Get your MN kitchen compliant with our state-approved Certified Food Protection Manager Training. We’re offering headache-free 8-hour initial courses and 4-hour renewals.

Expert Food Safety Tips For The Return Of Food Truck Festivals

Expert Food Safety Tips For The Return Of Food Truck Festivals

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After a year of restrictions, the activities our area is famous for are returning and Minnesota residents are eager to resume their summer adventures. Events like Minnesota Food Truck Festival are coming back after being cancelled in 2020, and we can’t be more exited. With an estimated 50 vendors, live music, games and other activities, you may want to mark your calendars on July 17th in St. Paul and August 12st in Anoka for these events. If you’re a food truck owner, it’s probably been a while since you’ve had these kind of opportunities, so it’s helpful to review a few food safety training protocols for food trucks.

Food Safety Tips For The Return Of Food Truck Festivals
Image credit: City of Anoka

Food Truck Food Safety Training for Large Events

Food truck operators face unique challenges when it comes to food safety due to the nature of their business. Food truck kitchens are smaller, must rely on outside sources for water and other utilities and must operate with limited staff due to the cramped kitchen space. Here are our top three food safety risks food truck owners must monitor:

  • Handwashing capabilities
  • Cross-contamination potential
  • Time and temperature control

Many food trucks don’t have an unlimited supply of water built in, so operators should find locations with an onsite water supply for handwashing. Fortunately, most sites that host food trucks will have water access available. Just remember that your location must have hot water available in order to ensure properly washed hands. Depending on the volume of business, some jurisdictions allow an onboard water tank to be used as a water supply. If your truck has that capability, be sure to test your supply to ensure it’s hot enough to ensure clean hands. Remember that every time you change gloves or touch raw foods, you need to wash your hands properly.

Due to the limited storage, there is ample potential for cross contamination. In order to prevent foodborne illness from cross contamination, we suggest using separate cold storage for raw product, produce and ready-to-eat-foods.

Finally, many food truck operators hot hold certain items in order to improve efficiency. Food safety managers who operate food trucks should periodically review proper time and temperature control with any employees working in their food truck.

Do you operate a food truck or plan on attending a food truck festival this summer?

Important Filing Deadlines For Your Food Protection Manager Certificate

Important Filing Deadlines For Your Food Protection Manager Certificate

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We all know that restaurants and other establishments that serve or prepare food are required to have a Minnesota certified food protection manager on staff to ensure that the food they prepare is safe and that sanitation procedures are being properly followed. However, there is often some confusion as to what paperwork needs to be filed with the health department and when you have to document proof of a passed food protection manager exam. In order to clear up some of the confusion, let’s take a closer look at what steps CFPMs must take after gaining their food protection manager certificate.

Important Filing Deadlines For Your Food Protection Manager Certificate
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How to File Your Food Protection Manager Certificate With The State

Every once in a while, we run across students who pass the certified food protection manager exam and are unclear if there’s anything else necessary in order to be properly certified. Simply taking in-person or online food safety management training and gaining your certificate is not enough to completely comply with the Minnesota food code. Candidates who pass their initial exam or complete a renewal course must complete the paperwork with the Minnesota Department of Health, and they have a limited time to do so.

Once you’ve passed the exam, you must fill out an initial CFPM application if this is your first submission or a CFPM renewal application when renewing your certificate. These then must be mailed to the department of health at the address listed on the application form. Included in the application should be a copy of proof of attending at least four hours of food management training or successful completion of the CFPM exam.

The exam certificates have expiration dates that are up to five years, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have five years to send a copy of your certificate to the Minnesota Health Department. Most food management exam programs are accepted in multiple states, so the expiration date on your certificate does not give you added time to submit your CFPM application. The state of Minnesota requires the application to be submitted with six months of passing the course.

We’ve been asked if there is anything that can be done if this deadline is missed, and unfortunately, if you forget to apply before the six months is up you must repeat the course and retake the exam. Don’t frame your food protection manager certificate immediately or leave it in a drawer to be forgotten, make sure you file your CFPM application with the state as soon as possible after successful training.

Tips For Certified Food Managers Dealing With Power Outages

Helpful Tips For Certified Food Managers Dealing With Power Outages

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The food industry can be unpredictable, and certified food managers need to be prepared to keep their food safe during special odd circumstances such as a power outage. If the power goes out, and you have no idea when it’ll return, what can a certified food manager do to keep food safe and ready to serve once the lights come back on?

Tips For Certified Food Managers Dealing With Power Outages
Image credit; Tamworth Council via Flickr

Power Outages and Certified Food Managers

Once the power goes out, the first thing you should not do is panic or simply leave your facility. Make sure all gas equipment that requires an electric spark is turned off, and assess whether there is any danger to guests or employees due to a lack of power. Hopefully you’ll have battery powered backup lighting to make a quick inspection of any scenario where a power outage could turn into something worse, like a fire.

After your certified food manager has taken steps to ensure safety, a staff member should be designated to contact the local utilities office. Sometimes a power outage can be solved in a matter of minutes, so there may be no need to take further steps. Having an estimated outage time will make it easier to formulate a plan. If you’re looking at a longer outage make sure that all refrigeration and freezer units are closed. If necessary, prepare ice bags for sensitive items in cold storage to keep them below 41 degrees, and only open cold storage doors when checking temperatures or storing food items.

Hot held items do not need to be thrown away immediately after losing power. Check their temperature regularly to ensure they remain out of the danger zone until power comes on. If hot held items are in danger of falling below 135 degrees, your certified food manager should make the call to throw them away or cool in an ice bath or shallow pan under refrigeration before they fall into the danger zone.

If you find that your establishment will be without power for a lengthy amount of time, have a staff member monitor refrigeration temperatures often. Finding a source of ice to keep cold food cold will be key if power won’t be restored the same day. If you have any doubt about product being in the danger zone too long, err on the side of caution and dispose of it.

Do you and other certified food managers have a plan in the event of power failure?

Food Safety Manager Guide To Renovations And Equipment Certification

Valuable Guide To Equipment Certification For Food Safety Managers

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Many restaurateurs have been putting off kitchen renovations while waiting for business to pick up, and now that the economy is moving again and food safety managers have access to government backed loans that can be used for improvements, industrial kitchen renovations are on the rise. Food business owners cannot simply install any piece of equipment they want when upgrading their facility, so what exactly does the Minnesota food code require when it comes to equipment certification? We’ve created this guide to equipment certification for food safety managers

Valuable Guide To Equipment Certification For Food Safety Managers
Image credit: Michal Jarmoluk via Pixabay

Equipment Certification Rules and Food Safety Managers

If you’re shopping for new industrial restaurant equipment, be aware that most mechanical, storage, refrigeration and cooking equipment must be certified by an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited certification program. The most common ANSI certification programs include:

  • NSF International (NSF)
  • Intertek (ETL Sanitation)
  • Underwriters Laboratory (UL)
  • Baking Industry Sanitation Standard Committee (BISSC)

While these aren’t the only ANSI accredited programs, chances are if you’re purchasing your hardware from a major distributor, food safety managers should easily find an equipment certification sticker backed by one of these standards. If you’re unsure, the paperwork included in your purchase should document whether or not your equipment has been approved by one of these standards.

Most large industrial equipment will generally require certification. Items that must be certified for use include:

  • Mechanical warewashing equipment
  • Mechanical meat tenderizers, slicers and grinders
  • Walk-in freezers and refrigerators
  • Cooking equipment
  • Food preparation surfaces and warewashing sinks

There are a few exceptions to certification standards. Food safety managers don’t need to be concerned about certifications for toasters, microwaves and other small appliances. Special event food stands also receive an exemption from certification regulations.

When in doubt about equipment certification, food safety managers should remember your equipment must be designed for commercial use. With the exception of toasters, microwaves and chest freezers, kitchen equipment designed for home use will not have passed certification standards for use in an industrial kitchen.

Do you have any plans on upgrading your kitchen equipment?