How to cook problem foods safely in your hospitality business.

This article has been written by Pilla Founder, Liam Jones, click to email Liam directly, he reads every email.

Some types of foods will require extra care to ensure food safety, in particular eggs and egg products, pulses and rice. Steps must be taken within the processes and procedures to ensure that these particular foods do not present a risk to consumers.

Staff must follow the safety points below to ensure that a consistent level of safety is achieved.

Raw egg products

Raw eggs and lightly cooked eggs are commonly used in catering; however, they are considered too high of a risk to be served to vulnerable or risk groups such as pregnant and nursing mothers, very young children and infants, the elderly and immunocompromised individuals.

Foods such as bearnaise and hollandaise sauces, homemade mayonnaise, some salad dressings. Ice cream, icing, tiramisu and other desserts containing eggs, the company policy is to use pasteurised liquid eggs only.

Pasteurised egg products must be kept refrigerated, strictly abide by the date of use once opened.

Use by dates and handling

Raw shell eggs should always be treated as a raw product as the shells can hold pathogenic bacteria. Store separately to avoid cross contamination.

Eggs must not be used past the best before date printed on them.

Company policy is only to purchase and use hen eggs holding the “lion brand”

Store eggs away from high risk and RTE foods.

Always wash hands after handling shell eggs.

Storage

Store eggs in the fridge.

Eggs must not be moved between chilled and ambient temperatures unless about to use. Fluctuations in temperature can alter the internal consistency and permeability of the eggs making them higher risk.

Broken or cracked eggs should be discarded.

Lightly cooked

Due to consumer pressure there may be times when eggs with lightly cooked yolks are requested. Although this is still a risk, you must always purchase eggs from a reputable supplier supplying lion branded eggs.

Lion branded eggs have been through stricter controls including hens being vaccinated against salmonella entiriditis as one day old chicks. This is not a total guarantee as other pathogens can potentially be present.

Thorough cooking

If shell eggs are cooked thoroughly then there should be no risk to consumers.

Pulses

Fresh pulses

Some pulses, red kidney beans in particular, contain natural toxins that must be destroyed before they can be served to consumers.

Fresh pulses and beans, such as chickpeas and dried beans must go through a process of soaking for a time period, rinsed thoroughly, then cooked for a specified time. Follow manufacturer’s instructions strictly as to this procedure to avoid hazards from these toxins.

Tinned pulses

Tinned pulses are pre-cooked to very high temperatures of 121°c for a specified time under pressure in a manufacturing plant. (botulinum cook) to make the product commercially sterile i.e. All organisms are destroyed including resilient spores and toxins.

Tinned pulses are safe to eat straight from the can, as long as the tin is intact.

Damaged, rusty and leaking tins must be discarded.

Sprouted seeds

Sprouted seeds such as alfalfa, mung beans (commonly called bean sprouts) and fenugreek must never be eaten raw. These products must be cooked every time before consumption.

Various types of bean sprouts have been linked to serious outbreaks of e. Coli; current guidance is that these are not served raw.

Starchy foods (e.g. Rice, pasta, cous cous and similar products)

Poor cooling

It is critical that cooked starchy foods be cooled down quickly then chilled, if they are not intended for immediate consumption.

Once cooked, the spores of a pathogenic bacteria called bacillus cereus can germinate quite quickly at relatively high temperatures.

The quickest method of cooling these starchy foods is to run them under cold potable water using a colander.

Alternatively, the food can be spread thinly over a clean surface or tray to speed up the process.

Protect the cooling food from contamination, however, do not use cling film or foil as they will act as insulators and subsequently slow the cooling process down which is not advised.

Storage following cooking

Once cooked, if not intended for immediate consumption these foods must be stored in a sealed container in a fridge. This is especially important if the food is to be served cold.

Reheating

It is safe to reheat these foods but only if food has initially been cooked correctly and chilled down quickly.

Reheating will not remove any heat resistant toxins that may have formed during poor storage conditions, therefore correct chilled storage is critical to safety.

Staff must understand that foods can only be cooled down once and reheated once.

Cook and serve

Whenever possible always try to cook once only and serve immediately.

Alternatively, rice can be cooked first and held in rice cookers at temperatures above 63°c.

Corrective actions if things go wrong

• •Review and change suppliers if food safety or quality of foods is an issue.
• •Discard any foods that have been handled incorrectly or unsafely.
• •Discard any foods that have become contaminated.
• •Discard foods that have not been cooled within 90 minutes.
• •Discard foods that have been left at ambient temperature.
• •Change methods if foods are not cooling quickly enough.
• •Use tinned pulses instead of fresh to remove potential hazards.
• •If staff do not follow the above safety points, then retrain them and increase supervision until competency can be shown.