicals necessary to maintain a sanitary facility can contaminate food and make people sick. Employees who handle hazardous chemicals incorrectly also risk injury due to exposure. Hazardous chemicals include sanitizers, pesticides, whitening agents, detergents, polishes, glass cleaners, caustics, and cleaning and drying agents. Use the guidelines below to help prevent chemical contamination. Teach employees how to use chemicals. Store chemicals in original containers away from food to prevent accidental misuse as well as leakage into food. Make sure labels clearly identify chemical contents of containers. Use Materials Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) to ensure that all chemicals are stored and used correctly. MSDS should be readily accessible to all employees. Always measure chemicals in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations. Allow only authorized personnel to have access to cleaning chemicals. Always test sanitizing solutions. Wash hands thoroughly after working with chemicals. Wash fresh produce that will be served whole, peeled, or cooked in cold, running water. Scrub thick-skinned produce with a brush designed for food preparation. Monitor procedures used by pest control operators to be sure pesticides do not contaminate food. Only professional operators should apply pesticides. Metals are another potential source of contamination. Highly acidic foods, such as tomatoes or lemons, can react with metals during cooking or storage, causing the metal to leach out into the food. To prevent this problem: use metal containers and metallic items only for their intended uses; do not use galvanized containers to prepare or cook acidic foods like lemonade, tomato products, and salad dressing; avoid enamelware, which can chip and expose underlying metal; do not use metal mixing bowls for holding hot foods; never store food in an open can; transfer to an appropriate, covered storage container and label; and use only commercial foodservice equipment (look for the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) International mark or the Underwriters Laboratories’ (UL) sanitation classification listings of commercial foodservice equipment that comply with those of NSF International).
Posted on: Tue, 01 Oct 2013 10:16:49 +0000
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