Cross contamination is the transfer of bacteria from one food to another. It can occur when bacteria from raw foods like meat and poultry are transferred to ready-to-eat foods through cutting boards, knives, hands or other surfaces. This can lead to food poisoning. To prevent cross contamination, color-coded cutting boards are recommended to separate raw and cooked foods, and surfaces must be thoroughly washed between preparing different food items. Proper handwashing and keeping raw and cooked foods separated are also important to avoid cross contamination.

1. Cross Contamination Bacteria Illness Prevention
Starter
•In your own words in your work books please explain in
a few sentences what you think Cross Contamination is
and how it can be caused ?
•What do you think the dangers of Cross Contamination
are or could be?
•How can we help to prevent Cross Contamination
Explain what Cross Explain what cross If you could explain the
contamination is? Contamination is and yellow and white boxes
how it is caused and how to prevent it

2. Cross Contamination Bacteria Illness Prevention
Learning Objectives
• To understand what Cross contamination is
• To Understand how Cross Contamination happens
• To Understand what are high risk foods
• To Understand how to help prevent Cross Contamination
Explain what Cross Explain what cross If you could explain the
contamination is? Contamination is and yellow and white boxes
how it is caused and how to prevent it

3. High Risk,
Cross Contamination Low risk Cross contamination
Bacteria Illness Prevention
Cross Contamination what is it?
The definition of cross contamination is
Definition: Cross contamination is what happens when bacteria from one
food item are transferred to another food item, often by way of unwashed
cutting boards or countertops, as well as knives and other kitchen tools, or
even unwashed hands. Cross contamination can in turn lead to food
poisoning.
You have already looked at Cross Contamination and its causes, can you
think of anything we do in our own kitchens at home or at school that could
lead to Cross Contamination if we did not follow the correct food Hygiene
and safety procedures?
Explain what Cross Explain what cross If you could explain the
contamination is? Contamination is and yellow and white boxes
how it is caused and how to prevent it

4. Cross Contamination Bacteria Illness Prevention
Pay close attention to the words in RED during this lesson.
One of the most common ways to spread bacteria is cross-contamination.
Cross Contamination
(definition): cross-contamination is when bacteria spreads from one food
to another.
how does that happen? There are lots of different ways. First thing you
need to remember is that there are lots of potentially hazardous foods –
stuff like raw meat and fish and chicken. They need to get cooked to kill
the bacteria that’s in them. When these foods are raw you need to make
sure they don’t touch foods that don’t have to be cooked – like
lettuce, tomatoes, dairy products etc.
Explain what Cross Explain what cross If you could explain the
contamination is? Contamination is and yellow and white boxes
how it is caused and how to prevent it

5. Cross Contamination Bacteria Illness Prevention
Using Colour-Coded Cutting Boards
The colours help you keep track of which cutting boards are reserved for which types of
foods, so that you're less likely to cut lettuce on the same board you just used for
prepping RAW POULTRY
Here are the different cutting board colours and their meanings
Green: Fruit and salads
Yellow: Cooked meats
Blue: Fish
White: Dairy products
Brown: Vegetables
Red: Raw meats
Explain what Cross Explain what cross If you could explain the
contamination is? Contamination is and yellow and white boxes
how it is caused and how to prevent it

6. Cross Contamination Bacteria Illness Prevention
How can Cross Contamination take place?
Cross-contamination in food preparation is a serious concern, particularly in
restaurants and other commercial kitchens. Many foods (uncooked
meats, poultry, fish, etc) may be contaminated by
microorganisms, bacteria, etc. Cross-contamination is when these bacteria
transfer from that food item to another object (your hands, cutting
board, knife, etc). It can also refer to when contaminants on an object or
person are transferred to food items (someone who is ill doesn't wash their
hands before preparing food). Cross-contamination can result in food illnesses
which can be quite serious.
Explain what Cross Explain what cross If you could explain the
contamination is? Contamination is and yellow and white boxes
how it is caused and how to prevent it

7. Cross Contamination Bacteria Illness Prevention
To prevent cross-contamination, follow these steps:
•Wash hands thoroughly with hot water and soap before handling food items. If
handling raw or undercooked meat, poultry, fish, eggs, etc., also wash hands after
handling such items.
•Use separate or disposable wipes/sponges for cleaning surfaces in between
preparation stages. Contaminants can live in sponges and dishcloths. Thoroughly wash
any prep items (cutting boards, knives, mixing bowls) in between prep stages
•Keep raw and cooked items separate to avoid contaminating the cooked items
(cooking kills most common contaminants). Keep raw meats, poultry, fish, etc, on the
bottom shelf of your fridge to prevent leaks from contaminating other items
Explain what Cross Explain what cross If you could explain the
contamination is? Contamination is and yellow and white boxes
how it is caused and how to prevent it

8. Cross Contamination Bacteria Illness Prevention
The refrigerator is a machine that
keeps our food cold, at a
temperature where bacteria grows
at a minimal rate, and therefore
preserves our food for much longer.
Before the refrigerator was
invented people used to keep food
cold in cellars or in underground
caves lined with snow or ice (if they
were around). Otherwise, food was
preserved using other methods
such as smoking, salting, pickling or
drying. Most of these methods of
food preservation have been
around since the time of the Roman
Empire or before.
Explain what Cross Explain what cross If you could explain the
contamination is? Contamination is and yellow and white boxes
how it is caused and how to prevent it

9. Cross Contamination Bacteria Illness Prevention
REMEMBER
Always wash hands after any action that could contaminate hands, such as visiting the
toilet, after handling waste food and after handling raw food as they are all sources of
bacteria which can be transferred to food.
Do not use the same equipment or surfaces for cutting or preparing raw food then
cooked food. If this is impossible, make sure that equipment and surfaces used for
raw food are thoroughly cleaned and sterilised before cooked food is used on them.
Use a colour coding system for equipment such as chopping boards and knives.
Keep the food premises clean and maintain high standards of cleanliness and personal
hygiene
Explain what Cross Explain what cross If you could explain the
contamination is? Contamination is and yellow and white boxes
how it is caused and how to prevent it

10. Cross Contamination Bacteria Illness Prevention
Otherwise this will happen
Explain what Cross Explain what cross If you could explain the
contamination is? Contamination is and yellow and white boxes
how it is caused and how to prevent it

11. Cross Contamination Bacteria Illness Prevention
Explain what Cross Explain what cross If you could explain the
contamination is? Contamination is and yellow and white boxes
how it is caused and how to prevent it