If you're in the cooking school business or planning on becoming involved, you need to know more than just how to run a business. Whether you are teaching cooking classes, hosting children's parties or providing catering services, be prepared to be asked about food hygiene. All food-related businesses in Hong Kong need to assure their customers the kitchen is clean, food processing devices are hygienic and the ingredients used are safe.
Hygiene standards in the cooking school business are not always what they should be, according to Denice Wai, director of Six Senses cooking school. 'Often people who are professionally handling food have no idea about food hygiene,' she said.
According to Dr Park Ng, a microbiologist at the University of Hong Kong specialising in food safety and related issues, demand for convenience foods and low prices has put enormous pressure on manufacturers to minimise costs. This in turn means efforts put into food safety and any other processes considered secondary are often done to a 'just enough' level.
Food safety issues today are not only due to unscrupulous merchants, but also due to changing lifestyles and often unrealistic demands. Most of us want food that is cheap and convenient and yet 100 per cent safe.
In Hong Kong, food safety comes under the remit of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the licensing authority of food premises. In the wake of Sars and the resulting heightened awareness of the importance of hygiene in food matters, the department published a food hygiene code in 2003 for operators of food businesses to follow.
