Causal factors relating to outbreaks of food poisoning
Causal factors relating to outbreaks of food poisoning
- Preparation too far in advance and storage at ambient temperature.
- Inadequate cooling.
- Under-cooking.
- Cross-contamination.
- Improper warm holding.
- Use of leftovers.
- Contaminated processed food including canned.
- Inadequate reheating.
- Inadequate thawing.
- Raw food consumed.
- Infected food handlers.
- Extra-large quantities prepared.
More recently, Dr Richard North has been investigated the ‘failure of management’ as the most important reason for food poisoning, for example:
- failure to carry out a risk assessment when there is a change of menu, ingredients or recipes;
- lack of contingency planning, for example, when the oven or refrigerator breaks down;
- Communication – a failure of management, or head office, to proved the front line-staff with the correct information;
- management disincentives, for example, bonus paid in relation to the amount spent on cleaning or training;
- commercially driven misuse of equipment or premises, for example, overloading refrigerates or catering for numbers beyond the capacity;
- a failure to recognise potentially hazardous procedures of the operation, for example, colour-coded equipment all being washed in the same sink with no disinfection;
- failure to implement recommendations, following an earlier outbreak;
- failure to replace complex or time-consuming operations, for example, refrigerators positioned a considerable distance from workstations. This militates against small amounts of food being prepared, which results in temperature abuse;
- unrealistic demands placed on junior management or untrained staff; and
- the absence of routine planning and consistent procedures.
