Sunday, November 21, 2010

County Events Day! Cake Decorating Contest part 2.

I hope our blog yesterday got you excited and thinking about the Cake Decorating Contest on County Events Day!  April 2nd, 2011.

Guidelines for the Cake Decorating Contest are simple.  Make your cake and decorate it.  No store bought confections here.  I've highlighted some food safety practices below for you to think about. 

We are going to judge the cakes on the "decoration" factor.  Creativity, design, implementation of the design, use of materials things like that.  We are not going to have the judges taste the cakes because, once the winners are awarded we are going to host a CAKE auction.  Each exhibitor will show off their cake for bidders and cakes will be sold to raise money for Camp Cherry Lake Scholarships.  So let your friends and neighbors know that we'll hold the cake auction during our lunch break at noon.  Let's get some folks down here to buy those gorgeous cakes and help our kids get to camp this summer.

Follow food safety tips during preparation of your cake.  Here are some guidelines from edis publication on Prevention of Foodborne illness.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fs096  by Keith R. Schneider, Renée Goodrich Schneider, Michael A. Hubbard, and Sarah Z. Waithe2

Read the publication for yourself but here are a couple of key factors.

Personal Hygiene

Wash your hands! The major cause of foodborne illness in a retail establishment comes from poor personal hygiene, particularly a lack of proper hand washing. Dirty hands can contaminate food. Although hands may look clean, the bacteria that cause illness are too small to be seen. Therefore, whenever you are preparing food and you come in contact with items that are not part of the assembly process,rewash your hands. The same is true even when wearing gloves. THERE IS NO FIVE SECOND RULE WHEN IT COMES TO FOOD SAFETY! Millions of bacteria and other germs can be transferred on contact. Here is a list of times when should you wash your hands:
  • Before handling, preparing, or serving food.
  • Before handling clean utensils or dishware.
  • After using the restroom.
  • After touching your face, cuts, or sores.
  • After smoking/eating/drinking.
  • After handling raw meat, especially poultry.
  • After touching unclean equipment, working surfaces, soiled clothing, soiled wiping cloths, etc.
  • After collecting and/or taking out the garbage.
Your facility may have even stricter requirements with which you must comply to ensure food safety.

What is the Proper Procedure for Hand Washing?

  • Wet your hands with warm water.
  • Apply soap and wash your hands for 20 seconds.
  • Rinse and dry with a single-use paper towel.
  • Use the the paper towel to shut off the water.




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