Essay On Food Safety At The Nursing Home

The outbreak at the Jonathan nursing home was due to the negligence of the new cook. Jonathan had acquired a new cook who was replacing another who had died after suffering from flu during a flu outbreak. Jonathan was forced to employ new staff to replace the ill kitchen staff because they were not any position to continue carrying out the kitchen work. The new cook, however, was not keen on following the kitchen instructions. The instructions required him to grind the meat after it was cooked and keep the meat so that it can be warmed and served to the clients whenever there is a need. The new cook, instead, prepared the raw turkey as he was told by Jonathan and placed it in the refrigerator to be served on the next day.
Food safety in a nursing home is very important and therefore, failure to follow any instructions will mean trouble. After the new cook failed to follow the kitchen instructions, there was an outbreak of a foodborne illness. The food borne illness was brought about by the fact that the cook used a wrong procedure to prepare the food. He prepared the meat by grinding raw turkey, fried it in a deep pan, and put it in the refrigerator instead of grinding the meat after it was cooked and keep it warm for it to be served later. Turkey meat is not supposed to be put in the freezer after cooking because the low temperatures cause contamination. Instead, it should be prepared in the oven at a temperature of approximately 350F for about 20 minutes and served without warming to avoid contamination
There a number of measures that Jonathan could have followed to prevent the foodborne outbreak. As an efficient manager, Jonathan would have worked closely with the new cook because he was new and needed close supervision. Secondly, Jonathan would have also ensured that he hires a well-qualified cook who has enough working experience to avoid any food poisoning or foodborne illnesses.
In future, Jonathan should train his newly hired cooks thoroughly on everything pertaining kitchen work. He should also train them on the proper cooking methods and the proper ways of storing different types of foods in order to avoid any forms of contamination. For instance, when preparing Turkey the new cook did not know that putting the meat in the freezer would cause food contamination. The new cook would have been trained on how to store food warmly to avoid warming it later, which also causes food contamination. Every hygiene standards should be brought into consideration when it comes to kitchen work. Jonathan should ensure that new staff are trained on cleanliness while working in the kitchen and serving the customers. Handling of the kitchen equipment should also be included in the training. Cooks should be trained how to use kitchen equipment such as the ovens, blender and refrigerators.
Safety is critical when it comes to preparation and storing foods. Wrong procedures of cooking any food may bring about illnesses not only among the consumers but the workers as well. Proper hygiene in a kitchen should be followed by all the kitchen staff workers to prevent some of the diseases that arise from poor hygiene in the kitchen. For instance, there should be proper disposal of food leftovers, proper channel and storage of food, as well as, water usage and storage to prevent some outbreak of diseases such as diarrhea.