food safety

 by Gillian Robinson

Aged Care Managers and Nurses Study Days

April 12th and 13th, 2018 – Christchurch

Presenters: 

 

Gillian Robinson – Bachelor of Nursing, Registered Nurse, Lead Auditor, Management Consultant, Author
Liz Beaglehole – New Zealand Registered Dietitian, with a Post-graduate Diploma in Dietetics (with distinction), Canterbury Dietitians.
Ben Harris – Medical Laboratory Scientist, Honorary Lecturer for the University of Otago

Incorporating clinical and management topics, these study days are designed to provide the opportunity to learn together and gain a greater understanding of each others roles and aged care industry expectations. Gain your professional development hours by joining your colleagues for two fun days of learning.

Topics include:

Day One – Thursday 12th April – 9.00am to 4.30pm

  • Age-related Residential Care (ARRC) – understanding the DHB funding service specifications
  • Quality and Risk Management – striving and achieving excellence
  • Clinical Leadership – how to lead the clinical team effectively
  • Clinical Documentation – What, when, how and why to document
  • Clinical Assessment and Care Planning – bringing it all together for better resident outcomes
  • Microbiome – why understanding this is so important
  • Multi-Drug Resistant Organisms (MDROs) – the current and pending impact

Day two – Friday 13th April (9.00am start, finish approximately 1.00pm) 

  • Urinary Tract Infections – to dip or not?!
  • Norovirus and Influenza – latest updates
  • Food Safety – Food Safety and Nutrition
  • Question and Answer session

Attendees will supply their own lunch.  Morning and afternoon tea will be provided.

Venue: Chapel Street Centre, Cnr Harewood Road and Chapel Street, Papanui, Christchurch.   (Easy access from the airport)

Numbers will be limited so register today.

To register – email gill@agedcarecompliance.com and supply the names and designations of each staff member attending, and confirmation if they will be attending day one or day two or both days?

 

The attendance fee for this content filled education is $155 (plus GST per attendee to cover both days), $85.00 plus GST per attendee to cover either day one or day  two.

We will respond with confirmation of registrations. Certificates of attendance will be provided.

in News
 by Gillian Robinson

Food Safety in residential aged care

Cooling and Reheating Meals

Thanks to Liz Beaglehole – Registered Dietitian for contributing the below article –

 

With the introduction of the Food Act 2014 and the requirement for most aged care facilities to have registered their food control plan (FCP) by March 2018, I thought I would write this article on a common kitchen practice that will require review. This relates to one important key component of food safety.

FCP’s are included in the policy and procedure documentation provided by HCSL specifically designed for residential care facilities.

In many facilities the main meal is served in the middle of the day and the tea meal served at night.  The main cook of the day will prepare the tea meal earlier in the afternoon, and then finish his or her shift.  The tea meal will be reheated by the afternoon staff and served to the residents.

The process of cooking, cooling and reheating requires careful control of the food safety risk.  Many tea options are protein or carbohydrate based; macaroni cheese, egg dishes, savoury mince, chicken options – all of which are high risk foods for bacteria growth.

Foods need to be cooled quickly to avoid time and temperature abuse, which may allow bacteria growth.  The guidelines state that when cooling hot cooked foods, the food must cool to at least 21° within the first two hours, and then cool to below 5° in four more hours.  Overall, the food must be out of the danger zone (between 5°C and 60°C) within six hours.

A functioning chiller should allow cooked foods to cool within this timeframe.  Using domestic fridges that are overcrowded, may mean the cooling guidelines are not met.  Using shallow dishes rather than large deep dishes will also allow foods to cool faster.

The food control plan will specify the process the site kitchen must follow with regards to cooling of cooked food.  Temperatures during cooling will need to be checked and recorded to ensure the time / temperature targets are met.

Prior to serving, the food must be reheated to above 75°C.

Some sites choose to hold the prepared food hot until service.  Food must be held hot at a temperature of at least 60°C, usually in a bain-marie or oven at 70°C.  Any food held below 60°C for more than 2 hours, must be thrown out.  Note that holding foods hot for this period of time may affect the food quality.

Main Points:

  • Food safety risk with cooling and reheating foods must be managed with FCP
  • Cool cooked food to below 21°C in 2 hours and below 5°C in 4 hours
  • Reheat foods to above 75°C before service
  • Hold hot prepared foods at 60°C or more
  • Document food temperatures and any corrective action
  • Review corrective action implementation to ensure they have been effective

 

Article contributed by:

Liz Beaglehole

NZ Registered Dietitian

Canterbury Dietitians

Email: liz@canterburydietitians.co.nz

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