Cross-Contamination

At the beginning of this section, we defined contamination as harmful substances not present originally in the food. Some contamination occurs before we receive it, which means that proper purchasing and receiving procedures are important parts of a sanitation program. But most food contamination occurs as a result of cross-contamination, which may be defined as the transferring of hazardous substances, mainly microorganisms, to a food from another food or another surface, such as equipment, worktables, or hands.