Young children are particularly vulnerable to food borne illness, and while school canteens have an ethical responsibility to provide nutritious food, provision of safe food is a legal requirement.
School canteens are food businesses in accordance with the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code, (adopted by the Food Act 2003 Tasmania), and as such must comply with Chapter 3 of the Food Standards Code, the Food Safety Standards.
The Tasmanian Food Act 2003 and the Food Safety Standards require that:
- food handlers are clean, healthy and have skills and knowledge in food hygiene in line with their responsibilities
- the food premises is clean, well maintained, and appropriately designed
- food handling controls have been instituted
- the local council is notified of the food business. Most canteens will need to be registered as a food business by the local council. The council will advise you if this is appropriate for your canteen.
8.1 Food Safety Resources
Compliance with Food Safety Standards
The National School Canteen Food Safety Project, an initiative of the Federation of Canteens in Schools (FOCiS) funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing, has produced a package called “Looking after Our Kids”. This easy to follow package is specifically aimed at assisting school canteens to comply with the Food Safety Standards and was sent to all schools in 2002. Further copies may be obtained from the Department of Health and Ageing on (02) 6289 5131 or email: FoodSafety@health.gov.au.
Further resources, along with access to the Food Safety Standards, are available at the Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) web site: www.foodstandards.gov.au. You are also encouraged to liaise closely with your local council Environmental Health Officer, who is the officer responsible for food safety regulation of food businesses.
Many school canteens will find that participation in the Cool CAP program will assist them in fulfilling the requirements of the Food Safety Standards, as this program includes a food safety component.
Food Handler Training
Every person who works in your school canteen (including volunteers) is required by law to have the skills and knowledge to handle food safely, and it is the responsibility of the canteen manager to ensure this requirement has been fulfilled.
This does not mean that everyone needs formal food safety qualifications, but it is necessary for them to understand the risks associated with the foods they are handling and the tasks they are performing - and to have the skills to minimise those risks. The level of training required by each person will be determined by the tasks they perform in the canteen environment.
Your local council Environmental Health Officer will be able to assist you in determining the level of training supervisors and workers in your canteen require. TAFE, the Australian Institute of Environmental Health, and a range of other training providers offer food safety training (in kit or course form) for food handlers. In some cases local council Environmental Health Officers may be able to provide some on-site training.
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Food Safety Management Systems
Food Safety Management Systems [including Food Safety Programs and Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) systems] are formal methods for the management of food safety risk and are likely to be extremely useful in a setting where staffing frequently changes.
2007 will see the start of the roll-out of mandatory Food Safety Programs for certain high risk food businesses, including those that provide food to children under the age of four years. This will only impact school canteens in rare cases, but beyond any regulatory requirement, instituting a food safety management system is an excellent way to ensure that your canteen is managing food in the safest way.
Your local council Environmental Health Officer will be your first port of call when looking for information on setting up a food safety management system in your school canteen.
8.2 Food Safety Basics
The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code requires that every food business ensures all staff have the skills and knowledge to ensure the food they handle is safe.
At a minimum, all staff including volunteers must understand the fundamentals of food safety. This section is not a comprehensive food safety guide, but does provide some insight into the basics of food safety at a level that should be understood by all staff.
Food controls aim to
- prevent contamination of food from the environment
- prevent cross contamination between different kinds of foods and between raw and cooked foods
- prevent the growth of bacteria in the food/ food environment
Potential Hazards
The potential hazards associated with foods can be classified as
- Physical- usually foreign objects which have somehow entered the food. The risks associated with physical hazards include choking, lacerations and broken teeth.
- Chemical- including a range of compounds which can include agricultural and cleaning chemicals, naturally occurring toxicants, and allergens.
- Biological- including bacteria, parasites and viruses that can cause food-borne illness.
Good food controls and hygienic practices can minimise the risks associated with all these hazards.
Hygienic Premises
A clean, well maintained food premises is a prerequisite for any canteen. All canteens should have a cleaning roster documenting tasks and responsibilities, along with up to date records to show that these tasks are completed as set out in the roster.
Staff must understand the need to
- clean (wash and scrub to remove particulate matter and grease) all equipment for preparation, transport and serving of food between tasks and after every use
- sanitise (disinfect to reduce the number of germs) all equipment that comes in contact with food between tasks and after every use
- dry utensils, dishes and surfaces after cleaning (bacteria need water to grow!). Air drying is preferred.
- maintain separate areas for raw and cooked foods, and keep used crockery and utensils away from food preparation areas.
N.B. Sanitising is only effective on surfaces that have already been cleaned. Ensure the chemicals you choose are appropriate and used according to the manufacturer’s directions.
The Food Safety Standards set out minimum requirements for design and construction of food premises. These requirements include adequate ventilation, easy to clean surfaces, and adequate hand washing facilities.
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Staff hygiene
Staff must appreciate the importance of scrupulous hygiene in the kitchen and serving areas. Particular attention must be paid to hair, clothing and frequent hand washing.
Hands should be thoroughly washed with warm water and soap (taking particular care to clean around fingernails) then dried:
- between handling raw and cooked food
- after handling dirty crockery and utensils
- after toilet breaks, nose blowing, coughing/ sneezing, touching hair or applying make- up and after handling cash
Actual contact with food should be kept to a minimum. Use of clean utensils such as tongs should be favoured. Hands should be thoroughly washed using warm water and soap then dried prior to touching food.
Staff who have been ill should be excluded from food handling and should not come into contact with surfaces or utensils used for food preparation. In cases where there is an identified food borne illness, staff should be excluded for the exclusion period advised in the Guidelines for Notification of Notifiable Diseases of the Public Health Act 1997. Staff members suffering from gastroenteritis when the organism is unknown should be excluded from food handling until 48 hours after symptoms have ceased.
Safe food handling
Only buy quality food from reputable food businesses. Your service agreement with your suppliers should stipulate that only safe, quality food will be accepted. The quality, cleanliness and temperature of each delivery should be checked and documented.
Thaw food thoroughly in the refrigerator or microwave. NEVER thaw food on the bench at room temperature.
AVOID CROSS CONTAMINATION- use separate cutting boards and utensils for handling raw and cooked foods.
Cook food thoroughly, cool food rapidly
Reheat foods rapidly and thoroughly until steaming hot.
Store food appropriately.
Safe Storage of food
Serve food as soon as possible after cooking it!
Food should be stored in sealed food grade containers to prevent contamination with bacteria, chemicals or objects. Keep raw meat, poultry and seafood in sealed containers at the bottom of the fridge and do not allow juices to drip onto other foods.
Food on display should be wrapped/ covered to protect it from contamination.
Perishable “potentially hazardous” food should not be stored or displayed in the “temperature danger zone” between 5ºC and 60ºC: Cold food should be kept below 5ºC, and hot food above 60ºC. This prevents the growth of food poisoning bacteria that could make children sick. It is important that refrigerator and Bain Marie temperatures are checked regularly (at least daily) with an accurate thermometer- and that these temperatures are recorded and signed off. It is compulsory for all food businesses to have a thermometer accurate to +/- 1ºC.
between 5ºC and 60ºC - for example during preparation and packing, or when cooling it. This is safe for a very limited time only. For this reason, it is important that food is only within this range for a total maximum of four hours before it is discarded. The Food Standards Australia New Zealand document “Food Safety: temperature control of potentially hazardous foods” is an excellent resource to help you manage potentially hazardous foods safely within the “temperature danger zone”. It can be accessed online at: http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/newsroom/publications/index.cfm#_indexF.
Documentation
It is important that you can show that your canteen’s food safety protocols are actually being FOLLOWED. Document them, and keep them where they are available for reference. Make certain staff sign the cleaning schedule, temperature charts and other documents as they complete their tasks so that you are able to demonstrate that these tasks are being undertaken appropriately.
Support
If in doubt- ASK!
Food safety is an important part of looking after our kids. You are not on your own.
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