1. Contamination and Prevention
Contamination and Prevention. Introduction to Culinary Arts 4.2.
Introduction to Culinary Arts 4.2

2. What is Contamination?
A contaminate is an unwanted impurity that has found its way into a particular substance.
Contamination in Culinary Arts references to bacteria and microorganism that live and breed in the food we eat.
It is important to know before talking about how to prevent contamination to have an understanding what exactly a contaminate is. That is, a contaminate is anything that is unwanted in your food.

3. What is Biological Contamination?
Biological Contamination refers to any microorganisms, insects, and rodent that is found in food. This can cause serious illness.
Biological contaminates are naturally occurring. This included bacteria that can be found in your foods. Not all biological contaminates can be seen with the naked eye, some are so small they are microscopic.

4. What is Physical Contamination?
Physical contamination refers to an unwanted object or foreign matter being found in ones food. This can cause illness or injury.
A physical contaminate is a non-living items that can be found in your food. When you find a hair in your food it is considered an unwanted physical contaminate.

5. What is Chemical Contamination?
Chemical contamination is not always visible because the contaminate is an unwanted chemical. This can cause illness and in serious cases death.
These chemicals can come from processing or the food is exposed to it after purchase.
Chemical contamination is the least occurring of the three contaminates. This occurs when unwanted chemical are found in you food. Those who do not want any chemicals in their food can choose an organic option.

6. Where is Contamination found?
Contaminations can be found almost anywhere:
In unclean storage containers
Factories processing food
Kitchen counters
Hands that touch the food
Food touching other uncooked food
Refer to the chart on the next page for more examples!
Contaminates can be found everywhere! From your hands, to have handles you touch walking in the school building. Contaminates in the kitchen though must be prevented as much as possible because they can cause serious illnesses.

7. Here are just a few more places where you can find contaminates
Anything unwanted matter in the food is considered a contaminate and the places contamination can come from are endless!

8. How does contamination spread?
Contamination can spread through contact, airborne contaminates and contaminates spread through sharing of food liquids.
Biological contaminates can grow in the “danger zone” of temperatures.
Contamination can spread any time something that is contaminated comes into contact with another surface where the contaminated can attach and grow. When the contaminates are in the danger temperature zone biological contaminates can rapidly grow.

9. What is Cross Contamination?
Cross contamination occurs when an non contaminated food product comes into contact with an item that is contaminated.
Then the two items cross paths the non contaminated food item is contaminated through cross contamination.
The cross contamination can occur food to food, food to surface, utensil to food or even surface to another surface.
Cross contamination can easily occur in the kitchen if you are not careful about what foods are touching what surfaces. It is also important to remember to clean and disinfect every surface in the kitchen after cooking.

10. What are Food Borne Pathogens?
Food borne pathogens are varying types of bacteria, viruses, parasites, molds and algae.
The pathogens use the food as a place to breed and multiply. This happens without it being visible to the human eye!
When consumed these pathogens cause food poisoning because the pathogens are poisonous to the human body.
Food borne pathogens are the microorganism that can be found in food but are harmful to human when ingested. When consumed and illness occurs this is called food poisoning.

11. Type Of Food Born Pathogens:
Salmonella:
most frequently reported
Commonly diarrheal illness
Escherichia Coli (E. Coli):
Part of healthy human intestinal system
E. Coli outside the intestinal system can cause serious illness and hospitalization
Listeria:
This is rarely reported
Causes high fever and can be Fatal
3 common food borne pathogens are Salmonella which can be found in poultry, E. Coli which can be a contaminate found in items such as peanut better and listeria which is a hardly reported bacteria that can be found in foods that have not been cooked.

12. Food Borne Pathogen Cases:
This chart give the perspective about the Food poisoning reported in the US in 2011.

13. What factors effect Food Borne Pathogen growth?
FAT TOM:
FOOD
ACIDITY
TIME
TEMPERATURE
OXYGEN
MOSITURE
FAT TOM used for remembering the 6 factors that effect food borne pathogen growth. Food, the pathogens use the food as food to promote their own growth.

14. Contamination Prevention
Contamination Prevent is extremely important when working with foods.
Prevention can keep the food safe to eat, and those eating the food safe from illness!
Contamination consumption effects on a person include stomach aches, head aches, diarrhea, vomiting fever to even hospitalization!
Contamination starts with washing your hands and sanitizing all counters and equipment.
Contamination prevention is key to ensure that your food is safe. Pathogens and contaminated can be extremely dangerous in certain cases. Learning to prevent contamination of all sorts is an important aspect of the culinary field.

15. Thermometer Use
Cooking thermometers are used to make sure that food is cooked to the proper temperature.
Cooking thermometers should be placed into the center of the meat or dish to check the temperature is high enough to kill bacteria that may remain within the food.
The thermometer will be a key tool in making sure that the meat reaches the proper temperature to kill all the bacteria.

16. How do temperature and time guidelines reduce microorganism growth?
Based on what range in the danger zone the food is directly effects the safety of the food and microorganism growth

17. Contamination Prevention in Food Preparations
Food prep is the easiest place for cross contamination to occur because all the foods are raw.
Make sure to wash all fruits and vegetables before prep and use a separate cutting board.
Keep each meat separate by using different cutting boards or washing the cutting board before each use (i.e. seafood separate from poultry)
Make sure to use different knives or clean the knives before prepping each food.
Food should be keep in the fridge before and after prep to keep food out of danger zone as much as possible.
In food prep this is where the start of contamination prevention begins. This is a critical place to take precautions because most food is raw.

18. Contamination Prevention while Cooking
To prevent food from growing more contaminates food need to be cooked hotter than the danger zone.
Food that will be served cool
need to stay cold before being
served.
Make sure to use a thermometer when cooking to be sure you are cooking foods properly. Follow all cooking instructions and cook for the full time.

19. Contamination Prevention while Serving
Always use a clean plate to serve your foods
Do not keep food out for an extended period of time unless properly heated or kept cold.
Food that sits a room temperature is at risk for becoming contaminated.
Be sure that if you are reusing any trays from cooking or prep that it is cleaned before the food is placed on it.

20. Contamination Prevention for Storage
Food the has been previously cooked needs to be stored at 40 degrees or lower within 1 and a half hours of being served before it is no good.
Fruits and vegetables can be stored at room temperature or below
Raw proteins need to be stored at 40 degrees or lower. If the food will not be cooked within 24 hours of purchase it is recommended to freeze the proteins.
Food should be thawed in the refrigerator in individual containers.
Storing food properly keeps food from going bad. Only keep left overs for 48 after originally being served to be safe!

21. Preventing Cross Contamination between raw and Ready to Eat
Ready to eat food needs to be kept separate from the raw foods
Raw foods should not be stored in the pantry with ready made products.
Raw foods need to be cooked when being mixed with ready to eat products to at least 140 degrees
Note the temperature danger zone can span from 41º F – 135º F
Ready to eat typically in uncontaminated by food pathogens. Keep the ready to eat separate from the raw before the raw food have been thoroughly cooked. Thaw meats in a sealed container in the fridge.

22. “First in First Out” FIFO is the common abbreviation
The first items that are put into storage for a particular item needs to be the first one used.
This help keeps items from expiring and from going back.

23. Rotating Inventory
Making sure that the items that are in the inventory are all before their expiration date.
Those expiring sooner should be moved to the front of the inventory to ensure that it is used before .

24. Storage Temperature Refrigeration (air) temperature 38º F or below
Refrigeration (food) temperature 41º F or below
Seafood 30º F - 34º F
Fresh produce 41º F - 45º F
Deep chill 26º F - 32º F
Freezer (food) temperature 0º F or below
Dry storage 50º F - 70º F

25. Proper Receiving Temperatures
Potentially hazardous foods 41º F or below
Frozen foods 0º F or below
To make sure that the products being received are at appropriate temperatures before accepting the products

26. Proper Food Labeling Food labels need to include the following:
Contents
Date made
Date expired
Proper cooking procedures
When storing food it is important to properly label all the food so that other can be aware of expiration dates

27. Potentially Hazardous Foods
Potentially hazardous food include:
Dairy products
Meats
Poultry
Fish/ shell fish
Potentially hazardous food that require specific handling because it has the potential for supporting:
Rapid growth of toxigenic microorganism
Clostridum botulinum
Raw shelled eggs: salmonella enteritidis
Potentially Hazardous food are those food that are easily at risk for contamination. These foods need to be kept in the safe zones for food.