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Jakarta Post

Food safety a habit

While most microorganisms do not cause disease, dangerous microorganisms are carried on hands, wipe cloths and utensils, especially cutting boards and the slightest contact can transfer them to food and cause foodborne diseases

Andreas D. Arditya (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Sun, January 26, 2014

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Food safety a habit While most microorganisms do not cause disease, dangerous microorganisms are carried on hands, wipe cloths and utensils, especially cutting boards and the slightest contact can transfer them to food and cause foodborne diseases. (Courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions)" border="0" height="349" width="261">While most microorganisms do not cause disease, dangerous microorganisms are carried on hands, wipe cloths and utensils, especially cutting boards and the slightest contact can transfer them to food and cause foodborne diseases. (Courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions)

Indonesians have so far been lucky that, despite a lack of awareness on food safety, things have been going rather well.

“Things could be worse. But luckily we’ve been living like this our entire lives. We’re so accustomed to the damp and warm tropical weather and the way we handle food, which we see nothing wrong with,” renowned chef Vindex Tengker.

“We generally feel there’s nothing wrong with it right?” he rhetorically asked an auditorium of 500 people during a recent seminar on food safety. “We are bacteria eating bacteria.”

The World Health Organization (WHO) puts food safety as one of its major concerns because microbiological hazards and the food-borne diseases they cause are considered as an increasingly important public health problem.

According to the organization, in many countries significant increases have been reported over the past few decades in the incidence of diseases caused by microorganisms transmitted mainly by food, such as Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp.

New, serious hazards have also emerged in the food chain, such as enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli and bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

(Courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions)(Courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions)
Food safety involves routines in handling, preparing and storing of food in ways that prevent food-borne illnesses and potentially severe health hazards

WHO have devised five keys to safer food handling and eating practices that explain the basic principles of how to prevent food-borne diseases.

The keys are to keep clean; separate raw and cooked; cook thoroughly; keep food at safe temperatures; and use safe water and raw materials.

Vindex said food safety was a habit not easily learned.

“I have spent 24 years working around kitchens around the globe. I’ve been in the US, Spain, Turkey, Japan and Mexico; food safety is a problem everywhere,” he says.

“Food safety is attitude; it takes time to develop an attitude. You have to do it each and every day.”

Tjandra Yoga Aditama, Health Ministry’s director general for disease control and environmental health, said the ministry recorded an average of between 200 and 300 extraordinary incidents of food poisoning across the archipelago every year.

The ministry technical definition for incidents of extraordinary food poisoning is a food-borne disease outbreak where two or more people fall victim after consuming food that has been proven epidemiologically as a source of contagion.

“Considering the definition, we can assume that the number of food poisoning incidents maybe bigger because individual cases are not recorded,” Tjandra said.

The incidents, he said, mostly happened at households during festive events, such as during parties where people invite friends and relatives.

“The cooks are household cooks, not professionals. They handle and prepare food as laymen and it leads to food poisoning,” Tjandra said.

Chef Vindex Tengker finds that washing hands before handling food and often during food preparation are key to safer food. (Courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions)While most microorganisms do not cause disease, dangerous microorganisms are carried on hands, wipe cloths and utensils, especially cutting boards and the slightest contact can transfer them to food and cause foodborne diseases. (Courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions)<)

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span class="inline inline-none">While most microorganisms do not cause disease, dangerous microorganisms are carried on hands, wipe cloths and utensils, especially cutting boards and the slightest contact can transfer them to food and cause foodborne diseases. (Courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions)

Indonesians have so far been lucky that, despite a lack of awareness on food safety, things have been going rather well.

'€œThings could be worse. But luckily we'€™ve been living like this our entire lives. We'€™re so accustomed to the damp and warm tropical weather and the way we handle food, which we see nothing wrong with,'€ renowned chef Vindex Tengker.

'€œWe generally feel there'€™s nothing wrong with it right?'€ he rhetorically asked an auditorium of 500 people during a recent seminar on food safety. '€œWe are bacteria eating bacteria.'€

The World Health Organization (WHO) puts food safety as one of its major concerns because microbiological hazards and the food-borne diseases they cause are considered as an increasingly important public health problem.

According to the organization, in many countries significant increases have been reported over the past few decades in the incidence of diseases caused by microorganisms transmitted mainly by food, such as Salmonella spp. and Campylobacter spp.

New, serious hazards have also emerged in the food chain, such as enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli and bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

(Courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions)
(Courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions)
Food safety involves routines in handling, preparing and storing of food in ways that prevent food-borne illnesses and potentially severe health hazards

WHO have devised five keys to safer food handling and eating practices that explain the basic principles of how to prevent food-borne diseases.

The keys are to keep clean; separate raw and cooked; cook thoroughly; keep food at safe temperatures; and use safe water and raw materials.

Vindex said food safety was a habit not easily learned.

'€œI have spent 24 years working around kitchens around the globe. I'€™ve been in the US, Spain, Turkey, Japan and Mexico; food safety is a problem everywhere,'€ he says.

'€œFood safety is attitude; it takes time to develop an attitude. You have to do it each and every day.'€

Tjandra Yoga Aditama, Health Ministry'€™s director general for disease control and environmental health, said the ministry recorded an average of between 200 and 300 extraordinary incidents of food poisoning across the archipelago every year.

The ministry technical definition for incidents of extraordinary food poisoning is a food-borne disease outbreak where two or more people fall victim after consuming food that has been proven epidemiologically as a source of contagion.

'€œConsidering the definition, we can assume that the number of food poisoning incidents maybe bigger because individual cases are not recorded,'€ Tjandra said.

The incidents, he said, mostly happened at households during festive events, such as during parties where people invite friends and relatives.

'€œThe cooks are household cooks, not professionals. They handle and prepare food as laymen and it leads to food poisoning,'€ Tjandra said.

Chef Vindex Tengker finds that washing hands before handling food and often during food preparation are key to safer food. (Courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions)
Chef Vindex Tengker finds that washing hands before handling food and often during food preparation are key to safer food. (Courtesy of Unilever Food Solutions)
With little to no supervision from the administration, food businesses have been left to their own devices.

Wasis Gunarto, a general manager of a well-known cafe and restaurant franchise in Jakarta, said food businesspeople were in the dark about food safety standards and certification.

'€œWe don'€™t have much knowledge on food safety standards from the government and which body is in charge of the certification,'€ Wasis said.

He said his company opted to cooperate with an international hotel chain and have their restaurant employees trained under international hotel standards.

'€œI think the government has a lot of homework to do in this food safety standards issue. They should not only focus on restaurant operators but also apply food safety standards on produce distributors and suppliers,'€ Wasis said.

Roy Sparingga, deputy for food safety and harmful substance supervision at the Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM), said that more education and campaigns on food safety were needed in the country.

'€œI am sure no food handlers, cooks and chefs would deliberately harm their customers. Most of them simply do not have the knowledge to be able to do their job safely and properly,'€ Roy said.

WHO five keys to safer food

Keep clean

While most microorganisms do not cause disease, dangerous microorganisms are widely found in soil, water, animals and people. These microorganisms are carried on hands, wiping cloths and utensils, especially cutting boards and the slightest contact can transfer them to food and cause foodborne diseases.

'€¢ Wash your hands before handling food and often during food preparation

'€¢ Wash your hands after going to the toilet

'€¢ Wash and sanitize all surfaces and equipment used for food preparation

'€¢ Protect kitchen areas and food from insects, pests and other animals

Separate raw and cooked

Raw food, especially meat, poultry and seafood, and their juices, can contain dangerous microorganisms, which may be transferred onto other foods during food preparation and storage.

'€¢ Separate raw meat, poultry and seafood from other foods

'€¢ Use separate equipment and utensils such as knives and cutting boards for handling raw foods

'€¢ Store food in containers to avoid contact between raw and prepared foods

Cook thoroughly

Proper cooking kills almost all dangerous microorganisms. Studies have shown that cooking food to a temperature of 70 degrees Celsius can help ensure it is safe for consumption. Foods that require special attention include minced meats, rolled roasts, large joints of meat and whole poultry.

'€¢ Cook food thoroughly, especially meat, poultry, eggs and seafood

'€¢ Bring foods like soups and stews to a boil to make sure that they have reached 70 degree Celsius. For meat and poultry, make sure that juices are clear, not pink. Ideally, use a thermometer

'€¢ Reheat cooked food thoroughly

Keep food at safe temperatures

Microorganisms can multiply very quickly if food is stored at room temperature. By holding at temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius or above 60 degrees Celsius, the growth of microorgan isms is slowed down or stopped. Some dangerous microorganisms still grow below 5 degrees Celsius.

'€¢ Do not leave cooked food at room temperature for more than two hours
'€¢ Refrigerate promptly all cooked and perishable food (preferably below 5 degrees Celsius)
'€¢ Keep cooked food piping hot (more than 60 degrees Celsius) prior to serving
'€¢ Do not store food too long even in the refrigerator
'€¢ Do not thaw frozen food at room temperature

Use safe water and raw materials

Raw materials, including water and ice, may be contaminated with dangerous microorganisms and chemicals. Toxic chemicals may be formed in damaged and moldy foods. Care in selection of raw materials and simple measures such as washing and peeling may reduce the risk.

'€¢ Use safe water or treat it to make it safe
'€¢ Select fresh and wholesome foods
'€¢ Choose foods processed for safety, such as pasteurized milk
'€¢ Wash fruits and vegetables, especially if eaten raw
'€¢ Do not use food beyond its expiry date

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