Received the results for the Food Quality Check program and discussed with staff on site. Copy of the results enclosed with this inspection:
The program provides EHOs with an objective measurement to assess the level of sanitation in food premises and to provide information which aim to correct poor food handling practices and ultimately prevent food poisoning incidents from occurring. Food Samples confirm good
Aerobic Colony Count Aerobic Colony Count (ACC) is defined as the total number of bacteria able to grow in an oxygenated or aerobic environment. It is one of the most common tests applied to indicate the microbial quality, not safety, of food. The significance of ACC can vary according to the type of food product and the processing it has received. A good understanding of the product type is important in order to fully interpret ACC especially given the diversity of food products and production methods used in BC. When sampling, notes should be made on the requisition form about the product to indicate if the food consists of only fully cooked ingredients or contains a mixture of cooked and raw ready-to-eat components. Knowing what ingredients a food is comprised of, as well as cooking or preparation steps will help to determine proper interpretation of the test results. Another factor to consider is the shelf-life of the product since foods sampled close to their shelf-life will likely have an ACC approaching the upper limit. Aerobic colony count results are not applicable to raw ready-to-eat foods, such as fruits and vegetables, cultured products or fermented foods as these foods will inherently have a high count. Foods produced by adding starter bacteria will generally not have a significant count of other bacteria mainly due to the acidity produced during the fermentation. Fruits and vegetables which are not cooked before consumption are expected to have bacterial organisms present from the environment that they are grown in and as such will have a high aerobic colony count. For other foods, elevated counts of ACC may be due to: the food being past its shelf life (code) poor sanitation non-hygienic packaging materials inadequate processing or post-processing contamination such as poor food handling or hygiene practices When sampling foods it is important to consider that comparing a series of results for ACC over time is more valuable than assessing a single sample. Food Categories To properly interpret ACC results, knowledge of the food ingredients and processin
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