Introduction
Improper food handling practices leave food out in heat or freezing point for a long, which causes bacteria to grow. This is usually caused by improper hygiene, resulting in diseases like typhoid fever, nausea, and vomiting (Gizaw, 2019). Below are some of the improper food handling practices in Kansas City restaurants: cross-contamination of raw and cooked food, undercooking, storing food incorrectly, and unhygienic practices handling food. These practices, with their examples, consequences, and prevention, will help understand the need to ban improper food handling policies.
Discussion
Cross-contamination is part of the improper food-handling practices that occur when diseases- cause microorganisms to transfer from one surface to another. One of the most common types of cross-contamination is food-to-food, which happens when raw food transfers pathogens to other food products (King, 2020). That is through improper food storage, using raw meat on cooked food, and raw food touching ready-to-serve food. Another example is people to food contamination when food workers do not follow food handling practices and may transfer pathogens to the food. Examples are improper handwashing, wiping hands on aprons between handling food and cleaning the surface with unsanitized towels. Lastly, equipment to food contamination where food residue equipment and other food contacts provide the opportunity for cross-contamination of food products. Examples are improper washing, sanitation of equipment and utensils, and storing cooked food in unsanitary containers.
Undercooking, a form of improper food handling, is cooking for less than the recommended time. Most foods require a minimum cooking temperature to ensure they are safely prepared (Wen & Zulqarnain, 2022). Every food has to meet a particular temperature during cooking, including ground beef at 71 Degrees Celsius, ground chicken at 74 Degrees Celsius, et cetera. Another improper food handling practice is storing food incorrectly, which entails not organizing and packaging food. Leaving food uncovered for hours can cause pathogens such as E. coli to increase their growth and cause food poisoning. Leaving food on a countertop to marinate or thaw can be highly dangerous. Marinating and thawing should be done in a temperature-controlled environment, such as refrigeration. Perishable goods should be kept at room temperature for up to two hours.
Poor personal hygiene of those handling food is another improper food practice. This is whereby the workers handling the food fail to wash their hands, their clothes, and their hair needs to be tied back correctly. They need to replace sponges and dish rags that should be cleaned regularly. Rinse meat in the sink before cooking, not seal food properly, forget to rinse utensils and cutlery, defrost meat on the countertop, and not clean the sink where bacteria are usually present. This improper practice may lead to illnesses such as typhoid.
Having checked improper food handling practices in Kansas City restaurants, there are several consequences resulting from these malpractices: food poisoning, fines, and penalties for food safety rules, reputational damage, and reduced staff morale. Food poisoning is an illness caused by eating contaminated food. Improper food handling leads to those consuming food becoming severely ill (Dietrich et al., 2021). The leading cause of food poisoning is undercooked food, cross-contamination, incorrect storage of food, and poor personal hygiene (Jung, 2018). The symptoms are vomiting, nausea, fever, diarrhea, et cetera. Food poisoning can be prevented by ensuring perishable goods are kept at room temperature for less than 2 hours. In addition, washing hands, sealing foods properly, and ensuring neatness in their workplaces to prevent contamination with bacteria will reduce food poisoning.
Fines and penalties on food businesses that do not adhere to rules and regulations concerning handling food are consequences concerning improper food handling practices in Kansas City restaurants. The FSS established the regulation that food businesses are expected to follow specific rules regarding their food practices. If a food business is suspected of poor food handling practices, they are investigated by FSS and the local authorities. FSS can make those violating the law concerning unhygienic practices face justice, and if found guilty, they are fined. This may lead to the closure of the food business and sometimes imprisonment. Therefore, understanding food hygiene standards in Kansas City is of utmost importance to avoid all these.
Reputational damage is another consequence of improper food handling practices in Kansas City restaurants. Improper food handling practices will be scrutinized in Kansas City. Therefore, people may say that a particular restaurant is selling bad food resulting in disputes for the establishment (loss of respect for the business). Reducing workers’ morale is a consequence of improper food handling practices. Workers in unclean and unhygienic restaurants are forced to look for jobs elsewhere as customers in their restaurants will be forced to run away, which is a loss to the business.
Conclusion
Having many difficulties curbing the handling of improper food practices in Kansas City restaurants, they have come up with the program of training food handlers in Kansas City. The program is used explicitly in Kansas City, Missouri, by the Kansas City Health Department. To help the food handlers in Kansas City prevent cross-contamination of food and surfaces with the hands and body. It will be easier to recognize how food can cause illnesses and prevent food poisoning, maintain a clean environment for preparing and handling food, and use temperature control throughout the flow of food.
References
Dietrich, R., Jessberger, N., Ehling-Schulz, M., Märtlbauer, E., & Granum, P. E. (2021). The food poisoning toxins of bacillus cereus. Toxins, 13(2), 98. Web.
Gizaw, Z. (2019). Public health risks related to food safety issues in the food market: A systematic literature review. Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine, 24(1). Web.
Jung, S. (2018). A foodborne outbreak of gastroenteritis caused by vibrio parahaemolyticus associated with cross-contamination from squid in Korea. Epidemiology and Health, p. 40, e2018056. Web.
King, H. (2020). Hazards and their contributing factors to foodborne illness risk in foodservice establishments. Food Safety Management Systems, 21–29. Web.
Wen, L., & Zulqarnain, M. (2022). Undercooked Leghorn chicken is a source of campylobacter Jejuni, an infectious agent causing prosthetic joint infection and diarrhea. Journal of Infectious Diseases & Case Reports, 1-4. Web.