Outcome. FI: Henkilö osaa käsitellä elintarvikkeita niin, että jälkisaastumisriski on mahdollisimman vähäinen. EN: The person can handle food so that the risk of post-contamination is as small as possible.

Why it matters

Cooking can make food safe, and then an unwashed hand or a used board can make it unsafe again. Post-contamination (jälkikontaminaatio) is contamination of food after it has been heated. It cannot be seen with the naked eye, which is why hygienic working methods are essential.

Separate raw and ready-to-eat

• Raw meat, fish, vegetables and cooked foods are each handled with their own tools and cutting boards. Using the same tools or surfaces for raw meat and vegetables raises the risk of food poisoning.
• Between different raw materials, wash hands, change tools and clean surfaces thoroughly. Wiping the board is not enough. Handle perishable raw materials in the coolest possible rooms.
• Store raw animal foods separately from all other foods, and keep raw and cooked foods apart. Unpackaged smoked fish and fresh fish must not touch in a sales counter.
• Soil-covered root vegetables are stored and handled in a designated place or separated in time from other work, and the area is cleaned before other work.
• Pets and other animals stay out of kitchens and other food handling and storage areas.
• Food is protected against contamination at all stages.

Hands and tools

• Hand washing is one of the most effective ways of reducing cross-contamination. An employee who handled raw fish washes hands before cooked chicken, also when wearing gloves.
• Form patties or meatballs, and microbes pass to hands, then to handles, taps and other foods unless hands are washed at once.
• Take disposable gloves off without touching the outside with bare hands. After washing, close the tap with a paper towel or touch-free, not with the bare hand.
• Avoid unnecessary touching of food by hand; use tools. A dirty ice-cream scoop can bring microbes into ice cream.
• Coughing or sneezing towards food can contaminate it.
• Slicing, mincing and cutting increase perishability and demand clean hands and tools. Ready-to-eat food handled after heating has a higher risk of Listeria post-contamination. Products packed hot into their final packaging are protected.
• Allergen cross-contact, for example fish protein on tomatoes cut on the same board, can be life-threatening to allergic customers.

Self-service and display

• Unpackaged self-service always carries a higher contamination risk than staff-served sales. It should be supervised by staff with a view of the cabinet, so errors are fixed immediately.
• Tongs and scoops are stored hygienically and changed and cleaned often. Customers should be able to take food without touching it.
• A droplet guard is one way to control the risk; the risk is assessed as a whole, including placement, product risk, time and temperature.
• Place food so customers do not need to lean over unpackaged foods.

Scenario

A sandwich bar slices raw chicken, then chops lettuce on the same board without washing hands and serves the salad. Nothing further kills the bacteria. The routine should have been a separate board, hand washing and a cleaned surface.

Remember

Situation	Rule
Raw food, then cooked food	wash hands first, also with gloves
Raw and cooked meat	different boards
Self-service	staff supervision, tools changed and cleaned
Droplet guard	one possible control, not the only one

Myth vs reality

• Myth: One board is fine if it looks clean. Reality: Contamination is invisible.
• Myth: Gloves make hand washing unnecessary. Reality: Wash hands between raw and cooked food.
• Myth: A droplet guard alone removes the risk. Reality: It is one control among others.

In the test

Any statement that lets raw and cooked food share a board, hands or tray without washing and cleaning is false.