Safe & Healthy Food Handling for Food Establishments

Importance of Proper Food Handling:?

Causes of Foodborne Illness

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 1 in 6 people (48 million people) get

sick, 128,000 are hospitalized, and 3,000 people die from a foodborne illness each year in the U. S.?Food- borne illnesses cost the U.S. economy about $8.1 billion every year.

Common viruses that may cause foodborne illness include hepatitis A and norovirus. These viruses are most often passed from stool to mouth (fecal-oral route), which makes thorough handwashing and avoiding bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food extremely important.

Bacteria can grow in food if the food is not handled properly. Bacteria grow quickly, and under optimal conditions, they double every 20 to 30 minutes. The way bacteria grow in potentially hazardous foods makes temperature controls and food safety practices extremely important.

Common bacteria that may cause foodborne illness include:

• Salmonella
• Escherichia coli (E. coli)
• Shigella
• Staphylococcus aureus (staph)
• Bacillus cereus
• Clostridium perfringens
• Clostridium botulinum
• Campylobacter jejuni
• Listeria

Potentially Hazardous Food?

“Potentially hazardous food” is any food or food ingredient that is capable of supporting the rapid and progressive growth of infectious or toxigenic microorganisms. To be potentially hazardous, a food must:

• Moist
• Non-acidic (neutral pH)
• A food source for bacteria

Some potentially hazardous foods include:

• All meats
• Dairy products
• Eggs
• Cooked vegetables
• Tofu, tempeh, soy milk
• Cooked beans, pastas, grains
• Raw seed sprouts (alfalfa sprouts, bean sprouts, etc.)
• Garlic, onion, or herbs in oil
• Cut melon and cut tomato

Special Considerations:

Highly Susceptible Populations?

Anyone can get sick from food when it is handled in an unsafe manner; however, certain people get sick more often or have more serious illness. Highly susceptible populations include:?

• Children younger than 5 year
• Adult older than 65 years
• Pregnant Women
• People with compromised immune systems (due to cancer, AIDS, diabetes, or other medical conditions)?

Certain foods are more likely to cause foodborne illness. People in highly susceptible populations should be aware of these foods:

• Undercooked meat
• Raw oysters
• Undercooked egg
• Sprouts
• Unpasteurized milk or juices (this includes “raw milk”)

Additional restrictions apply to food prepared in facilities that primarily serve highly susceptible populations.

Food Allergies

Each year, millions of people in the U.S. have allergic reactions to certain foods. Food retailers are responsible for knowing the ingredients in the foods served. The eight most common allergy-causing foods include:

• Milk
• Eggs
• Fish (e.g., bass, flounder, cod)
• Crustacean shellfish (e.g., crab, lobster, shrimp)
• Tree nuts (e.g., almonds, walnuts, pecans)
• Peanuts
• Wheat
• Soybeans

Employee Illness and Hygiene:?

Sick Employees?

Sick employees are at high risk for contaminating food and utensils with bacteria or viruses. For this reason, sick employees must be restricted or excluded from working with any food or food service equipment.

Employees must be restricted or excluded if demonstrating any of the following symptoms:

• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Fever
• Jaundice
• Sore throat with fever
• Infected cuts/lesions on hands, wrists
• Persistent coughing, sneezing, runny nose?

Any employees diagnosed with the following illnesses must report these illnesses to their supervisor:

• Salmonella typhi
• Shigella spp.
• Escherichia coli (E. coli)
• Hepatitis A

The person in charge must immediately report these illnesses to their superiors.

Food Worker Policies?

All employees must maintain good hygienic practices, including:

• Eating food and smoking in designated areas only.
• Storing drinks in clean, closed containers that do not contaminate hands (e.g., cups with lids and straws or handles).
• Storing drinks below and separate from food, prep surfaces, utensils, etc.
• Wearing hair restraints and clean outer clothing.
• Keeping fingernails trimmed and clean.
• Removing all jewellery from hands and wrists, only a single ring is permitted.
• Removing aprons before entering the restroom or leaving the food prep area.
• Not using cloth towels or aprons for wiping hands

Hand washing and Glove Use

Proper hand

washing is the single most effective way to stop the spread of disease. Always thoroughly wash hands:

• When entering the kitchen.
• When returning from the restroom.
• After handling raw meat, poultry, fish, or eggs.
• After touching face or sneezing/coughing into hands.
• After handling dirty dishes.
• Before putting on new gloves.
• Anytime hand may be contaminated?

Proper hand washing method?

• Rub hands vigorously with soap and warm water for 15 seconds.
• Rinse well for 5 seconds.
• Dry thoroughly with paper towel.
• Turn off faucet hand

Hand washing sinks:?

Hand washing sinks must be used for hand washing ONLY and must have:

• Hot and Cold Running Water
• Soap
• Paper towels

Do not block hand washing sinks or use these sinks for any other purpose (dumping liquids, rinsing containers, filling sanitizer buckets, filling water pitchers, etc.).

Glove use

When using gloves, always wash your hands before putting on a new pair of gloves. Change your gloves and wash your hands whenever the gloves become contaminated, including:

• After handling raw meat, poultry, fish, or eggs.
• After touching face with glove or sneezing/coughing into the glove.
• After touching unclean dishes or trash cans.
• When changing tasks

Gloves must be worn over any bandages, cuts, burns, or sores. They should be considered an extension of your hands and are NOT a substitute for good hand- washing practices.

Bare Hand Contact and Ready-to-Eat Foods?

Do not touch ready-to-eat foods with bare hands. Avoid bare hand contact by using single-use gloves, utensils, deli tissue, etc.

Ready-to-eat foods are foods that do not require further cooking or heating before being served. These foods are most at risk for transmitting fecal-oral diseases (e.g., E. coli, hepatitis A and norovirus) that are transmitted from contaminated hands.

Some ready-to-eat foods include:

• Food and drink garnishes
• Salads
• Fresh fruits and vegetables
• Pizza
• Sandwiches
• Cheese
• Sushi
• Beverages, ice
• Cookies and pastries

Starting with Safe Food:?

Food Quality and Food Storage?

Ensure that food comes from approved sources?

All food in food service establishments must be obtained from an approved source. Always verify the supplier’s documentation to ensure that the supplier is an approved wholesale distributor.

Meats: Verify that all meats and poultry have the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) stamp of approval on the packaging.

Sushi: Ask for a letter from your sh supplier verifying that required freezing techniques have been performed on any fish intended to be used for sushi, considered to be sushi-quality, or served raw.

Shellfish: Verify that shellfish have complete, attached tags showing that they came from approved harvest sites. Retain shellfish tags for a minimum of 90 days. Discard any shellfish whose shells do not close.

Raw Eggs: Do not use raw eggs in any ready-to-eat food items (e.g., caesar salad dressing, hollandaise, meringue) unless the eggs are pasteurized.

Ensure that all food is wholesome and free of spoilage?

• Check cans for dents or leaks upon delivery.
• Check food temperatures and food quality upon delivery:
• Reject questionable items.
• Cold food must be 41oF or below when delivered.
• Do not use moldy or spoiled foods. Discard them immediately.
• Observe and do not alter or cover “sell-by” or “use-by” dates in any way

?Store food in a protected manner?

• At least 6” above the floor
• Covered and labeled in dry storage area
• Away from chemicals, wastewater lines, or any other possible source of contamination

Washing Fruits & Vegetables?

Increasing numbers of foodborne illness outbreaks have been occurring in recent years due to contaminated produce. ALL produce should be washed thoroughly:

• In a prep sink that has been washed, rinsed, and sanitized before use
• Using a colander and cold running
• Before cutting or preparing (including lemons, melons, avocados, mush[1]rooms, cabbage, lettuce, squash etc.)

Preventing Cross-Contamination?

Cross-contamination is when bacteria or viruses are spread from a contaminated source (raw chicken, meats, fish, eggs; soiled utensils and equipment, etc.) to an- other food or surface.

• Store raw meats, poultry, fish, and
• On the bottom shelf of the refrigerator.
• Below and separate from all other foods
• Use a drip pan under raw meat, poultry, fish, or egg products
• Change gloves and wash hands after handing any raw meat, poultry, fish, or eggs
• Wash, rinse, and sanitize all food contact work surfaces, including cutting boards, sinks, prep tables, slicers, utensils:
• At least every four hours during continued use
• After working with raw meat products and before preparing any other foods
• Tip: Use separate cutting boards and utensils for raw meat and for produce and ready-to-eat food.

Time and Temperature Controls:?

The Danger Zone?

Proper temperature controls and food handling practices prevent growth of bacteria. The “danger zone” is the temperature range between 41oF and 135oF. Bacteria grow very rapidly in the danger zone. Therefore, proper cooling, reheating, cold holding, hot holding, and cooking temperatures should be carefully monitored.

Holding Temperatures?

Potentially hazardous foods need to be kept out of the danger zone as much as possible. When food is being held in refrigerators, cold tops, salad bars, hot hold equipment, and during transport, potentially hazardous food must be held at 41oF or below or at 135oF or above. After foods are properly cooked, reheated, or cooled, they need to be kept at the proper holding temperatures.

Temperature Logs?

Use temperature charts or logs to record and verify proper temperature.

• Check and record temperatures every two hours.
• Monitor food temperatures and food equipment thermometer readings.
• Be sure to record corrective actions taken

Thermometers?

Every food service establishment should use metal-stem thermometers for monitoring food temperatures and refrigerator thermometers for monitoring the temperature inside refrigeration units. Both types of thermometers must be accurate and calibrated regularly.

When taking temperatures, remember:

• Clean and sanitize thermometers before use.
• Take the temperature in several places, particularly irregularly shaped items.
• Stir food before taking temperature.
• Place stem or probe in the thickest part of the food item.
• Do not rest the stem or probe on a bone or the side of the pot, pan, etc. because this may give an inaccurate reading.
• Make sure the entire sensing area of the thermometer is completely submerged in the food.?

Calibrating Thermometers?

Daily thermometer calibration is recommended. Thermometers should also be re-calibrated if dropped or subjected to extreme temperatures.

Check metal-stem thermometers for accuracy

1. Place thermometer stem in a glass filled with ice and a little water.
2. Wait 15-20 seconds; if the thermometer does not read 32oF, it needs to be calibrated.?

Calibrating thermometers?

To adjust an inaccurate DIAL thermometer, use pliers or a wrench (some thermometer sleeves have one built in) to adjust the nut on the underside of the thermometer face until it reads 32oF in ice water.

Some inaccurate DIGITAL thermometers can be field-calibrated, see thermometer instructions for details. Other inaccurate digital thermometers may have to be adjusted by the manufacturer, or they may have to be replaced.

Preparing Food Safely:

Thawing Food:

Frozen foods must be thawed using methods that maintain temperature control. Approved methods for thawing include:

• Refrigeration (move large items to refrigerator 2-3 days before needed)
• Under cold running water that completely covers the food
• Microwave (if used immediately)
• Conventional cooking (e.g., hamburger patties, french fries

Cooking Temperatures?

When cooking meats or egg products, the food must be cooked to the required internal temperature, as listed below. To ensure that the proper internal cooking temperature is met, use a probe thermometer to check the temperature in the thickest part of the food.

• Poultry and stuffing - 165oF
• Ground beef - 155oF
• Fish, shellfish, eggs, pork, and ‘other’ meats - 145oF
• Rare beef steak or beef roast - 130oF

Reheating Food?

After cooling, all leftovers and pre-made foods must be reheated to an internal minimum temperature of 165oF within a two hour time period.

Approved methods of reheating include:

• Stovetop
• Oven
• Microwave
• Other rapid-heating equipment

Cooling Potentially Hazardous Food?

Potentially hazardous foods must be cooled as quickly as possible to prevent the growth of bacteria as the food drops through the danger zone.

Hot Foods: must be cooled from 135°F to 70°F in 2 hours or less and then from 70°F to 41°F in 4 hours or less. If foods do not reach the 70°F mark within 2 hours, foods must be thrown out or reheated to 165°F and then cooled again.

Room-Temperature Foods: (e.g., tuna salad, cut melon, sliced deli meats) must be cooled from 70°F to 41°F in 4 hours or less.

Cooling methods

How quickly food cools depends on a number of factors, including:

• Thickness or density of the food
• Storage container

Before cooling foods, reduce the size of the food by cutting into smaller pieces. Divide large containers of food into smaller containers or shallow pans. Shallow metal pans about 2”-4” deep work best. To rapidly cool food, use any of the following methods or combine methods.

Refrigerator or Freezer

Place small containers of food into a refrigerator or freezer. Space the containers to allow airflow around the containers. Leave the food uncovered until it reaches.

Ice Bath

Divide food into smaller containers and then place them into a clean prep sink or larger container filled with ice water. Make sure the ice water and the food are at the same level. Stir regularly. Use baths along with refrigeration.

Ice Paddle

Paddles are best for soups, gravies, and other thin foods. Stir regularly. Use ice paddles along with the refrigeration or ice bath method.

Blast Chiller

Blast chillers move cold air across food at high speeds to help remove heat.

Add Ice/Cold Wate

Add ice or cold water to the fully cooked product to help the cooling process. This works well for soups, stews, or recipes that have water as an ingredient.?

Cleaning and Sanitizing:?

Cleaning is the removal of dirt, soil, and debris; sanitizing is the removal of disease- causing microorganisms.

Washing Food Contact Surfaces

ALL food service equipment, including utensils, prep tables, sinks, cutting boards,

slicers, mixers, and anything else used to prepare food, must be washed, rinsed, and then sanitized:

• At least every four hours during continued use.
• After preparing raw meat, poultry, fish, and eggs?

Clean solutions of hot, soapy water; rinse water; and sanitizer solution must be pre- pared regularly and always after cleaning any utensils, cutting boards, etc. used for raw meat preparation.

Whether washing dishes in a three-compartment sink or in a mechanical dishwash- er, the same steps must be followed:

Sanitizers

Sanitizers are used to reduce the number of pathogens that may be found on food service equipment. Chemical sanitizers and hot water sanitization are both approved methods for sanitizing equipment.

• A minimum of 60 seconds contact time is required with chemical sanitizers.
• Test strips must be used to check for proper sanitizer concentrations.
• For hot water sanitizing

Approved concentrations of sanitizers include:

• Chlorine (bleach): 50-200 ppm
• Quaternary ammonium: 200 ppm (unless otherwise specified by the manufacturer)
• Iodine: 12.5-25 ppm

Equipment and Facility Maintenance:?

Approved Equipment?

All food service utensils and equipment must be approved for use within a retail food establishment:

• Use only utensils and equipment constructed of food-grade materials (e.g., spray bottles, containers, cookware).
• Do not re-use single-use items (e.g., plastic milk jugs or other food containers).
• Mixers, blenders, food processors, refrigeration, etc. must be approved by the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) or other American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited certification program (domestic appliances cannot be used).
• Only use food-grade lubricants in equipment.?

Equipment Cleaning and Maintenance:?

Food service equipment operates best when it is maintained in good condition and kept clean. The build-up of food debris and grease on equipment and in the food service establishment may attract pests and otherwise create unsanitary conditions. Regular cleaning schedules should be maintained for:

• Ice machines
• Refrigeration interiors and exteriors (including shelves, compressor coils, fan covers, door gaskets)
• Fryers
• Grill equipment
• Ovens
• Hoods
• Steamers
• Beverage machines (soda nozzles, ice chutes)
• All other kitchen equipment

Pests?

Control pests in the food service establishment by:

• Using a professional exterminator.
• Using approved traps.
• Tightly sealing openings, using screen doors, and using by fans.
• Keeping equipment and the interior and exterior of the facility clean

Emergencies:?

In the event of a flood, re, power outage, sewage backup, water shortage, or other emergency, potential health hazards may exist. Never enter a building damaged by flood, sewage or fire until it has been cleared by the proper authorities.

Establishments that are required to cease operations during an emergency or those affected by a natural disaster should not reopen until it is deemed safe.

Fire

If a large fire occurs in the facility, cease all operations until the facility has been cleared by authority of Public Health. If there is a substantial fire, the facility may need to submit a plan review and/or apply for building permits. If a small fire occurs (e.g., under the hood), follow these instructions:

• Discard all exposed food and single-service products that may have been contaminated by water, smoke, chemicals, or other contaminants
• Discard all potentially hazardous foods that have been stored in the danger zone (41°F - 135°F) for four hours or more.
• Wash-rinse-sanitize all equipment and surfaces that have been contaminated.
• Ensure that electricity and water services are fully operational.?

Water Shortage or Power Outage

If the facility experiences a sudden water or power shortage due to a disaster or other reason, immediately cease all food service operations

Food establishment operations must have running water and electricity at all times for proper handwashing, cleaning, food preparation, etc. Any potentially hazardous foods held in the danger zone (between 41oF and 135oF) for more than four hours must be discarded. This includes items in walk-in refrigerators and freezers.

Flood or Sewer Backup

If a flood, sewer backup, or similar incident occurs in your facility, immediately call authority of Public Health. Many harmful microorganisms and chemical residues may exist in floodwater and sewage.

After the proper authorities have cleared the facility for you to return, follow these steps to ensure that food service operations may resume without compromising food safety:

• Discard all food, single-service items, and packaging materials that have been contaminated by floodwaters or sewage.
• Discard all refrigerated and frozen foods if electricity was turned off during or after the incident for more than four hours.
• Thoroughly wash, rinse, and sanitize ALL surfaces, utensils, and equipment.
• Ensure that all refrigeration units are capable of maintaining temperatures of 41oF or below and that all facility equipment is functioning properly.