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FOOD HANDLING – HOW TO GET IT RIGHT:
OSHCQA 6 - Staff Implement Effective and Current Food Handling
and Hygiene Practices
Food poisoning and infectious disease can be a serious health problem for children. If food is not safely
stored or properly handled, bacteria can multiply to dangerous levels and cause illness. The use of safe
and hygienic food storage and handling practices can prevent food contamination and the transmission
of bacteria and infectious disease amongst children and adults. Every staff member who handles food
has an important responsibility to maintain safe and hygienic food practices.
(Taken from NCAC OSHCQA Factsheet #4 – Food Safety.)
It is important for services to follow proper food handling and hygiene procedures to ensure that food –
provided by both services and families – is kept in good condition and retains its nutritional value.
From the NCAC OSHCQA Quality Trends Report – December 2005 it showed that most OOSH services
throughout Australia achieved Satisfactory to Good Quality in the Quality Area. However a significant
proportion of services did not meet the Accreditation standards for some indicators in Principle 6.2. In
this session we will endeavour to explore the indicators in this principle and look at how services can
meet the satisfactory level.
To meet the indicators in this Quality Area if really doesn’t matter what you kitchen consists of or where
the space is which you use for food preparation. What is really important is how you store the food, how
the staff prepares the food and how you make the area and the people in it a hygienic as possible.
By looking at the indicators of Satisfactory Care and working through each one you will be able to provide
evidence of practice and also documentation to support the practice.
Documented Policies, Procedures that are Followed at All Times by Staff, Children &
Families
The service should have policies that detail practices and are consistent with recommendations from
recognised health authorities. Practices should ensure the service stores, handles, prepares and serves
food and drink safely and hygienically. A key resource for the development of food safety and hygiene
policies is the Food Safety Standards developed by FSANZ.
Services policies should include preventing food poisoning, food preparation facilities and
equipment, Communication with families, involving children, safe food storage, safe food
preparation and serving, cleaning and sanitising, personal hygiene and food brought from home.
FOOD HANDLING – HOW TO GET IT RIGHT
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To ensure consistency of practice staff should have access to current information and ongoing
training and professional development.
Procedures for monitoring staff compliance with food safety and hygiene policies and practices should
be put in place.
Staff wash their hands effectively before preparing, serving or eating food and children are encouraged
to follow good food and hygiene practices
Hand washing is one of the most effective ways to reduce the spread of infection and in particularly
important for staff to wash their hands before; handling food, in between touching raw meats and ready
to eat foods, after using the toilet, smoking, coughing, sneezing, eating or drinking.
To effectively wash hands you must wash all over the hands, between the fingers and under
nails.
Hand washing facilities must consist of single use paper towel, bar soap or liquid soap, warm
running water. Hands cannot be effectively in cold water.
A hand washing basin should be located in the food preparation area and labelled as ‘Only for
Hand Washing’.
A bin is required to collect used paper towel.
Display poster with written and visual instructions on hand washing procedures.
The Standards do not require gloves to be used. Gloves will keep hands clean, but the gloves get dirty!
Remember to wash your hands before putting the gloves on: otherwise you will put the bacteria from
your hands onto the outside of the glove.
Surfaces are Cleaned and Sanitised Before and/or After Food Preparation
Cleaning and sanitising are usually separate processes. Cleaning removes visible residue such as food
waste, dirt and grease and can be achieved through the use of water and detergents. Cleaning does not
kill bacteria that hide underneath the dirt and grease.
A clean surface can look sparkling clean – yet be covered with bacteria. You cannot see bacteria
without a microscope.
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Sanitisers reduce the number of bacteria on a surface to a safe level. Sanitisers do not
work on dirty surfaces, as they cannot get through the grease and dirt that surround
bacteria.
To sanitise you can use hot water or chemicals.
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Hot water sanitising - the water must be over 77C and the dishes must soak of 30
seconds or more.
Chemical sanitising – chemical including QAC's (quaternary ammonium compounds),
chlorine release agents, bleach and iodophors, these chemicals are toxic and must be
rinsed off as surface with clean water before it is used to prepare food. Some chemicals,
such as chlorine dioxide are not toxic and do not require rinsing off.
When used correctly all sanitisers are safe, so it is important to read the label to know
how to use them.
Tea towels spread bacteria around the kitchen, so when possible try to avoid using
them.