The Food Handler’s Guide to Essential Food Safety. Food handlers play a crucial role in preventing the spread of pathogens and ensuring customer safety. Even though basic safe food handling practices are simple, they can be easy to forget in the heat of a busy shift. Let’s revisit the fundamental standards and best practices every food service employee must master.
The Critical Role of Food Handlers in Safety
The job of a food handler is so important that many states require restaurant and foodservice employees to obtain a Food Handler Certification as a prerequisite for employment. It is Essential Food Safety.
Customers place their trust in food handlers, assuming basic food safety standards are being met. Food handlers have a responsibility to uphold this trust by following established standards, ensuring patrons can feel safe when dining out. Failing to follow these standards risks putting customers in danger.
Essential Food Safety Practices Refresher
Maintaining food safety involves attention to four core areas: personal hygiene, time and temperature control, preventing cross-contamination, and proper cleaning and sanitizing.
1. Practice Good Personal Hygiene
Personal hygiene is the first defense against pathogens.
- Handwashing: Know when, where, and how to wash your hands.
- Gloves: Use single-use gloves only when handling food. NEVER rinse, wash, or reuse gloves.
- Grooming: Keep fingernails short and clean, and DO NOT wear nail polish or false nails. Make sure wounds are covered correctly.
- Attire & Jewelry: Always wear clean, appropriate clothing and bathe daily. DO NOT wear rings, bracelets, or watches.
- Eating & Smoking: NEVER eat, drink, smoke, or chew gum or tobacco in prep areas, cleaning areas, or service areas.
- Illness: If you are experiencing vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice (yellowing of skin and eyes), or a sore throat with a fever, report these symptoms to a manager immediately.
2. Controlling Time and Temperature 🌡️
Certain foods are more likely to become unsafe if mishandled. These are known as temperature-controlled for safety (TCS) foods.
- The Danger Zone: Keep food out of the temperature danger zone: 41°F to 135°F (5°C to 57°C).
- Receiving: Receive cold TCS food at 41°F (5°C) or lower. Receive hot TCS food at 135°F (57°C) or higher.
- Cooking: Cooked TCS food must reach the correct internal temperature and stay there for a specific amount of time. (You should know how to use a food thermometer to verify this.)
- Storage & Prep: Store TCS food safely at the right temperature.
- NEVER Do This:
- Thaw TCS food at room temperature.
- Prepare TCS food in large batches.
- Cool large amounts of hot food in a cooler or cool food at room temperature.
- Use hot-holding equipment to reheat food (unless made for this purpose).
3. Preventing Cross-Contamination
Cross-contamination occurs when pathogens are transferred from one surface or food to another.
- Storage: Store food only in designated food storage areas, away from walls, off the floor, and wrapped or covered.
- Workstations: Ensure workstations, cutting boards, equipment, and utensils are cleaned and sanitized before prepping food.
- Produce & Raw Meat: Keep produce away from raw meat and wash produce before use.
- Serving: DO NOT touch the parts of dishes, glassware, or utensils that come in contact with food when serving.
- Chemicals: Always store chemicals and cleaning supplies in a designated storage area. NEVER store them near food.
4. Cleaning and Sanitizing
Cleaning and sanitizing are two distinct steps to maintain hygiene.
- Cleaning vs. Sanitizing: Cleaning removes food and other dirt from a surface; sanitizing reduces pathogens on a surface to safe levels.
- Procedure: You must know which surfaces need just cleaning, and which need cleaning AND sanitizing, when to clean them, and the correct procedure.
- Dishware: Use a dishwasher (when available) for smaller items or a three-compartment sink for larger items.
- Garbage: Remove garbage from prep areas quickly. DO NOT clean garbage containers near prep or food-storage areas.
- Pest Control: Always be on the lookout for signs of pests:
- Droppings
- Nests
- Damage to products, packages, or the facility
By consistently adhering to these basic but critical standards, food handlers not only protect their customers but also uphold the high standards of their profession.