Hawaiian Pizza

Hawaiian pizza recipe
source obtained from: http://www.culinarycafe.com/Pizza/Basic_Pizza_Crust.html

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 2/3 cups warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
7 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/4 cup whole-wheat or rye flour
1 tablespoon coarse salt or 2 teaspoons fine salt

source obtanied from: http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/breads/yeast/pizzadough.html

By Food Processor:

• Pour in warm water. The water should be about 85 to 115° F.
• Add the honey and salt. Mix on low for about 20 seconds.
• Add the yeast and mix on low for another 5 seconds.
• Add 1 cup of flour, mix on low for 10 seconds.
• Add the olive oil and mix until blended (about 15 or 20 seconds more).
• Add the rest of the flour (and any othr additions) and mix on high for about a minute or two. The dough should turn into a ball and roll around the processor. (If the dough does not ball up because it's too dry, add water one tablespoon at a time until it does. If your mixture is more like a batter, add flour one tablespoon at a time. Adding water or flour as needed to get the right consistency will assure you always get a perfect dough.)
• Once the dough is balled up, place the ball on a floured board and knead for about a minute. This builds the gluten which helps the dough to rise and become fluffy when cooked.
• Place the dough in a plastic grocery bag or a covered bowl and store in a warm, dry area to rise.
• After about 45 minutes the dough should have about doubled in size.
• Punch the dough down, so it deflates.
• Let it rise for another hour to an hour and a half. The dough is now ready to be rolled out.

Product Recall

What is product recall?
Source obtained from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Product_recall
http://www.recalls.gov.au/recall.pdf

• A product recall is a request to return to the maker or producer, a batch or an entire production run of a product having in mind the best interest of suppliers and consumers to make sure that unsafe consumer products are effectively removed from the marketplace.
• Recalls are costly to a company because they often entail replacing the recalled product or paying for damages caused in use, albeit possibly less costly than indirect cost following damages to brand name and reduced trust in the manufacturer.

Some of the general steps of product recall

• Maker or dealer notifies the authorities responsible of their intention to recall a product. Consumer hotlines or other communication channels are established. The scope of the recall, that is, which serial numbers or batch numbers etc. are recalled, is often specified.
• Product recall announcements are released on the respective government agency's website (if applicable), as well as in paid notices in the metropolitan daily newspaper. In some circumstances, heightened publicity will also result in news television reports advising of the recall.
• When a consumer group learns of a recall it will also notify the public by various means.
• Typically, the consumer is advised to return the goods, regardless of condition, to the seller for a full refund or modification.
• Avenues for possible consumer compensation will vary depending on the specific laws governing consumer trade protection and the cause of recall.

Aims of product recall

• Minimise the risk of injury or death to consumers by removing an unsafe product from use
• Minimise the cost and inconvenience to consumers and the company

When to recall?

• A recall is done as soon as one becomes aware of a possible defect in a product that
  may make it unsafe.

Food Safety

What is food safety?
Source obtained from: http://www.emro.who.int/Publications/EMHJ/1006/PDF/13%20Food%20safety.pdf

• For consumers, the definaition of food safety is generally quite practical and simple. Some will have ideas as simple as, so long as the food eaten does not cause a person to fall sick, it is considered safe. While others may describe safe food as food that is within its shelf life and has been stored or distributed at the proper temperature. Some other consumers may food that is not "contaminated" as safe to consume food.
  
• However, for the food industry, it defines food safety by its specification for raw materials and finished products. For example, acceptable limits for chemical hazards, like pesticide, physical hazards such as metal fragments, and microbiological hazards such as Salmonella.
  
• The World Health Organization (WHO) and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), on the other hand, define food safety as food that is free from all hazards, whether chronic or acute, that may make food injurious to the health of the consumer. Also, measures and conditions that are necessary during the receiving, production, processing, storage, distribution and preparation of all kinds of food to ensure that it is safe, wholesome and fit for human consumption.
  
  Food Safety Tips

At home:

• Do not handle raw and cooked food with the same pair of utensils
• Refrigerate or freeze perishable food within 2 hours of shopping or preparing.
• Wash hands, cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and work surfaces frequently with hot,
  soapy water.
• Keep hot food above 60 degrees celcius and cold food below 5 degrees celcius.
• Never partially cook food for finishing later because you increase the risk of bacterial
  growth.
• Use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of food such as meat, poultry. Check temperature in several places to be sure food is safely cooked.

Avian Flu Virus

What is Avian Flu Virus?
Source obtained from: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/avian_influenza/en

• Avian influenza is an infectious disease of birds caused by type A strains of the influenza virus.

Presence and survival of the virus

Source obtained from: http://www.fmi.org/foodsafety/WHO_Food_Safety_Issues.pdf

• Avian influenza viruses survive in contaminated raw poultry meat and therefore can be spread through the marketing and distribution of contaminated food products, such as fresh or frozen meat. In general, low temperatures maintain the viability of the avian influenza virus.
  
• The virus can survive in faeces for at least 35 days at low temperature (4°C), while at 37°C, viruses could survive for 6 days.
  
• However, normal cooking (temperatures at or above 70°C in all parts of the product) will inactivate the virus.

What are some safety issues related to Avian Flu Virus?

Source obtained from: http://www.fmi.org/foodsafety/WHO_Food_Safety_Issues.pdf

• Conventional cooking (temperatures at or above 70°C in all parts of a food item) will inactivate the H5N1 virus. Properly cooked poultry meat is therefore safe to consume.

• Eggs can contain H5N1 virus both on the outside (shell) and the inside (whites and yolk). Eggs from areas with H5N1 outbreaks in poultry should not be consumed raw or partially cooked (runny yolk); uncooked eggs should not be used in foods that will not be cooked, baked or heat-treated in other ways.

• There is no epidemiological evidence to indicate that people have been infected with the H5N1 virus following consumption of properly cooked poultry or eggs.

• The greatest risk of exposure to the virus is through the handling and slaughter of live infected poultry. Good hygiene practices are essential during slaughter and post- slaughter handling to prevent exposure via raw poultry meat or cross contamination from poultry to other foods, food preparation surfaces or equipment.