Food Safety Fundamentals and Application in Food & Bev Ops

This essay delves into the fundamental principles of food safety and hygiene within food and beverage operations, emphasizing the importance of practices that ensure safe food handling, preparation, and service. It highlights the '4Cs'—cleaning, chilling, cooking, and preventing cross-contamination—as the cornerstone of food safety management. The essay discusses the significance of these principles in preventing foodborne illnesses and maintaining high hygiene standards. It further analyzes how these principles can be practically applied in food handling and preparation processes to minimize the risk of bacterial contamination and ensure customer safety. The conclusion reinforces the necessity of implementing these fundamentals in the food and beverage industry to protect consumers and maintain operational integrity.

Food and Beverage
Operations

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................4
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................4
Topic discussion...........................................................................................................................4
Knowledge and understanding of subject....................................................................................4
Analysis........................................................................................................................................5
Practical application ....................................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1

Topic: The Food Safety Fundamentals
INTRODUCTION
Food and beverage service operations refer to the multitude activities which
engage the employees from initial processes such as purchasing raw materials,
preparing food and maintaining service quality consistently (Doyle, Diez-Gonzalez and
Hill, 2020). Food safety fundamentals are the principles which ensure that the food
practices are safe, reflecting positively on the organization.
MAIN BODY
Topic discussion
According to Doyle, Diez-Gonzalez and Hill (2020), food safety and hygiene
fundamentals refer to the 4Cs which include cleaning, chilling, cooking and cross-
contamination. These principles helps to guide the food industry regarding handling
serving and selling food items to the customers safely and hygienically. These principles
can be explained as follows:
Cleaning: Cleaning principle ensure that it is necessary for the food service companies
top clean an disinfect the equipment and area to be used properly. It needs to be done
in between the cooking tasks before and after the day.
Cross-contamination: Cross-contamination can occur when pathogens transfers from
one food item to other. The principle states that the food items should be kept separate
and all the food equipments, surfaces and hands should be clean and hygienic as they
can spread pathogens in food items (Irtyshcheva, Ponomarova and Dolzhykova, 2019).
Chilling: The principle states that if the food needs to be frozen it should be kept at a
prescribed temperature such as between 0 degree C and 5 degree C.
Cooking: This principle describes the required temperatures of food when cooking as
per the requirements of food.
Knowledge and understanding of subject
During my learning about fundamentals of food safety, I came across 4 Cs which
are referred as the principles of food safety and hygiene management. As food safety is
major concern for the customers in food and beverage industry, these principles ensure
that the customers are being served safe and hygienic food items (Socas-Rodríguez

and et.al., 2017). In my study, I learn that these are the simple rules which helps food
industry to stay safe from food-borne illnesses in the kitchen. Cleaning, Cooking, chilling
and Cross-contamination are important for food hygiene safety during the food handling
processes. So they must be implemented properly in every stage of food handling
procedures. I have analyzed that through the practicing of these 4 Cs of food safety,
when working with food items can help in eliminating food illness and food positioning
etc.
Analysis
The fundamental principles of food safety and hygiene are the elements which
describes the safe and hygiene food safety management practices in the food and
beverage industry. In my learning, common food illness such and food sickness, food
positioning and diarrhea are more likely to be developed from the bacteria occurring
from poor hygiene practices. As per Lange (2017), it is important to follow the food
safety principles as they can help in avoiding the illnesses which might result from poor
safety and hygiene during preparation and serving of the food items to the customers.
These principles can be implemented in all the food handling and preparing processes
by the staff of the company.
Practical application
I analysed all the principles or the fundamentals of food safety practices. I agree
that these principles should be implemented in all the food and beverage industries to
ensure safety of food to the customers. The first principle is do not cross-contaminate
the food. It occurs when the raw materials and food times are miss-handled which
causes the bacteria to multiply and transfer to other food items. The second principle is
cleaning which means that before handling food hands must be ashed and sanitized
properly. It can help in removing the bacteria thriving in the food. Cooking is the third
principle which ensures that the food is cooked properly to maintain a high standard of
the food hygiene (Osaili, Al-Nabulsi and Krasneh, 2018) . This can be done by the staff
through the use of a clean food thermometer throughout the food item. The last principle
is chilling. It describes the temperature on which the specific types of food should be
stored.

In my opinion, bacteria transfers from one food item to other when it is not
cooked or handled properly which causes the bacteria to transfer form kitchen surface
to contaminate with other foods. To avoid these these principles can be used. I have
noted these principles as important because they can help me in ensuring my safe food
practices to the customers (Okpala and Ifeoma, 2019).
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, implementation of food safety and hygiene fundamental is
essential in food and beverage industry to ensure the food safety to its customers. The
principles of cooking, cleaning, cross-contamination and chilling are important to be
implemented to avoid food sickness and other food related illness from being
transferring from kitchen surface to the food. In my future in the food industry, I will
practice these fundamentals to ensure food safety to the customers.

REFERENCES
Books and journals
Doyle, M.P., Diez-Gonzalez, F. and Hill, C. eds., 2020. Food microbiology:
fundamentals and frontiers. John Wiley & Sons.
Irtyshcheva, I., Ponomarova, M. and Dolzhykova, I., 2019. Conceptual fundamentals of
development of the food security system. Baltic journal of economic studies.
5(2). pp.57-64.
Lange, M., 2017. Food safety learning in home and consumer studies: Teachers' and
students' perspectives (Doctoral dissertation, Acta Universitatis Upsaliensis).
Okpala, C.O.R. and Ifeoma, M.E., 2019. Food hygiene/microbiological safety in the
typical household kitchen: some basic ‘Must Knows’ for the general public.
Journal of Pure and Applied Microbiology. 13(2). pp.697-713.
Osaili, T.M., Al-Nabulsi, A.A. and Krasneh, H.D.A., 2018. Food safety knowledge
among foodservice staff at the universities in Jordan. Food control. 89. pp.167-
176.
Socas-Rodríguez, B. and et.al., 2017. Recent applications of nanomaterials in food
safety. TrAC Trends in Analytical Chemistry. 96. pp.172-200.
1