Hygiene practices in catering establishments and COVID-19 precautions

Abstract

The demand for ready to serve food consumption and therefore the number of catering establishments has increased day by day because of the rapid growth of industry, the increase in the employed population, the acceleration of urbanization, the increase in the income level and the allocation of more time to entertainment and travel. The society’s preference for the consumption of ready to serve foods outside the home has led to more problems such as foodborne illness. It has been determined that the factors causing these diseases are mostly incorrect information and practices in the food processing systems such as improper cooking/preparation, faulty temperature control, and the lack of hygiene knowledge of the personnel. Therefore, food safety and hygiene are vital issues in the catering sector, which serves a large part of the society, to gain consumer confidence and protect public health. In this review, the hygiene practices that must be followed in catering sector to ensure food safety are explained by considering the researches in the literature. Accordingly, comprehensive information about food, personnel and tool-equipment hygiene, personnel training, critical applications in the process from receiving of food to the establishment and delivery to the consumer, disinfectants used in sanitation, and systems required for catering establishments are included, the precautions to be taken in catering establishments during the COVID-19 pandemic are also stated. Catering establishments should show their importance given to consumers, employees, food quality, and reliability by applying systems that must be present in the food establishments such as the ISO 22000 Food Safety Management System, ISO 9001 Quality Management System, TS 13811 Hygiene and Sanitation Management System, ISO TS 22002-2 Food Service, TS 8985 Service Adequacy Certificate and TS 18001 OHSAS Occupational Health and Safety Management System. Besides, it is important for the sustainability of the system that all personnel are aware of food hygiene and receive training.