How does food become contaminated, and how do we handle food safely to prevent food poisoning?
Bacterial contamination and food safety: the main food-poisoning bacteria, sources and symptoms, cross-contamination, the conditions bacteria need, the key temperatures, and safe buying, storing, preparing, cooking and serving of food.
A focused answer on bacterial contamination and food safety for Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (C560), covering the main food-poisoning bacteria, sources and symptoms, cross-contamination, the conditions bacteria need, the key temperatures, and safe food handling from buying to serving.
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What this dot point is asking
Eduqas wants you to know how food becomes contaminated, the main food-poisoning bacteria and their sources, what cross-contamination is and how to prevent it, the conditions bacteria need and the key temperatures, and how to buy, store, prepare, cook and serve food safely. This is heavily examined.
How food becomes contaminated
The main food-poisoning bacteria
Food poisoning is especially dangerous for high-risk groups: babies and young children, the elderly, pregnant women and people who are already ill.
What bacteria need, and the key temperatures
Bacteria multiply when they have warmth, moisture, food and time. Controlling temperature is the main defence:
Cross-contamination
To prevent it: separate raw and ready-to-eat foods and store raw meat below ready-to-eat food in the fridge; use colour-coded boards and knives; wash hands after handling raw meat; clean and sanitise surfaces and use clean cloths; and prepare ready-to-eat foods first or clean down before switching.
Safe food handling from buying to serving
Safety runs through the whole journey: buy food within date and undamaged and get chilled and frozen food home quickly; store at the right temperature, raw below cooked, and within use-by dates; prepare with clean hands and equipment, avoiding cross-contamination; cook thoroughly to above 75 degrees C in the centre; and serve hot food above 63 degrees C, cooling and refrigerating leftovers quickly and reheating only once until piping hot.
Try this
Q1. State the temperature range known as the danger zone. [1 mark]
- Cue. 5 to 63 degrees C (where bacteria multiply fastest).
Q2. Give two ways to prevent cross-contamination between raw meat and salad. [2 marks]
- Cue. Any two of: separate colour-coded boards and knives, store raw meat below ready-to-eat food, wash hands between tasks, clean and sanitise surfaces.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of WJEC Eduqas exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Eduqas 20196 marksExplain what is meant by cross-contamination and describe how a cook can prevent it when preparing raw chicken and a salad.Show worked answer →
A 6-mark extended-response question.
Cross-contamination is the transfer of harmful bacteria from one food (usually raw, such as chicken) to another (often ready-to-eat, such as salad), directly or by way of hands, surfaces, equipment or cloths. It is dangerous because the salad is not cooked again to kill the bacteria.
To prevent it: use separate, colour-coded chopping boards and knives for raw chicken and for salad; prepare the salad first, then the chicken, or clean and sanitise surfaces and equipment in between; wash hands thoroughly after handling raw chicken; store raw chicken below ready-to-eat food in the fridge so juices cannot drip onto it; and use clean cloths.
Top-band answers (5 to 6 marks) define cross-contamination, explain why it is dangerous for ready-to-eat food, and give several clear prevention steps.
Eduqas 20214 marksState the key temperatures a cook must know for safe food storage and cooking, and explain the term 'danger zone'.Show worked answer →
A 4-mark question rewarding the precise temperatures.
Key temperatures: a fridge should run below 5 degrees C; a freezer at minus 18 degrees C; food should be cooked so the centre reaches at least 75 degrees C; and hot food held for serving should be kept above 63 degrees C.
The danger zone is the temperature range between 5 and 63 degrees C, in which bacteria multiply fastest, so food should spend as little time as possible in this range.
Markers reward the correct figures (below 5, minus 18, above 75, above 63) and a clear definition of the danger zone as 5 to 63 degrees C where bacteria multiply quickly.
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Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition specification (C560) — WJEC Eduqas (2016)