Table of contents
I.
Providing Safe Food………...……………………………
2
II.
Forms of Contamination…………..……………………..
6
III.
The Safe Food Handler…………………..………………
11
IV. Introduction to Flow of Food…………………..………..
14
V.
Purchasing, Receiving and Storage………..…………….
16
VI. Preparation………..……………………………………...
19
VII. Service…………………..………………………………..
24
VIII. Food Management Safety Systems…………..…………..
26
IX. Sanitary Facilities and Pest Management………..………
29
X.
33
Cleaning and Sanitizing……………..…………………..
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Chapter 1: Providing Safe Food
I. The Dangers and Prevention of Foodborne Illness
A. Food Safety Basics:
1. Recognize the importance of food safety
2. Recognize the risks associated with high-risk populations
3. Avoid potential hazards to food safety
4. Understand how food becomes unsafe
5. Follow the keys to food safety
B. What a foodborne illness is and how it occurs
1. A foodborne illness is a disease that is transferred to people by food. An
illness is considered an outbreak when:
a. Two or more people have the same symptoms after eating the same
food.
b. An investigation is conducted by state and local regulatory authorities.
c. The outbreak is confirmed by laboratory analysis.
2. The elderly, children and people with suppressed immune systems are most
likely to be affected by food borne illnesses.
3. Foods that support the growth of microorganisms are called potentially
hazardous foods. With the 2007 Food Code these microorganisms will be
referred to as TCS foods. This is an abbreviation for Temperature
Controlled for Safety. The ServSafe 6th ed. Defines “TCS” as “food
requiring time and temperature control for safety.”
a. Examples are dairy products, eggs, meat and poultry, seafood, raw
vegetables, (alfalfa sprouts, cut melons, baked potatoes, beans, rice, and
garlic and oil mixtures), and soy products, like tofu. The 2007 Food
Code has added cut tomatoes to this list.
b. The 2009 Food Code has added cut leafy greens to the list of food items
requiring time and temperature control.
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II. How Food Becomes Unsafe
A. How Food Becomes Unsafe How Food Becomes Unsafe. - The Center for
Disease Control (CDC) has identified common factors that are responsible for
foodborne illness. They are.
1. Purchasing food from unsafe sources
2. Failing to cook food properly
3. Holding food at improper temperatures
4. Practicing Poor Personal Hygiene
5. Cross contamination
6. Poor Cleaning and Sanitizing
B. Remind employees that there are four major factors that can cause food to
become unsafe.
1. TIME AND TEMPERATURE ABUSE: temperature danger zone 41° to
135° Fahrenheit. Move food out of this temperature range by cooking it to
the proper temperature, freezing it, or by refrigerating it at 41° or lower.
a. Improper procedures are:
i.
Failure to properly cool foods.
ii.
Cooking incorrectly. Food is not cooked or reheated enough to
kill pathogens.
iii.
Not correctly handling food cooked previously.
iv.
Allowing food to stay at room temperature for too long.
v.
Food is not cooled the right way.
b. The four-hour rule limits the time food spends in the temperature danger
zone. Prepare food in small batches and as close to the time of service
as possible.
2. CROSS-CONTAMINATION - how food and food-contact surfaces
become contaminated.
a. Raw food comes in hand to hand contact with ready to eat foods.
b. Raw food drips onto ready to eat foods.
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c. Food contact surfaces such as cutting boards, knives and splash areas
come into contact with raw foods.
d. Raw food is added to food that receives no further cooking.
e. Contaminated towels touch food-contact surfaces.
3. POOR PERSONAL HYGIENE - humans are the biggest source of
foodborne illness because of improper hand washing practice.
a. General practices
i.
Bathing daily
ii.
Wearing clean clothes
iii.
Wearing hats or hair restraints
iv.
Train employees not to touch face, hair, etc. without them then
washing their hands.
v.
Don’t wear jewelry or nail polish.
vi.
Smoking only in designated areas.
vii.
Drinking only from a covered cup.
b. Hand-washing – after any activity that would contaminate your hands.
(covered elsewhere).
c. Proper practices for use of gloves
i.
Wash hands before putting gloves on.
ii.
Wash when changing gloves.
iii.
Change gloves when soiled or after 4 hours of continual use or
more often when necessary.
iv.
Band aids should always be covered with gloves.
v.
Gloves are never a substitute for proper hand washing
procedures.
vi.
Change gloves before beginning a different task.
vii.
Change gloves after handling raw meat and before handling
cooked or ready to eat food.
d. Prohibited habits
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i.
Do not work with utensils before washing hands.
ii.
Prevent touching food contact surfaces with hands.
iii.
Do not sneeze or cough without covering and then return to work
without washing hands.
iv.
Do not wash hands in the prep sink.
v.
Do not stack plates when serving food.
vi.
Do not wipe hands and use the same cloth for wiping.
vii.
Do not eat while preparing food
e. Coming to work while sick-employees must tell their employers when
they are sick. You must post notices that remind staff to notify
management when they are ill.
4. POOR CLEANING AND SANITIZING
a. Equipment and utensils are not washed, rinsed, and sanitized between
uses.
b. Food-contact surfaces are wiped clean instead of being washed, rinsed
and sanitized.
c. Wiping cloths are not stored in a sanitizer solution between uses.
d. Sanitizer solution was not prepared correctly.
III. Government agencies
A.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
B.
U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
C.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
D.
U.S. Public Health Service (PHS)
E.
State and local regulatory authorities
IV.
As manager, your job is to train your staff to follow correct procedures. Staff
should be trained when they are first hired and on an ongoing basis. Everyone
needs general food safety knowledge. Document each employee’s food service
training.
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Chapter Two: The Contaminants
A. Viruses
1. The leading cause of food borne illness.
2. Viruses can survive cooler and freezer temperatures and are not destroyed by
normal cooking temperatures.
3. Viruses don’t grow in food. But once eaten, they grow inside a person’s
intestines.
4. Viruses are carried by humans and animals, and can transfer from person to
person, from people to food and from people to food-contact surfaces.
5. People get viruses from food, water, or contaminated surfaces.
6. Foodborne illnesses from viruses typically occur through fecal-oral routes.
7. Therefore the best way to prevent food borne illness spread by viruses is to:
a. Keep food handlers who are vomiting or have diarrhea or jaundice from
working and quick cleanup of vomit is important.
b. Make sure food handlers wash their hands.
c. Minimize bare hand contact with ready to eat food
8. The 2 major food borne illnesses caused by viruses are Hepatitis A and
Norovirus gastroenteritis.
B. Bacteria—they live in and on our bodies; they cannot be seen, smelled, or tasted.
1. Conditions that favor bacterial growth are: “FAT TOM”.
a. Food—pathogens need an energy source, such as carbohydrates or
proteins.
b. Acidity- pathogens grow best in food that contains little or no acid: “a PH
of 5-7.
c. Time: “the longer in the TDZ, the greater the risk.
d. Temperature: “pathogens grow much faster between 70°F and 125°F”.
e. Oxygen “some pathogens are aerobic (requiring oxygen for growth), while
some are anaerobic (not requiring oxygen for growth)”.
f. Moisture “0.85 or higher on the AW Scale that measure Water Activity”.
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2. The best way to stop bacterial growth is to control conditions that favor that
growth. The two conditions that you will be able to control are time and
temperature.
a. Store food at temperatures outside the temperature danger zone (between
41° F and 135° F).
b. Minimize the amount of time food is in the temperature danger zone during
preparation.
c. Dispose of any potentially hazardous foods that have remained in the TDZ
for more than four hours.
d. Cook food to minimum internal temperatures
3. The Food and Drug Administration has identified 3 bacteria in particular that
are highly contagious and can cause severe illness.
a. Salmonella
b. Shigella
c. E. Coli
C. Fungi—cooking or freezing will not destroy toxins produced by toxic wild
mushrooms. Most of the foodborne-illness outbreaks are caused by the
confusion between edible and wild mushrooms.
D. Parasites—illnesses from parasites are not as common as those caused by bacteria
or viruses. Parasites do share common characteristics: Commonly associated
with seafood, wild game, and food processed with contaminated water.
Cooking food to required minimum internal temperatures is also important.
E. Physical and chemical hazards
1. Physical—bones, glass and metal pieces
2. Chemical contamination-foodservice chemicals can contaminate food if they
are used incorrectly.
a. Cleaners, sanitizers and pesticides and common food allergies (milk, eggs,
fish, nuts, and preservatives).
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b. Toxic metals—utensils that contain toxic metals can cause toxic-metal
poisoning. If acidic food is stored in or prepared with this equipment, the
metal can leach and cause the food to become contaminated. Examples are
lead, copper and zinc.
c. Chemicals used in foodservice can contaminate food if they are used or
stored the wrong way. Cleaners, sanitizers, polishes and machine
lubricants pose risks.
d. Store chemicals away from prep areas, food-storage areas, and service
areas. Chemicals must never be stored above food or food-contact surfaces.
F. Biological contaminates:
1. Biological toxins that come from fish are:
a. Scromboid poisoning—comes from tuna, bonito, mackerel and Mahi Mahi.
This occurs when fish have been time-temperature abused. When these
conditions occur, the fish produce the toxin, histamine, which cannot be
killed by cooking or freezing.
b. Ciguatera poisoning—found in predatory reef fish such as barracuda,
grouper, amberjack and red snapper. The toxins accumulate when these
fish eat smaller fish that have eaten a type of toxic algae. Symptoms are
temp. Blindness, nausea, itching, and dizziness.
c. The best way to prevent both of these toxins from being present in your
kitchen is to buy your seafood supplies from approved sources. This is
important because neither toxin can be destroyed by cooking.
G. Food Allergens—in the last 5 years the number of Americans with a food allergy
has risen from 6 million to 11 million. A food allergy is the body’s negative
reaction to a food protein.
1. Allergic reactions may occur immediately or several hours later. Symptoms
include:
a. Itching in and around the mouth, face, or scalp
b. Tightening in the throat
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c. Shortness of breath
d. Hives
e. Swelling of the face, eyes, hands or feet
f. Vomiting and cramps
g. Loss of consciousness
h. Death
2. Examples of common food allergens are:
a. Milk and dairy products
b. Eggs
c. Fish
d. Shellfish
e. Wheat
f. Soy
g. Peanuts and tree nuts
3. Cooking around food allergens. It is of the utmost importance to address the
prevention of cross-contact of food with potential food allergens during food
preparation. To avoid cross contact be sure to wash, rinse and sanitize
between uses. Wash hands and change gloves before preparing food. And
lastly, assign specific equipment for preparing food for customers with
allergens.
Examples of cross-contact would include cooking shrimp and chicken in the
same oil and putting food on surfaces that have touched allergens can cause
cross-contact.
Another example would be to put food on surfaces that have touched
allergens.
H. The FDA has developed the ALERT system for minimizing the danger of
tampering with your food supplies:
1. Assure - That products you receive are from safe sources.
2. Look - Monitor the security of products in the facility.
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3. Employees - Know who is in your facility.
4. Reports - Keep information related to food defense accessible.
5. Threat - Identify what you will do and who you will contact if there is
suspicious activity or a threat at your operation.”
I. Crisis Management—dealing with a food borne illness outbreak
1. Preparation—put a plan together before the crisis. Create a crisis-management
team.
2. Response—respond to customer complaints. Create a list of responses that
take the complaint seriously without admitting responsibility or accepting
liability.
3. Recovery—Work with the regulatory agency to resolve issues. Set the
suspected product aside if any remains. Include a label with Do Not Use and
Do Not Discard on it. Investigate to find the cause of the outbreak. Develop a
plan to reassure customers that the food you serve is safe.
J. How contamination happens
1. Contaminants come from a variety of places. Contaminants come from
animals we use for food, from the air, contaminated water, and dirt.
2. Most food is contaminated accidentally. It happens because of the way people
handle food contact surfaces. It you don’t wash your hands after using the
restroom then anything you touch can become contaminated. This is called the
fecal-oral route.
3. Food handlers can pass on contaminants when they are in contact with a
person who is ill.
4. Contamination can happen in a variety of ways.
a. From person to person
b. Through sneezing or vomiting onto food or food-contact surfaces
c. From touching dirty food-contact surfaces and equipment, and then
touching food.
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Chapter 3: The Safe Foodhandler
A. How Foodhandlers Can Contaminate Food; any of the following situations can
lead to contaminating food:
1. When they have a foodborne illness
2. When they have wounds that contain pathogens
3. When they have contact with a person who is ill
4. When they touch anything that may contaminate their hands and then don’t
wash them.
5. When they have symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, or jaundice—a
yellowing of the eyes or skin.
6. When sneezing or coughing
B. Components of a Good Personal Hygiene Program
1. Hand practices
a. Hand washing
b. Hand care
c. Glove use
d. Preventing bare-hand contact with ready to eat food
2. Personal Cleanliness
3. Clothing—including hair restraints and jewelry
C. Management's Role in a Personal Hygiene Program
1. Creating personal hygiene policies
2. Training food handlers on those policies and retraining them when necessary
3. Modeling the right behavior at all times.
4. Supervising food safety practices at all times.
5. Revising personal hygiene policies when laws or science change
D. Hand washing: Many food handlers do not wash their hands the correct way or as
often as they should. Every day our hands touch surfaces covered with
microorganisms that we cannot see. Train your food handlers to wash their
hands, and then you must monitor them.
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1. Hands must be washed in a designated sink. Never wash hands in a food prep
sink.
2. The whole hand washing process should take at least 20 seconds. “with 10-15
seconds scrubbing under water at least 100 degrees F.”
3. Food handlers must wash their hands when they start work and after this
partial list of activities.
a. Using the restroom
b. Handling raw meat
c. Touching the hair, face or body
d. Sneezing, coughing
e. Eating, drinking, smoking
f. Taking out the garbage
g. Handling service animals
4. Hand antiseptics must only be used after hand washing.
E. Hand care
1. Fingernails must be short and clean.
2. No false fingernails.
3. Do not wear nail polish.
4. Infected wounds must be covered.
F. Single Use Gloves
1. Gloves must never be used in place of hand washing.
2. Hands must be washed before putting on gloves and when changing to a new
pair.
3. Change gloves before beginning a new task.
G. Other food handler practices
1. Food handlers must shower or bathe before work
2. Work clothes must be clean
3. Hair restraints must be worn
4. Aprons must be removed when leaving the work area
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5. Jewelry cannot be worn except for a plain band
6. No eating, drinking or smoking or chewing gum or tobacco
H. Policies for reporting illness and injury—tell your staff to inform you when they
are sick. You may be required to show proof that your staff is informed of these
rules.
1. You must restrict a food handler from working with or around food if they
have a sore throat with fever. If you serve a high risk population then you must
exclude this worker.
2. If your food service worker has at least one of these symptoms; vomiting,
diarrhea or has jaundice, then they must be excluded from your establishment.
They may not return to work unless they are symptom free for 24 hours or
they have a doctor’s excuse. A food worker with jaundice may not return
without a doctor’s permission.
3. You have to exclude personnel when they are infected with any foodborne
illness; you must report them to the health department when they are infected
with:
a. Salmonella
b. Shigella
c. Coli
d. Hepatitis A
e. Norovirus
4. They cannot return to work until a medical practitioner and/or the local
regulatory authority has decided it is okay.
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Chapter 4: The Flow of Food: An Introduction
A. The basics of food safety:
1. Keep things clean and sanitized
2. Practice good personal cleanliness
3. Wash hands thoroughly and frequently
4. Minimize the time food spends in the temperature danger zone.
5. Prevent cross-contamination
B. Time and Temperature Control--To prevent time and temperature abuse
1. Cook, hold, cool, and reheat food properly
2. Discard food that spends 4 hours or more in the temperature danger zone.
3. Build time/temp. controls into recipes
4. Make using thermometers mandatory
5. Remove only as much food from storage as necessary
C. Time and Temperature Control
1. Learn which food items should be checked, how often, and by whom. Then
assign duties to foodhandlers in each area. Food held in hot holding should be
checked at least every 4 hours, if you check it every 2 hours then you have
time to take corrective actions.
2. Make sure that the correct tools are available. Thermometers and timers are
both important pieces of equipment to check how long food is in the
temperature danger zone.
a. Thermometers used to measure the temperature of food must be accurate to
+/- 2°F.
b. Thermometers used to measure air temperature in food-storage equipment
must be accurate to +/- 3°F”.
3. Use good record keeping practices
4. Have a list of corrective actions in place when it is determined that food has
been left in the temperature danger zone for too long.
D. Cross Contamination: How to prevent cross contamination
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1. Create a physical barrier.
a. Assign specific equipment to each type of food—separate cutting boards
should be used for raw and cooked foods.
b. Clean and sanitize tools, equipment and utensils after each task.
2. Create procedural barriers
a. Prepare raw and ready to eat foods at different times
b. Purchase ingredients that require minimal preparation
E. Monitoring Time and Temperature
1. How to check the temperature of different foods
a. Bi-metallic thermometer used for inserting in meats, etc.
b. Bulk foods, the thermometer is wrapped around packaging.
c. Thin foods; use a thermocouple that measures surface temperature.
d. Stuffed foods should be measured by placing the thermometer into the
center of the stuffing.
e. Temperatures of a large pot of soup should be measured by taking a
reading in several places in the batch.
f. Open one milk carton to measure temp.
g. To test the temperature of vacuum packages foods put the thermometer
between two packages
h. Check temperature of live shellfish by inserting a stem or probe
thermometer into the middle of the case for an ambient temperature
reading.
2. Proper placement of thermometers. Make sure that thermometers in cold
storage units are placed in the warmest location inside the unit. Thermometers
built in to units are usually unreliable.
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Chapter 5: The Flow of Food: Purchasing and Receiving
A. General Principles--When to accept or reject a delivery—when assigned the
responsibility for receiving food, an employee should know when to accept or
reject a delivery based on the following standards:
1. Temperature of the product (temperatures for receiving are the same as storage
temps.) This is especially true for meat and poultry.
a. Temperatures for receiving:
i.
41° for poultry, fish, dairy, meats, ready to eat foods. Also MAP
foods.
ii.
45° for live shellfish; 45º for shell eggs; 41° for fish and crustaceans.
iii.
Fresh fruits and vegetables have various temperatures above 41°.
Except for cut melons and cut tomatoes which should be received at
below 41°.
iv.
Frozen foods should be received frozen
v.
Ice cream should be received at 6-10°
2. Appearance, color, smell, and texture of the product
a. For example:
 Beef should be bright red and moist.
 Lamb should be light red.
 Pork should be light pink with firm white fat.
b. Fish: eyes are clear and bright. Flesh is shiny, firm, and springs back
when touched. Fish can be stored in flaked or crushed ice.
c. Chicken: no discoloration. Flesh is firm and springs back when touched.
Should be packaged in crushed, self-draining ice.
d. Shellfish can be received either shucked or live. Containers must be
labeled with packer's name, address, and certification number. Depending
on the size of the container there has to be a sell by date listed or the date
the shellfish were shucked. Containers smaller than a half gallon should list
sell by date. Larger containers should show the shucked date.
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e. Live shellfish must be received with shellstock identification tags still
attached. These tags must remain on the container until all of the shellfish
have been used. Tags are kept until 90 days after the last shellfish was
sold. (This is new with the 2009 Food Code.)
3. Condition of the product—check boxes for water stains that would indicate
freezing and thawing.
4. Inspect delivery for counts, weights, and temps.
B. Inspecting Food
1. Check for inspection stamps. This is a way to make sure that the food is
coming from an approved source. Meat and poultry must have a USDA or a
state department of agriculture inspection stamp. Eggs must have an
inspection stamp indicating that federal regulations have been enforced to
maintain quality and reduce contamination.
2. Key Drop Deliveries; receiving deliveries afterhours when you are closed for
business. The delivery must be inspected once you arrive at the operation and
must meet the following conditions.
a. It is from an approved source
b. It was placed in the correct storage location to maintain the required temp.
c. It was protected from contamination
d. It is honestly presented
C. Storage: General Storage Guidelines-How to properly store food—employees
should know the following points regarding how to properly store food:
1. Store foods quickly after they are received—refrigeration only slows bacterial
growth, does not stop it.
2. Store food in a clean and dry place away from chemicals and garbage
3. Rotate! Follow the FIFO principle; this insures that older supplies are used
before newer ones.
4. Store raw meat, poultry, and fish below ready-to-eat foods or completely
separately in another refrigerator.
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5. Anything packed; especially fish and poultry, in ice should be self-draining.
6. Use eggs within 4-5 weeks of packing date.
7. Be sure to label and date ready-to-eat food prepped in-house that you have
held for longer than 24 hours. (labels should identify the product and list the
use by date) You can use items stored at 41° F for up to 7 days.
8. Chemicals and cleaning agents should be stored away from food in their
original containers.
D. Types of Storage
1. Refrigeration
a. Maintain coolers and set them to keep the internal temperature of TCS food
at 41° or lower.
b. Check cooler temperatures at least once during each shift.
c. Regularly monitor the temperature of food stored in refrigerators and
freezers.
d. Don’t overload or line shelves.
e. Store food in ways that prevent cross contamination. Wrap or cover food.
Store ready to eat food above raw meat, poultry, and seafood. Eggs should
be stored on the lowest shelf.
f. Store foods as follows: ready-to-eat, seafood, whole cuts of beef and pork,
ground meat and ground fish, whole and ground poultry. It is critical to
store raw meat, poultry, and seafood in a top-to-bottom order based on the
minimum internal cooking temperature of each food.
2. Dry Storage
a. Store food at least six inches off of the floor and away from the wall
b. Dry storage should be 50-70°. It should be kept cool and dry. Wipe cans
before opening.
3. Items that have been Ultra High Temperature (UHT) pasteurized and
aseptically packaged can be stored and served without temperature control. If
items were not aseptically packaged then they must be refrigerated.
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Chapter 6: Preparation
A. Handling Food—Cross contamination and time-temperature abuse can happen
easily during this step in the flow of food. Make sure all work equipment is clean
and sanitized. Remove from the cooler only as much food as you can prep in a
short period of time. Prep food in small batches.
B. Thawing Food Properly—four acceptable methods
1. Under refrigeration at 41°F or lower (put them on the lowest shelves)
2. Under running, drinkable water at 70° or lower (completely submerge item in
pan)
3. In a microwave if then cooked immediately
4. Thaw food as part of the cooking process.
C. Preparing Specific Food
1. Produce
a. Wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly under running water that is a little
warmer than the produce.
b. Refrigerate and hold sliced melons and cut tomatoes at 41°
c. When pre-soaking vegetables, do not mix different items at the same time.
2. Batter and Breading—batters made with milk and eggs run the risk of timetemperature abuse and cross contamination.
a. Prep batter in small batches. Store unused at 41°
b. Discard any unused or leftover batter after a set amount of time.
c. Do not use the same batter for different types of food if one of the food
items can cause an allergic reaction.
3. Eggs and egg mixtures
a. Pooled eggs should be cooked promptly or stored at 41°.
b. Pasteurized eggs should be used when preparing egg dishes that need little
or no cooking.
c. If you are serving high risk populations, pasteurized eggs should be used
for all egg dishes except baking.
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d. When breading use pasteurized eggs if possible and throw out old breading.
4. Salads containing TCS foods
a. If using leftover TCS food to make meat salads make sure that they have
been handled properly. Salad prep should take place in a timely manner
and ingredients should be cooled properly.
b. Storage time is 7 days held at 41°.
c. Cool cooked meats before using in salads.
d. Refrigerate until ready to prepare
e. Keep items from being handled longer than 4 hours.
f. Minimize human contact—use proper sanitized utensils. Avoid cross
contamination.
5. Ice:
a. Only use potable water
b. Never use cooling ice as ingredient
c. Only use sanitized containers and scoops that are never used for raw meat,
poultry, sea food, or chemicals.
d. NEVER touch ice with hands or use a glass to scoop ice.
6. Special Preparation involves certain ways of processing and preparing foods
that require: 1) a variance from the local health authority, and 2) a HACCP
plan, and include such things as:
a. Smoking, curing, or dressing domestic and wild meats.
b. Using additives and/or vinegars so foods no longer need time/temp
constraints
c. Sprouting seeds or beans.
d. Offering live shellfish from a display tank.
e. Preparing foods through ROP (Reduced Oxygen Packaging), MAP
(Modified Atmosphere Packaging), or sous vide (vacuum-packed and slow
cooked), as well as packaging fresh juices for sale.
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D. Cooking Guidelines—The only way to reduce pathogens in food to safe levels is
to cook it to its minimum internal temperature. This temperature is different for
each food. Once reached, you must hold the food at this temperature for a specific
amount of time. If a customer requests a lower temperature, you need to inform
them of the potential risk of foodborne illness.
E. Cooking Temperatures; Cooking food to the minimum required internal
temperature reduces the number of foodborne organisms to safe levels, but does
not destroy spores and toxins they create.
1. The required minimum internal cooking temperature for poultry, ground meat,
pork, beef, and fish:
a. Poultry and stuffed meats ………………………………. 165°
b. Pork……………………………………………………… 145°
c. Ground Meats…………………………………………… 155°
d. Beef/Pork Roasts………………………………….4 min 145°
Beef roasts……………………………………….12 min 140°
Beef roasts……………………………………...112 min 130°
e. Steak…………………………………………………….. 145°
f. Fish………………………………………………………. 145°
g. Eggs (for immediate)……………………………………. 145°
h. Eggs (for hot holding)…………………………………… 155°
i. Stuffed foods/ casseroles………………………………… 165°
j. Lamb…………………………………………………….. 145°
k. Injected meats…………………………………………… 155°
l. Fruit, vegetables, grains (rice, pasta), and legumes
(beans, refried beans) that will be hot-held for service…. 135°
2. Microwaves tend to cook food more unevenly than other methods. Therefore,
there are special rules for using microwave ovens to cook meat, poultry, and
fish.
a. Cover food to prevent the surface from drying out.
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b. Rotate or stir food halfway through the cooking process to distribute heat
more evenly.
c. Let food stand for at least two minutes after cooking to let product
temperature equalize.
d. Eggs, poultry, fish, and meat cooked in a microwave must be heated to
165° or higher.
3. Partial Cooking during Preparation-some operations partially cook food during
prep and then finish cooking it just before service. Follow these steps to
properly prepare these foods.
a. Do not cook the food for longer than 60 minutes during initial cooking.
b. Cool the food immediately after initial cooking
c. Freeze or refrigerate the food after cooling. Hold at 41°or lower.
d. Heat the food to at least 165°for 15 seconds before selling or serving it.
e. Cool the food if it will not be served immediately or held for service.
F. Cooling Food
1. Cool hot food from 135° F to 70°F within two hours and then continue to cool
to 41° or lower in the next four hours. If not, then reheat to 165° within 2
hours or it must be thrown out.
2. Use the following methods to cool food:
a. Reduce the size of the food
b. Put the food in ice water baths
c. Blast chill the food
d. Stir the food with ice paddles
3. Stainless steel transfers heat more quickly than plastic.
4. Use shallow pans. Shallow pans disperse heat more quickly than deep pans.
G. Reheating Food
1. Reheat food for hot holding to an internal temperature of 165° F for fifteen
seconds within two hours, but commercially processed and packaged ready-toeat food need only be reheated to 135° F for fifteen seconds”
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2. Never reheat food in hot-holding equipment that isn’t designed to do it.
3. Rotate or stir micro waved food midway through reheating process. Let stand
for 2 minutes.
H. Consumer Advisories
1. Disclosure: If your menu includes TCS items that are raw or undercooked, you
must note it on the menu next to these items.
2. Reminder: You must advise customers who order food that is raw or
undercooked of the increased risk of foodborne illness.
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Chapter 7: The Flow of Food: Service
A. Holding Food
1. Hold hot foods at 135°F or higher. Keep containers covered. Stir food
regularly. Only use hot-holding equipment that can keep food at the proper
temperature.
2. Hold cold foods at 41° f or lower—do not place foods directly on ice.
3. Check the temperature of food at least every two hours—use a separate
thermometer to check temperature of product itself. Do not rely on the unit’s
thermometer.
4. Never mix old food with new. Stir food at regular intervals to distribute heat
evenly.
B. Holding food without Temperature Control
1. Cold Food: You can hold cold food without temperature control for up to six
hours if you meet the following conditions.
a. Hold the food at 41° or lower before removing it from refrigeration
b. Label the food with the time you removed it from refrigeration and the time
you must discard it.
c. Make sure the food does not exceed 70°
d. Sell, serve, or discard the food within six hours
2. Hot Food
a. Hot food holding hasn’t changed with the new food code. You must label
the food with the time you must throw it out.
b. If you intend on having no temperature control on the food when the time
has passed you must throw it out after 4 hours without temperature control.
C. Serving Food Safely; Serving and buffet line
1. Food handlers must wear single-use gloves whenever handling ready-to-eat
food. Or use long handled tools to serve foods.
2. Use separate utensils for each food item. Clean and sanitize them after each
serving task. Utensils should be sanitized every 4 hours during continuous use.
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3. Check temperatures every 2 hours.
4. Do not touch food contact surfaces of plates, glasses, or silverware.
5. Sneeze guards should be in place at the proper height. (14 inches above
counter and 7 inches beyond the food) except for whole, raw fruits and
vegetables and nuts in the shell that require peeling or hulling before eating.
6. Customers should use clean plates every time.
7. Store serving utensils in the food with handle exposed. Or place them on a
clean and sanitized food-contact surface.
D. Preset Tableware: Table settings do not need to be wrapped or covered if extra,
do not need, or unused, settings meet these requirements.
1. They are removed when guests are seated.
2. If they remain on the table, they are cleaned and sanitized after guests leave.
E. Types of Foodservice Operations; Delivery or catered food.
1. Label food with storage, shelf life, and reheating directions.
2. Provide safety guidelines for consumers on which items should be eaten
immediately, or saved for later.
3. Deliver food items in containers that can maintain correct food temperatures.
Label containers with correct reheating instructions. Always maintain heat to a
minimum 135° F.
F. Vending Machines
1. Check product shelf life daily. If the date has expired, throw out the food
immediately. Throw out refrigerated food prepped on site if not sold within
seven days of preparation.
2. Keep TCS food at the correct temperature.
3. Dispense TCS food in its original container
4. Wash and wrap fresh fruit with edible peels before putting it in a machine.
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Chapter 8: Food Safety Management Systems
A. Food Safety Programs—a group of procedures and practices intended to prevent
foodborne illness. It does this by actively controlling risks and hazards
throughout the flow of food.
1. Personal Hygiene Program
2. Supplier selection and specification program
3. Sanitation and pest-control program
4. Facility design and equipment maintenance program
5. Food safety training program
B. Active Managerial Control—control the five most common risk factors that cause
foodborne illness, as identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1. Purchasing food from unsafe sources
2. Failing to cook food properly
3. Holding food at improper temperatures
4. Using contaminated equipment
5. Practicing Poor Personal Hygiene
C. HACCP “Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point” – Introduction-- the key to
success of a HACCP system is proper training of food handlers. Before a HACCP
system can be started it must be based on sufficient standard operating procedures
for handling food safely.
1. 1st task is to assess your training needs. Then cover the following areas:
a. Proper food handling procedure
b. Monitoring techniques
c. Record keeping
d. Control food safety hazards
2. Assessing hazards
a. Identify hazardous foods, ones that have a history of trouble, as well as
significant biological, chemical, or physical hazards at specific points
within a product’s flow”.
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b. Understand the flow of food through the operation.
3. Identify risks
a. Who are your customers—elderly and children
b. Suppliers are reputable
c. Using correct equipment
4. Determine critical control points
a. Point where it’s the last step before serving or consuming food.
b. This is the step in the flow of food where the loss of control may result in
an unacceptable health risk.
5. Establish limits for critical control points
a. Have to be: measurable, times and temperatures
b. Appropriate
c. Specific
d. Based on regulations and experience
6. Establish a monitoring procedure
a. Monitoring should be done by all employees. Get everyone involved.
b. Establish how often monitoring will be done.
c. What are the critical limits and how will those limits be monitored.
d. For example: measuring the temperature of an item on a steam table at
regular intervals.
7. Corrective action
a. When a critical limit is not met
b. Examples of:
i.
Continue to cook until temp. is reached.
ii.
Reject a shipment
iii.
Take immediate action
iv.
Reheat to 165°
v.
Discard
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8. Verifying
a. Review and improve especially after changing menu or change in food
source or supplier.
b. Example: check cooking logs to make sure critical limits are being met.
9. Record keeping
a. Notebooks
b. Logs (temperature and corrective action)
c. Provide proof
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Chapter 9: Sanitary Facilities and Pest Management
A. Facilities and Equipment “standards developed by NSF Inc.”
1. Structural components of food service facilities
a. Floors are non-skid, non-absorbent, resilient and durable.
b. Coving is required between wall and floors to reduce sharp corners on hard
to clean floors.
c. Carpeting can only be used in the dining area and must be of a tight weave.
d. Walls must be of a smooth material and light in color to reflect light.
2. Equipment
a. Cutting boards must be made out of hard, durable materials such as acrylic,
plastic and hard woods such as maple.
b. Food contact surfaces of equipment should be non-absorbent.
3. Garbage
a. Garbage is wet waste.
b. Keep garbage away from food prep areas.
c. Put garbage in tightly closed containers.
d. Keep trash cans clean.
4. Ventilation—must have enough air flow to remove grease laden air from
cooking areas.
5. Lighting
a. Need enough light to see dirt and stains. Different areas need various
lighting requirements.
i.
50 foot candles—food prep areas
ii.
20 foot candles—hand wash area
 buffet
 restrooms
 wait stations
iii.
10 foot candles—inside walk-ins
 dry storage
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 dining rooms
iv.
Must use shatterproof bulbs or shields.
6. All equipment must be 6” off the floor and away from walls. Otherwise
equipment must be sealed to the floor or table top; tabletop equipment should
be sealed or 4” off of tabletops
7. Food Contact Surfaces must be purchased with sanitation in mind. All food
contact surfaces must be:
a. Safe
b. Durable
c. Corrosion-resistant
d. Non-absorbent
e. Smooth, and easy to clean
f. Able to withstand repeated washings
g. Resistant to pitting, chipping, scratching, and scoring
8. Back flow and drainage
a. When you connect a hose to a faucet and the other end is submerged in a
mop bucket you have created a cross connection. This creates a link
between an unsafe and a safe water supply. This will result in the
possibility of the water system being contaminated.
b. Connecting a pipe between a potable water source and a water source of
unknown quality is unacceptable at any time.
c. Air gaps are the best way to prevent cross-connection contamination.
B. Integrated Pest Management
1. 3 rules of an integrated pest management system
a. Deny pests access
i.
Pests can, and often do, come in with deliveries.
ii.
Check holes and cracks, openings must be screened (screens should
be at least 16 mesh to the inch)
iii.
Use self closing doors
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b. Deny pests food, water and nesting place. Cleaning the establishment
helps destroy pests’ food supply.
c. Work with PCO (pest control operator)
2. Identify Pests
a. Cockroaches
i.
strong oily odor, feces look like grains of black pepper. Egg
capsules are brown or dark red.
ii.
If you see roaches in the daytime you probably have a major
infestation.
b. Flies—transmit foodborne illnesses.
c. Rodents
i.
Look for signs of gnawing.
ii.
Fresh droppings are shiny and black. Older ones are gray.
iii.
Mice use scraps of paper, cloth, hair to build nests.
iv.
Rats burrow in dirt or along foundations.
3. How to choose a PCO:
a. Talk to other vendors who have PCO’s
b. Are they licensed by the state?
c. Are they insured?
d. Can you tell their level of expertise?
e. Get a written contract and warranty
4. Pesticides should be stored in their original containers and secured in a
separate cabinet.
5. Garbage
a. Inside garbage:
i.
Removed from prep areas as quickly as possible
ii.
Clean the inside and outside of garbage containers frequently.
iii.
Do NOT clean garbage containers near prep or food-storage areas.
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iv.
Containers must be leak proof, waterproof, and pest proof; should be
easy to clean.
v.
Cans must be covered when not in use.
vi.
Waste and recyclables stored separately from food and food-contact
surfaces
b. Outdoor garbage:
i.
Place garbage containers on a surface that is smooth, durable, and
nonabsorbent, e.g., asphalt or concrete.
ii.
Make sure the containers have tight-fitting lids and are kept covered
at all times. Keep their drain plugs in place.
6. Emergencies
a. An imminent health hazard is a significant threat or danger to health that
requires immediate correction or closure to prevent injury.
b. Have a plan, train your employees, and practice emergency responses.
c. Take these steps:
i.
Determine if there is a significant risk to the safety or security of
your food.
ii.
If there is not a significant risk
 take corrective action
 resume food service
iii.
If the risk is significant
 Stop food service.
 Notify local regulatory authority.
 Decide how to correct the problem.
 Get approval from the local regulatory authority before
continuing service.
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Chapter 10: Cleaning and Sanitizing
A. Government Regulatory System for Food
1. Government control of food is on three levels, federal, state, and local.
2. The FDA writes the Food Code which is updated every 2 years.
3. Each state decides whether to adopt the FDA food code or some modified
form of it. State regulations may be enforced by state or local regulatory
authorities.
4. The enforcement of these laws iS carried out by county health inspectors.
5. The USDA is responsible for inspection and quality grading of meat, meat
products, poultry, dairy products, eggs and egg products, and fruit and
vegetables shipped across state lines.
6. The Food Code—The FDA food code outlines the federal government’s
recommendations for food safety regulations for the foodservice industry. It is
not an actual law. Although the FDA recommends adoption by the states, it
cannot require it.
B. Foodservice Inspection Process; State and local food service inspections
1. What to do when you are inspected
a. Ask if this is a regular inspection or the result of a customer complaint
b. Accompany the inspector and take note; ask questions.
c. Be professional, do not offer food or drinks.
d. Show records of inspections
e. Review inspection with inspector
f. Correct any little error while inspector is there.
2. Hazards requiring immediate closure
a. Significant lack of refrigeration
b. Back up of sewage
c. Emergencies (fire, flood, etc.)
d. Serious pest infestation
e. Lengthy interruption of electrical or water service
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3. Procedures resulting in closure.
a. Given a short amount of time to correct a serious violation; Usually 48
hours or less. Inspector will return at a scheduled time to re inspect the
property.
b. If the facility poses an immediate threat to the health of the public then they
can ask for a voluntary closure. A immediate suspension to operate may be
issued.
C. Cleaning and Sanitizing
1. Cleaning vs. Sanitizing—explain to your employees that:
a. Cleaning only removes soil, while sanitizing reduces microorganisms on a
surface to safe levels.
b. Any surface that comes in contact with food must be cleaned and then
sanitized.
2. Explain to your employees that they should clean and sanitize food-contact
surfaces:
a. After every use.
b. When they begin working with another type of food.
c. When they are interrupted during a task.
d. If they are using something constantly it must be sanitized every four
hours.
e. On a buffet, serving utensils should be stored on a clean and sanitized
surface. The utensils must also be rotated every four hours. Utensils can
also be stored in the food as long as the handles are above the surface.
f. Some equipment (scoops) can be stored under running water kept at 135
degrees F.
3. How sanitizers work—the effectiveness of a sanitizer depends on the:
a. Temperature of the water (chemical sanitizers work best between 55° and
120°).
b. Amount of time the sanitizer is in contact with the item
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c. Concentration of the sanitizer itself. Concentrations higher than
recommended can be unsafe, leave an odor or bad taste on objects, and
corrode metals. Concentrations are measured using a kit and expressed in
ppm—parts per million.
d. Sanitizer strength is depleted when it is exposed to detergent and food
particles, so the concentration should be checked frequently.
e. Make sure employees read the label on the sanitizer and use it only as
directed. They should know to change the sanitizer when it is visibly dirty
or when its concentration has dropped below the required level.
4. Factors that affect cleaning
a. Type of soil—hard to clean:
i.
Protein based: eggs
ii.
Fatty: margarine
iii.
Alkaline/acids: tea or fruit juices
iv.
Mineral based: scale
b. Type of soils that are easy—starches dissolve in water and are easy to
remove.
c. Condition of soils
i.
Baked on
ii.
Dried
d. Water hardness reduces the effectiveness of detergents and therefore the
cleaning process.
e. Hot water works quicker and easier.
f. Type of surface
i.
Chlorine—darkens aluminum
ii.
Acidic—eats away at stainless steel
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Product
Concentration
Effective
Contact Time
Temperature
Chlorine
50-99 ppm
75°-100°
Iodine
12.5-25 ppm
68°
Quats
At least 200 ppm or per
75°
7 Sec
30 Sec
30 ec
manufacturers recommendation
5. Types of cleansers
a. Detergents—mildly alkaline cleaners used to remove fresh soil from walls,
floors and prep surface. Highly alkaline detergents can remove dried soil
and baked on grease. Detergents contain surfactants that reduce surface
tension between soils and the surface being cleaned.
b. Degreasers—are detergents that contain a grease dissolving agent which
dissolves baked on grease, especially on oven doors and grill backsplashes.
c. Acid Cleaners—used on mineral deposits on dishwashers and rust on
copper and brass. Delimers used on dishwashers is an example of an acid
cleaner.
d. Abrasive Cleaners—contain a scouring agent that helps to remove stains
and soil on pots and pans. Use carefully because they can scratch surfaces.
6. How to manually clean and sanitize
a. How do you manually clean and sanitize tableware and equipment in a
three-compartment sink?
i.
Types of sanitizers
 Chlorine—may leave odor
 Iodine—may stain surfaces and will work best at ph below 5.
 Quats.—work best when water hardness is below 500 ppm.
ii.
Techniques for using sanitizers
 Sanitizers will kill most bacteria
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 Rinse surfaces well. Sanitizers work better when there is less dirt
and detergent residue. Therefore when excessive detergent builds up
in the rinse sink the water should be changed.
 Use a test kit to measure the concentration.
 When temperatures are between 55° and 120°F, the higher the
temperature the shorter the contact time with sanitizer.
iii.
Properly test the concentration of the sanitizers used in your
machines
iv.
Clean and sanitize sinks first
v.
Scrape, soak or pre-rinse plates first
vi.
1st sink is for washing (should be 110°)
vii.
Rinse - 2nd sink is for rinsing to remove detergents before going
into sanitizing sink.
viii.
Sanitize - 3rd sink is for sanitizing, if hot water sanitizing water
should be 171°. If using chemical sanitizing, then follow
instructions for that chemical. (usually chemical sanitizing
temperatures range between 55° and 120°. If the rinse cycle water
temperature is too hot then the chemical will be evaporated.)
ix.
Air Dry - Last step is to air dry.
7. How to use a dishwashing machine—sanitizing can be either with hot water or
chemical.
a. Check detergent and sanitizer dispensers to make sure they are filled.
b. Check water temperature and pressure.
c. Scrape all plates before washing
d. Keep the machine clean inside and out.
e. Don’t overload dish racks
f. Wash temperature range from 150° to 165°
g. Rinse temperatures range from 165°to less than 195°. When you are using
a high temperature machine for sanitizing, if the water temperature gets too
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hot (above 195°) then it might vaporize before sanitizing items, or it can
bake food particles onto utensils.
h. Always air dry to maintain sanitary conditions
8. How to store clean items
a. Clean and sanitize drawers and shelves, and the trays and carts used to
transport items.
b. Store glasses and cups upside down.
c. Store flatware and utensils with the handles up.
9. How to store cleaning supplies
a. Remind employees to always store chemicals away from food and foodprep areas.
b. All cleaning supplies should be stored away from food prep
areas.
c. Mops should be hung upside down to allow to air dry.
d. All chemicals used in the facility should have MSDS (Material Safety
Data Sheets) to inform the foodhandlers about the hazards associated with
the chemicals they are working with. This data sheet will inform the user of
the correct protective equipment to wear when using them and the proper
first aid treatment.
e. Any leftover chemicals should be disposed of by following information
from label’s instructions.
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