This section has advice on the '4 Cs' of food hygiene - cleaning, cooking, chilling and cross-contamination.
This page gives advice for caterers about risks from cross-contamination.
For easy to use guidance on cross-contamination controls, required as part of a written food safety management system for your business, download the Safer Food, Better Business Pack.
Cross-contamination Risks
Cross-contamination is when bacteria spread between food, surfaces or equipment.
Cross-contamination is most likely to happen when:
raw food touches (or drips onto) other food, for example when stored in the fridge
raw food touches (or drips onto) equipment or surfaces
people touch raw food with their hands
For example, if you cut raw meat on a chopping board, bacteria will spread from the meat to the board and knife.
If you then use the same board and knife, without washing them thoroughly, for preparing ready to eat food such as salad, the bacteria will spread from the board and knife to the salad.
In this section you can find advice about how to prevent cross-contamination when preparing and storing food in your catering business.
