FOOD STALL CLEANLINESS We were given a task to choose any food stall to survey the progress of food preparation.

After look around UPSI areas, we decided to choose target which is a street stall located at Taman University, UPSI. We did an observation within one hour and came out with critical cleanliness problems faced by the street stall. The most problems as below; The workers are using bare hand in handling the ingredient. Foods are exposed badly to the

Government did not monitor the cleanliness at the street frequently.

surrounding. Using pail to put the batter of cucur udang. Batter is exposed to rain water. The stall is exposed to vehicles emission.

Careless and irresponsibility of workers and other parties might affect the foods and the customers such as; Tendency of food to get infection of bacteria Stomach-ache Vomiting Stomach cramp Dizziness Headache

We have mentioned before that the foods are being exposed to rain water. Rain water consists of nitrogen that comes from spray fertilizers for crops and excesses nitrogen smoke released by chemical industries. Nitrogen is being fixed by nitrogen fixing bacteria. All of these fix nitrogen, During our observation, we have noticed some factors that might contribute to the problems. The factors are; Lack of healthcare awareness among street sellers Rushing to serve the food which makes them to neglect about the food hygiene either in the form of nitrate or in the form of ammonia. Ammonia is toxic which effect on humans health. Excess of toxic in human body system disturbing the glucose tolerance, and reducing the tissue sensitivity to insulin. In a nutshell, some of the effects are the main symptom of food poisoning.

From our point of view, we have made up some suggestions which are; Government should provide closed stall for the sellers to prevent food from being exposed to the surrounding. Every stall should be check and grading at least once in 3 months to ensure

certain types of live bacteria which are present in the food. Once the food is consumed, the bacterial cells themselves continue to grow and illness can result. These organisms continue to grow and multiply in the small intestines. The result is sickness 8 to 24 hours after we eat the contaminated food. Salmonellosis is a good example of food borne infection. Vibrio

cleanliness can be maintained. Every owner should attend cleanliness seminar before opening a stall so that they become more aware. Governments must communicate with industry and consumers about food

parahaemolyticus is another infection organism and is found primarily in shellfish from polluted waters. How would you avoid food contamination? 1) Personal hygiene : Hand washing is the most important aspect of personal hygiene in terms of keeping food safe. Wash hands for at least 20 seconds by scrubbing fingers, hands and arms with hot water and soap, and drying off with either a single use paper towel or clean towel. While cooking or handling food, make sure to wash your hands often for example after touching your hair or body, sneezing, or handling anything other than food. Removing jewellery is also a good idea as it can harbour

controls. It is important that all affected industry members know their obligations so that they can comply. It is also important that consumers know what steps are being taken on their behalf to prevent misconceptions. Consumers must have an opportunity to raise questions and

comment about the appropriateness of food control standards.

Why is it important to ensure food safety and controlling microbe? Dangerous microorganisms are widely found in the gut of animals and people and therefore also in water and soil in areas with poor sanitation as well as in areas with flooding. These microorganisms can be transferred to food and can even in low numbers, cause food borne disease. What is happening in food infection? Food infection is the second type of food borne illness. It is caused by eating food that contains

bacteria or physically contaminate your food. 2) Food storing: Store foods at their

suggested temperature. If it is fresh meat or fish, store it in the freezer.

3) Proper

cooking

temperature: Cook

21C, as they could warm up other nearby items in the fridge. 6) Proper reheating: Reheat foods to an internal temperature of 74C for 15 seconds to kill the microorganisms that might build after storing the cooked food in the refrigerator.

food to its minimum safe internal temperature for the right amount of time. It is also better to use a good food thermometer. The most important

concept to learn is that fresh foods can only be in the Temperature Danger Zone for less than 4 hours. Consider the fresh meat in the car coming from market - if it rises above 5C, it will be in the danger zone. After you cook it, the time it takes for you to cool the leftovers to below 5C is time in the zone. The time it takes you to reheat and the time it sits later on the table cooling down are counted as well. Do your best to keep track, and try not to approach 4 hours too often.

CONCLUSION We should not take for granted towards food cleanliness. Thus, all parties should play role in ensuring the food taken by consumers are healthy and not contaminate with harmful substances. These can also help to avoid from being affected by diseases and create a healthy community. Last but not least EAT HEALTHY AND LIVE HEALTHY!

4) Proper

holding

temperature: It

is

important to keep potentially hazardous foods at the proper temperature and out of the Temperature Danger Zone when serving them over long periods of time. So, hot foods must be kept above 60C and cold foods below 5C or lower. 5) Proper cooling of cooked foods: Cool cooked food to 21C within two hours and to 5C within 4 hours. Do not put the food into the refrigerator until reach Prepared by : 1) Fatin Izzati bt Zainal Abidin D20091035085 2) Nur Ibtisam bt Mohamad D20091035117