FOOD HYGIENE

Hygiene simply means a science dealing with the maintenance of health and prevention of diseases.

It can also mean cleanliness.

Food is some thing edible and safe for human consumption.

Therefore food hygiene is defined as a sanitary science which aims at producing safe food and of good keeping quality.

Food hygiene should be observed when processing, preparing, serving and eating food.

Food can be contaminated in any of the following ways making it unsafe for human consumption;

Use o f contaminated water, use of dirty or contaminated utensils, diseased or dirty food handler, contamination by animals, contamination by excreta through the 4F’s ( Fences , Flies, Fingers, Food), Contamination by chemicals like acids, paraffin etc. causing diseases.

In order to maintain Food hygiene the following measures can be put into actions; Food handlers should be clean in body and in clothing Free from communicable disease like Typhoid and other epidemic diseases because food handlers are involved in handling food during preparation, packing, cooking, and serving. The golden rule which food handlers should observe is to maintain a high standard of personal hygiene and take precautions in preventing contamination of food at every stage. Routine medical examination of food handler should be conducted twice or thrice a months or annually to prevent contamination of food.

Food premises must be well designed and maintained to provide the highest condition of health and safety because these are places where food prepared, packed, stared and served for human consumption.

Food premises should be designed in a way that they have got light, ventilation, clean flow, walls and got flow channels.

Equipments like saucepans, plates, cups and cutlery should be clean, smooth, durable and stainless to avoid rusting, and they should also be sterilized.

Water supply must be wholesome and safe that is the water supply should be reliable, enough and  free from animal or human waste contamination for proper preparation of food.

Food stored in premises must offer protection due to human and animal consumption and also damage by vectors and rodents.

Failure to maintain food hygiene it results into diseases like Typhoid, Cholera, brucellosis, diarrhea, Dysentery which are characterized  by abdominal pain ,diarrhea, a cute stomach ache , headache, body weakness and incase of such signs and symptoms its advisable to seek medical advise for  early laboratory investigation and treatment