Food safety practices and general requirements

Food safety supervisors
Under the Food Act 2006, every licensable food business in Queensland is required to have a food safety supervisor. New food businesses licensed after 22 February 2008 are required to notify their Local Government within 30 days of the issue of their licence. There are penalties for not having a food safety supervisor. The food safety supervisor must have undertaken specifi ed competency unit/s with a Registered Training Organisation to operate as a food safety supervisor for a food business. See the food industry fact sheet 18 ‘Food Safety Supervisor’ and fact sheet 19 ‘Food Safety Supervisor Update for further information. These can be accessed from www.health.qld.gov.au/foodsafety.

1. Does your food business have a nominated food safety supervisor?
2. Has your food safety supervisor undertaken the specified competency unit/s for the food sector in which the food business operates?

Personal Hygiene

• Thoroughly wash hands with soap and water and dry hands with disposable paper towels before handling ice
• If handling ice, avoid handling other materials that may transmit bacteria (cross contamination) to the ice (eg. cleaning cloths, tea towels, refuse containers etc.)
• Keep your clothing, hands, fingernails and body clean at all times and if required, wear protective clothing (gloves, caps, aprons)
• Do not smoke before or whilst handling ice.

Sick Workers

• Advise your supervisor and do not handle ice if you are ill, particularly if you have symptoms of a cold, vomiting, diarrhoea or a skin infection on the hands.

Handling

• Do not handle ice with bare hands or glass cups. Use clean ice scoops, ice buckets or disposable gloves
• Do not break up or loosen bags of ice on the floor or other unclean surfaces as the ice may become contaminated

How to shut off your gas

It’s important to know exactly where your gas meter is located, and how to shut it off in case of emergencies. Keep a 12” (or larger) adjustable wrench with your emergency supplies, or next to your valve. Take the adjustable wrench and turn the shut-off valve onequarter of a turn in either direction until the valve is crosswise to the pipe (see diagram).

Important: Do not use the gas meter for electric bonding. Electric bonding to or use of SoCalGas’ gas piping, gas risers or meter facilities for electric grounding is not permitted. Use caution when touching gas meters. Faulty household appliances or faulty household electrical wiring could inadvertently introduce electricity to gas facilities.

After shutting off your gas
If you turn off your gas at the meter, leave it off. Do not turn it back on yourself. Call SoCalGas to have it turned back on and to relight the pilots.

Features and Accessories

Turntable
Turntable may be turned off (on some models) for manual cooking only. This is helpful when cooking with plates that are bigger than the turntable, or when cooking with plates that are side by side. Turntable cannot be turned off during preset or sensor (on some models) functions.

Convection Element and Fan (on some models)
The convection element and fan are embedded in the wall of the microwave oven cavity, behind the metal screen.

Convection Rack
Use the short convection rack for convection cycles (baking or roasting). Place cookware directly on rack for bake and for some roast functions. Some roast functions require that the food be placed directly on the rack. Use a microwave-safe, ovenproof dish or pan under the rack to catch the drippings.

Microwave Oven Use

For list of preset programs, see the Cooking Guide label on the front facing of the microwave oven opening, behind the door.

NOTE: Before using your dishwasher for the first time, check the information in this section. Some items are not dishwasher safe and should be hand-washed; others require special loading. Contact the item’s manufacturer if you are unsure about the item’s dishwasher suitability.

Recommended
Colored anodized aluminum may fade over time. Minerals in your water may cause the aluminum to darken or spot. This can usually be removed by using a soap-filled steel wool pad. Some hand-painted pieces may discolor, fade, or spot. Hand-wash these pieces. Position fragile glassware so that it will not topple over or contact other pieces during the wash cycle. Milk glass may yellow. Apply a light coating of vegetable oil to non-stick surfaces after drying. Make sure the piece is dishwasher safe. Place these pieces so that they do not contact dissimilar metals.

What is Soil Moisture Measurement and Control?

Before we talk about specifics, let us take a step back and look at the living system in which we will be working.

The Soil, Water, Plant System

Evapotranspiration moves water out of the system and rain or irrigation replaces it. The soil provides storage for the water. Typically, the plant removes water according to the chart below.

Water is pulled by the roots into the plant. The soil is attracting the water as well. This competition between the plant and soil for the water creates tension. As the water is depleted by the plant, it first takes the water that is most easily released and continues to take water that is more and more tightly held by the soil. This tension can be measured by soil moisture measurement instruments. The higher the tension created, the harder it is for the plant to extract water from the soil. Eventually there will be no more “available water” for the plant. Most landscape plants suffer from just the opposite, no oxygen in the soil because of too much water.