11. Maintenance

Foodstuffs are highly vulnerable to bacterial and microbial growth.

Well-maintained refrigeration units, clean, aseptic and well-kept premises, and staff with rigorous personal and clothing hygiene standards all contribute to consumer safety and protection.

Strict compliance with hygiene conditions is essential for the last controlled link in the cold chain, i.e. food distribution.

All incidents and accidents to which foodstuffs are subjected upstream are irreversibly recorded, and result in a reduction in their hygienic, nutritional and organoleptic quality. Traditional display cases for unpackaged fresh food are particularly worthy of attention.

When properly applied, refrigeration techniques can generally prevent most microbial incidents and accidents, but cannot eliminate them entirely....