What is Food sanitation?

-The Food Industry is a massive operation that affects the global community
through food production, preparation and other services. Being that food is a necessity for
all people, thorough regulation must be maintained to ensure that consumers are enjoying
quality foods that are safe.

What is Food contamination?

-Food contamination refers to the presence of harmful chemicals and microorganisms in

food, which can cause consumer illness. The impact of chemical contaminants on consumer
health and well-being is often apparent only after many years of processing and prolonged
exposure at low levels.

ARTICLE:

Should I throw away food once a fly has landed on it?

It only takes a single fly to alight on your picnic lunch to make you uneasy about what
germs may have landed with it. But what harm can come from a fly landing on your food?
Should you throw it away?

There are hundreds of different fly species in Australia. This diverse group of insects ranges
from mosquitoes and biting midges to bush flies and blowflies.

They play an important role in the environment by assisting decomposition, pollinating

plants and providing food for insectivorous predators. They can help solve crimes and
treat infected wounds.

Many of these flies pose a health risk but none hang about our homes more than the house
fly. It’s a ubiquitous presence during the warmer months, can be a substantial annoyance
and may also be a potential health risk.

Musca domestica, commonly known as the house fly, is one of the most widespread
nuisance insects in the world. It has found a place in and around our homes. It is closely
associated with rotting organic waste, including dead animals and faeces. It’s no surprise
they’re commonly known as “filth flies”.

After laying eggs, maggots will hatch out and eat their way through the decaying organic
material before pupating and then emerging as an adult fly a few days later. The adult flies
can live up to a month and may lay hundreds of eggs over that time.
From poop to plate

When it comes to passing on pathogens, it’s not necessarily the fly itself but where it’s come
from that matters. Flies don’t just visit freshly made sandwiches. They spend far more of
their time in rotting animal and plant waste. Among this waste can be a range of pathogens
and parasites.

House flies don’t bite. Unlike mosquitoes that transmit pathogens of human health
importance in their saliva, house flies transmit pathogens on their feet and body. As well as
leaving behind pathogen-filled footprints, the flies leave their poop on our food. They vomit
too.

Flies don’t have teeth. They can’t take a bite out of our food, so they have to spit out some
enzyme-rich saliva that dissolves the food, allowing them to suck up the resulting soup of
regurgitated digestive fluids and partially dissolved food. If a fly has plenty of time to walk
around on our food vomiting up, sucking in and defecating out, the chances of leaving
behind a healthy population of pathogens are high.

Brush off or toss out?

In most instances, spotting a fly on your food doesn’t mean you need to throw it out. While
there is little doubt that flies can carry bacteria, viruses and parasites from waste to our
food, a single touchdown is unlikely to trigger a chain reaction leading to illness for the
average healthy person.

Flies that land out of sight and wander about for a few minutes vomiting and pooping on
your food or food preparation area are more of a concern. The more time passes, the
greater the chance of pathogens left behind by the flies growing and multiplying on our
food. That’s when health risks increase.

Having plenty of flies about can be a concern but risk is generally higher in regions away
from the city. There are not only likely to be higher numbers of flies but a greater chance
they’ll be in contact with dead animals and animal waste.

There is no shortage of opportunities for flies in the city either but, for the most part,
insecticides and improved hygiene standards assist in fly control and minimising the risk of
contact with contaminated substances.

Ensure your food is covered while preparing, cooking and serving outdoors and don’t leave
“leftovers” sitting about outside for the flies. There are plenty of other reasons food safety
is important over the summer, not just to stop flies touching down.

Screening windows and doors will help block flies from coming inside, but also minimising
garbage around the house is critical. Ensure bins are cleaned regularly, household garbage
is covered and animal waste is routinely cleaned up. The addition of insecticidal surface
sprays around bin areas will help and, inside the home, a range of knockdown sprays will
keep the numbers of flies down.

An old-school fly swat works a treat too.

Food safety guidelines during a power outage

Dependence on electricity becomes most evident when it is gone, and power outages can
prove to be infuriating and bothersome.

Although most will be over almost as soon as they begin, some power outages can last
much longer. No matter what caused it, whether a storm or damaged power lines, living
without electricity creates serious health risks like food poisoning.

Lack of refrigeration leads to food spoilage, but there are steps that can be taken to
minimize risks and keep one’s family or customers of food business as safe as possible.

Before an outage:
Food poisoning can occur from eating food that has not been stored at proper
temperatures. If there is a possibility of a power outage that will continue beyond just a few
hours, it is best to prepare a cooler with ice to place all frozen food items. Place food in dry,
covered containers at all times.

During an outage:
Try not to open the doors of a refrigerator or freezer unless it is absolutely necessary. If the
door remains closed, a full freezer will hold for up to 36 to 48 hours while a freezer that is
half-full can keep food frozen for up to 24 hours. Consume perishable food from the
refrigerator first and save food from the freezer for last.

After an outage:
When in doubt, throw away food that already have an odd smell or color. Avoid tasting food
to determine its safety as bacteria causing food-borne diseases can start growing
immediately. Toxins produced by certain types of bacteria cannot be destroyed even by
cooking.

Nothing damages food like sudden temperature fluctuations but one can lessen the impact
of a power outage by preparing in advance.

Now, more than ever, one needs to figure out options on how to keep everyone safe from
the health risks associated with power outages, or "brownouts" as they are more
commonly referred to in the Philippines.
https://news.abs-cbn.com/advertorial/life/12/21/18/food-safety-guidelines-during-a-power-outage

https://theconversation.com/should-i-throw-away-food-once-a-fly-has-landed-on-it-50895