Food Safety

How safe is our food?

In recent years, consumers’ health concerns and awareness in food have become of paramount importance. Food safety and hygiene in the hospitality industry has become an international requirement and vital for all those involved in food handling and preparation.

As consumers are demanding protection for whole food supply chains, from primary producers to the end consumers, health authorities are also getting more proactive towards legalising the in-house hygiene and food safety monitoring system. It has now become the prime responsibility of industry practitioners who need to be up to the mark when it comes to maintaining safety and hygiene in the workplace.

Urbanisation, changes in lifestyles, environmental pollution, deliberate adulteration and natural or man-made disasters are the main new challenges that the food industry is facing towards food safety.

If we study the food safety system of Singapore, where more than 90 per cent of the nation's food is imported, sources supplying must meet the import requirements for food safety, such as ensuring requirements for bio security, freedom from diseases, sampling programmes for food imported into Singapore, licenses for local poultry and pig slaughter-houses, food processing establishments, cold-stores and farms and regular inspection of these premises. Similarly, government issues export health certificates for local food processing establishments to export their products. Even food retail outlets have to ensure that food handlers appreciate and practice good food and personal hygiene. Any person wishing to work in the retail food trade as a food handler is required to pass the basic food hygiene course and he/she has to be inoculated against typhoid and be screened for TB if they are over 45 years of age.

In order to ensure compliance of good food and personal hygiene practices, good housekeeping and cleanliness of food premises, a Points Demerit System (PDS) was put in place whereby demerit points are given to licensees for offences committed under the regulations. The food retail outlets will be liable for suspension for up to two weeks if the maximum points allowed are exceeded. The Food Grading Scheme for these outlets is appraised in a more structured way to motivate the licensees to improve on their hygiene practices. Officers conduct routine checks on the food outlets, the frequency of which depends on the grading, with premises having poorer grading being checked more often. A programme has also started recently to encourage school canteens and food courts to achieve 'A' grade status by training their food vendors to maintain an in-house food hygiene monitoring system.

The main challenges to food safety in South East Asian countries are increased international trade in food which has led to a significantly increased availability of a very large number of food items, globalisation in hygiene management, allocation of resources for hygiene management by board and other regulatory measures. According to the Food Fact Asia Issue: (FFA Issue 21 - July 2005) on 'How Safe Is Our Food?' some of the alarming food scares are improper surveillance of food production methods and processes, food manufacturers using unapproved ingredients and scares as a mere perception, as in the case of bird flu. While a number of people have died as a result of bird flu, all the victims were exposed to the virus on live or dead birds and not as a result of eating chicken.

Similarly, the main cause for food illness in Asia are microbial contamination, over use of pesticides, use of authorised pesticides, contaminated water, lack of knowledge and inconsistent standards in food production hygiene and the last but not the least the very important one is the attitude of the people towards food safety standards.

World Health Organisation (WHO) has formulated some of the plans related to food safety system like ingredients and additives used in food and agriculture going through a rigorous approval process, law to trace all their food products along the supply chain and intended to ensure greater accountability down the line for manufacturers which will result in higher food safety standards. Other methods include use of novel tools such as traceability software, bar-codes and radio frequency identification tags and their rapid adoption throughout the food manufacturing chain to improve the efficiency of the process, and very importantly, the adoption of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) guidelines and safety standards in the workplace.

If we talk about the food safety and hygiene system at Taj, HACCP certification and hygiene plan is a part of the strategic plan and is an essential support process in the organisation. Microbiology labs and a city microbiologist in important locations of the country are present for effective monitoring of the system. Induction and training on hygiene is a mandatory criterion for individual's probation and confirmation and each of the Taj units will allocate funds in budget to maintain high standards of hygiene. HACCP is a system which systematically identifies evaluates and controls potential hazards that are significant for food safety.

It addresses all types of potential hazards related to food safety, whether it is naturally occurring in the food, contributed by the environment & personnel or generated by a mistake in the process.

HACCP requires…

• Food safety at primary production site and vendors development.
• Upgradation of establishment design and facilities.
• Implementation of hygiene system and incoming material check for the control of operations.
• Maintenance and sanitation process, pest control, waste management.
• Personal hygiene and medical examinations, visitors control in food production area.
• Product information and consumer awareness like product recall, labeling etc.
• Training on food safety standards.

Recommendations

• Governments regulatory/ licensing mechanism for current and start up business in the food & hospitality industry must have under essential criteria - HACCP certification.
• Internationally it is mandatory for any establishments involved in the food & beverages and food processing business to comply with building interior and layout standards of shop floor areas, besides fulfilling environmental friendly operations.

Contributed by PK Mohan Kumar, area director and general manager, Taj West End, Bangalore. Kumar has been with the Taj Group of Hotels since 1974 - with 32 years of experience in the hospitality industry; specialising in hotel operations & management, food & beverage services and project management.