APPLICATION: PROCESS CONTROL

Valderrama, John Lorenz R.

BSHM 0104

1. Research for any case study regarding the three (3) hazards – microbiological, chemical and
physical.
2. Identify and explain what process controls were observed and to address the scenario/s?
3. Were the process controls used effective? If not, what other process/es can you suggest to
address the identified hazards?

1. My chosen case study for this report is titled: Case Study 4 Food Safety in the home: A review
and case study by William H. Sperber.
Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781444328653.oth4

2. The author tackled the different types of process controls measures such as common-sense
practices, refrigeration, heating, and sanitation/ personal hygiene.
 Common-sense practices: This will help minimize the possibilities of foodborne illnesses
originating in the home, but they are not easy to implement.
 Use clean (potable) water for preparing foods, especially when rehydrating
foods such as dried milk for consumption without heating. In many regions,
limited access to potable water is a major public health issue.
 Clean and disinfect bottles used for infant feeding before filling with properly
heated milk or infant formulas.
 Maintain allergen controls if a family member has a food allergy. Be aware of
food allergies that visitors may have.
 Do not store toxic chemicals in the kitchen or in other areas where foods are
stored.
 No pets are allowed on tables or countertops.
 Cross-contamination control, e.g. hand-washing and separate utensils for raw
and cooked food handling.

 Refrigeration: All perishable items should be refrigerated at 4 degrees Celsius or below

as soon as possible, or within two (2) hours of purchase. Attention should be given to
the product’s recommended shelf-life. Many frozen foods need to be thawed before
cooking. These should not be thawed at ambient temperatures, as pathogens could
grow on the warming food surface while the interior of the food remains frozen.
Preferably, frozen foods should be thawed in the refrigerator or under cold running
water. They can also be thawed in a microwave oven, provided that they are cooked
immediately after thawing.
  Heating: In preparing processed foods for home serving, the manufacturers’ label
instructions should be followed for cooking, baking, microwaving or frying the product.
It is the responsibility of food processors to validate that the food preparation
instructions will have a sufficient margin of error to ensure the safety of the product.
Usually, the heating process required to yield an organoleptically acceptable food is
substantially higher than that needed to kill vegetative forms of pathogenic micro-
organisms, thus providing the margin of safety. Raw meat and poultry products must be
cooked to a minimum centre temperature in order to ensure food safety. The
recommended centre temperatures are:

 71◦C – raw ground beef, beef and pork

 74◦C – raw ground poultry, leftover foods
 82◦C – whole poultry or pieces
It is highly recommended that an accurate meat thermometer be used to measure the
centre temperature before serving. This is especially important with ground meats; if
not adequately cooked, the centre of the ground products can potentially contain
pathogenic micro-organisms that had been on the meat surface before grinding.

 Sanitation and personal hygiene: Many opportunities for contamination and cross-
contamination exist in the kitchen. Elimination of the causes of contamination, when
applied in millions of kitchens worldwide, will reduce the burden of foodborne illness.
Examples of causes of contamination include the following:
 Contact of raw and cooked foods
 Unclean kitchen counters and utensils
 Inadequate hand-washing, e.g. after handling raw foods, changing diapers, taking out
garbage and visiting the bathroom
 Preparing food when ill
 Improper use of dish towels
 Playing with pets while preparing foods Smoking, sneezing or coughing while preparing
foods

Many of the potential contamination problems in the kitchen can be minimised or

eliminated by using prerequisite programmes, to extend the use of this term from the rest
of the food supply chain, such as cleaning and sanitising, and by altering food consumption
patterns. Moreover, some control measures could be established and monitored as critical
control points (CCPs) in the home kitchen.

3. Yes, all of the process controls mentioned in the case study of William H. Sperber were effective.