Equipment-to-food contamination
Equipment and work surfaces can easily be contaminated by foods, particularly raw meat and poultry, by pests, and even by the food handler. Then the equipment will pass on the bacteria to any other food it comes into contact with.
Any items which have come into contact with raw meat or poultry, or their juices, should be treated as contaminated. These might include:
- work surfaces
- chopping boards
- utensils
- trays
- mincers
- slicers
- knives
Equipment and work surfaces must be cleaned immediately after use to minimise the risk of someone else using them without realising that the equipment is contaminated.
You should also remember that surfaces and equipment may have become contaminated by insects or even humans.
You cannot tell whether something is contaminated or not just by looking.
You must
- thoroughly and immediately clean work surfaces where raw meat and poultry have been handled
- keep utensils and equipment used in the preparation of raw meat and poultry separate from those used for the preparation of other foods
- maintain a high standard of general cleanliness of work tops and equipment
This is Chapter Three, Part Eight in a series of articles broadly similar to the course offered by the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health for its Food Hygiene Certificate.
Part Nine: Colour coding
Return to the start of Chapter Three
