I. Food Handling Basics

Food Safety

Importance

Foodborne illness results in 128,000 hospitalizations and 3,000 deaths annually. Another 48 million people are sick from unsafe food but do not need hospitalization. When serving people younger than five years old, older than sixty-five years old, pregnant women, and those that are immune-compromised it is important to exercise extra caution because these groups are more likely to have a severe reaction to a foodborne illness. Contaminated food often looks, smells, and tastes the same as any other food. By practicing proper food safety practices, you can help reduce the prevalence of these illnesses!

Allergens

A food allergy is a condition in which certain foods trigger an abnormal immune response. The allergic reaction can range from discomfort to fatal, so it is important to track what allergens are in your menu. The eight most common allergens are:

• Cows Milk

• Eggs

• Tree Nuts

• Peanuts

• Shellfish

• Wheat

• Soy

• Fish

While these are the most common allergens, other allergies can result in just as serious reactions so know your menu!

Person in Charge (PIC)

This is the expert for food safety. Always ask this person if you have questions or concerns if you are uncertain what to do. They are responsible for:

• Knowing food safety code and that proper practices are being followed in the standard operating procedures (SOPs) 

• Providing training for employees on how to correctly perform duties

• Food storage and food used in the kitchen

• Being on premises during all hours of operation

Types of Contaminants

Biological Contaminants

This includes harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, fungi, insects, poisonous plants and animals. It is commonly spread through working with food when sick, improper hand washing or temperature control, and cross contamination. Foodborne illnesses from biological hazards can further be classified into three categories:

1. Foodborne Infection - results from eating food containing living, harmful microorganisms which then grow in the intestines to cause illness. (e.g., salmonellosis).

2. Foodborne Intoxication - results from eating food containing bacterial or mold growth toxins that cause illness. (e.g., Staphylococcus).

3. Foodborne Toxin-Mediated Infection — results from eating a large amount of disease-causing microorganisms that, once inside the human intestines, produce toxin to cause illness (e.g., Clostridium perfringens, E. coli 0157:H7)

Chemical Contaminants

Foods can be contaminated by improper storage and use of chemicals such as cleaning compounds. It’s important to always store chemicals away from food products, clean equipment, utensils, linens, and single-use articles. If a chemical must be stored in the kitchen areas, then it must be stored below food and food contact surfaces. Label all containers clearly to minimize the chance of chemicals contaminating foods.

Physical Contaminants

Foods can also be contaminated by the presence of foreign objects. Maintain all food contact equipment in good repair to avoid contaminating food with any foreign materials. Regularly clean food preparation and storage areas as often as necessary to ensure they are clean and sanitary. Use proper storage methods for food, equipment, utensils, linens, and single-use articles. Finally, use proper utensils for serving food to minimize the possibility of foreign objects entering food products.

Health and Hygiene

Be Healthy

Be healthy and hygienic when preparing and serving food. The most common food contaminant that makes consumers ill is biological. Don’t prepare or serve food if you are sick. If you are recovering from being sick, wait at least 24 hours after all symptoms have abated.

Hygiene

In order to avoid biological contamination when preparing food, you should following the proper hygiene practices:

• Use proper handwashing techniques

• Use a face mask or cloth face covering to protect against COVID-19

• Fits snugly but comfortably against the side of the face

  • Is secured with ties or ear loops

  • Includes multiple layers of fabric

  • Allows you to breathe freely

  • Can be laundered and machine dried without damaging or changing the shape

• Keep fingernails trimmed

  • If you have nail polish or worn nails, wear gloves

• Use hair restraints when needed

  • Hairnets, barrettes, tight braids

  • Long Beards must be restrained

• Wear proper work clothing

• Wear gloves at all times and change them regularly

• No jewelry

  • Plain bands ok if covered with glove while prepping food

• No tobacco in food prep areas

• Personal items must be stored away from food, dishes, and linens

Sanitizers & Sanitizing Equipment

Mix 1 tablespoon of Chlorine (bleach) for every 2 gallons of water. Recommend to include the required concentrations (100ppm for bleach) and the contact time. Use test strips to ensure that the sanitizer is at the required concentrations. Equipment must be submerged in the sanitizer solution for at least 30 seconds in order to be considered sanitized. Change sanitizer when the solution becomes cloudy or dirty or does not meet the required concentration.

Hand Washing

Hand washing is one of the most important and effective ways to avoid food contamination. Many employees fail to wash their hands as often as necessary and use poor technique. 70% of foodborne illnesses are caused by improper hand washing.

Wash your hands often. You must always wash your hands using a designated handwashing sink. Do not use the dishwashing sink for hand washing. Hand sanitizers might be helpful for clean hands but aren’t substitutes for hands washing. 

When to Wash Hands

You should wash your hands after doing any of the following activities:

• Before, during, and after preparing food

• Using the bathroom

• Touching face / nose

• Handling raw meat

• Sneezing

• Coughing

• Blowing nose

• Handling garbage

• Handling animals

• Handling money

• Using chemicals

• After taking a break / eating / smoking

• Prior to putting on food service gloves

• When in doubt, wash your hands!

COVID19 NOTE: Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds before rinsing!

Proper Hand Washing Technique

Make sure you have the following available when washing your hands:

• Handwashing sink

• Hot/Cold running water

• Soap

• Single use drying method (paper towels)

Proper hand washing technique is key to preventing food contamination. Follow these step-by-step instructions everytime you wash your hands:

1. Get hands wet with warm water

2. Apply soap

3. Scrub hands together for 10 - 15 seconds - pay attention to the whole hand

4. Pay attention to the whole hand

5. Scrub backs of hands

6. Scrub between fingers

7. Scrub forearms

8. Rinse hands for about 5 seconds with warm water

9. Dry hands and forearms using either a disposable paper towel, air dryer, or continuous cloth towel system (must be clean each time)

Minimize Bare Hand Contact

Even if you are washing your hands regularly germs can remain on your hands even after washing. So it is better to minimize bare hand contact with ready-to-eat food. Ready-to-eat foods include fruits, salads, baked items, ice, and foods that are already cooked. Use the following tools to avoid direct contact with ready-to-eat foods:

• Tongs

• Scoops

• Deli papers

• Utensils

• Single-use gloves

  • When you use gloves, you are required to wash hands before and after using them

  • Change gloves often

  • Never reuse gloves after first use

Temperature Control

Why is Temperature Important?

Food stored at improper temperatures is one of the leading causes of food-borne illness. Temperature affects how fast bacteria can grow. In general, bacteria grow slower at lower temperatures and faster at high temperatures. But bacteria will die at high enough temperatures, so we can use this to our advantage.

The Danger Zone

The range from 40° F  to 140° F is known as the Danger Zone. Bacteria grow extremely quickly in this range, so food must be handled carefully to avoid this Danger Zone. Throw out food that has been left out for more than 4 hours. If you’re unsure how long something has been left out, throw it out to be safe!

Holding Cold Food

Keep cool or cold food cold, below the danger zone. Make sure cold food is held at 40 °F or less, and place cold food containers on ice if needed. If using ice, the ice must come up to the top of the food. 

Storing Hot Food

Keep warm or hot food above the danger zone. Make sure hot food is held at 140 °F or above. Hot food may be placed in hot holding units such as chafing dishes, preheated steam tables, warming trays, and/or slow cookers to keep food hot enough.

Make sure hot holding units are preheated before placing the food on the unit, and do not mix cold food directly with headed food! Stir food on a hot unit often to distribute heat.

High Risk Foods: Spoilage

These foods are at high risk of spoilage and must be kept out of the danger zone!

• Animal Products: Meat, eggs, seafood, poultry

• Starches: Rice, potatoes, pasta

• Cooked vegetables

Thermometers

Thermometers are the best way to ensure safety of cooked food. Thermometers should:

• Be able to read between 0 °F and 220 °F.

• Should read 32 °F for a cup of crushed ice and water.

• Have a sensing area appropriate for the type of food you’re working with. Thermometers differ in thickness and the amount of sensing area available on the probe.

Types of Thermometers

• Dial and Metal stem thermometers: When using these, the stem must be pushed several inches into the food and left in for several seconds. Don’t use these thermometers for thin foods, such as hamburger patties!

• Digital thermometers: These are easy to read, quick, and better for measuring temperatures in thin foods.

Proper Temperature-Taking Technique

As a food handler, you must always ensure the probe enters the food at or beyond the sensing area of the thermometer. The time at which the probe should be left in the food will be provided on the thermometer’s manufacturer specification sheet (this is slightly different for all thermometers).

Calibrate your thermometers weekly and keep this information in a log (See: Logging Food and Equipment Temperatures below).

Cooking Temperatures

Use a food thermometer to ensure that the minimum internal temperature has reached the guideline.

Logging Food and Equipment Temperatures

As a food handler, it is very important to know that your food is safe. For those who work with food carts and trucks, make a habit out of keeping a temperature log (either digitally or with pen and paper). Record the temperature of your food about every 30 minutes throughout the cooking process, and when storing and transporting food. This will be useful for inspections and tracking your operations, especially if a problem crops up during an event. Similarly, using a log to record the temperatures of your refrigerator or freezing equipment can be very useful. (See Appendix B for examples.)

Avoiding Contamination

What is Cross Contamination?

The spread of contaminants from one food or surface to another

Safe food storage

When putting food in storage, keep foods with higher cooking temps like chicken below foods with a lower cooking temp (The Storage Ladder).

Best Practices

1. Keep raw meats away from ready to eat foods

   • Use separate cutting boards for raw meat and vegetables according to the following color codes:

     • Red - raw meat

     • White - dairy and baked goods

     • Yellow - raw poultry

     • Blue - raw seafood

     • Green - fruit and veg

     • Brown - cooked meat

2. Always wash hands after handling raw meat

3. Any surfaces or tools that touch raw meat must be sanitized

4. Never place cooked food on a surface that has previously held

   • Raw meat

   • Poultry

   • Sea food

   • Eggs

Cleaning and Sanitizing

What is Cleaning?

Use of soap and water to remove residue and debris.

What is Sanitizing?

Use of chemicals and heat to kill bacteria and viruses

Best Practices

• Food contact surfaces should be washed, rinsed, and sanitized after each use

• Floors, walls and other areas  should also be kept clean

Using Sanitizer

• Chemical sanitizers must be mixed following labels directions

• Soap should never be added to sanitizers

• Use test strips to ensure sanitizer is not too strong or weak

• Change sanitizing solution often

  • Grease, dirt, food particles make it less effective

• Store wiping cloths in clean sanitizer

Cleaning equipment

• Unplug and disassemble with DRY hands

• Wash removable parts in dish machines or three-compartment sink

• Wash and rinse stationary parts

• Sanitize food-contact surfaces

• Air-dry and Reassemble without touching food-contact surfaces

Washing dishes

Always wash, rinse, and sanitize dishes between use

Steps for washing dishes by hand

1. Clean and sanitize sink

2. Scrape leftover into garbage

3. Wash dishes in hot soapy water in first sink

4. Rinse dishes with clean hot water in second sink

5. Sanitize by soaking dishes in third sink filled with warm water and approve sanitizer

6. Always air dry dishes

Steps for washing dishes in dishwasher

1. Scrape leftover food into garbage

2. Stack dishes in dish rack - do not stack dishes on top of eachother

3. Glass cups bowls should be turned upside down

4. Plates and flatware should be stood edgewise

5. Inspect dishes for cleanliness

6. Always air dry

7. Chipped or cracked dishware must be removed from service

• Monitor dishwasher thermometers and measure temperature to ensure proper temperatures are reached

• Monitor Sanitizer level

Dish Storage

• Stored at least 6 inches above the floor

• Stored in a clean dry area

• Do not touch any surface a customers mouth will touch

• Cups, bowls, pots, pans must be stored upside down

• Silverware and utensils

Sanitizer Storage

• Must be stored separate from food

• Must be clearly labeled

Safe Food Sources

Overview

To have happy and healthy customers, you’ll want to know where your food comes from and when it’s spoiled. This section includes a few pointers to help you stay aware.

All food you serve must come from a safe source approved by the local health department. 

(In the case of Veggielution, this is the Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health, which is also widely regarded as the authority on anything food-related in the area.) 

If you buy from retail sources (i.e. Safeway) or cash-and-carry services, this isn’t your responsibility and you need not worry about this at all! Checking for certifications and confirming that your supplier is approved is only necessary if you buy directly from a farm, or other similar source.

With a few notable exceptions, your home kitchen is NOT a safe source! You can’t serve food prepared in your home kitchen, unless permitted through the California Homemade Food Act. This regulation allows certain low-risk foods (called Cottage Foods) to be made in private homes and sold to the public. Cottage Foods are approved by the California Department of Environmental Health, and a public state-approved list is available online. See the Santa Clara County Cottage Food Operations page for more information.

“safe” or “approved” food suppliers

The SCC’s Consumer Protection Division (CPD) runs a Food Safety Program that conducts routine inspections with retail food facilities in the county. If you’re looking to purchase food items from a specific facility or vendor, you can search for their inspection score at the CPD’s Food Facility Inspection Report website. 

When foods arrive from the source, they must be inspected by someone at your establishment before you accept them.

Signs that your food products are problematic

• Fruits, vegetables: Mold, extreme bruising.

• Meats: Signs of spoiling.

• Meat, poultry, dairy: Any of these products must pass an inspection by the US Department of Agriculture before reaching you. If you’re unsure, ask your supplier for confirmation or proof. This will usually come in the form of a label. (See Appendix C for resources on food labels in California.)

• Shellfish (clams, oysters, mussels): You should expect such foods to be labeled with pertinent information like

  • The harvester’s certificate number

  • The harvest date

  • The harvest area

  • The type and quality of the shellfish

• Packaged or canned foods: Return or dispose of them if you find signs of rust, damage, or potential tampering (i.e. the package is already open). 

Also be aware that potentially hazardous foods must arrive at 41 F or colder. 

• Refrigeration can make the difference between spoiled and good food.

• Never allow foods delivered at unsafe temperatures or in unsafe conditions to be used in your establishment, because they may have been in the Danger Zone for an unknown amount of time.

There is nothing that can be done to fix tainted food.

We know it’s a pity. But, better safe than sorry!