Category: MN Food Code

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A How To Guide For Retail ServSafe Food Managers To Safely Sample Product

Guide For Retail ServSafe Food Managers To Safely Sample Product

Many retail food businesses offer samples as a way to boost their sales, but before retail ServSafe food managers begin loading up trays of their product, they should be careful to ensure that they’re providing their potential customers with samples that are low-risk for foodborne illness. Observing common sense food-handling procedures will go a long way towards keeping samples safe, but there are some special steps that should be taken when sampling your product to the public.

How To Guide For Retail ServSafe Food Managers To Safely Sample Product
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How Retail ServSafe Food Managers can Safely Sample Product

A quick look at Minnesota food code guidelines regarding retail sampling shows us five things retail ServSafe food managers should monitor when offering samples:

  • Handwashing
  • Bare-hand Contact
  • Holding Temperature
  • Warewashing and Sanitation Procedures
  • Employee Hygiene

Clean hands and proper food handling with food-grade gloves or utensils is one of the most proven ways to prevent food contamination from dirty hands, so any employee monitoring a sample station should have nearby access to a handwashing station. Be aware that bathroom sinks are not approved handwashing stations, so ensure access to a properly stocked handwashing station. Also, be aware that any sample touched by a customer and put back should be discarded since it has been handled by unclean hands.

If food is served hot or cold retail ServSafe food managers must make sure it remains out of the danger zone when stored at sampling stations. When sampling foods that cannot be stored at room temperature, make sure that you limit the amount of product on sampling surfaces to keep them as fresh as possible. This will reduce foodborne illness risk and also make your product more appealing.

All utensils used in service must be properly washed using an approved warewashing machine or triple sink method. Sampling stations should have a properly mixed sanitizer solution available in order to keep surfaces clean and germ-free.

Finally, retail ServSafe food managers should not allow ill employees to monitor sampling stations or work in other areas of the business. If you have a sick employee, send them home and make sure they are symptom-free before they return to work.

Are you a retail ServSafe food manager who offers samples to boost product sales?

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Powerful New Reference Tools For Assisted Living MN ServSafe Managers

Powerful New Reference Tools For Assisted Living MN ServSafe Managers

Every food business outlet has its own unique challenges, but due to the susceptibility of the residents in assisted living facilities, ServSafe food managers should be extremely careful with the food they serve. In order to protect the most vulnerable to illness, the Minnesota Department of Health as put together an FAQ for ServSafe Managers of assisted living facilities. Let’s take a look at some of the outlined rules that affect MN ServSafe managers in these facilities.

Powerful New Reference Tools For Assisted Living MN ServSafe Managers
Image credit: Arbor Lakes Senior Living

MN ServSafe Managers’ Guide to Assisted Living Kitchens

The Minnesota food code defines a highly susceptible population as a group that is more likely to contact foodborne illness due immunocompromised conditions or age. Assisted living facilities commonly serve these groups, and some other outlets the Minnesota Department places in this category includes:

  • Custodial Care Facilities
  • Specialized Nutritional Centers
  • Senior Centers
  • Medical Health Care Facilities

In their guide to the application of the food code to assisted living facilities, the Minnesota Department of Health outlines the key factors to serving an elderly or medically compromised population. The reinforce the need for:

  • Oversight of Food Handling Procedures
  • Health and Hygiene
  • Ready-to-Eat Food Safety
  • Time and Temperature Control
  • Cross-Contamination

You may look at this list and say to yourself, “I remember this from MN ServSafe manager training, so why do we need new outlines from the health department?”

The point of these new fact sheets is to emphasize the most important aspects of keeping food safe in assisted living facilities, and these measures give us the best chance of preventing foodborne illness.

Just like other food processing facilities, assisted living centers require a certified food protection manager to oversee food safety and training. The CFPM should also monitor employee hygiene to ensure nobody works sick and that proper handwashing procedures are followed.

It’s also vital to document time and temperature control procedures, especially when cooling prepared food and reheating ready-to-eat foods. Most facilities that serve the sensitive populations usually prepare food in advance in order to serve larger groups all at once. If you prepare your food ahead of time and reheat it for service, make sure you review cooling and temperature control procedures.

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A Valuable Certified Food Protection Manager Refresher On Cooling Procedures

A Valuable Certified Food Protection Manager Refresher On Cooling Procedures

Having product prepared ahead of time can make for smooth service during the dinner rush and gives certified food protection managers time to concentrate on menu items that need to be prepared at the moment. If you rely on cooking hot foods in advance to be ready to reheat, it may be a good time for your certified food protection manager to review proper cooling procedures with your staff.

A Valuable Certified Food Protection Manager Refresher On Cooling Procedures
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Cooling Times and Temperature Review for Certified Food Protection Managers

The key to making sure that cooling foods are kept safe from foodborne illness is to chill it as fast as possible so that it doesn’t stay in the danger zone for an extended period of time. Food that sits between 41 degrees and 135 degrees has an elevated risk of growing bacteria, especially if left at that temperature for over longer than is reasonable. If your food was prepared at room temperature, you have four hours for your product to reach 41 degrees. If foods are prepared at temperatures over 135 degrees, they must reach 70 degrees within two hours and 41 or below within six total hours from the start of the process.

MN food code and certified food protection manager training reinforces that this chilling process should happen as quickly as possible, so make sure you utilize the following methods:

  • Ice water baths
  • Separating liquid product into shallow hotel pans
  • Slicing solid product to portions four inches thick or less
  • Sanitized cooling wands
  • Rapid cooling equipment such as blast chillers
  • Adding ice as a final ingredient

If you don’t have access to a blast chiller, the fastest way to cool hot product is by reducing portion size and cooling it in your walk-in in shallow pans. If you want to expedite the process for soups, sauces and other liquids, you can add ice as the last ingredient of your recipe. This is quite effective for menu items that have a water or stock base, to begin with.

Ice water baths are also incredibly effective, and when combined with a frozen cooling wand, can bring your chilling product below 41 degrees rapidly.

Has your certified food protection manager taken the time to evaluate cooling procedures in your facility?

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How To Get A Specialized Process Approved By The MN Health Department

Specialized Process Approved By MN Health Department

During in-person certified food protection manager training, we get the opportunity to discuss food safety issues that are unique to our students’ businesses. On occasion, we have students looking for clarity on specific food preparation methods that may not directly be covered by the Minnesota food code. If there the code lacks guidelines that specifically address a certain cooking process does that mean that there are no rules or that that process is not allowed? The answer isn’t always that simple, so let’s take a look at how certified food protection managers can evaluate and get MN Department of Health approval for specialized processes not directly covered by the food code.

Specialized Process Approved By MN Health Department
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Tips For Certified Food Protection Managers Using Specialized Processes Not Covered By MN Department of Health Food Code

When we refer to specialized processes, we’re talking about cooking and curing methods beyond the basics. Some specialized processes we’re asked about include:

  • Fermentation and Canning
  • Curing Meats
  • Reduced Oxygen Packaging
  • Operating a Live Shellfish Tank

All four of these specialized processes and others not outlined by the current Minnesota Department of Health food code require a written hazard analysis and critical control point plan (HAACP) and a variance approved by the health department. Without this variance, your business could fail a health inspection if you do not have an approved HAACP in place.

Fermentation and canning require a variance because they involve preservation processes that utilize additives such as vinegar or fermenting product outside of approved temperatures. Some examples include kimchi, jams and pickled items. Curing meats involves adding nitrates and other preservatives to create charcuterie, salami, jerky and other preserved items. These processes are not regulated by the current heath code and would be outlined as violations if not approved by your local health department.

The rules surrounding reduced oxygen cooking and packaging processes such as sous vide, vacuum packaging and other modified oxygen processes are also not clearly outlined and require special guidance from the health department. Some seafood restaurants may choose to keep live shellfish on display in a tank where customers can choose their meals, while it may not seem like a large risk, these types of display aquariums that contain servable product must be also approved.

Obtaining a variance isn’t as difficult as it may seem. Most health inspectors are willing to work with certified food protection managers in order to keep food safe and allow for creativity. Before applying for a variance make sure your consider a written plan that includes:

  • A food safety hazard analysis
  • Critical control points
  • Limits for preventative measures
  • Monitoring procedures
  • Corrective actions during monitoring
  • Effective record keeping protocol
  • Procedures to ensure the HAACP is working

If you have any trouble constructing a HAACP plan, it may be wise to consult with your local health inspector to ensure that your procedures are keeping your specialized processes safe .

Do you use Special preparation procedures not outlined by the Minnesota food code that may need MN Health Department approval?