May/June Voice 2011 - Breckland Council

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General News and Events
What goes on behind
closed doors?
The food in your fridge might look and smell fine, but if it’s a day out of date (or
even on the use-by day) do you throw it straight in the bin?
National Food Safety Week is a UK wide campaign designed to raise awareness of
good food hygiene practice. This year it will run from 6 – 12 June and the theme is
exploring food myths. Below we have listed some common food hygiene myths
– take a look and find out how much you know. Answers at the bottom of the page.
If food looks okay and smells
okay it’s safe to eat?
or false – eating
1True
food after the ‘best
before’ date won’t hurt?
5
3
7
True or false – plastic chopping
boards are more hygienic than
wooden ones?
True or false – steak is
okay rare as long as the
outside is brown?
True or false – cooked rice
can’t be kept as long as
other leftovers?
7. True, it’s a food safety fact. Leftover
cooked rice is fine to eat as long as it
gets cooled and refrigerated quickly
after cooking and eaten within 24 hours.
This is because rice can contain a
particularly tough bacteria which can
survive heating. Most other leftovers are
safe to eat up to two days after cooking.
Always reheat leftovers until steaming
hot and do not reheat more than once.
6. False, it’s a myth. Unlike steaks,
burgers and sausages are made from
meat that has been minced, so germs
will be spread throughout the product,
not just on the outside. This means that
the products need to be cooked properly
all the way through. To check if a burger
is done, cut into the thickest part and
check that there is no pink meat, is
steaming hot and juices run clear.
6
2
4
5. True, it’s a food safety fact. Steak is
safe to eat ‘rare’. Whole cuts of beef or
lamb, such as steaks, cutlets and joints
only have germs on the outside. So long
as the outside is fully cooked any germs
will be killed. But this isn’t true for
poultry, pork, burgers and sausages -
these must be cooked all the way
through.
4. True, it’s a food safety fact. Although
most raw meat will have some germs
on it, washing is more likely to spread
germs around the kitchen. Little
splashes of water can contaminate you,
your worktop and anything else in the
way. Thorough cooking is the best way
to get rid of these nasty germs.
cuts or scoring. You could use separate
boards for raw and ready to eat foods.
True or false – you don’t
need to wash raw chicken
before you cook it?
True or false – it’s best to serve
burgers pink in the middle?
3. False, it’s a myth. There isn’t any
strong evidence that one type of
chopping board is more or less hygienic
than any other, whether plastic,
wooden, glass or marble. What is
important is that the board gets cleaned
properly after every use and replaced if
it gets damaged, for example from deep
2. True, it’s a food safety fact. ‘Best
Before’ dates are about food quality, not
safety. They are usually found on food
that lasts a long time. If food has
passed its ‘Best Before’ date it doesn’t
mean it’s unsafe, but might have started
to lose it’s colour, flavour or texture.
ANSWERS
1. False, it’s a myth. Although a bad
smell or taste are signs that a food has
‘gone off’ these signs aren’t often
caused by germs that give you food
poisoning. So the foods appearance,
smell or taste aren’t reliable warning
signs. Instead, stick to the ‘Use By’ date
and storage instructions on the packet.
Food
Hygiene
Training
One of the keys to running a safe food
business is effective training. The law
requires that staff are trained in all
the safe methods of food handling
that are relevant to the job they do.
Managers are required to supervise
them to check they are following the
safe methods properly.
The Safer Food Better Business pack
sets out many of these safe methods
in the ‘Working with Food’ factsheets
and includes a useful training DVD for
use with new staff.
Further training is available from
Breckland Council, which offers the
nationally recognised Level 2 or
Foundation Course in Food Safety.
This is suitable for anyone who
handles open high-risk foods.
It is recommended that all
supervisory staff and managers are
trained to at least this standard.
Courses are available throughout
2011:
• Dereham – 16 & 22 June
9:30am – 1:30pm
• Thetford – 7 & 14 July
9:30am – 1:30pm
• Dereham – 8 & 14 September
9:30am – 1:30pm
• Thetford – 6 & 13 October
9:30am – 1:30pm
• Dereham – 10 & 17 November
9:30am – 1:30pm
Courses cost £50 per candidate and
can be booked by telephone on
01362 656870. Candidates must
complete both sessions and there is
a short exam on the final day.
Voice May – June 2011
Food ratings
scheme is a
success
Food safety standards in Breckland
continue to improve since the
introduction of the National Food
Hygiene Rating Scheme last
November, giving residents even
greater confidence when eating out or
buying food in the district.
After just a few months since the
launch in November 94% of food
businesses have achieved a
satisfactory or better rating (rating
3 –5) , reflecting the high standards
being found by Food Safety Inspectors
during routine inspections.
How well has your favourite shop or
restaurant done?
We were amongst the first in the
country to introduce this new scheme,
which has now been adopted by 114
Councils in England, Wales and
Northern Ireland and this number is
expected to increase further by the
summer. Consumers now have at-aglance
information about food hygiene
standards across the whole of
Breckland and much of the UK, helping
them to make informed decisions
about where to eat or buy food.
Ratings are given to virtually every
premises where food is offered to
the public, be it at a shop,
restaurant, public house,
canteen, hotel, or from a
caterer or residential care
home.
They are available for anyone
to view on the Food
Standards Agency’s website
at www.food.gov.uk/ratings
and food businesses are
given a window sticker
and certificate which they
are encouraged to the display at the
entrance to their premises. Look out
for them when you are out and about!
For more information about the
scheme call Breckland Council’s
Environmental Health team on
01362 656870.
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