High
risk foods are foods in which bacteria
grow easily. They
are usually high in protein and
are often 'ready -to-eat'. As
they will not be cooked, any bacteria will not be killed before eating.
High
risk foods include –
cooked
meats
stews
and gravy
seafoods
pre-packed
sandwiches
meat
and fish spreads
cooked
rice
dairy
products
dishes
made with raw eggs
Care must be taken
to ensure that they are not contaminated during preparation, and are stored
correctly prior to service (below 5°C or above 63°C).
Low-risk foods do not normally cause food poisoning as they do not provide bacteria with the nutrients they require for growth
and multiplication. The kind of foods that fall into this category include –
dried
and pickled food
food
with a high sugar content
food
with a high salt content
chemically
preserved food
Because they are low risk foods they can often be safely stored in a food cupboard rather than a fridge.
Caption: : This quiz asks you to decide whether a food is high or low risk.
Slide 4
Food preservation methods 1
There are several ways in which food can be preserved. All the methods aim to prevent bacterial growth but they do it in different ways.CanningWhen food is put into tins, it is heated and sealed so that bacteria cannot enter.Chilled foodsWhen food is chilled, the temperature is kept so low that bacteria cannot grow. Chilled food should be kept at 1-4 degrees CFreezingWhen foods are frozen, bacteria are killed. Frozen foods should be kept at - 18 degrees C
DryingWhen you dry foods like pasta, fruit or soup, you remove the water that bacteria need to grow.Vacuum packsWhen foods like cheese are vacuum packed, the oxygen is removed so that bacteria cannot grow.PicklingWhen foods like onions are pickled, it is the acid in the vinegar that stops the bacteria from growing.Smoking and saltingWhen kippers are smoked, they are dried and so the water that bacteria need is removed. The salt also stops the bacteria from growing.
When preparing raw food you can reduce the risk of cross contamination by using colour coded chopping boards correctly.
red - raw meatgreen - salad and fruitblue - fishwhite - bakery and dairybrown - raw vegetablesyellow - cooked meatUse a different chopping board when you start to prepare a different type of food. For example, if you are preparing raw meat, you must not then start to cut up cake or fruit on the same board as bacteria could easily be transferred from one food to the other.
