Serving and Holding

Food that has been cooked isn’t necessarily safe. In fact, many outbreaks occur because improper procedures were used
following cooking. Although it may be tempting to hold food at temperatures just hot enough to serve, it is essential to
keep prepared foods out of the “temperature danger zone.” This means, specifically:






Key Tips for Food Safety
• Always keep hot foods in hot-holding equipment above 140 ̊F.

• Always keep cold foods in a refrigeration unit or surrounded by ice below 40 ̊F.

For safer serving and holding:

• Use hot-holding equipment, such as steam tables and hot-food carts, during service, but never for reheating.

• Stir foods at reasonable intervals to ensure even heating.

• Check temperatures with a food thermometer every 30 minutes.

• Sanitize the thermometer before each use, or use a digital infrared thermometer that never touches the food.

• Cover hot-holding equipment to retain heat and to guard against contamination.

• Monitor the temperature of hot-holding equipment with each use.

• Discard any food held in the “temperature danger zone” for more than 4 hours!

• Never add fresh food to a serving pan containing foods that have already been out for serving.


• Always wash hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before serving food.

• Use cleaned and sanitized long-handled ladles and spoons so bare hands do not touch food.

• Never touch the parts of glasses, cups, plates or tableware that will come into contact with food.

• Never touch the parts of dishes that will come into contact with the customer’s mouth.

• Wear gloves if serving food by hand.

• Cover cuts or infections with bandages, and if on hands, wear gloves.

• Discard gloves whenever they touch an unsanitary surface.

• Use tongs or wear gloves to dispense rolls and bread.

• Clean and sanitize equipment and utensils thoroughly after each use.

• Use lids and sneeze guards to protect prepared food from contamination.

To avoid contamination, always wash hands, utensils and other food-contact surfaces after contact with raw meat or poultry and before contact with cooked meat or poultry. For example, do not reuse a serving pan used to hold raw chicken to serve the same chicken after it’s cooked, unless the pan has been thoroughly cleaned and sanitized.