Food Safety Blog and CFPM Resource Hub

April 29, 2018April 29, 2018

Certified Food Managers and Touch Screen Devices

With modern advances in technology, certified food managers and touch screen devices are becoming inseparable.Managers rely more and more on handheld and mobile devices for everything from scanning and checking in deliveries to giving servers the ability to place an order directly from a guest’s table. These devices make our jobs easier, but are they creating a new risk that could possibly spread food-borne illnesses?

Sanitation, Certified Food Managers and Touch Screen Devices

While these touch screens may look clean, over the course of a workday, or even with one use, bacteria and other potential contaminates will transfer from the user’s fingers onto the surface. These contaminates can then be transferred to the hands of anyone else handling the device and make their way onto plates, serving utensils and prepared food.

Current trends show that these touch screens are not only utilized by front-of-the-house staff, they are becoming more popular in the back of the house as well. Some kitchens have replaced the receipt ticker with a screen where filled orders can be swiped away with the flick of the finger and tablets are being used for everything from inventory control to time clocks. The back of the house presents the greatest risk of cross contamination, so extra care must be taken when handling these devices in food preparation areas.

Handwashing and training will be key to keeping your food safe. Certified food managers need to remind every member of their staff that they must wash their hands after using one of these devices for any reason. It may not occur to them that a simple swipe with one finger could result in a contaminated product. It may also be wise to ask your janitorial or food service provider if they have a product that will safely sanitize your touch screens without damaging them.

Do you utilize touch screens in your operation? If so, let us know how in the comments section below.

April 23, 2018April 11, 2018

Online Food Safety Training Guide to Probe Thermometers

Online food safety training teaches us that cooking proteins to the proper temperature reduces the risk of food-borne illnesses, but we need to use the right tools to make sure that we are getting accurate results. This week, we’d like to explore the different types of probe thermometers and how to make sure that your product is properly cooked before serving.

Types of Meat Probe Thermometers

Every commercial kitchen is required to have a thermometer to ensure proper temperature control, but there are several different types to choose from:

Instant-read dial probe thermometers
Digital instant-read probe thermometers
Digital forked thermometers
Thermocouple
Oven-safe probe thermometer

Due to their affordability, certified kitchen managers often choose to provide their staff with instant-read dial thermometers. While they are designated as “instant-read,” many dial thermometers take up to a full minute to produce an accurate reading. We don’t recommend this style of thermometer for checking the internal temperature of thin proteins such as burgers as the metal stem can pick up heat from cooking equipment or provide a lower reading when exposed. This style of thermometer must be calibrated and checked for accuracy fairly often as the dial can be off by a few degrees with constant use.

Digital thermometers cost a little more than dial thermometers but provide an easy-to-read interface to check the temperature of your cooked product. Depending on the brand, these thermometers can calibrate themselves when placed in ice water, allowing you to be confident with their results. Some of these have a forked prong which will give an accurate reading when checking roasts and larger cooked meat products.

The thermocouple is the most versatile probe thermometer. These work well for checking the internal temperature of both thin and thick products and produce a reading in seconds. These are rather costly, so many outlets prefer to keep a few on hand rather than purchase one for every staff member.

Oven-safe thermometers are a handy tool if you are slow cooking or smoking your product. These can remain in your roasts or large pans of food to monitor the internal temperature throughout the process. These come in two distinct styles, one has a dial at the end of a probe while the other has a probe attached to an oven safe cord which leads to a digital readout outside of the oven. This feature allows you to easily view internal temperatures without opening your oven.

What types of thermometers do you utilize in your facility?

April 16, 2018April 11, 2018

What does HACCP mean for ServSafe Food Managers?

Every so often, ServSafe food managers will come across literature from the FDA or other sources that refer to HACCP procedures. HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) is a common system for reducing the risk of spreading food-borne illness and keeping the food supply safe. While HACCP standards and action plans are not commonly required in restaurants, many food-producing outlets and raw ingredient suppliers must follow these guidelines.

What is HACCP?

HACCP is not quite as complicated as it may sound. The intent of this system is to identify potential food-safety hazards and then take steps to keep food production safe. The basic outline of a Hazard Analysis Critical Contol Point plan looks something like the following:

Evaluate and identify potential hazards in production
Identify critical points and establish controls to prevent hazards
Establish procedures to monitor and measure
Correct hazards
Keep records of hazards and correction procedures

Whether your facility follows the FDA’s HACCP system or not, these are still steps ServSafe food managers should take. Every facility has its potential hazards whether they come from hot holding, chilling of cooked product or the risks of cross-contamination in storage or prep stations. Once these potential risks are identified and assessed, it is important to monitor them to ensure food safety. This monitoring can come in the form of routine measurement of temperatures, verifying that proper storage and sanitation procedures are followed or any other step that helps keep food safe at these critical points of production.

April 9, 2018April 11, 2018

Retaking the Food Safety Certification Exam

At Safe Food Training, we pride ourselves on the high success rate our students have when taking their food safety certification exam, but there are times when we have a student who must take a second test in order to gain their food manager certification. This week, we’d like to offer tips and suggestions on what to do if you do not pass the test the first time.

Food Safety Certification Exam Retake Tips

If you end up in a situation where you must retake your food safety certification exam, we recommend you prepare by following these steps:

Review the material as soon as possible
Plan on retaking the class before the exam
Schedule a retake as soon as you are able

Reviewing the material and retaking the exam shortly after the first test helps keep the information fresh in your mind. It will also reinforce the material that you may not have understood completely by allowing you to remember which sections of the exam that were a struggle.

When the day for your retake session arrives, come prepared. Be ready to take notes, engage with the instructor and ask questions when you are unsure about the discussion. We’ve found that students who ask questions and are active participants achieve better results on the test.

Finally, don’t dwell on your past results when the time comes to retake the exam. Remain calm and confident. If you’ve prepared properly, the second time should result in a much better outcome.

If you’ve recently taken the food safety certification exam, but the results did not go as planned, contact us for information about scheduling a retake.