Failure to adequately control food product temperature is the one factor most commonly associated with food-borne illness. Foods prepared in large volumes or in advance for next-day service usually follow an extended process flow. These foods are likely to pass through the temperature danger zone several times. The key in managing the operational steps within the process is to minimize the time foods are at unsafe temperatures.
In some cases, a variety of foods and ingredients that require extensive employee product preparation may be part of the process. A sound food safety management system will incorporate standard operating procedures for personal hygiene
and cross-contamination prevention throughout the flow of the food.
Before you set up a management system for your operational steps, there are several factors you should consider. Multiple-step processes require proper equipment and facilities. Your equipment needs to be designed to handle the volume
of food you plan to prepare. For example, if you use a process that requires the cooling of hot food, you must provide equipment that will adequately and efficiently lower the food temperature as quickly as possible. If you find that a recipe
is too hard to safely prepare, you may want to consider purchasing pre-prepared items from a reputable source.
To assist food establishments in applying HACCP principles at the retail level, the FDA has issued a draft document entitled Managing Food Safety: A HACCP Principles Guide for Operators of Food Service, Retail Food Stores, and Other Food Establishments at the Retail Level. This document is available from the FDA and can be found on the FDA Web page at http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~ear/retail
.html.
There are seven steps in the flow of food that we will take a closer look at in regard to food safety including possible contaminates at each stage and ways to avoid contamination at each stage. In order, we’ll look at:
1. Purchasing and receiving.
2. Storing.
3. Preparing.
4. Cooking.
5. Serving and holding.
6. Cooling.
7. Reheating.
There are multiple hazards at, and specific preventative measures for, each step.
Friday, August 24, 2007
Tuesday, August 07, 2007
Manager’s Responsibilities
According to the Food Code, the restaurant owner and/or manager needs to ensure that a manager or supervisor is on the premises during all hours of operation. This person also must have demonstrated knowledge of food-borne illness
prevention, HACCP principles, and the Food Code requirements. The manager/supervisor needs to demonstrate this knowledge by:
• Complying with the Code.
• Being certified in food safety through an accredited program such as the ServSafe program offered through the National Restaurant Association.
• Responding correctly to the inspector’s questions
The areas of knowledge the manager/supervisor should have include:
• Describing the relationship between the prevention of food-borne disease and the personal hygiene of an employee.
• Explaining the responsibility of the manager for preventing the transmission of food-borne disease by an employee who has a disease or medical condition that may cause food-borne disease.
• Describing the symptoms associated with the diseases that are transmissible through food.
• Explaining the relationship between maintaining the time and temperature of potentially hazardous food and the prevention of food-borne illness.
• Explaining the hazards in consuming raw or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs and fish.
• Knowing the food temperatures and times required for the safe cooking of potentially hazardous food, including meat, poultry, eggs and fish.
• Stating the required temperatures and times for the safe refrigerated storage, hot holding, cooling and reheating of potentially hazardous food.
• Describing the relationship between the prevention of food-borne illness and:
– Cross-contamination.
– Hand contact with ready-to-eat-food.
– Hand washing.
– Maintaining the establishment in clean condition and good repair.
• Explaining the relationship between food safety and providing equipment that is sufficient in number and capacity, and properly designed, constructed, located, installed, operated, maintained and cleaned.
• Explaining correct procedures for cleaning and sanitizing utensils and the food-contact surfaces of equipment.
• Identifying the source of water used and measures taken to ensure that it remains protected from contamination such as providing protection from backflow and precluding the creation of cross connections.
• Identifying poisonous or toxic materials in the establishment and the procedures necessary to ensure that they are safely stored, dispensed, used and disposed of according to law.
• Identifying critical control points in the operation and explaining steps taken to ensure that the points are controlled in accordance with the requirements of the Code.
• Explaining the details of how the manager and employees comply with the HACCP plan.
• Explaining the responsibilities, rights and authorities assigned by this Code to the employees, manager and health department.
The manager is responsible for ensuring employees understand what they need to do to keep their customers safe from food-borne illnesses.
The following is a list of things the manager should do.
• Ensure operations are conducted in an establishment deemed proper by the health code. For example, if you buy your desserts from a private vendor and your local health code does not allow for desserts that are sold to the public be prepared in a private home, you need to make sure your vendor is using a space that meets the requirements of your health code.
• Make sure non-employees are not in the food preparation, storage or dishwashing areas.
• Make sure all your employees, vendors and suppliers that come into your food prep areas are complying with the Food Code requirements.
• By routinely monitoring them, make sure employees are properly washing their hands.
• Make sure employees are inspecting foods as they receive them to determine that they are from approved sources and delivered that are at the required temperatures.
• Ensure employees are properly cooking potentially hazardous foods through daily oversight of the employees’ routine monitoring of the cooking temperatures using appropriate temperature measuring devices that are properly scaled and calibrated.
• Ensure employees are using proper methods to rapidly cool potentially hazardous foods.
• Make sure that customers who order raw or partially cooked ready-to-eat foods of animal origin are informed of its hazards.
• Make sure employees are properly sanitizing equipment and utensils through routine monitoring of solution temperature and exposure time for hot water sanitizing, chemical concentration, pH, temperature, and exposure time for chemical sanitizing.
• If you have a buffet area, be sure customers are informed to use clean tableware when they return to the buffet for refills.
• Be sure employees prevent cross-contamination of ready-to-eat foods, such as salad, by properly using suitable utensils such as deli tissue, spatulas, tongs and single-use gloves.
• Make certain employees are properly trained in food safety as it relates to their assigned duties.
prevention, HACCP principles, and the Food Code requirements. The manager/supervisor needs to demonstrate this knowledge by:
• Complying with the Code.
• Being certified in food safety through an accredited program such as the ServSafe program offered through the National Restaurant Association.
• Responding correctly to the inspector’s questions
The areas of knowledge the manager/supervisor should have include:
• Describing the relationship between the prevention of food-borne disease and the personal hygiene of an employee.
• Explaining the responsibility of the manager for preventing the transmission of food-borne disease by an employee who has a disease or medical condition that may cause food-borne disease.
• Describing the symptoms associated with the diseases that are transmissible through food.
• Explaining the relationship between maintaining the time and temperature of potentially hazardous food and the prevention of food-borne illness.
• Explaining the hazards in consuming raw or undercooked meat, poultry, eggs and fish.
• Knowing the food temperatures and times required for the safe cooking of potentially hazardous food, including meat, poultry, eggs and fish.
• Stating the required temperatures and times for the safe refrigerated storage, hot holding, cooling and reheating of potentially hazardous food.
• Describing the relationship between the prevention of food-borne illness and:
– Cross-contamination.
– Hand contact with ready-to-eat-food.
– Hand washing.
– Maintaining the establishment in clean condition and good repair.
• Explaining the relationship between food safety and providing equipment that is sufficient in number and capacity, and properly designed, constructed, located, installed, operated, maintained and cleaned.
• Explaining correct procedures for cleaning and sanitizing utensils and the food-contact surfaces of equipment.
• Identifying the source of water used and measures taken to ensure that it remains protected from contamination such as providing protection from backflow and precluding the creation of cross connections.
• Identifying poisonous or toxic materials in the establishment and the procedures necessary to ensure that they are safely stored, dispensed, used and disposed of according to law.
• Identifying critical control points in the operation and explaining steps taken to ensure that the points are controlled in accordance with the requirements of the Code.
• Explaining the details of how the manager and employees comply with the HACCP plan.
• Explaining the responsibilities, rights and authorities assigned by this Code to the employees, manager and health department.
The manager is responsible for ensuring employees understand what they need to do to keep their customers safe from food-borne illnesses.
The following is a list of things the manager should do.
• Ensure operations are conducted in an establishment deemed proper by the health code. For example, if you buy your desserts from a private vendor and your local health code does not allow for desserts that are sold to the public be prepared in a private home, you need to make sure your vendor is using a space that meets the requirements of your health code.
• Make sure non-employees are not in the food preparation, storage or dishwashing areas.
• Make sure all your employees, vendors and suppliers that come into your food prep areas are complying with the Food Code requirements.
• By routinely monitoring them, make sure employees are properly washing their hands.
• Make sure employees are inspecting foods as they receive them to determine that they are from approved sources and delivered that are at the required temperatures.
• Ensure employees are properly cooking potentially hazardous foods through daily oversight of the employees’ routine monitoring of the cooking temperatures using appropriate temperature measuring devices that are properly scaled and calibrated.
• Ensure employees are using proper methods to rapidly cool potentially hazardous foods.
• Make sure that customers who order raw or partially cooked ready-to-eat foods of animal origin are informed of its hazards.
• Make sure employees are properly sanitizing equipment and utensils through routine monitoring of solution temperature and exposure time for hot water sanitizing, chemical concentration, pH, temperature, and exposure time for chemical sanitizing.
• If you have a buffet area, be sure customers are informed to use clean tableware when they return to the buffet for refills.
• Be sure employees prevent cross-contamination of ready-to-eat foods, such as salad, by properly using suitable utensils such as deli tissue, spatulas, tongs and single-use gloves.
• Make certain employees are properly trained in food safety as it relates to their assigned duties.
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