Glenelg Shire, PO Box 152, Portland, 3305 Ph. 03 5522 2200

www.glenelg.vic.gov.au

The Secret Recipe

Volume 2, Issue 4 November 2010

This Issue:

Gloves not a Substitute for Hand Washing

1

The new Class 2 FSP Template

2

Class 3 Minimum Records

2

2011 Renewal Registrations

3

2010 Food Safety Week—Myths & Mastery

3

Food Allergen and Intolerance

4

Gloves not a Substitute for Hand Washing The Food Standards Code does not require food handlers to wear gloves; however, it does require food handlers to

wash their hands on a regular basis to prevent cross contamination. Therefore, it is important to remember that wearing disposable gloves does not mean you do not have to wash your hands.

If gloves are being used in your premises,

hands must be thoroughly washed before putting on gloves and after taking them off. Wash your hands using hot, soapy water at your designated hands free wash hand basin and dry them thoroughly with single-use paper towel. The picture on the

right depicts the correct procedure when using gloves.

Remember the following when using gloves:

• Wash your hands before putting

gloves on and after taking them off.

• Change your gloves when switching

from raw and ready-to-eat food to reduce cross contamination.

• Change gloves if soiled or broken.

• Replace gloves after handling

money, using the toilet, cleaning,

smoking, coughing, eating/drinking, or touching the hair, scalp or body. The outside of gloves can harbour bacteria and potentially lead to cross contamination from one food

preparation activity to another.

• Once a glove is removed from the

hands, it cannot be reused and must be disposed of.

• Never wash gloves for further reuse.

They must be thrown away.

It is recommended that food handlers use disposable gloves when:

• An adhesive dressing, other dressing or

bandage is used as the glove stops the dressing falling off.

• Nail polish, and other nail decorations

are used, to prevent nail polish chipping and contaminating food.

• If any hand jewellery is worn.

Environmental Health Officers

Greg Andrews & Bree Porter

Email: gandrews@glenelg.vic.gov.au or

bporter@glenelg.vic.gov.au Ph: 5522 2229 or 5522 2246

Food Allergen and Intolerance A food allergy develops when a person’s

immune system reacts to a particular food

allergen. An allergic reaction occurs when a

person is exposed to food they are allergic to

and their body's immune system reacts to that

food allergen.

Symptoms may be localised or generalised and

range from mild to severe. Symptoms include,

hives, swelling, vomiting, diarrhoea, noisy

breathing, difficult breathing and/or collapse.

The most common causes of food allergic

reactions are:

In addition to food allergies, some people

experience intolerance to certain foods. A food

intolerance is not due to an immune response

to a food. Intolerance may occur due to

substances contained within a food (e.g.

scombroid fish poisoning, where histamine

levels are high) or to a metabolic defect such

as lack of an enzyme.

Symptoms include stomach pain and

discomfort such as bloating, nausea, diarrhoea

and vomiting, but food intolerance is not life

threatening.

Food that tend to cause intolerance reactions

in sensitive people include:

• Lactose in cow’s milk

• Flavour enhancers such as MSG

• Food additives

• Strawberries, citrus fruits and tomatoes

• Wine, particularly red wine

• Amines present in some foods.

As a food business you are required to declare

the most common ingredients known to cause

allergic reactions when they are present in the

food that you prepare or sell.

• If you package or repackage food, you

must list the presence of these substances

in the ingredients list on the label.

• Where food is not in a packaged and is

displayed on the premises (retail or

catering purposes) a person must be able

to advise.

• Where food is consumed on the premises

(such as a café/restaurant), the

information must be provided to the

customer upon request.

If inaccurate information is provided to a

customer it could result in a life-threatening

situation or potential legal action. Therefore, it is

important that you train staff in dealing with

customer requests in relation to food allergies

and the potential consequences of providing

inaccurate information.

To protect customers from food allergens,

ensure that you observe storage, preparation

and display practices to avoid the risk of

allergen contamination, and also inspect labels

of ingredients for the presence of allergens.

If you require information on how to correctly

label packaged foods, please contact the

Health Team.

Egg Tree nut Wheat (not gluten) Soy

Peanut Cow’s Milk Fish & Shellfish

The Secret Recipe Volume 2, Issue 4 The Secret Recipe Volume 2, Issue 4

Australian Food Safety Week is the major initiative of the Food Safety Information Council.

This years theme, Myths and Mastery, focuses on

debunking the incorrect food safety beliefs held by consumers and highlights good safety practices.

We have debunked some myths for you below.

MYTH 1: Leftovers are safe to eat if it smells, looks

and tastes okay.

FACT 1: Do not rely on your senses to determine if food is safe to eat. Food poisoning bacteria such

as E.coli, Listeria or Salmonella have no odour and are undetectable to human senses.

MYTH 2: It must be the last food I ate which made

me sick.

FACT 2: It can take anywhere between 12 hours and 6 weeks to become sick from unsafe foods. You usually feel OK immediately after eating and become sick later.

MYTH 3: I don’t need to wash my produce if I am

going to peel it.

FACT 3: You should always wash your fresh fruits and vegetables under running tap water just before eating, cutting or cooking. Harmful bacteria may be on the outside of the produce and could be potentially transferred to the part you consume.

MYTH 4: If food has mould on it, it’s ok as long as

you remove the mould.

FACT 4: Mould that is visible on food typically indicates that mould has spread throughout the

2011 Renewal Registrations For Class 1 and Class 2 premises, this is a good

time to ensure that you have nominated a

suitable qualified person as your Food Safety

Supervisor and that you ensure that you have

provided a copy of their certificate of

competency to Council.

What do I do with my Food Act Certificate?

Once you have received your Food Act

Registration Certificate, you are required to put

it on display near your sales area. This allows

your customers to see that you are registered

with Council and comply with the Food Act

and relevant provisions.

Class 3 Minimum Records In line with the changes to the Food Act, the Department of Health has developed a new simplified food safety program template for

class 2 premises.

This template improves on its predecessor (Department of Health food safety program template Edition 1.1) by covering a range of important food safety processes, such as time control, off-premises activities and allergens.

This template will enable businesses to develop their own food safety records, provided these reflect the information required in the Department of Health's guidance. The new template also includes the option of daily diary record forms and alternative record forms.

Council’s Environmental Health Officers have started to roll out the new Food Safety Program to all Class 2 premises using the DOH template.

Once your Food Premises has received the new Food Safety Program, you will be required to simply start using the new record templates

which are relevant to your Food Business.

Please remember that your Food Safety Program and ALL relevant records MUST be completed and kept on the premises at all times for assessment . Failure to do so, may see Council issue an Infringement Notice against

you (after 1 March 2010)

For those businesses using the FoodSmart

template, the Department of Health will email

you when the new FoodSmart template is

available.

The new Class 2 FSP Template

By now, you should have received your 2011

Registration Application packs in the mail.

As the Application for Renewal is dramatically

different from previous years, please ensure that

you take the time to read and complete each

section and then lodge your application with

Council on or prior to the 31st October 2010.

Renewal applications will then be processed

and 2011 Certificate of Registration will then be

issued.

Failure to complete each section of the

Application Form will result in a delay of Council

being able to Renew your Registration.

2010 Food Safety Week - Myths & Mastery

food (further than the eye can see) and that the food should be discarded. The moulds you can see are matured mould spores.

MYTH 5: It’s OK to leave cooked food out of the

fridge for prolonged period of time.

FACT 5: Although food may be safe just after the cooking process, it is important that food is cooled as quickly as possible and put in the fridge/freezer as soon as possible. Under the right conditions, one bacterium in the food can double in 20 minutes. This means that in 3.5

hours, one bacterium can become one million bacteria!

MYTH 6: Three Second Rule

FACT 6: Despite being one of the most renowned, there is no truth to this myth. It takes less than 1 second for food to become contaminated when dropped on the floor or another contaminated surface. Any food that

has been in contact with a contaminated surface must not be consumed.

OLD

NEW

Under the Food Act, Class 3 Food Premises are

required to:

• Maintain the declared class 3 minimum

records and keep them at the premises;

• Retain all relevant records for one year;

and

• Provide the council with a copy of the

records if requested to do so by Council.

All Class 3 Food Premises will receive their

minimum record requirements with their Food

Act Registration Certification.

It is a requirement to start completing all

relevant records for your food business. During

the next Environmental Health assessment,

Council will assess the relevant records.

If you do not receive your Minimum Records

sheets, or have any queries regarding the new

records, please contact the Environmental

Health Team on 5522 2246.