Sanitation and Hygiene in the Food and Beverage Industry

Introduction Without a doubt, food is one of the better things in life. If people didn’t eat, they will go hungry. If they don’t eat for too long, they will die. If they don’t eat, they will miss out on all the great gastronomic experiences that life can bring them. From ages unknown, man has realized that to be healthy, they have to eat the right foods. According to The New book of Knowledge (S) by Grolier International (1981) on page 330, healthy individuals live longer, are stronger, faster and therefore better feed and more comfortable. After all, the first instinct of everyone is self-preservation right? The food and beverage industry has evolved a great deal from when man saw fire, put some meat on it and then said: “Ooo, tasty!” Man now has involved and intricate procedures when serving meals. How chefs will prepare them, when certain foods are eaten, how they should be eaten. Even restaurants are ever changing. New concepts, new dishes are being thought up everyday. For instance, the newest food and beverage trend in Malaysia is the “kopitiam” although Mr.Tham cannot for the life of him think why as he made very clear in class on the 27/2/2008. It is important to understand what food safety and hygiene means. The quality of food has been something that has always been held in high regard. But in the past few decades, food sanitation and hygiene has been a growing concern among the public. This is because we are now better educated and aware of the dangers of eating contaminated foods.
This article defines sanitation as ‘the design and maintenance of an environment that is clean and healthy. On the other hand, www.answers.com defines hygiene as ‘Conditions and practices that serve to promote or preserve health: hygiene in the workplace; personal hygiene.’ In other words, food sanitation and hygiene means the upkeep and design of an environment where conditions ad practices are put in place to preserve and promote health.
According (Jurnal Pengguna

References: 3) Hawker Food Industry: Food Safety/Public Health strategies in Malaysia Author: Fiona Pang, 2008 6) Common themes of safe food-handling behavior among mature adults. < Food Protection Trends, 2005 (Vol. 25) (No. 9) 706-711> Authors: Boone et al 7) Food Law Internet Project Research Party: School of Food Biosciences, The University of Reading, UK (2007) Author: Amy Lando, MPP (2006) (Source: Disease Control Division, Health Ministry, Malaysia, 2001) Table 2: