HOW WOULD BACTERIA CONTAMINATING FOOD?

Everybody loves to enjoy food.  Consuming food is not only to fill the stomach but also to generate good emotion and energy to faces challenges throughout a day.  Customer felt satisfactory when they consumed fresh, cooked and delicious food. Nevertheless, it is a nightmare if one had contaminated food that brought to food poisoning. There are many reasons that causing food poisoning.  One of the reasons is the contamination by bacteria.

Bacteria can live anywhere with the right conditions.  Bacteria could stay on food handler. If food handlers do not practicing personal hygiene, very likely the bacteria would contaminate the food during food handling. A person’s ears, nose and mouth contain bacteria. The bacteria from such organs could transmit to hands if food handlers touch the organs. And when they continue to handle food, the food could be contaminated. Coughing and sneezing near food would also allowing bacteria of the body to contaminate food. 

    
Another source of bacteria is at our hair. It contains bacteria and would contaminate food when it is fall on the food. Besides, look at our hands. We touch many things around us and therefore, everybody’s hands have many bacteria. The bacteria load is more if there are wounds on hand.  When food handlers do not wash hand before handling food or do not wash hands after visiting toilet but continue to handling food, the food would definitely be contaminated.

Animal carries dust, dirt and bacteria on bodies. When animals are entering the food premise, it will contaminate the premise, the equipment and the food. When birds able to enter a food premise, there is a possibility that the animal could release the feaces on the food. Pest like mouse, flies and cockroaches would bring bacteria to contaminate the food premise. So, food handlers should do pest control outside the premise.

Solid or Liquid waste in the food premise contains bacteria. the stinged smell would attract more pest and animal.  I remember sometimes ago when I visited a night market, I saw bags of solid waste that are put beside the road.  And, it just about half an hour time, they are dogs attracted by the waste, perhaps the smell. The dogs teared the waste plastic to find food.  The solid waste is spilled out and the smell is getting stronger. I bet mouse might be attracted to the spot soon. When they are pest infestation outside a food premise, it is likely too the pest would enter the premise through holes and crevices.  Always remember that pest bring bacteria and contaminating food premise. 

There are many contaminants in open air. Bacteria could flow by winds and contaminate food easily when the food is not covered.  Night market food sellers should cover their food when they are serving the food on table, waiting to be sold.  Covering the food would also preventing the food from pest contamination, especially when the food had good smell, like seafood, salt fish etc. 

Unclean water (water source from river, well or rain) contains and high-risk food (Raw food with high water content) such as seafood, meat and dairy products contains many hazardous bacteria. Thus, food handlers must use clean water and to handler high-risk food properly. Bacteria at high-risk food could contaminate cooked food easily if they not handled properly. 

Contamination by bacteria is very much affecting food business.  Food handlers have to implement food hygiene and proper food handling to avoid the contamination by bacteria on food.