Learn How to Safely Handle and Prepare Large Quantities of Food

It is important for people in the hospitality and food preparation industries to know the safety requirements when handling food in large quantities, because it may be slightly different than preparing smaller quantities of food.

The risk of food poisoning is increased when preparing food in large quantities because your kitchen is probably not equipped to handle such large volumes of food preparation.

Although all the normal rules apply such as temperature control and not mixing raw and cooked foods, they can easily be overlooked in a small kitchen.

Also when food is prepared in large amounts, there are usually more leftovers which can be contaminated if not handled and stored correctly and if consumed can cause sickness.

It is tempting to want to prepare food long beforehand because of the convenience factor but doing so can be dangerous. Food should never be prepared too long in advance even if it seems more convenient to do so, it can compromise the safety of the food and some foods are more vulnerable than others.

Make sure beforehand that you have enough fridge and freezer space to store the food before serving and afterwards for any leftovers to be stored.  This is important because the time food spends at room temperature should be kept to an absolute minimum.

When cooking in large amounts it is easy to undercook food which can cause food poisoning. Make sure food is cooked thoroughly before serving especially poultry, minced meats, and sausages and make sure you have large enough cooking vessels to ensure food is adequately cooked through. There should be no pink left in the centre. Raw and cooked food should be kept separate to prevent cross contamination.