Tag: Food poisoning
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Common Pests – Birds
Birds can gain access to food preparation and storage areas through doors, windows and ventilators. They scavenge for food and contaminate it with bacteria in and on their bodies and also with their droppings. Once established they can be very hard to get rid of. They flourish near take-away shops and open-air eating places. Always…
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Common Pests – Cockroaches
Cockroaches can sometimes be difficult to spot. They like to live in drains, behind woodwork, and in other inaccessible places. They also prefer to come out at night when there’s no one there to see them. Sometimes cockroaches can be brought into a kitchen along with supplies, so check deliveries carefully before storing. Removal of…
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Common Pests – Houseflies
Houseflies usually enter through a door, window or perhaps a ventilator. They breed anywhere there is decomposing food, faecal matter, or general rubbish. Just as they breed anywhere, they will also eat anywhere. They may have enjoyed a meal on a dog turd just moments before settling down for a quick snack on a sandwich…
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Common Pests – Rats and mice
Mice can enter premises through a hole no larger than the diameter of a pencil. Young rats don’t need a much bigger space. Once rats and mice are established they can be very difficult to get rid of. They can breed very quickly and they often have a resistance to rodenticides and other chemical poisons.…
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Keep pests away from food
There are three main kinds of pests which are commonly found in places where food for human consumption is prepared or stored. (There’s also a fourth type, namely student chefs who can eat like a plague of locusts sometimes, but that’s a different story.) The main types are: rodents – such as mice and rats…
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Colour Coding
The previous article looked at equipment to food contamination and suggested using separate equipment and utensils for raw and cooked foods. Colour coding is one way to achieve this. Most commercial kitchens use colour coded chopping boards, and even colour coded knives, cloths, etc. Here’s a table of the most usual colour coding system. Colour…