Food Safety - Food Contaminants and Cross-Contamination 🌎

There are three ways that food can become contaminated: by equipment, by other foods, and by people. This topic focuses on the various ways that food can be contaminated by food and equipment. Learners will be taught when food can be contaminated and strategies for preventing contamination such as keeping different food types separate, cleaning equipment, checking equipment for damages, and more. This topic includes a video module to introduce the main concepts.

• Questions (level 1, 2, 3)

• Video module

Translated content is typically AI-generated, and in some instances, it's been human-reviewed. Review the list below for translation details within this topic.

• English

• French

  • Questions = AI-translation

  • Video = AI-translated

• Spanish

  • Questions = human-translated

  • Video = human-translated

1. Food can be contaminated at any stage: during preparation, cooking, or serving, so it’s important to follow all safety protocols for each step of the food handling process.

2. Contamination is spread to food in three ways: by other food, by contaminated equipment, or by people.

3. To prevent chemical contamination, always make sure you wash all fruits and vegetables properly before preparing them for consumption.

4. When preparing food, always keep raw food separate from ready-to-eat food or cooked food, so any bacteria on the raw food does not contaminate the ready-to-eat and cooked foods.

5. Before you begin a task, always make sure your equipment (knives, utensils) and surfaces (cutting boards) are clean and sterile, not rusting, cracked, broken, etc. to prevent chemical and physical contamination.

6. Designate separate or color-coded equipment (like knives, cutting boards, utensils) for preparing different types of food: raw meat, produce, dairy, cooked food, or ready-to-eat foods.

7. Make sure any cloths or wipes used to clean the counters are clean and sterile, so bacteria, allergens, and chemicals are not spread to the foods.

This topic focuses on the third way food can be contaminated: by people. Learners will be taught a variety of dos and don’ts to prevent the spread of contaminants in their workplace. Some strategies include, wearing gloves, not chewing gum, food tasting technique, and more. This topic includes a video module to introduce the main concepts.

• Questions (level 1, 2, 3)

• Video module

Translated content is typically AI-generated, and in some instances, it's been human-reviewed. Review the list below for translation details within this topic.

• English

• French

  • Questions = AI-translated

  • Video = AI-translated

• Spanish

  • Questions = AI-translated

  • Video = AI-translated

1. Wear gloves whenever handling raw, cooked, or ready-to-eat food, and change them often, especially when you begin working with a new meat or food type, or if you have painted or fake fingernails.

2. Don’t chew gum, eat food, smoke, or vape while preparing food, to prevent people-to-food contamination or vice versa.

3. Don’t sneeze, cough, or scratch yourself while preparing food, so you don’t release airborne particles into the air around the food.

4. Don’t put your fingers in your mouth, nose, or in your hair while working with food. If you do, wash your hands immediately before continuing your food tasks.

5. Never wipe your hands on your apron; this can cause cross-contamination between bacteria or chemicals on your apron and the food you’re working with.

6. Do not wipe your hands on the same towel/cloth used to wipe the counter because you can spread the contaminants from the table to your hands.

7. If tasting food is required, use a clean and sanitized spoon each time, so you don’t spread biological contaminants to the food.

In this topic, learners are taught some key principals for proper food storage. Content includes details like storing ready-to-eat foods on the top shelf of a refrigerator, cooked foods in the middle, and working down towards storing raw beef, pork, fish, and poultry on the bottom shelves. Learners are also reminded to store food and chemicals away from each other, as well as some other important equipment and food storage practices required to keep themselves and others safe from cross-contamination. This topic includes a video module to help introduce the main concepts.

• Questions (level 1, 2, 3)

• Video module

Translated content is typically AI-generated, and in some instances, it's been human-reviewed. Review the list below for translation details within this topic.

• English

• French

  • Questions = AI-translated

  • Video = AI-translated

• Spanish

  • Questions = human-translated

  • Video = human-translated

1. Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods, like sandwiches or washed produce, should be stored on the highest shelf, to prevent them from being too close to the raw food and becoming contaminated.

2. Store cooked foods, foods that need to be reheated, or unwashed produce (hotdogs, dirty vegetables or fruit) under ready-to-eat foods, and above raw meats, to prevent raw food from spreading contaminants to the cooked food.

3. Store raw meat on the lower shelves: whole cuts of beef or pork, and fish, followed by ground meat underneath, and poultry on the bottom shelf, because chicken has the highest cooking temperature, so any bacteria on or in it will be killed when it’s cooked.

4. To help prevent chemical contamination, never store foods near cleaning supplies, pest control products, or machine lubricants.

5. Store equipment like knives, cutting boards, utensils, etc., away from food storage areas to help keep them sterilized and prevent the spread of contaminants.

6. Food must be stored at least six inches above the ground, never on the ground, to prevent biological and chemical contamination and so the area can be cleaned.

This topic reinforces the importance of proper personal hygiene and explains how simple practices, like using hair nets, cleaning their uniforms, and trimming fingernails, can significantly reduce the instances of cross-contamination in their companies. This topic includes a video module to introduce the main concepts.

• Questions (level 1, 2, 3)

• Video module

Translated content is typically AI-generated, and in some instances, it's been human-reviewed. Review the list below for translation details within this topic.

• English

• French

  • Questions = AI-translated

  • Video = AI-translated

• Spanish

  • Questions = human-translated

  • Video = human-translated

1. Always wear hair nets, face nets, and keep hair pulled back to keep hair and facial hair from falling into foods.

2. Keep fingernails short and clean to prevent contaminating foods with dirty nails, and avoid wearing fake nails because they can fall off and contaminate foods.

3. Wash your hands often and thoroughly to prevent spreading bacteria, chemicals, etc. to foods, especially after working with raw meat.

4. Cover cuts or injuries with bandages and gloves to prevent biological (blood) AND physical (bandage) contaminants from contaminating foods.

5. Do not go to work when you’re sick, especially if you have diarrhea or are vomiting, so you don’t spread your illness to others or to the food.

6. Keep your uniform, clothes, aprons, etc., clean and laundered, so you don’t spread bacteria and other biological contaminants to the food.