Food Safety Blog and CFPM Resource Hub

September 20, 2021September 20, 2021

A ServSafe MN Managers Expert Guide To Flu Season

The leaves are turning brilliant reds, yellows and oranges and kids are flocking back to school, all signs that fall is upon us, and with fall comes the start of flu season. Unfortunately, this flu season is complicated with the remnants of the coronavirus, so it’s especially important to take care of our health during these times to prevent the flu from being a factor in keeping our businesses open and functioning with a full staff. As we roll into the fall flu season, we should look at how ServSafe MN managers can help promote healthy habits among their staff.

ServSafe MN Manager Tips for Flu Prevention

One of the biggest struggles with the upcoming flu season may be that flu-like illnesses and COVID-19 share similar symptoms, but our yearlong adventure of sanitation, wearing masks and washing hands frequently have prepared us to thwart the flu as well as the corona virus.

Proper handwashing is one of the most effective tools we have to fight the flu. In fact, proper handwashing will help prevent much more than the flu, it’s one of the most effective procedures ServSafe MN manager have in reducing the risk of spreading numerous types of illnesses foodborne or otherwise. It’s critical to make sure you have a fully stocked handwashing area with plenty of paper towels, soap, hot water and an up-to-date handwashing poster. Antiseptic solutions and hand sanitizers can add an extra layer of protection, just remember they are no substitute for handwashing and should only be applied after washing hands for 20 seconds.

It’s also important to take care of our personal health during the flu season. ServSafe MN managers should be aware that kitchens are hot environments, even when it’s cold outside, and extended periods of time in the heat can dehydrate staff members. Keep an eye on your staff and ensure they are getting adequate breaks to drink plenty of water and keep their energy levels high.

Finally, it’s important to reiterate that sick workers should stay home. Even if symptoms are mild, the flu and other illnesses can spread to the rest of the staff. If you’re sick, no matter what the cause, stay home, rest and come back when you’ve fully recovered without symptoms.

As a ServSafe MN manager, are you taking extra precautions to keep your staff healthy during the upcoming flu season?

September 13, 2021September 9, 2021

Scary Simple Front Of House Food Safety Precautions

Kitchen personnel have easy access to gloves, serving utensils and other tools to help them avoid bare hand contact with any ready-to-eat foods, but servers, bar tenders and busboys tend to have a much more hectic pace to their routine and may be further away from supplies when it comes to bare hand contact and ready-to-eat foods. With a few simple precautions, we can ensure that the front of the house keeps the same food safety standards as the kitchen.

Avoiding Front Of House Bare Hand Contact with Ready-to-Eat Foods Has A Huge Impact on Food Safety

The Minnesota Food Code states that there can be no bare hand contact with food that is ready to serve. This includes cooked foods, raw fruits and vegetables and any other items ready for consumption. For the kitchen, this is pretty straight forward, but bar tenders and servers come into contact with these types of foods as well. Some examples include:

Fresh bread
Garnishes for drinks
Leftovers to be boxed up
Unique items held at server stations

Bread, garnishes, drinks and leftovers cannot be handled with bare hands. There are also some unique situations that can be a food safety hazard when handled with bare hands such as table snacks, fruit and vegetable slices for kid’s meals and a number of other possibilities. Just remember, if the food goes directly from its holding place to a customer’s plate, it should be considered a ready-to-eat food.

One-use disposable gloves are recommended when handling ready-to-eat products, but it can be a time consuming reparative task for the hustle of the wait staff’s routine during high-volume service. Tongs, spatulas and other utensils that can easily transport food on to plate or into drinks are acceptable and much easier to use than constantly changing gloves. However, when bagging up leftovers or continually handling garnishes for extended periods of time before returning to the dining room floor, single-use food service gloves may be the best option.

Always remember to wash your hands thoroughly and promote food safety training in the front of the house when it comes to handling ready-to-eat product.

Have you reviewed food safety training procedures for handling prepared food on the dining room floor?

September 6, 2021August 10, 2021

A New Revealing Cafeteria Food Safety Training Guide

It’s the time of year many kids dread; back to school. While parents rejoice as their kids are finally out of the house after a long year of remote and hybrid learning, teachers, coaches and cafeteria workers are preparing to welcome our students back to something resembling normalcy. Since it may have been a while for some, it is probably a prudent time for a quick back to school review on cafeteria food safety training and common allergens.

Food Safety Training for Allergens in School Cafeterias

Many of our students, and even teachers, suffer from severe allergies. Some foods may even cause a life-threatening situation if accidentally ingested. The eight big allergens you need to be aware of are:

Peanuts
Tree nuts
Dairy
Eggs
Wheat
Soy
Fish
Shellfish

That’s quite an extensive list, but this cafeteria food safety training guide can breakdown some easy steps you can take in order to prevent serving any students something that may endanger their health.

Peanuts can cause some of the most extreme reactions to those that are allergic, even without actually ingesting peanuts themselves. Some students can suffer reactions just by being in close proximity with another student eating peanuts. We’d strongly urge you not to serve any food items that contain peanuts. While not as severe, tree nuts can also cause health hazards to those allergic, so we’d also suggest treating tree nuts the same as you would peanuts to prevent an allergic incident.

Dairy, eggs, wheat and soy are ingredients in many different food items and products, so it’s a little more difficult to simply ban them from the cafeteria. When it comes to these ingredients, make sure that items containing these are clearly labeled. It may also be beneficial to start and email group for parents with students who are susceptible to allergens to make them aware of foods being served that may contain these ingredients. This will give them advanced notice to warn their students before they arrive at school.

Fish and shellfish are rare in school cafeterias. We’d suggest not serving shellfish and treat fish as you would dairy, eggs, soy and wheat by providing a warning.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, try to serve lunches that contain none of these eight allergens. Hunger affects those with or without allergies, so no student should skip a meal just because there’s no allergy friendly selection.

Do you have alternative lunches available for students with allergies? Does this cafeteria food safety training tip sheet help?

August 30, 2021September 13, 2021

Simple “Time As Public Health Control” Tips For CFPMs

Some events and food service situations may not benefit from instant service or hot and cold held buffet lines, so the Minnesota food code has procedures that allow certified food protection managers to utilize time as public health control (TPHC) to help you keep the food you serve safe, even if you aren’t serving it instantly. Let’s take a moment to review exactly how Certified Food Protection Managers can use TPHC in certain situations.

Buffet use of Time As Public Health Control Tips For certified Food Protection Managers — Image credit: Wikimedia commons

How Certified Food Protection Managers Can Best Use TPHC

Just a quick note before we begin. If you are the certified food protection manager at a facility that serves an immunocompromised or susceptible population, it’s best not to utilize time as a public health control. Assisted living facilities, hospitals, certain school and other outlets that serve a susceptible population should rely on hot and cold holding temperature control. TPHC is technically allowed for food that does not include eggs in some of these situations, but caution may be the best course of action.

The rules behind TPHC control are rather simple, but there are a few steps you must take when using this method. The basics of TPHC are:

Hot foods above 135 degrees can be held for four hours after removed from temperature control
Cold foods below 41 degrees can be held for four hours after removed from temperature control
Cold foods can be held for six hours after being removed from temperature control if the monitored temperature never rises over 70 degrees

Just to summarize time as public health control for CFPM use, any foods pulled out of hot holding above 135 degrees or cold storage below 41 degrees can be held for four hours without hot holding or cold holding. Cold foods can be held up to six hours if temperatures are monitored closely.

Once the holding process begins, it cannot be extended by reheating or chilling items. Once these items have been removed from a temperature controlled environment, your timer starts and cannot be paused or extended by any means. As soon as your four, or six, hours have expired all food must be discarded. It cannot be stored, reheated or served at a later time under any circumstances.

Finally, make sure that you have written TPHC procedures outlined and available should a health inspector wish to review them. It’s also important that every staff member understands the restrictions of TPHC before service begins.

Does your certified food protection manager utilize time as public health control?