Quality Check for Fish

Quality check is the maintenance of the quality at a lQ

Whenever there is a fish delivery at any food business, the following should be considered

-       first check the type of fish that has been delivered

-       Whether it is a fresh fish or it is frozen fish.

-       If the fish delivered is frozen fish then the vehicle and the fish should be checked. Please note the freezer temperature of should be -18*C to -22*C which is the standard temperature as per the food safety standards.

-       If the fish delivered is fresh fish then the vehicle temperature should be between 0*C to 5*C. Otherwise it will affect the freshness of the fish.

Maintaining the consistent cool temperature of the fish plays a major role in maintaining the quality of the fish to its maximum shelf life.

The physical check confirms the freshness of the fish.

The fish should look firm and shiny, flesh which should bounce back when touched.

Check the eyes of the fish which also determines the freshness, the fresh fish should have the clear eyes and no cloudiness to be present.

The gills should be pink/ red in color with no sliminess. Check the flesh separation, if the flesh separates out it shows the fish is not fresh.

Handling of the fish: If the fish is not properly handled, cleaned then their shelf life declines. Example: If handled roughly it damages the flesh which results in enzyme breakdown and bacterial contamination.

Thus quality check of the fish is a must in any food business to ensure the fish is free from any bacterial contamination and hence safe for consumption.

Personal Protective Equipment

Every work place has hazards in different forms. Controlling a hazard at its source is the best way to protect the employees from it.

 Depending on the work place conditions, different Personal Protective Equipment is used to minimize the exposure to a variety of hazards.

In JIC the protective clothing differs depending on the different working areas. This will also serve to distinguish our employees working in different production areas.    

The food handlers wear personal protective equipment not only to save from work place hazards but also to protect food from contamination.

Our food handlers use the following PPE :

                             

Hand Gloves

Hair net

Apron

Mouth mask

Safety shoes

Jackets for freezer room

Oven gloves

Chainmill gloves and aprons

Certain PPEs like hairnet, gloves, apron, and mouth mask would also serve for food protection.

The above mentioned PPEs held in the following manner:

Hairnet: Failure to wear hair nets in the foodservice industry will often result in health code violations and customer complaints.

Mouth mask: It protects the food from getting contaminated from any of the mouth spits or any bacterial infection.

Hand gloves: The correct use of gloves can afford a measure of food protection during preparation and service.

Disposable gloves: Use of the gloves is appropriate in food assembly when manual contact is unavoidable, such as sandwich, salad, etc. 

If the disposable gloves are used incorrectly, then they can be contaminated, like the hands, with bacteria which can cause food borne illness. The gloves will then become a source of food contamination. It should not be used as a substitute for hand washing. But on the contrary hand washing to be done more frequently after wearing the disposable gloves.

Other safety PPEs like Freezer Jackets protects the body from getting cold while entering into the freezer rooms.

Oven Gloves protects our hand from getting burns.

Chainmill gloves and aprons protect our body  from getting cuts or wounds while cutting the food products like frozen chicken, meat, fish, etc.

 Above all, training must be provided to all those who wear PPE for their better understanding and proper usage of the PPE.

Food Poisoning

What is food poisoning?

A food borne illness caused by eating contaminated food. It refers to the condition affecting a person's health due to consumption of spoilt or contaminated food.  Symptoms include, diarrhoea, vomiting, nausea, headaches, cramps in the stomach etc.

What are the reasons for food contamination?

-          Food that has been contaminated by pathogens such as salmonella often does, look, smell and taste perfectly good.

-          If the food hasn't been cooked properly or has been contaminated with any of the raw food product like for example blood from raw chicken dropping on the food also causes food poisoning.

-          Consuming the food that contains toxins also caused food poisoning. These toxins are produced by microorganisms and can occur naturally in the food.

-    Toxins directly affect the biological reactions taking place in the body. At sufficiently high concentrations, the effects are acute and take place a few hours after consumption.

Proper handling of food is the only way to make sure that apparently wholesome food is truly safe to eat.

Automated Teller Machine

The most conventional method of cash withdrawals or cash/cheque deposits is through bank and it happens only during the designated banking hours. One has to be physically present to do the transactions. For few of them it is annoying to go to the bank and stand in long queues to perform these transactions. Other convenient way to withdraw or deposit money/cheque at any convenient time is through ATM – Automated Teller Machine. Cheque deposit or Cash withdrawal at any time is quick and convenient through these AT Machines. Since the inception of this brilliant idea in the late 60’s, until now the ATM usage has increased and people prefer it compared to the visit to the bank to complete their transactions. Of late, one can see that these ATMs are used extensively by most of the individuals from all walks of life. As every invention has pros and cons, the best thing is convenient cash withdrawal at any given point in time, usage of ATM machine also has some cons while using it. Although the machine is handy to withdraw money by the rightful owner at his convenient time and the ATM card is PIN protected, it is also subject to being cautious while withdrawing or while carrying the money. There are many sophisticated ways like skimming devise, fake PIN Pads, Phishing etc., to cheat you of your money. One should be vigilant enough to look at the surrounding while carrying the money.

Here are some basic steps which help you to be aware of the situations that might arise while using the ATMs or while carrying the money in large numbers.

·         Always pay close attention to the ATM and your surroundings. Don't select an ATM at the corner of a building - corners create a blind spot.

·         Maintain an awareness of your surroundings throughout the entire transaction. Be wary of people trying to help you with ATM transactions.

·         Do not allow people to look over your shoulder as you enter your PIN. Memorize your PIN; never write it on the back of your card. Do not re-enter your PIN if the ATM eats your card -- contact a bank official.

·         Closely monitor your bank statements, as well as your balances, and immediately report any discrepancies to your bank.

·         If you are involved in a confrontation with an assailant who demands your money, COMPLY.

·         If you find any signs of the ATM being physically tampered with or attached with external fittings or loose wirings, report to the bank and use another ATM.

·         Make sure that anyone waiting to use the ATM after you cannot see the PIN or the transaction amount you are entering.

·         Cancel your transaction and leave immediately if you see anything suspicious.

Suppliers Risk Management

The supply chains have included multiple partners, across varied services and across the world. The use of third party suppliers in providing the key requirements by corporate is the trend now. The outsourcing activities have increased in number in the service and also in the cost efficiency. Until and unless a supplier risk management structure has not been made, the corporate are prone to unexpected risks.

While purchasing the requirements for the company it is mandatory to follow the below steps in order to get the best deal:

 Be specific on your requirements:

The expectations on the required material should be communicated to the supplier. Incomplete or unclear specifications might lead to interrupted supply or the desired requirement might not be provided. Before finalizing on the purchase the sample testing should be made at the supplier’s site.  

Simply do not go by what the supplier is saying about the required material:

Until a thorough audit is performed, you will not be able to get the desired quality of the product and you be taken for a ride if you are not vigilant.

Plan B should always be there as a backup strategy:

Depending on one supplier for the required material never works. A back up of the suppliers who would provide as per our requirements is always safe. One primary supplier should be there to supply as per our requirements and if required the requirement should be split between the primary and the other suppliers in order to limit the impact and also it works as an assurance to the supplier that we are also purchasing from them.

Be a good partner:

Developing a long lasting relationship with the suppliers is also important. Transparent communication helps in mutually beneficial relationship, innovations, quality, speed to market, and improved customer satisfaction. This mitigates the risk in the process and during crisis, these suppliers will be more than willing to work through it with us.

How to lead a multicultural workforce

Leading a multinational workforce from various backgrounds might be challenging and these challenges worsen if proper guidance is not provided.

As a leader it is important to know about your employees, especially if they are not coming from the same background as yours. It is always better to educate oneself about the various cultural workforce so that the miscommunication would be avoided and the work would be done more efficiently and confidently.

Being in charge of the team and able to set goals and deadlines is very important as a leader. The first and foremost point to be remembered is to be flexible and still be able to complete the tasks within the set timelines.

Not only being flexible it is also advised to take suggestions from your workforce, which might further help in enhancing and fasten up the work that need to be completed within the set timelines.

It is important for the leader to be patient and persistent to get the desired results within the set timelines.

As a leader an open mind and an informed understanding of the workforce will help you to become an efficient and effective leader and this ensures the team’s success in the endeavors 

JIC Wins "The Middle East CSR Award" in Best Work Place Practices Category.

AL Jazeera International Catering LLC won “The Middle East CSR Award” in Best Work Place Practices Category. This award was presented in a grand ceremony held at The Address Hotel Dubai.

This award is one of the most important sustainability awards in the Region and was presented to Al Jazeera International Catering LLC, to honor the embodying principles of Corporate Social Responsibility in the business philosophy and operations of JIC.

Mr. Robby Thommy, Managing director of Al Jazeera International Catering LLC received the award from H.E Ahmed Siyam Mohamed, Member of Parliament, Maldives.

On receiving this Award Mr. Robby Thommy congratulated all the staff and stakeholders of JIC for their dedication and commitment towards sustainable living and sustainable excellence, he also added that organizations should focus on processes which acts as “Business Model for the Organization” to address sustainable excellence in the areas of planet, people and profit.

The obtained recognition allows Al Jazeera International Catering LLC to continue to progress in the field of Corporate Social Responsibility in a sustained manner and encourages it to be an industrial pioneer of being a Responsible Corporate Citizen in the region of United Arab Emirates.

Article published in Gulf News on 15/10/2016

CONGRATULATIONS !!!!

How to mitigate non-conformance

What is non-conformance?

Non-conformance is a deviation from the standard process or procedure, which leads to direct or indirect damage at the work place.

How does it happen?

It occurs when the specifications or the requirements mentioned in the standard processes or procedures are not met. The non conformance might be in a service, product, from external parties or the system itself.

How can it be identified?

Non-conformance can be identified through customer complaints, material inspections, internal and external audits or during the normal testing and inspection activities.

Any non-conformance found during the above mentioned process can be taken as an opportunity to understand the issue and various methods to resolve it.

How to address non-conformance?

Non-conformance should be addressed through corrective actions.

Regardless of any type of food safety or quality assurance system used, the requirements for the identification and reporting of non-conformance and the subsequent investigation and rectification of any issues should be included.

The non-conformance should be defined first, then the process to deal with the non-conformance and finally the tools that can be used for the investigation should be identified.

Before the non-conformance is being escalated to the management, the root cause analysis should be made, this helps in preventing the re-occurrence. This process leads to continual improvement.

What are the steps to handle non-conformance:

                                        

1.       Identify

2.       Rectify

3.       Investigate

4.       Prevent

5.       Review

Identify: Identify the non –conformance that has been occurred.

Rectify: analyze how it happened and rectify it either by addressing the issue or check if any changes should be made to the existing process to rectify the issue.

Investigate: Investigate the non-conformance through various methodologies like root cause analysis, brain storming sessions etc, to mitigate the issue.

Prevent: After identifying the root cause, effective corrective measures should be taken to avoid re-occurrence of the same issue.

Review: Finally review the effectiveness of the preventive process through normal inspections and audits to ensure the non-conformance does not occur again.