The blog for MN certified food protection managers
Many busy restaurants and large production facilities depend on plastic storage containers to keep large amounts of product ready to be served or prepared. Many of these over-sized containers do not fit in the standard industrial dishwasher creating a dilemma when it comes to getting them properly cleaned and sanitized. This week, we’ll take a look at how to make sure that you can prevent these containers from becoming a breeding ground for bacteria.
Over the past few centuries of delivering presents and feasting on milk and cookies Santa Claus has put on a few pounds. Well, last year, Mrs. Claus put Santa on a strict diet, so most of the cookies left for jolly old Saint Nick were collected and left in the break room at Santa’s North Pole workshop. As it turns out, elves are just as susceptible to allergens as humans and there was a major outbreak of reactions among Santa’s merry helpers.
While the North Pole is a little out of our jurisdiction, we do provide allergen information in many of our ServSafe MN training sessions. The most common food allergens that occur in baked products are:
Peanuts rank in their own category of high-risk allergens due to the severity of reactions among elves and human beings. Accidentally consuming peanut products can potentially be life threatening for allergy sufferers. Whether you’re baking for a party of 25 guests or a group of several million toy-making elves, we strongly urge you to forego cooking with peanuts when preparing treats for large gatherings. While reactions to tree nuts are not as common as peanuts, there is still a large portion of the public that suffers from reactions shortly after consuming products containing tree nuts. We recommend that you avoid these as well when serving large groups.
While there are not quite as high a percentage of elves that are allergic to eggs and dairy as humans, there are still rare occurrences of reactions among Santa’s helpers. We understand that you cannot simply avoid baking with eggs or dairy for every occasion, but it is important that you make your guests aware that your products may contain eggs or dairy products.
Whether you run a restaurant, hospitality service or bakery, it is vital that your consumers are made aware that your products may contain these three allergens. A warning label on wrapped baked goods or a note on your menu should be sufficient if your customers have numerous options to choose from. If you run a catering company hosting an event in which baked goods containing these allergens will be displayed, this warning can be tricky. If you include a placard or small sign indicating which items on your display tables contain peanuts, tree nuts, eggs or dairy, your guests will know which foods to avoid.
At Safe Food Training MN, we’d like to wish all of the food workers out there Happy Holidays
With winter approaching, it’s typical for fresh product availability to wane and force many outlets to bring in frozen product. Even though we cover thawing frozen product at length in our online and instructor led food safety certification MN courses, we thought it might be a good idea to provide a quick review on the subject.
Before we begin our discussion, we’d like to share with you an actual question that was once used in some states’ food handler’s permit tests:
Where is the proper place to thaw an 18-pound frozen turkey?
A. On a counter
B. In your refrigerator
C. In the oven
D. In the trunk of your car
If you chose D, then this blog is for you. The proper answer to this question is in the refrigerator. Cooking a large, frozen turkey is sure to create a bacteria hazard or an overcooked and inedible bird, and there is no way to safely thaw a turkey on a counter at room temperature.
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After publishing almost 70 information packed blog posts in the last two years Safe Food Training has become a go to destination for Minnesota food safety regulations. Our target audience of MN chef’s, certified food managers and restaurant owners can find information on everything from safely preparing wild game dinners to preventing wild animals in your dumpsters. We’ve provided our readers tips on buffet service, shellfish storage and proper freezer sanitation. We’ve also occasionally discussed management, marketing and HR issues of interest to our audience. We’re proud of the body of knowledge we’ve assembled for Minnesotans in the food service industry.
However, it’s about time to move on to something new… we’d like to introduce you to Safe Food Training’s new Safe Food for Thought blog. We’ve just begun to scratch the surface of food safety and related issues for the food service industry in MN. We have plans to discuss more food management nuances/challenges as well as provide updates on food safety legislation, and review new equipment for your kitchen and much more!
It’s Safe Food Training’s objective to help MN to become the safest place in the world for people to enjoy going out for a meal! We start by providing the state’s best class room training for food service workers who want to become a new certified food manager. Over 90% of our students pass the exam on their first try. We continuously monitor that indicator of our success and survey our students to find ways to update and improve the courses.
We also provide both on-line and regularly scheduled instructor lead re-certification courses to refresh current CFM’s. But a four hour class every three years is just the minimum.
Our weekly blog is intended to continually challenge our readers, remind them of the food safety standards and make them aware of changes in the code. We also encourage our readers to pass our tips and tricks on to others in their organization so the whole staff is sensitive to the importance of food safety and aware of proper food handling procedures.
Our team designed this new site to make it easier for food service workers to find information relevant to their everyday challenges. If you have a question about a topic we haven’t already covered, let us know. We’ll get an answer and publish it as a blog so everyone benefits.
Another unique addition to the new site is an alert feature that food managers can use to check for the most up to date food recall information. This new feature provides 24/7 streaming data from the FDA regarding all US food recalls. You no longer have to lose sleep worrying about serving contaminated food supplied from a manufacturer. Just quickly check the blog once a day to make sure your supplies are safe.
Can you tell we’re fired up about our new blog?!? You’ve already told us you love the old blog and you read it regularly. The new Safe Food for Thought blog will make it even easier to stay informed about your career and help you to keep your customers safe. We know that a better informed workforce can make Minnesota’s hospitality industry a safer place to eat out. Safe Food Training is ready to make a difference!
Subscribe to the Safe Food for Thought Newsletter right here.