Singapore - NEA gives caterers a hand in food safety practices

Singapore, January 12, 2012 – After a spate of mass food poisoning cases involving catered food here last year, the authorities are helping caterers to adhere to the best practices of food safety.

The role of Food Safety Management Systems (FSMS) as a useful tool to prevent cross contamination during food preparation was highlighted by the National Environment Agency today in a seminar for caterers to share best practices and promote higher food hygiene standards.

A FSMS is a documented programme that identifies and controls food safety hazards at every stage of the food storage, preparation, cooking and delivery process, said a Government statement today.

Caterers typically serve large numbers of people at the same time, and so any lapses on their part could have the potential to cause a major food poisoning outbreak.

The statement said: "The number of catering companies in Singapore is also on the rise. Adding to these risks is the threat of cross contamination – the transfer of harmful bacteria from one person, object or place to another – which is higher in a caterer’s kitchen given the large amount of food being prepared. Cross contamination is also recognised by food safety experts worldwide to be one of the primary causes of food poisoning."

Common measures taken to reduce the possibility of cross contamination include keeping raw and cooked food separately and covering them.

Regular sanitisation and disinfection of food handling equipment and surfaces can also eliminate harmful bacteria from contaminating food.

Such safe food handling practices are commonly communicated by management to staff through training and regular verbal reminders. The documentation of such practices in large scale operations like catering would allow better quality control.

In addition to the existing hygiene regimes practised by caterers, a FSMS requires all the practices in the catering process to be documented.

This enables catering staff to follow such standards consistently and regularly to minimise the pathogens or bacteria entering the food.

A FSMS will also give catering supervisors and management a better oversight of the operations, which can be very extensive given the wide variety of food being prepared simultaneously.

As each type of raw food ingredient contains its own hazards, a clearly documented process will enable supervisors to do more comprehensive audits to ensure that proper practices are carried out at each preparation station each time. Lapses or poor practices can be spotted and rectified more easily. Training sessions will also be more beneficial and relevant.

Food safety expert Linda Quek said NEA’s call to the industry to incorporate FSMS into hygiene regimes was timely.

"With more caterers emerging on the scene, pro-active adoption and effective implementation of a FSMS is a tool an operator can use to manage bacterial hazards in food prepared and served to customers. Issues leading to food poisoning can be managed better and, hopefully, food poisoning prevented, thus keeping the caterer’s reputation intact." she said.

Mr Tai Ji Choong, NEA’s Director for Environmental Health, said: "This call for the industry to adopt FSMS is part of NEA’s long term strategy to promote better food safety practices. Such systems are a useful guide for food handlers in avoiding practices which may increase the risk of pathogens or bacteria being introduced into the food.

"Implementing FSMS will help caterers meet customers’ expectations of clean and safe food, and we hope that more caterers will come on board. To facilitate such efforts, NEA is working with the relevant stakeholders to introduce simplified templates that can be easily used by any caterer interested to introduce FSMS in their operations."

Industry representatives believe the initial investment in time and manpower resources will turn out worthwhile.

Mr James Wong, President of Association of Catering Professionals (ACAPS) said: "ACAPS feels that food safety is a key priority for food caterers interested in the bottom-line. We strongly believe that investment of resources in sustaining a proper food safety management system will ultimately benefit businesses by increasing consumers' confidence.

"Customers today are becoming more discerning, and with food poisoning incidents capturing media and public attention, all caterers will do well to integrate such systems in their day-to-day operations."

NEA said it will continue working with the catering industry via the Association of Catering Professionals (ACAPS) to promote FSMS to all caterers.  NEA officers will also explain the benefits of FSMS to caterers during routine inspections.

SoShiok.com

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