Sanitary procedures while preparing and cooking food. General Rules and Guidelines of Thawing, Preparing and Cooking Food. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP)

1. By:
Dr. Waleed Foad
MSc.Public Health in Nutrition
Clinical Nutrition Specialist
European Society of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (ESGE)
Member of the American Society of Nutrition
Email: wfoad@outlook.com

2. Hazard Analysis and Critical Control
Points (HACCP)
 System of control procedures to monitor food service
process
 Purchase  Serving
 Identifies “Critical Control Points” (CCP’s)
 Points in process where hazards may be introduced
 Reduce risk of food borne illness

3. Hazard Analysis of Critical Control
Points (HACCP)
 Purchasing (Discussed in Previous Lectures)
 Receiving (Discussed in Previous Lectures)
 Storing (Discussed in Previous Lectures)
 Preparing
 Cooking
 Hot-holding (Discussed in Previous Lectures)
 Cooling (Discussed in Previous Lectures)
 Reheating (Discussed in Previous Lectures)
 Serving (Next Lecture with Personal hygiene and
employee training )

4. Preparation
 Handle raw, high risk foods in separate area at separate
time
 Clean surfaces/equipment (e.g. cutting boards and knives)
immediately after contact with potentially hazardous food
and between uses.
Give Reason: It is important to clean chopping
boards/utensils after using them for raw meat.
Answer: To avoid cross-contamination.
Bacteria can transfer from the meat to the chopping
boards/utensils. If they are then used for ready-to-eat foods
without being washed, that bacteria can then transfer to food.

6. Preparation Cont.
 Hand washing prior to handling food
 Clean cereals are pulses and remove dirt, mud, stones….
 Wash fruits, vegetables. Wash with diluted Potassium
permanganate or Chlorine is advisable.
 Peeling, trimming and soaking is needed for some food
items.
 Thawing for frozen food should be completed before
cooking.

7. Rules for Thawing Food:
1. In a refrigerator below 4 ºC
 Never thaw on counter or non-refrigerated area
 In a pan on bottom shelf
2. Under Running water below 21 ºC
 for less than 2 hours
 While frozen food is still in its sealed package
3. In a thawing Cabinet at temperature between 10-15 ºC
4. In a microwave oven, only when it has to be cooked
immediately.
5. Some Semi-Cooked Frozen Food are cooked in their
frozen state and quickly thaw while cooking.

8. Cooking
 IMPORTANT: Normal Cooking Procedures Destroy
most pathogens, but not necessarily their spores or toxins.
 Cook foods to proper internal temperature
 Internal temp higher than 75 ºC
 Stir foods in deep pots frequently
 Regulate thickness of foods
 Check thickest part of the food
 Always use sanitary cooking/serving utensils
 Never touch prepared foods with bare hands

9. Stuffed-Food Cooking
 While cooking any stuffed preparation, Like stuffed
chicken or turkey, it as advisable to cook the stuffing and
then stuff the bird.
 This is because stuffing
slows down the heat
penetration and
sometimes even if the
bird is cooked, the
temperature in the
centre may not be high
enough to kill bacteria.

10. Stuffed-Food Cooking
 Food poisoning is more likely to occur from stuffed
food, because:
1. More manipulation by
hands.
2. Heat transfer is slow,
letting bacteria in
temperature danger
zone for longer time.
3. Temperature at the
centre of food may not
be adequate, so the
staffing may not be
cooked to the desirable
stage.

11. Left-Over Food
Always remember when handling left-Over Food:
IF IN DOUBT, THROW IT OUT
Left –Over Food include:
1. Displayed but not Sold or Eaten during meal time.
2. Food Prepared but not used in cooking Functions.
3. Food Produced in quantities more than that required.
Left –Over Food Should be handled carefully, e.g.:
• Stored below 4 ºC until required.
• Discard left-over Food refrigerated for more than 3 days from
preparation date
• Should not be mixed with fresh food.
• Should be covered and stored in Specific separate areas.
• Reheated before serving only once, with very strict measures.

12. Reheating Left-Over Food
 Give Reason: It is better to avoid reheating Left-Over
Food.
Answer: To avoid the increased risk of food poisoning
due to bacterial growth at temperature danger zone.
 You should only reheat Left-over Food once.
The more times you cool and reheat food, the more
potential there is for food poisoning, bacteria might grow
and multiply because the food is cooled too slowly, and
might survive because the food isn’t reheated properly.
When you do reheat, make sure that food is reheated
thoroughly, so that it is steaming hot all the way through.

13. General Considerations
 Ill or infected workers not allowed to handle food
 Generally, Keep Perishable and frozen food out of
temperature danger zone (5°C to 60°C).
 For big or catered events, hold reference sample of all
foods served for 72 hours.

14. For Further Support:
Dr. Waleed Foad
Email: wfoad@outlook.com