Food Safety Hazards

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1.1 Potential Food Safety Hazards Control measures essential to food safety like proper cooking, cooling and refrigeration of ready-to-eat should be put in place at each critical point in order to reduce the consumers’ risk of food-borne illnesses. Especially so when the dish, like the beef snack requires minimal processing. With reference to table 1.1.1, the potential hazards in the associated foods have been identified and the respective control measures are discussed respectively. As a meat product, the pathogens involved are usually confined to Samonella spp and Escherichia coli. Through unsafe raw meat preparations, these food-borne pathogens can easily transfer to the ready-to-eat food items [1], causing severe illnesses in consumers.…show more content…
They pose a risk to public health, especially when added to meals without further treatments [5]. Of particular significance are the Bacillus cereus and Clostridium perfringens species, which are spore forming bacteria. These spores are found to occur ubiquitously in the soil environment and often requires harsher conditions to inactivate their properties. If introduced into a more complex food matrix, the germination of these non-vegetative microbes can be accelerated when introduced into a more complex food matrix with higher water activity levels (aw), akin to meat marinates, forming toxins and causing food spoilage. Hence, the the businesswoman should look into the supplier quality assurance from the ingredient specifications, supplier audits and certification to product testing. A generic HACCP plan should also be drawn up for the manufacture of the beef jerky snack so as to minimize microbiological and chemicals hazards in the product, to levels not exceeding specified targets. Some prerequisites should also be documented like SSOPs. Each and every of the worker should undergo proper training on how to handle the beef jerky preparation and at all times, to maintain personal…show more content…
Each food preparation process should then be evaluated independently. First and foremost, the type of food preparation process should be identified. In the marination process, are separate sets of utensils used to contain the raw beef from other ingredients. This is to minimize any form of cross-contamination because of the absence of a kill step to destroy the pathogens. Therefore the primary responsibility of the operator will be to prevent any further contamination by ensuring the employees follow good hygienic practices. As the meat is being marinated over the course of 24 hours, the marinate should be stored in the refrigerator rather than at room temperature. In addition, how and where is the marinated meat stored at should be made known. The storage of marinating meats, is it advisable to keep them in re-sealable ziplock bags for ease of access and for better flavoring or they simply stored in covered containers? Proper refrigeration should be incalcutated as foodborne illnesses often results from food being held at unsafe temperatures for extended periods of time due to the outgrowth of bacteria especially so due to the presence of spore forming species, B.cereus and Cl.perfringens possibly present in the herbs and spices. These spores are heat-resistant, often requring even harsher conditions; through proper cooking, to properly inactivate their

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