RAPID COOLING OF FOOD IS IMPORTANT TOO

You might well wonder why cooling food as quickly as possible is considered so 
important when considering food safety. After all, if you've cooked the food thoroughly then you should have killed all the bacteria that are present.

Generally speaking this is true, but there are a few crafty food borne bacteria that have the ability to protect themselves from harm when threatened with an environment that is to hot for them. When the food cools down again they can start to grow and in doing so produce food poisoning toxins.

To explain further, these types of bacteria, under normal conditions, reproduce by replicating their DNA, which they encapsulate within spores inside the bacteria themselves. They then release the spores which subsequently germinate into active bacteria. The spores created are resistant to heat and chemical attack and this cycle is known as sporulation. It is during sporulation, particularly when the spore is being released, that toxins are produced.

When heat is applied to food containing spore forming bacteria, the bacteria are automatically thrown into the sporulation cycle to ensure survival, thus many spores are created which then go on to survive any heat treatment. When the food cools down, they germinate and if conditions are favourable the cycle starts again and toxins are produced.

Consequently, a thoroughly cooked food is not always a safe food and other control measures are needed to keep it safe for longer. The main spore forming bacteria are:-

Bascillus Cereus

Found in foods that have been in contact with the soil or of vegetable origin e.g. rice.

Clostridium Perfringens

Widely distributed in the environment and foods, and forms part of the normal gut flora in man and animals.

Clostridium Botulinum

Found in foods that have beenin contact with the soil or of vegetable origin e.g. garlic, herbs etc.

Further information on food safety controls can be found in "Artisan & Speciality Food Production - Food Safety Essential" available via Amazon.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/kindle/dp/B00K34H650/ref=rdr_kindle_ext_eos_detail … … …

Information on cooling is also available in "Our Kitchen Rules" the generic catering HACCP plan, formulated by an experienced food safety officer, which is simple to use and an easy alternative to using "Safer Food Better Business"

It's available to purchase by emailing 

artisanfood.angel@gmail.com