Food Safety 101: Common Hazards and How to Prevent Them

Working in the food and beverage industry food safety should always be in the forefront of everything you do. There are simple things you can do, policies, and processes you can put in place to help mitigate food safety incidents from occurring, saving you severe headaches, financial loss, and even law action later down the road.

Food safety hazards are divided into three main areas: Biological, Chemical, and Physical.

Biological Hazards

Microorganisms are the most common hazards when working with food and can cause foodborne illnesses. 

Common Biological Hazards:

• Bacteria: Salmonella, E. coli, and Listeria
• Viruses: Norovirus 
• Parasites: Giardia, Cryptosporidium
• Fungi: Molds and yeast, which can produce mycotoxins

Mitigation Measures:

• Cooking: ensure food is cooked at the correct temperature to destroy harmful bacteria and viruses. The temperature of food should be checked while cooking, this can be done using a range of different thermometers. A number of these temperatures should be recorded in either a paper diary or an app such as Hubl, as part of your food safety due diligence.
• Personal hygiene: hand washing is vital to prevent the spread of microorganisms particularly after using the bathroom, handling raw meat, or touching contaminated surfaces.
• Use of colour-coded equipment: using separate equipment such as cutting boards for meat and vegetables helps prevent cross-contamination. 
• Clean surfaces: sanitise kitchen surfaces and utensils regularly to prevent contamination.

Water Quality

Water is widely used in food manufacturing and food preparation, whether it be for cleaning, processing, or directing food production. Therefore, ensuring you are using safe water free from bacteria, viruses, or chemicals is key. Hyginia’s A.T.P Aquasnap Free Water swabs offer you a quick, easy, and accurate way to verify that the water you are using is safe. Demonstrating to any food safety auditor whether it be BRCGS, SALSA, or the Food Standards Agency, that you are carrying out the necessary due diligence to produce safe and quality goods.

Chemical Hazards

Chemical hazards are harmful substances (natural or environmental) that can contaminate food, making it unsafe to ingest.

Common Chemical Hazards:

• Pesticides: residues on fruits and vegetables.
• Heavy metals: lead, mercury, and cadmium found in certain seafood.
• Natural toxins: mycotoxins in moldy foods or toxins in certain fish.

Mitigation Measures:

• Wash produce: thoroughly wash all fruits and vegetables to remove pesticide residues and dirt.
• Supplier approval systems: ensure that you vet all suppliers to ensure you are working with quality produce from reputable suppliers.

Physical Hazards

Foreign objects such as glass, metal, plastic, etc can make their way into the food process lines and accidentally contaminate food.

Common Physical Hazards:

• Shards of glass: shards from broken containers, equipment etc 
• Metal: fragments from machinery
• Wood: from crates or pallets
• Plastic: from packaging or broken equipment

Mitigation Measures:

• Equipment checks: regularly inspect food processing equipment for wear and tear that could lead to contamination.
• Food-safe packaging: use safe, food-grade materials for packaging, and avoid using broken containers.
• Educate staff: with your staff carrying out the day-to-day tasks, they are the ones who need to be aware of correct food handling procedures, including disposing of hazardous objects in the kitchen or on the production line, such as glass breakage clean-up kits.

General Control Measures

• Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP): a working document that should be at the cornerstone of your business’s daily activity. A HACCP is a systematic approach to identify and manage potential food safety hazards to help reduce food safety incidents.
• Staff training: with your staff carrying out the day-to-day tasks, ensuring they receive high-quality training is vital to the success of your food safety.
• Internal audits and testing: carrying out regular internal audits will help indicate any non-conformities, allowing you to address them before they become an issue or before an external auditor or EHO picks up on them. Consultants from our sister company Complete Food Safety, recommend carrying out an internal audit at least twice a year.