Ensuring Food Safety and Hygiene Standards in a Gourmet Sandwich Bar

Task 1: How could this have happened?

This assessment is made up of short answer questions.

• The questions are divided into tasksaccording to the elements within the unit of competence. There are three taskss in this assessment.
• You are required to provide a response to all questions in each section.
• You may source information to answer the questions from the learner guide,internet or paper-based resource for this unit.There may be variations to these Instructions to Candidates for specific examinations. Your Supervisor will explain any specific requirements

Stephanie and Jack own a gourmet sandwich bar and have always been meticulous about their hygiene procedures and personal hygiene standards. They were astounded when told that a number of customers had been sick. Over the past 24 hours customers had been vomiting and had severe headaches and diarrhoea after eating pre-prepared chicken and salad rolls from the sandwich bar.

Stephanie and Jack could not understand why the food poisoning had occurred. The chicken was delivered pre-cooked and always kept in the refrigerator when not in use. The rolls are prepared in the morning around 10 am. They are wrapped in cling film and stacked on a stainless steel tray on top of the counter. They are held there at room temperature until sold at some stage during the busy lunch time period from 12.30 to 2.30 pm. If they are not sold by 4 pm, they are thrown out.

Stephanie and Jack and the rest of the staff always wear a pair of protective rubber gloves when preparing all rolls and sandwiches prior to service, as they can prepare items faster using their hands than when using tongs and other utensils.

The local Environmental Health Officer (EHO) visited the restaurant and found bacterial growth in the chicken. Stephanie and Jack had to close their business while a complete investigation took place.

Q1: The food poisoning outbreak could have occurred due to a loss of control of a food safety hazard at one or more stages of the chicken’s food production process. Identify one potential food safety issue at each stage that could have contributed to the food poisoning outbreak.

Delivery

Storage

Preparation

Processing

Display and/or service

Packaging

Q2: Holding the prepared item on the service counter within the temperature danger zone for a long period of time prior to selling it is one potential cause of the microbiological contamination. Why is the temperature and length of time the food was held a food hazard?

Q3: How can you control this hazard?

Q4: How and when should the temperature of the chicken and prepared rolls be monitored?

Q5: Where should details about how to control this hazard be documented for employees to access and follow?

Q6: One of the other issues identified by the EHO was staff were not changing their disposable gloves often enough. Where could Stephanie and Jack place instructions for staff on how to use and dispose of gloves?

Task 2: Take control!

Q7: Some of the people who were made ill by the contaminated chicken are classified as vulnerable or high-risk persons. In food safety terms, what is a vulnerable person?

Q8: The EHO has asked that all chicken currently held in storage be disposed of as it may be contaminated. You are in the process of emptying the fridges, cleaning them and returning safe food to their correct storage areas. How do you make sure the potentially contaminated food does not become mixed up with the safe food?

Q9: When should you dispose of the potentially contaminated food?

Q10: What are four examples of other food safety procedures you and the other sandwich bar staff should follow on a daily basis?

Q11: The sandwich bar contains a wide range of potentially hazardous foods, such as cold processed meats, dairy products, sliced or grated fruits and vegetables, and eggs or egg-based products. What are two work practices you can use to handle these foods safely and prevent contamination?

Stephanie and Jack are concerned the pre-prepared chickens they purchased from a supplier could have already been contaminated when they were delivered. They want to have more control over the production process to reduce the risk of another food poisoning outbreak. One option is to cook their own chickens on the premises rather than buying them pre-prepared. They have researched purchasing a small chicken rotisserie.

Q1: How and where should fresh raw chickens be stored on delivery?

Q2: How can the raw chickens be protected against contamination while they are stored in the refrigerator?

Q3: Once the chickens are cooked, they must be cooled before they can be used to prepare rolls and sandwiches. What are the time and temperature requirements for cooling food under the Food Standards Code and local legislation?

Q4: How can the temperature of the chickens be monitored during the cooling period?

Q5: Where would the temperatures from monitoring processes be recorded?

Q6: You have taken the temperature of the chickens three times in a row and are getting different results each time. You think the thermometer is not working correctly and needs to be recalibrated. Briefly describe the steps to recalibrate a probe thermometer using the boiling point method.

Q7: After the chickens are cooked, all equipment, surfaces and utensils must be cleaned. Describe the steps you would follow to manually clean the tongs, knives, chopping boards and other utensils used during the preparation and processing of the chickens.

Q8: Should the benches and other surfaces be sanitised after cleaning? Why/why not?

Q9: The dishwasher is not working properly. Dishes are coming out with food still attached to them and the plates are cold. Is this a food safety issue or a maintenance problem? What should you do?

In addition to cooking chickens for their rolls and sandwiches, purchasing the rotisserie could create new items for them to sell: whole or segmented hot chicken. Stephanie and Jack are considering installing a small self-service section that offers a daily hot roast. A hot display cabinet would hold pre-cooked chicken or meat, chips, vegetables and gravy. Customers purchase a plate and serve themselves from the display case.

Q1: The chips and vegetables will be purchased frozen. What are the correct storage conditions for frozen products?

Q2: What two techniques can be used to ensure the frozen vegetables remain frozen during storage?

Q3: You are setting up the hot display by stocking crockery, eating and service utensils. A number of the plates have small chips on the rim. What should you do?

Q4: It’s lunchtime and the new hot display is popular. How can you ensure the safety of food sold to customers in this format?

Q5: They run out of chickens and must reheat some of the cooked and cooled chickens held in the refrigerator. What’s the maximum amount of time you can take to reheat potentially hazardous foods like chicken?

Q6: Customers have asked if the roast chicken meal can be placed in takeaway containers for them to take home or back to the office. If Stephanie and Jack decide to offer this service, how must these single use containers be stored?

Q7: The new chicken menu item is creating more waste as the chickens are delivered in cardboard boxes. How can you prevent the accumulation of waste and cardboard in the preparation area?

Q8: How can the accumulation of cardboard boxes lead to an increase of the risk of pest invasion?

Q9: How can you reduce the risk of an invasion?

Q10: You’ve observed your colleagues using these work practices. Are they complying with food safety procedures and regulations or are they not conforming?

• Sarah ties her long hair up before starting work.
• Jess never washes the bins after emptying them.
• Matt regularly leaves the egg mayonnaise out on the workbench in the morning while preparing rolls and sandwiches.

Q11: What should you do if you think they are not conforming to food safety procedures and standards?