DISPLAYING NOTICE AND DOCUMENTS IN FOOD PREMISE

A close friend of mine visited me last week.  It’s his business trip.  He came to do some kind of audits against the outlets.  We haven’t seen each other’s for 2 years. So, I offered to fetch him at the airport and bring him to have good food in these days. 

We fixed the time to have good food together as we have work in certain time.  I brought him to a comfortable restaurant, that I had been visited for 2 times. The restaurant’s design is cool. It’s air-conditioned and we saw framed certificates hanging on the wall. These certificates are printed in the food menu as well.  Actually, I was impressed and convinced by these certificates about premise hygiene last time and decide to dine in.

Food handlers should display the framed food premise registration in the premise. Health inspectors would ask the food premise manager to show the documents each time they inspect the premise.  Some food premise displaying food handlers training course certificates and anti-typhoid vaccination card too.  Anyway, food premise manager may just keep these 2 documents of every food handler’s and to show the health officers upon their request.   

I like certain restaurants that have hand washing stations for food handlers and customers.  The hand washing station is consist of water supply, soap dispenser, tissue dispenser and a food activated waste bin.  Some restaurant owners installed hand dryer.  On this facility, food business owner could paste a hand washing posters to remind customers or food handlers to wash hands correctly.   

Food premise owners should display a PETS AND ANIMAL FREE poster or notice on the wall to remind food handlers or customers, not to bring / allow pets or wild animal to enter the food premise.  I guess, the reason that dogs stay in the restaurant is because customer feed the dog with bone after they consumed the food.   I knew a restaurant owner who has dog problem outside his restaurant.  The owner always educates his staff not to feed the wild dogs.  They gather the food leftover, bones etc and feed those wild dogs elsewhere.  He then calls the local municipals personnel to catch the dogs at his area.   
  
Food business owners and food handlers has the responsibility to maintain the food safety in the premise so that to avoid food poisoning.  


 
          
        

WHAT MAKES ME TO REVISIT THE RESTAURANT THAT I HAD VISITED BEFORE ?

 There was a restaurant at my residential area that sells delicious food.  And, I used to have breakfast at there when I do not have any reasons to go to out from my residential area.  The restaurant owner installed a TV in the restaurant. Each time when I visit the restaurant, the TV is playing good Hong Kong movies. And most of the time I was enjoying breakfast while watching the movies until the end of the show.

 

But I seldom visit the restaurant after MCO mainly because the food is cooled each time I reached there.  I know it’s good to go the restaurant early morning so that I can enjoy warm, delicious and safe food. However, sometimes I just can’t go out early morning due to some house chores, some paper works to do and so on.  By the time I reach there, the food is cool and not delicious.  So, normally when I just can come out from home after 8am, I directly went to town to source other breakfast.   

 

I didn’t visit that restaurant at all since another restaurant is set up on late 2022, until Feb 2024.  There a day, when I passed by that restaurant, I glanced a new stuff in it, which inspired me! The boss installed a Food Warmer! Few days later, I decided to try the food. I reach there, pick some food I like, the food handler put the food on plate and pass to me. So, I bring my food, take a fork and spoon and sit down on a table to have breakfast. Vow! The food is hot and delicious. Well, since then I always have breakfast at there. And, I saw that restaurant has many customers too. I think other customers have the same thought as mine.  The food tasted delicious when it is hot. Another point that attracted me is the price. The cost is cheaper but you will feel full because the food handler (sometimes the boss) gave more food quantity to the customers.

Food is safe when the food temperature is maintained at least 60^oC. On that temperature, it is very unlikely that bacteria could grow and contaminating the food.  This is a way to avoid food poisoning.  When we attend any buffet event, we will see food is kept in food warmer.  And, the food is covered to avoid contamination by dirty air or pest (the fly).  Well, how customers / guests take the food? Food Handler would place a big ladle besides each food container. Normally the ladle is placed on a plate.  So , the guest would take the big ladle to take the food and place on own plate, and then put it back on the plate. This is to avoid bacteria (by hands) on the ladle handle contaminating the food.
x

 

When food business owners / managers want to serve food for a period of time, it is very crucial to arrange the food into food warmer so that customers can enjoy delicious and safe food. 

        

CAN MY WORKERS START WORKING AFTER ATTENDING FHC?

When my customers, who is also a food business owner call to register their food handlers to attend Food Handlers Training course (FHC), I used to share my other blog about the essential documents food business owners needs to have when they want to run a food business in Malaysia.  These documents are as a proof that they had comply certain requirements in Food Hygiene Regulations 2009.  However, there is another question arise when they comply these requirement -  Would food handlers handling food correctly after they attending FHC?

 

I always tell students in the beginning of the course that they would receive many information about food hygiene and food safety practice in the 3 hours course.  And, I encourage them to practice the knowledge in the workplace so that they can remember the concept and skills and eventually make the practices a habit.   If they do not do that, it is likely they will forget more than 75% of the course content.   For now, food handlers are just need to attend the course once in a life time. They do not need to go through a refreshing training.  So, if food handlers practice the food handling knowledge, they would improve and maintain the correct food handling practice.

 

Last 2 months, I had organized a practical food handling course for FREE. I invited my regular customers to attend the course. Although the response is not up to my expectation, I did it as I need to record the course for my HRD Corp Trainer assessment. There were several representatives from Amber Park Porridge Café and a retiree attending the course.  I am taking this opportunity to appreciate their supports in the course.  In the course, I design several activities for students to refresh on what they learned from me before. I was really happy when they still remember the correct food handling practice.  Some of them attended my course 3 years ago and yet they still remember the course content.

 

When food handlers understand the importance of food hygiene and food safety, and they practice it, day by day, they are actually building a habit and this help them automatically preventing their customers from suffering of food poisoning. And, they would attend future premise inspection confidently, as they know what should they do and what shouldn’t they do while handling food.

 

Well, what is the importance of getting your food handlers to maintain the correct food handling practice, from the aspect of business? Imagine when your food handlers concern about food hygiene and safety, they will make sure the handling does not cause food contamination and to prevent your customers from suffering food poisoning. With that, did you noticed that your food handler team is actually taking care of your business?   So, food handlers must have a strong foundation of food handling practice. And, this couldn’t be achieved by only attending a course.

One of the requirements of MeSTI holder is that every food handler must has a attendance certificate of Food Handlers Training Course.  The QC team, not only to arrange all new food handlers to attend the course, but they also design and organise internal training for every food handler. This is to ensure every food handler to have refreshing training so that they can always remember the correct way of handling their food products.

 

Some restaurant management team remind their food handlers about correct food handling by gathering the team in a weekly meeting, where they discuss various of circumstances and issues the food handlers team encounter daily.  And the team has mutual agreement of new job arrangement in the meeting.  There are also restaurants utilise checklist to check if certain practices are done.  For example, the cleaning checking in toilet.  This is also another good reminder for the food handler team to remember their responsibility to ensure hygiene.  MeSTI certifited food factory is practicing the checklist system intensively. They need to keep the checklist as the proof during audits or when there is a need to retrieve food inspection data.   

 

Therefore, practicing the knowledge of FHC content would gradually improving the food handling skills of food handlers and maintain the food hygiene and safety in food premise.