Evaluation of food handling procedures in banquet and conference halls in Alexandria

The study aimed to identify the extent of the knowledge of the workers in the party halls of the basic rules of food safety and the extent of their application of this inside the kitchens of these halls. The study reached a set of results, including that food handling operations in the facility are not all carried out correctly. The vast majority of the facilities in the study community do not provide machines, equipment and tools that would ensure the safety of food handling. The food preparation and manufacturing areas in the facilities in the study sample, the vast majority of them are not designed in an appropriate manner that prevents interference in preparation and preparation processes to ensure the safety of food handling. The largest category of facilities in the study community do not carry out effective and continuous cleaning and maintenance according to pre-determined schedules, and the workers do not take into account the method of arranging raw materials in refrigerators according to their type. The workers do not monitor the cooling temperatures of the refrigerators periodically and daily. They also do not take into account the time period for storing unprocessed raw materials in the refrigerators. They are also not aware of the dangerous temperatures for handling food and quickly contaminated materials. The study recommended the necessity of establishing an internal control system in the facilities, holding a set of courses for workers, and establishing a continuous and permanent control system carried out by the regulatory authorities to ensure the safety of food and beverage handling.