As a food hadnler you must prevent cross contamination. Cross contamination happens when germs from raw or unclean foods get into foods that are ready to serve or that will not be cooked again before you serve them. here are some important ways you can prevent cross contamination:
* Store raw meat, fish, and poultry on the lower shelves of the refrigerator.
* Don't let raw meat, fish or poultry drip onto foods that will not be cooked before serving.
* Wash your hands between handling raw meat and foods that will not be cooked before eating.
* Never store foods that will not be cooked before serving in the same container as raw meat, fish or poultry.
* Use a hard cutting surface or a board, with no splits or holes where germs can collect. It is easier to really clean a smooth suraface.
* Wash, rinse, and sanitize the cutting surface and all the utensils and knives every time you finish cutting raw meat, fish or poultry.
| Cross Contamination: Food that is contaminated can pass germs to food that is pure. Even when the worker has clean hands, this can happen when surfaces and utensils have germs on them. |
Wash your hands before handling food. Wash, rinse and sanitize the cutting surface and all the utensils and knives every time you finsih with a job or between preparing different foods. Use utensils to mix foods. Use a clean spoon or fork to taste food and do not reuse it. Store bulk foods in covered bins and containers with labels. Use utensils with bulk foods. Store scoops and tongs with handle extended out of the food.
| Bulk Foods: Foods stored in large amounts in big containers. |
What can you add to food? Chemicals that you add to food as you prepare it are food additives. you cannot add sulfiting agents to food at a store or restaurant. In the state of Oregon there is a law against adding these chemicals at the retail level. You cannot use ingredients for freshening or whitening if they contain sulfiting agents. Some people are allergic to sulfites. Employees in food service should learn what menu items have sulfites, sothey can tell their customers who ask. If anyone complains about getting sick from food additives, you or your supervisor must report it to the Health Department.
| Sulfiting Agent: A kind of salt used to help keep some foods, including meats, potatoes, and green salads looking fresh. |
It takes more than soap and water to keep a food business clean and safe. It also takes chemicals and care to use them the right way. You want to be safe and you want to get the job done in a safe way for your customers. Some of the chemicals you will need are detergents, sanitizers and pesticieds. These help stop germs dead in their tracks.
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Detergents: Cleaning powders and liquids that work like soap, but are made in a different way; they have chemicals in them that
are not in soap. Sanitizers: Very strong chemicals that kill germs. A good sanitizer is chlorine bleach. Pesticides: "Cide" means kill. These chemicals kill pests. |
* Know what the directions say for using chemicals. Read the labels and talk to your boss about when to use them and how much to use.
Be sure you really understand the directions!
* Keep all chemicals away from food. You must put them below food, or below any area
where you fix food.
* Can you tell what the labels say? Are they easy to see? They must be. If they are not, tell the boss. Mark them clearly with ink that lasts.
* Keep all chemicals in the bottles or boxes they come in. If you put them in a different container, label them clearly.
Use wiping cloths to sanitize counter tops, tables, cutting boards and equipment. Rinse the wiping cloth in sanitizing water mix of 1 teaspoon bleach and one gallon of water; do not add soap to this mix. (If you use another kind of sanitizer mix, be sure it is approved by the Health Department.) Test sanitizer concentration and change often. Do lnot let it become dirty. Store wiping cloth in sanitizer between uses. Clean and sanitize whenever there is a chance of cross contamination. Sanitize at the start and end of the work day. Clean during your shift as soon as you see a spill. Wash, rinse and sanitize each surface that touches food, for example, a meat slicer or grinder and cutting boards. Sanitize equipment after each use. Follow the directions on the equipment so that you can get into all the spaces where germs can grow.
| Wiping Cloth: Cotton cloth with finished edges that do not come loose. Strong enough to be sanitized after each use and to be washed often in detergent. |
These are the five steps for the right way to wash dishes by hand:
1. SCRAPE leftover food and grease from the dishes.
2. WASH the dishes with hot water and detergent in the first sink.
3. RINSE them with clean warm water in the second sink.
4. SANITIZE the dishes to destroy bacteria in the third sink. Sanitizers may be chlorine bleach or other chemicals approved by the Health Department.
For example, use on teaspoon of bleach for each gallon of warm water in the sink. Use test strips to check sanitizer concentration.
5. AIR-DRY the dishes and utensils before putting them away. (DO NOT use a towel to dry them).
Your business may have a commercial dishwasher. This dishwasher will wsh, rinse, and sanitize dishes, equipment, and utensils. There are 3 steps you must use to wash dishes by machine:
1. SCRAPE leftover food and grease from the dishes.
2. LOAD dishes into the machine and run the full cycle.
3. AIR DRY the dishes and utensils. DO NOT use a towel to dry them.
The Commercial Dishwasher may use sanitizing chemicals in the final rinse, or very hot water. At the end of the day, clean the dishwasher and check the spray holes and traps to remove bits of food.
| Commercial Dishwasher: Commercial means "for business". A place of business, like a hospital, a school or a cafe that serves food to large numbers of people usually uses a dishwashing machine that is different from the kind used at home. |
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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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