Christmas Special: Food Safety Information for caterers, restaurants, bars and food retailers

It is estimated that over 5-6 million turkeys are consumed each year, with national consumption spiking over Christmas.

Food businesses such as caterers, restaurants, bars and food retailers (supermarkets, delis, and butchers) are required by food safety laws (Food Safety Act 1991) to have in place measures to protect consumers against food poisoning. 
During the busier seasons such as Christmas, and New Year, food business staff rushing around to get all the poultry and sides prepared and served, cooking mistakes can be made and consumers can fall ill. According to Food Standards Australia New Zealand, the majority of poultry-associated food-borne disease outbreaks stem from mistakes made when handling and preparing food or inadequate cooking.

Luckily, we’ve compiled a few tips that will help keep your business protected and consumers safe.

Remind staff to wash hands—not the turkey.

Provide hand wash stations with antibacterial soap. It is also a good idea to display signage to remind your staff when, and how to wash their hands. ISOsafe can provide your food business with the appropriate signage to help your business comply with food safety laws in your state or territory.
Washing poultry does not eliminate bacteria; to kill bacteria you need to adequately cook the turkey to the correct internal temperature.

Safely thaw your turkey.

There are 3 safe ways to thaw turkey: in the refrigerator, in a sink filled with cold water that is changed at 30-minute intervals, or in the microwave. 
While turkey remains frozen in the freezer it is safe, but when you’re thawing turkey, it needs to defrost at a safe temperature. 
Staff should never let the turkey defrost on counters because when it is left out for over 2 hours, the temperature of the turkey can become unsafe. Once the temperature reaches the “danger zone,” 4 to 60 °C, bacteria will quickly grow.

Should you stuff the turkey?

No. The safest way to cook stuffing is in a separate dish. 
Even though the turkey may be cooked to the correct temperature, the stuffing inside it may not have reached the same safe temperature that would eliminate all bacteria. 
However, if your business does sell cooked, stuffed turkey, ensure staff use a food thermometer to gage that the stuffing’s centre has reached 74° C (165°F). 

Cook your turkey safely.

It is important to ensure that the turkey is cooked to the correct internal temperature. The oven should be set to at least 163°C (325°F). 
We recommend testing for doneness in the following 3 areas: the thickest part of the breast, the innermost part of the wing, and the innermost part of the thigh. All 3 areas should be 74° C (165°F).

Remember the 2-hour rule.

Do not leave any foods on bench tops and counters for more than 2 hours because bacteria—such as Clostridium perfringens—will grow. C. perfringens, is the second most common cause of food poisoning. In fact, outbreaks of this bacteria most commonly spring up around Christmas and have been linked to foods that are commonly served throughout the holiday season.

For further information on food safety tips, training and HACCP Manuals, call ISOsafe on 1300 789 132.

SafeWork NSW Inspectors to issue on the spot Fines for Construction Falls From Heights

Minister for Better Regulation Matt Kean today launched a year-long blitz to crack down on dodgy construction businesses which put their workers at risk.

Mr Kean said the number of falls from heights reported to SafeWork NSW had more than tripled in the last five years – with the majority happening on construction sites.

“Falls are the number one killer on NSW construction sites,” he said.

“In fact, this year alone, eight people have tragically died in work-related falls, and many more have been severely injured.”

Mr Kean said former construction worker Myles Lowry, 47, knows all too well the terrible consequences of failures in workplace safety.

Mr Lowry was severely injured when he fell four metres onto concrete at a construction site on the State’s mid north coast in 2014.

“Myles faced a long road to recovery and is now an enthusiastic advocate for safe work practices,” Mr Kean said.

“Today I’m issuing a warning to employers across the state about the importance of having proper safety measures in place to protect your workers.”

Mr Kean said falls-related incidents had been shown to increase toward the end of the year as businesses rushed to get jobs done.

“That’s why we’re launching a 12-month state-wide blitz targeting construction sites to ensure businesses are taking the right precautions to keep workers safe,” he said.

Mr Kean said SafeWork inspectors will also take advantage of tough new laws that came into force on November 1.

“These new laws mean SafeWork can now issue on-the-spot fines of up to $3600 to any shonky businesses who are failing to protect their workers,” he said.

“I can assure the community that we will do everything in our power to make sure every NSW construction worker is safe and sound this Christmas.”

ISOsafe offer businesses and employers training, guidance and documents (such as SWMS and JSAs) to comply with work at height legislation. Contact us today on 1300 789 132

How to transition from OHSAS 18001:2007 to ISO 45001:2016

It has been announced that OHSAS 18001 is changing into ISO 45001 next year. So far there has been an initial draft copy issued – DIS 45001. In preparation for this transition Australian businesses currently accredited with OHSAS18001:2007 will need to identify the gaps in their current systems and bring up to speed with ISO45001:2016.

WHEN WILL ISO 45001 BE AVAILABLE?

A second draft version of ISO 45001 is now available, however, this is not a public draft document and will only be available to selected people.

The final approved version of ISO 45001:2016 will be published in mid-2017.

HOW SOON CAN I TRANSITION FROM OHSAS 18001 TO ISO 45001 WITHOUT ACCESS TO THE DIS?

It may be useful to start communicating internally that OHSAS 18001 is changing to ISO 45001. You should start to look at your processes to see if they are in line with the new high-level structure; but take note that your system must remain compliant with the requirements of OHSAS 8001:2007 until the new standard has been released.

HOW LONG WILL OHSAS 18001:2007 CONTINUE TO BE RECOGNIZED?

The current standard will be recognized and can be audited until the end of the 3-year transition period for ISO 45001:2016 (expected October 2019).

WHAT ARE THE MAIN CHANGES EXPECTED IN ISO 45001?

There are now 10 clauses, which is a significant departure from OHSAS 18001. The requirements are better organised around the new 10 clause structure which all the other Management System standards will follow in the future (including ISO 9001 and ISO 14001).

    1.0    Scope  

    2.0    Normative References  

    3.0    Terms and Definitions

    4.0    Context of the Organisation

4.1 Context of the Organisation: The intention of this is to ensure that the organisation has a high-level understanding of the important issues that can affect, either positively or negatively, the way the organisation manages its responsibilities in relation to the OH&S Management System for persons working under its control.

4.2 Understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties: The organisation needs to establish whom the interested parties (such as legislative bodies, clients, the public, etc.) are and whether or not they are relevant to OH&S, and to identify the needs and expectations that those interested parties have.

    5.0  Leadership

5.0 Leadership: ISO 45001 adds an important new requirement; that top management has to demonstrate its leadership and commitment, and by taking accountability for the effectiveness of OH&S.

5.2 Policy: This now needs to make mention of the organisation’s commitment to continual improvement and has a commitment to worker participation and consultation.

    6.0    Planning

6.0 Planning: You now need to consider risk and opportunities associated to the issues you identified in 4.1 with regards to requirement(s) of the interested parties.

    7.0    Support

7.0 Support: This requirement takes into account the areas of Resources, Competence, Awareness, Communication and Documented Information. 

    8.0    Operations

8.0 Operations: This requirement takes into account the areas of Operational Planning and Control, Management of Change, Outsourcing, Procurement, Contractors and Emergency Preparedness and Response.

    9.0    Performance Evaluation

9.0 Performance Evaluation: This requirement takes into account the areas of Monitoring, Measurement, Analysis and Evaluation, Evaluation of Compliance, Internal Audit and Management Review.

    10.0Improvement

10.0 Improvement: This requirement takes into account the areas of Incident, Nonconformity and Corrective Action and Continual Improvement.

The new concepts coming from Annex SL will, for many organisations and auditors, be tried and tested because they appear also in the updated version of ISO 9001 and ISO 14001. Organisations operating an Integrated Management System (IMS) will then have the unique opportunity to more easily align and integrate the three Management Systems and standards.

If youre looking for guidance and support to transition from OHSAS 18001 to ISO45001; contact ISOsafe today on 1300 789 132, with Specialists in every State/Territory of Australia we can assist businesses of all sizes in every industry.