The Occurrence of a Food Poisoning Incident - Case Study Example

The manager ordered an investigation on food poisoning and spoilage. Furthermore, the incident caused a number of people to fall sick and one of them was admitted to the hospital for specialized care. Following that unexpected outcome, one of the visitors went to seek justice from the Court of Law, since it protects the public from food poisoning through the right to the safe food bill. In order to gather enough information on the incident, the manager ordered an investigation focusing on specific areas. The first one was to focus on the causative agents and determine the preventive measures of food poisoning. Secondly, the report is supposed to contain the characteristics of food poisoning and foodborne infections. Therefore, this investigation will help determine the primary cause of the incident among the guests.
1.1 Foodservice provision
The hotel provides catering services on a number of occasions that include weddings, conferences, and other meetings. One of the primary concerns is to ensure that the clients are provided with quality and safe food. However, there are a number of issues in the hotel industry like food poisoning and contamination, and the hotel has to ensure that it curbs them. Food contamination may occur when harmful microorganisms are introduced to the foods. It is brought about by handling the foods poorly as Lawrence, Dobmeier, Bechtel, & Holstege (2007) point out. Most significantly, food contamination can emanate from pathogens or chemicals introduced to the foods during the preparation process or storage. Moreover, handling food with dirty hands is the leading way globally through which microorganisms get into food. In this case, some bacteria like E. coli can be transferred to food. In addition, there is cross-contamination between food and unclean kitchen tools. Further, fresh fruits can be contaminated by washing them with dirty water containing fecal matter from animals.
Food poisoning can cause illness and to some extent death when not contained in time. Mostly, the growth of bacteria in food when cooked or poor handling worsens the situation. To reduce food poisoning occurrences, a number of conditions have to be met. It is important to understand that food contains bacteria naturally and microorganisms are likely to grow if they are within a conducive environment (Hennekinne, De Buyser, & Dragacci, 2012). Therefore, be the food handlers’ must be responsible to ensure that they do not provide a conducive environment for the multiplication of these bacteria.
Secondly, it is important to understand the food poisoning chain, since by breaking the chain; food poisoning will be prevented definitely. Thirdly, it is also necessary to be aware of the high-risk foods where bacteria grow faster than others. Consequently, the hotel will be more cautious when handling such foods. Some of the high-risk foods include meat, poultry, dairy, eggs, small goods, seafood, cooked pasta, cooked rice, coleslaws, pasta salads, and prepared fruit salads.
High-risk foods should be kept off the temperature danger zone. Although, they can be kept in the danger zone for not more than four hours before consumption. They should be cooked wholly at more than 75 degrees Celsius. However, stored food should be kept dry since moisture increases the rate of bacterial growth. Therefore, to mitigate any future occurrence of food poisoning, it is important for the organization to ensure that they train their staff members so as to equip them with adequate knowledge to manage foods (Dijksterhuis & Samson, 2006). Lastly, utilization of posters in the store is likely to increase awareness among workers hence increasing the possibility of reducing incidences of food poisoning in the organization.
1.2 Food poisoning and foodborne infections
Foodborne infections occur from ingestion of contaminated food. However, when somebody is poisoned by food, depending on the immediate care he or she gets determines whether he or she will be cured or die from the disease. Some of the most common symptoms among patients include watery diarrhea, stomach pains, vomiting, and fever. Moreover, less frequent symptoms include loss of appetite, muscle pain, and chills. These symptoms may present themselves a few hours after ingestion of the meal or days depending on the incubation period of the causative agent. Most people recover fully after1-2 days of ingesting the food.
1.3 Prevention of food poisoning in the kitchen
In order to prevent food poisoning in kitchens, education to the employees on food safety measures is key in reducing the occurrences of foodborne illness. Apart from one on one training of workers after identifying their weakness in service delivery, the employees should be provided with the manuals and charts on the walls to prevent further incidences. This is important because some of the food poisoning incidents occur due to forgetfulness or lack of awareness among workers. Read More