Stock rotation labels reduce risk of foodborne illnesses

By using the ‘first-stocked-first-served’ technique stock rotation labels can help to reduce and even eliminate the chance of foodborne illnesses. This can be a particular risk for businesses that work with food in any capacity, including restaurants, hotels and hospitals.

Foodborne illnesses are a serious risk, and include stomach and abdominal cramps, nausea and sickness, fever and dehydration. Severe cases can result in death, so it is crucial to understand how to keep food safe.

What causes foodborne illness?

Foodborne illnesses are caused by consuming contaminated food or drinks. There are many different kinds of microbes or pathogens that cause diseases, as well as toxins or chemicals that can contaminate foods. These diseases can also be caught through drinking water, contact with animals or contracted via another person.

Foods associated with foodborne illnesses include raw meats, eggs, unpasteurised milk and raw shellfish. Although these foods are best-known for spreading foodborne illnesses, fruits and vegetables can also be contaminated with animal waste and so can also be responsible.

How to prevent foodborne illnesses

Although foodborne illnesses are a big concern, there are many methods which can prevent them. The four steps below can help you to keep food safe for consumption:

• Clean: keeping hands washed and clean before, during and after contact with food is probably the most important thing to remember. Additionally, it’s important to keep all utensils, including the chopping board, clean in-between tasks. Wiping down all surfaces is also advised, as often they can become accidentally contaminated during cooking
• Separate: cross-contamination can occur when harmful bacteria touches prepared food, so raw meat and fish should be kept separate from ready-to-eat food
• Cook: always cook foods at the correct temperature and make sure it is piping hot throughout before consuming
• Chill: it’s no longer the case that you shouldn’t put hot food in the fridge. In fact, it’s now advised to put food in the fridge as soon as possible to prevent it reaching and sitting at room temperature. Modern fridges are well-equipped to deal with this, so the overall temperature won’t raise when you put warm food in to refrigerate

For businesses, using day of the week stock rotation labels can provide a clear indication on safety stocked food, while shelf life labels are perfect for storing food and ensuring you don’t consume it once it has turned. ‘Use first’ labels provide a clear indication of products that are close to expiring, so they can be eaten first.

Here at Hague we can design and supply a huge variety of self-adhesive printed labels that can help to prevent foodborne illnesses and keep your patrons safe from sickness. Get in touch to find out more about the labels we can provide, and we’ll arrange a free consultation to discuss how we can help you in more detail.