Australian Food Safety Blog

A CD-ROM entitled ‘All about allergens’ has been produced to provide a self-access resource for small business owners in the food industry to learn about food allergens. You’ll notice that I was one of the advisors on developing the CD.

Read more…

If you operate a business in which food is a main staple, food safety should be at the top of your priority list. Not only do you have the legal requirements to keep your kitchen and food preparation areas in good, safe conditions. But you also have an obligation to your customers to keep the things they eat and go into their mouth, clean, safe, and of the highest quality.

Health departments and food safety departments outline all requirements; food safety procedures and kitchen procedures that must be followed by every establishment. What happens if you do not follow these requirements? Well, most importantly you run the risk of hurting your customers. All it takes is for one customer to have an illness or unsanitary problem with their food and your business could take a downfall.

When it comes to commercial kitchen food safety, there are requirements to meet in regards to food storage, food preparation, and safe food handling. These requirements are all geared towards preventing illnesses and diseases that could arise when food is improperly handled, cooked, and stored.

Some food safety requirements within Australia include:

Keeping foods that are deemed potentially hazardous at the correct temperature. In most cases, it is really straight-forward. If foods must be frozen, freeze them at temperatures below 5 degrees Celsius. The guidelines also dictate storage of food. Not only should it be stored at the correct temperature, but it should also be stored to provide protection from any contamination and within conditions that will have no affect on the food in terms of suitability and safety.

There are also regulations that dictate how to reheat food. Foods that are deemed potentially hazardous should be reheated quickly. The foods should be heated to at least 60 degrees Celsius and done so at a rapid pace.

If you are displaying food, you should make sure that you are using different serving utensils for each type of food. Cross food contamination is perhaps the easiest of all contamination processes so it should be carefully guarded against.

With the number of laws and regulations provided in regards to food safety, it can be easy to forget or overlook. However, you need to remember that all it takes is just one bad review or a customer to have a negative experience to ruin the reputation of your business. Therefore, it is a good idea to seek advice from a reputable food safety business in order to help you keep your kitchen safe and your equipment in meeting legal standards.

Gavin can be contacted at gavin@agbsolutions.com.au or through his website at www.australianfoodsafety.com.au.

Recently, Food Processing News did a write up about me – Gavin Buckett, in their Spring 2008 edition. While I generally avoid the limelight, I thought I might share the story with you, my devoted blog readers.

Here goes:

Gavin Buckett completed the Diploma of Food Technology in 2002 and the Diploma of Confectionery Manufacturing in 2003.

Gavin found a passion for food through a part time job while studying Accounting in 1989 and has been involved in the food industry ever since. Fifteen years cooking included winning the Blue Flame Award for Victorian Apprentice of the Year and the Daryl Cox Memorial Trophy. Work also included stints in Singapore and Malaysia.

In 2003, while still cooking, Gavin gained tertiary qualifications in Food Technology and Confectionery Manufacturing at William Angliss Institute.

Gavin is a registered food safety auditor and food safety trainer and specialises in the preparation of HACCP certified food management systems and food allergen management solutions.

“I went to William Angliss Institute for a couple of years studying Food Technology and Confectionery Manufacturing. At the graduation dinner for the course, I was talking to the course coordinator and he gave me the contact details of someone who he said I should call. So I rang her up and introduced myself. She had a client who needed help achieving HACCP accreditation and had too much work on. We developed a relationship and I began to take on her overflow work.” That’s how I started my business in 2003 – totally by accident! I made one phone call and all of a sudden I needed an ABN.”

“I started AGB Solutions Pty Ltd with my wife, Angela in 2005. We are a specialist provider of Food Safety Solutions and Quality Assurance Services to all areas of the food industry including food and beverage manufacturers, distributors, restaurants, caterers, hospitals and aged care facilities to name just a few.”

Future plans for AGB Solutions include working closely with the DHS on the allergen training project, preparation of web based manuals for commercial and domestic clients, an increased range of specialised food safety products and regular food safety based workshops.

Gavin can be contacted at gavin@agbsolutions.com.au or through his website at www.australianfoodsafety.com.au.

3 Different businesses in 3 states achieve HACCP in
the one week!

What a busy week the last week of September 2008 was for AGB Solutions. AGB Solutions had three clients all have their HACCP implementation audit in the same week. There were a number of unique points about this achievement:

1. It was the first time that we have had three implementation audits in the same week
2. It was the first time that we have had a non food business achieve HACCP certification
3. It was the first time that we have had a non Victorian client become HACCP certified

In fact ALL three clients were non Victorian businesses. We are certainly proud to let you know that we have now had HACCP programs certified in Queensland, New South Wales and Tasmania. In fact we are not stopping with these three clients. We are currently in discussions with prospective clients in Sydney, Adelaide, Launceston and on the Sunshine Coast, as well as a number of Melbourne and regional Victoria based businesses.

AGB Solutions would like to congratulate the following companies on achieving HACCP Certification:

1. QT Trading Pty Ltd in Sydney.
2. Humico Pty Ltd on the Gold Coast
3. Central Choice Foods in Launceston

I will be creating separate blogs in coming weeks on all three companies, however in case you can’t wait to know what they do:

QT Trading Pty Ltd is an importer and wholesaler of a range of black and green leaf tea products produced by the German tea house Ronnefeldt. Ronnefeldt was established in 1823 and is engaged in blending and packaging of teas grown and processed in the most popular tea grouping areas such as India, Sri Lanka and China. QT Trading has the Australian, New Zealand and Fiji distribution rights for Ronnefeldt Tea, and supply exclusively to guests in 5 star hotels, boutique accommodation, casinos’ and guest houses. These include:

1. Accor Hotel Group (Sofitel and Novotel)
2. Park Hyatt and Grand Hyatt Hotels
3. Crown Casino
4. The Windsor Hotel Melbourne

If you are interested in tea check out www.ronnefeldt.com and contact Igor at ronnefeldt@optusnet.com.au. My favourite tea is the Irish Malt variety (The extravagant aroma of Irish Whisky with a hint of cocoa blended with a malty Assam tea). YUM!

Humico Pty Ltd provides environmental solutions for any business utilising refrigeration like hotels, restaurants, hospitals, butchers, cafes, supermarkets etc.

Humico Pty Ltd supply and service a humidity and bacteria control filter that when placed into a refrigerated environment between -20˚ C to +15˚ C; functions as a humidity buffer by controlling humidity levels to assist refrigeration equipment to achieve optimal storage conditions FASTER and more EFFICIENTLY, REDUCING COSTS and INCREASING PROFITS!

A non toxic filter that reduces your energy costs and servicing AND increases the shelf life of the contents of the refrigerated environment, that has AQIS approval for use in meat establishments, is HACCP Certified and has service technicians Australia Wide? Think you want to find out more? Check out www.humico.com.au contact Steve Dods at steved@humico.com.au.

Central Choice Foods is an eighteen month old Food Warehouse and Distribution Company that is owned and operated by Tasmanians that services the northern part of Tasmania within the 063 and 064 telephone area codes.

Central Choice Foods does not carry thousands and thousands of products like some other wholesalers. They instead specialise in a core group of products including:

1. Smallgoods
2. Fresh and frozen meats
3. Frozen Fish and seafood products
4. Frozen Poultry
5. Frozen Cakes
6. Pastries and puddings
7. Cream and cheese
8. Biscuits
9. Condiments including honey, vinegars, mayonnaises and sauces
10. Antipastos

Central Choice Foods are also an approved distributor of Primo Smallgoods.

Are you in Northern Tasmania and want to be serviced by a HACCP certified family owned company? Contact Debbie Ratcliffe now at debbie@centralchoicefoods.com.au.

Are you wanting to join this list of HACCP Certified businesses?

Contact Gavin NOW and find out why Steve from Humico stated that AGB Solutions provided

“Great service and was genuinely interested in the success of the program that was designed for our company”

and why Igor from QT Trading emailed us in the middle of the night to tell us:

“Thank you very much for the congratulations that you sent to me. Your contribution to our successful certification was the main factor in QT Trading achieving HACCP certification.

I appreciate your offer to assist me with the verification activities for the next twelve months; in fact it is gladly accepted! There is no doubt that our business needs your expertise in the food industry and being associated with AGB Solutions Pty Ltd makes me feel like I am always playing for the winning team!  Please find attached the completed feedback form. I did not have any other opinion but to mark your performance as “exceptional” across the board.”

Gavin can be contacted at gavin@agbsolutions.com.au or by calling 0422 922 883

Do you make these mistakes in your facility?

• What do you know about your cleaning chemicals?
• How safe are they?
• Is price the best way decide on which chemical to use?
• What should my chemical supplier be telling me?

• The chemicals came in flat pack bags, that reduced space during transport and storage and were intended to be diluted by the end user of the product prior to use. There were two labels for the same product (sanitiser), which contradicted each other (it meant that one product when diluted was 100 times more concentrated than the other (remember these chemicals are coming in contact with food contact surfaces)
• All of the labels stated that chemicals should be diluted into a 5 litre container, apart from one, that needed to be diluted into a 20 litre container. The company only provided a 5 litre container in which to dilute the product (what do you do with an open bag of cleaning chemical???)
• The food surface sanitiser and window cleaner were both the same colour.
• The label of the sanitiser indicated that the product should be blue (when diluted the chemical was red). It was later discovered that the person responsible for mixing the chemicals, decided one day to change the colour – it should have been blue.
• The chemical that should have been red was a degreaser
• The material safety data sheet for the detergent indicated that the chemical should be green. The chemical was yellow.

Cleaning chemicals are vital in providing a safe food working environment, however they are also very dangerous if not used properly. I have three very simple rules for the storage of chemicals in food businesses:

1. Chemicals must be clearly labelled
2. Chemicals must be stored away from food storage and preparation areas
3. Chemicals must not be stored in the same containers as food

Your chemical supplier should provide you with a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) the first time that they supply you with chemicals. The MSDS should contain:

• Name of chemical
• The name and contact details of the supplier
• The date of issue of the MSDS
• The colour of the chemical
• The intended use
• Dilution factors (if relevant)
• First aid information
• Personal protective equipment required for using the chemical
• How to store the chemical
• The composition of the chemical (active ingredients etc.)

These MSDS should be stored and be available wherever chemicals are used and stored. You should check to ensure your supplier is providing this information for you.

Some cleaning chemicals are incredibly dangerous and you need to make sure that you are using the chemical for it’s intended purpose. Often I see businesses that base their decision purely on price. If you are making this decision, you need to make sure you are comparing “apples with apples”. You need to check:

• The dilution factor
• What is included in the price. Good chemical companies will provide bottles, labels, training, posters etc. at no additional cost
• The size of the containers. I am aware of at least two chemical suppliers who no longer sell chemicals in the large 25 litre bottles due to OHS requirements. All of their chemicals are sold in 5 litre and 1 litre bottles.

In my travels, these are some examples of poor decision making that I have seen:

• One business changed chemical companies because the cost of the 25 litre bottle was $10 cheaper (20%), however the dilution factor of the cheaper bottle was 50ml per 10 litres of water, instead of 10ml per 10 litres. So they save 20%, but needed to use 500% more!!
• One business purchased a sanitiser that was intended for an automatic dispenser and foaming machine, but was mixing it by hand. The dilution factor was 1:440. This meant that the business need just over 2ml per litre of water. How long will it take to use a 5 litre bottle at 2ml per litre. How hard is it to measure 2ml?
• Chemicals stored in cordial bottles, tomato sauce bottles, measuring jugs, water bottles, stainless steel bowls, takeaway containers, Milo tins and food storage containers.
• Chemicals (in a warehouse) stored in direct contact with bags of flour
• Chemicals (in a hospital) stored in the pantries with biscuits, tea bags etc.
• Chemicals (in a fresh chicken shop in a market) stored in the cool room (as they didn’t have room in processing area
• A dishwasher that was not connected to chemicals at all
• A meat slicer being “sanitised” with a caustic soda based window cleaner (even though they were clearly labelled and colour coded)
• A disinfectant (that should be used in toilets) being used as a sanitiser on a production bench used for making mass amounts of sandwiches.

So how about you? What chemical catastrophes have you seen? Do you have any safe tips for the use of cleaning chemicals in food businesses?

What ever you, make sure that you…

Eat well. Eat safe!

Gavin