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There are different kinds of germs:
Bacteria are the most common. They are everywhere, they grow fast and they may spoil food or cause food borne illness. Some bacteria make poisons. Some poisons are not destroyed by normal cooking. Almost always the food looks and smells good, but it may have enough bacteria or poison to make someone sick. (Two examples of this are potato salad that has not been kept cold enough, and chicken soup that has not been kept hot enough.)One kind of bacteria that you may hear about is Salmonella. It can be found in dairy foods, poultry and eggs, and it can cause very serious illness. A Virus is another kind of germ that causes illness. A virus can be in liquids and foods that a sick person touches. A virus can also be in raw or uncooked foods. Hepatitis "A" is spread by a virus. Someone can have the virus and not know it. When a food worker with the virus does not wash her or his hands well after using the toilet, the virus is carried to the food the worker handles. This is one reason there is a law that all food workers must wash their hands. Parasites are tiny worms that live in fish and meat. They die if they are frozen long enough or cooked long enough. Chemicals such as rat bait or cleaners, can cause some food poisoning. You must be sure to keep all chemicals away from food.
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Dairy: Milk and foods made from milk, like cream, cottage cheese, soft cheese; foods that are used instead of milk products, like liquid "non-dairy" creamer. Parasite: A tiny animal that lives inside other animals. |
When people get sick from food, they may feel like they want to throw up (nausea), they may throw up (vomit), they may have chills, cramps (pain in their belly),
loose bowels (diarrhea); they may have a fever.
Here is what you must do right away if you or a customer gets sick from food:
***Call the nearest office of the Health Department.
***Save the food that may be causing the sickness. Do not serve that food. Do not throw out any food until the Health Department tells you to. Mark it clearly and
put it in the refrigerator.
You should report all food borne illness to the Health Department - those at work, at home, at church, on picnics. Someone from the Health Department will help you to
find out how it happened, and how to prevent it in the future.
When you eat out, you eat foods that are made by someone else. You trust them to make it safe for you to eat. Now you will be preparing food for other people, and they will trust you to do all that you can to keep them from getting sick. You need to carefully prepare the food that you will serve or sell. You will wash raw vegetables; you will cook, cool, reheat, freeze and defrost food. You must keep germs that are already in the food from growing and causing food poisoning. Washing your hands carefully, and cooking and cooling foods the right way, are the most important things you can do to help keep your customers healthy. Be sure you understand this part, and to these things at work and at home. Your good habits will keep you, your customers and your family safe.
This section is about how to kill germs with heat during cooking and how to stop their growth by keeping the food hot or cold. This is called temperature control and you need thermometers to check food temperatures. There are special thermometers to check foods; there are also special thermometers to check refrigerator temperatures.
Bacteria, or other germs, need time, food and moisture (or wetness) to grow; but they won't grow when the temperature of the food is colder than 45o F (7o C) or hotter than 140o F (60o C). The temperatures in between 45o F and 140o F are in the "DANGER ZONE". Keep potentially hazardous foods out of the Danger Zone! For example, when food is left in the Danger Zone, bacteria can grow fast, and make poisons that can make your customers and family very sick.
Wash your hands. Get the food to be fixed from storage, the stove, the cooler or freezer. Take a little at a time, and keep the rest hot or cold until you are ready to work with it. Prepare potentially hazardous foods just before you need them. Don't let the termperature of the food stay in the "Danger Zone".
Use a metal stem thermometer to check temperatures while cooking food to make sure that it gets done all the way inside. Different foods have to reach different degrees to be done or safe. The metal stem thermometer measures the inside, or internal temperature of the food. A thermometer that works best shows a range of 0o F to 220o F (-18o C to 104o C). The only way you can be sure the food is cooked enough is to use a metal stem thermometer placed in the center of the food; even if you also use a thermostat to control the temperature in the oven. Wash and sanitize the thermometer each time you check the temperature of a a food.
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Metal Stem Thermometer:It measures the temperature of foods. It has a round top with a long pointed sensor made of steele to stick into the food. Don not use any other kind of thermometer to test the temperature of food. Thermostat: Something that can be set to control the temperature of an oven, a freezer, a cooler, or a heater. Once you set it, it will keep the unit hot or cold at the same temperature (unless it is broken). |
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TEMPERATURES TO MEMORIZE: Danger Zone: 45 F to 140 F Oregon Law: Allows 45 F - but 41 helps keep food safer. Potentially Hazardous Foods and minimum required temperatures: Poultry & Stuffing: 165 F (74 C) Hamburger: 155 F (68 C) Pork: 150 F (66 C) Beef, Lamb and Seafood: 140 F (60 C) Rare Beef: 130 F (54 C) This 40 page booklett is provided free at the Lane County Courthouse and is reprinted here in condenced form by removing all images to fit into six pages. |
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