Food Hygiene Precautions

1. Three Principles of Food Poisoning Prevention

1. Prevent bacteria from attaching (cleanliness)

   • Wash hands frequently before cooking, during cooking, and when serving.
   • Wash, sanitize, and dry cooking utensils thoroughly. Always wash before disinfecting.
   • Use appropriate cooking utensils for the food.

   ⇒First, try to prevent food-poisoning bacteria from adhering to food as much as possible. This alone will greatly reduce the risk of food poisoning.

2. Prevent bacteria from multiplying (cooling)

   • Always store food in a refrigerator or freezer. The temperature in the refrigerator / freezer should be properly controlled.
   • Do not store food at room temperature, even if it has already been cooked.
   • Food should be served as soon as possible.

   ⇒If temperature control is poor, even a little, bacteria can multiply quickly.

3. Kill bacteria (heating)

   • Heat the food thoroughly to the center.
   • Even if food-poisoning bacteria are killed, some toxins produced by those bacteria are resistant to fire.

   ⇒Do not be overconfident about disinfection by heating and be more careful about "1) Prevent bacteria from attaching " and "2) Prevent bacteria from multiplying".

2. Precautions

 To prevent food poisoning, it is important for each one of your Tent members to be aware that food poisoning can occur at any time.
 Be aware of the following while cooking. If the Hokudai-sai Office determines that the following are not being followed, the Hokudai-sai staff will instruct you to improve.

• Did you fully cook the food?
  (Make sure to cook the food enough even if you are in a hurry to serve it to the visitors.)
• Is the temperature appropriate to store the food?
  (This is especially important for the Tents that use cool boxes to store food.)
• Did you wash cooking utensils properly?
  (Please occasionally wash them with clean water and detergent. After that, dry and sterilize them with an alcohol sterilizer.)

1. Serving Food

   • Make sure to put on aprons, bandanas, disposable cooking gloves and disposable face masks when you cook or serve.
   • Before you start cooking, you must wash your hands with detergent, and sterilize with an alcohol sterilizer.
   • Do not participate in cooking if you handle money.
   • People who are sick (especially with vomiting or diarrhea) or have hand injuries are not allowed to participate in cooking.
   • Cut nails short and remove nail polish.
   • Remove rings, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, watches, and other accessories.
   • Foods are to be sold only in the compartment and are not to be tasted or sold on the street.

2. Cleaning and Disinfection

   • In those cases below, make sure to wash and sterilize your hands.
     • After touching meat, seafood, eggs, or vegetables
     • After touching garbage
     • After touching hair, face, or other body parts
     • After touching other items not related to cooking (e.g. refrigerator handles, water tap)
   • Cooking utensils should be cleaned and disinfected frequently with detergent. Especially, utensils used for cooking eggs and dairy products should be washed every 20 minutes.

3. Cooking

   • You cannot prepare or cook food before the day it is served.
   • Cut food on the day you serve it, in a clean indoor place with a facility to clean up near the Campus. The work area must be unified in the group, and cutting must be done in the presence of the Tent Leader, the Vice Tent Leader, the Fire Safety Manager, or the Hygiene Safety Manager. You cannot do it inside of the Tent.
   • Cutting meat or seafood is prohibited. Make sure to buy factory-cut or factory-skewered products instead.
   • Do not cut food after cooking it. You cannot use knives inside the Tent.
   • You cannot cut off the cooked meat in front of your Tent, for example when you serve KEBAB. If you want to cook KEBAB in front of your Tent, that one can be used only for display and you have to prepare another for serving.
   • You CANNOT serve the food that is not written in the Food Ingredients List.
   • It is prohibited to store a large amount of cooked food at once.
   • It is prohibited to stock cooked food for more than 2 hours.
   • When you store food, it must be put in a refrigerator or a cool box. Do not store the food at room temperature.
   • If you open a package of the food once, please use up the food on that day and do not use it on the next day.
   • Food with liquid, such as soup or curry, must be cooked inside the Tent (except for the process of cutting ingredients). Please keep on cooking until just before you serve and stir it occasionally.
   • Do not touch the food directly with your hands even when you put on disposable cooking gloves.
   • When kneading with your hands, for example molding the dough of bread or gyoza, do it in a clean indoor place with a facility to supply and drain water.
   • When you serve rice, you must cook it in your Tent and keep it warm until just before served. Please use wash-free rice (Musen-mai, "無洗米").
   • Please procure the water to be used for cooking rice from your Tent members' homes.

4. Facility and Cookung Utensils

   • If you take off disposable cooking gloves once, please do not use them again. Please use new ones.
   • Prepare Mini-Washing Place (a plastic tank with a tap, a stand, a bucket, soap and paper towels).
   • Fully cover the three sides (back, right and left sides) of your Tent with side screens.
   • When working with oil, lay a blue sheet or flameproof sheet on the ground.
   • Prepare a garbage box and garbage bags inside of your Tent. Please follow the garbage classification that HUISA announced in GA.

5. Additional Notes

   • You cannot sell food while walking around, or let visitors taste samples.
   • During Hokudai-sai, the Hokudai-sai Staff will check the food hygiene. If you are pointed out any problems in your Tent, please correct it IMMEDIATELY.