The Dangers of having Poor Food Hygiene in your Canteen
It is the role of anyone who cooks and prepares food for people, to ensure that you are safely serving food to members of the public, including people that you care for.
Majority of the time, individuals tend to overlook the effects of poor hygiene automatically thinking the sole consequence is food poisoning. Whilst this is definitely an effect, there are multiple ways that failing to conduct good hygiene can impact all those involved within the canteen.
Anyone that works in the canteen should be recommended to have undertaken the correct food hygiene training to teach them exactly how a safe canteen should operate, ensuring all of those on the premise are avoiding any hazards and keeping everything clean giving their customers and buyers the best available service. The Australian Food Safety Standard 3.2.2 (Food Safety Practices and General Requirements) requires that people who handle food must have the appropriate skills and knowledge for the work they do. According to the Food Hygiene Company, there are multiple risks involved with poor hygiene as outlined below.
Food Poisoning
The main risk of poor hygiene within your canteen is food poisoning; the worrying truth is that this can happen easily, so you need to be extremely careful to prevent it.
Gastroenteritis is one of the more common types of food poisoning. This is often caused by unwashed hands spreading germs and contaminating food and can be spread in any environment where food is spread.
Another common type of food poisoning is known as campylobacter poisoning. Typically, campylobacter is spread by cross-contamination of raw or undercooked poultry, such as chicken. This can occur if staff wash raw chicken under a tap, which can spread bacteria around your sink, or if staff handle raw poultry and don’t wash their hands before handling other food or equipment.
Food poisoning can lead to individuals being ill, suffering from the likes of vomiting, nausea and aches and pains whilst in some cases, it can lead to hospitalisation or potentially death. This would be a very heavy guilt left for the food handlers to carry if they’re responsible for another person’s illness.
Pests
A dirty canteen can result in pests being attracted to your cooking area, such as cockroaches, flies and rats. These pets can carry disease and if an infestation occurs, you will have to close down your canteen for exterminators to remove the issue. This is a terrible look for the workers and the canteen and can seriously harm your reputation.
Cross-Contamination and Allergic Reactions
Many people in the world have an intolerance to food and can have allergic reactions when they have that specific food. Some people have mild symptoms such as a rash whilst others can suffer life-threatening attacks such as anaphylactic shock, which can result in hospitalisation or death.
Cross-contaminating in the kitchen is a common way for your customers to suffer an allergic reaction which is why it is important for those in the canteen to have the correct training to have an understanding of the appropriate measures to avoid cross-contamination.
Other Consequences
Improper food handling and poor food hygiene in your canteen kitchen that results in your customers getting ill is a terrible result for both parties. This can leave a terrible mark on the canteen resulting in loss of business, poor reputation in the community’s mouths and a significant drop in your numbers. All of this can result in fines for breaches leading to financial issues, with the potential of legal proceedings if someone gets seriously ill as a result of your practice.
If you would like more information about how you can complete the necessary training, please visit https://www.accessallareastraining.com.au/courses/victoria/food-safety-training/basic-food-safety-online
Keep those canteen’s clean, handle your customers food responsibly and provide a wonderful service for your beloved community!
-Nash Neary