Keep your MN kitchen running smoothly. We’re sharing real-world ServSafe & NEHA Best Practices to help you train staff and ace your next health inspection.

ServSafe Managers Should Consider When Using Local Farmers

6 Important Tips For ServSafe Managers Using Local Growers

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According to the Minnesota Department of Health, the use of local produce at MN food facilities has risen considerably in the last decade. While buying locally requires extra work and extra attention, the results are usually well worth the time. Local produce is fresher. Buying local food supports the community and the environment. There is growing consumer demand for local food. Using local produce can substantially increase a food establishment’s popularity. We created a list that ServSafe Managers should consider when sourcing produce from local growers.

6 Important Tips For ServSafe Managers Using Local Growers

Six Things for Restaurant Managers and ServSafe Managers To Consider When Using Local Farmers

This information is helpful for ServSafe Managers certification in MN.

  • Take Small Steps – It is easy to add a few items to existing menus.  For example, it’s possible to extend a salad bar to include local tomatoes and specialty greens in season. Local fruits and vegetables can replace the standard fare from a national distributor. Local varieties of root vegetables can substitute for more generic produce. Start small, and adjustments are easier to make.
  • Buy in Season – The great advantage of local produce is that it does not travel far. It is harvested at its peak of flavor and ripeness. It is consumed closer to the time of its harvest. Buying in season saves money and generally guarantees freshness. By keeping track of what is available throughout the growing season, ServSafe managers optimize their use of items from local growers.
  • Work With Distributors – Many distributors have expanded to include the local produce markets, at least in part. Check with your existing distributors to make sure they include local produce. As demand for local produce grows, so do services to provide that food effectively. Local distributors will have email lists, websites, phone hotlines and other means of letting their customers know what is available week to week.
  • Visit the Farm – Buying local produce is an investment in the local community. Farms frequently have visiting days during the harvest season. Checking the care, cleanliness, and competence of farm production and personnel will build confidence and a good working relationship with local growers. Local growers should be aware of requirements for ServSafe managers certification.
  • Plan Effectively – Using local produce requires flexibility. Buy produce in season. Take advantage of weekly specials. If a local product is not available, the distributor may offer a substitute. Keep a close eye on spoilage, and rotate what’s been purchased. Use produce as close to purchase time as possible.
  • Keep Track – Take special care to check in orders for local produce, especially as there may be numerous small orders in each delivery. Always get a receipt, and save it. Document and analyze your purchases to determine if the use of local produce is cost-effective.

These are some of the challenges and benefits to food service and restaurant managers when using local produce. As a certified ServSafe Manager do you treat locally grown food differently then food from national suppliers?

A food safety certification tip- creating a simple trap can be used to catch fruit flies

The Ultimate Food Safety Certification Guide To Controlling Fruit Flies In MN Restaurants

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Fruit flies are one of the most invasive restaurant pests in MN this time of the year. While MN food safety certification training does not specifically cover how to control fruit flies, keeping them out of your facility is an important part of maintaining a clean and safe environment.

Food Safety Certification Guide To Controlling Fruit Flies

Food Safety Certification Guide To Controlling Fruit Flies

Keeping a clean kitchen is an obvious step towards preventing a fruit fly infestation. However, a simple surface clean will not be sufficient to avoid the appearance of fruit flies. A deep clean will be necessary to remove potential fruit fly nesting sites. Hidden breeding grounds often exist under refrigeration units, sinks, and designated preparation areas.

Fruit flies thrive on fruit and vegetable matter. Keeping fruit and vegetables from becoming nesting grounds for these pests is crucial. This is not only for keeping them out of the kitchen but also for food safety. Storing normally shelf-stable produce under refrigeration rather than on counter surfaces will keep your fruits and vegetables out of warmer temperatures. This is important because warmer temperatures are where fruit flies thrive.

Maintaining produce quality for items that are located in dry-storage locations is vitally important. A potato or squash that has begun to rot will not only attract pests. It will become a major breeding ground. This breeding ground has the potential to infest your entire workspace. Keeping your produce areas clean and free of spoiled items will greatly reduce your risk.

Even if you have taken all the necessary steps to prevent fruit flies from finding nesting grounds, they will inevitably make an appearance. The next step is to remove them from your work space.

Fruit fly strips are easily accessible at local hardware stores, but you must exercise caution when using them in food preparation facilities. MN food safety certification training states that all pest control chemicals must be kept away from food. Proper placement for fruit fly strips will be in places such as inside the lids of covered garbage cans, near compost containers and under sinks and other surfaces.

A Simple Homemade Trap

Homemade trap for fruit flies is not part of food safety certification training but it works

For areas where a fruit fly strip will not be an option, such as near food preparation areas and where they will be visible to customers, a rudimentary trap may be an alternative. These can be easily created with a shallow transparent glass or bowl. Fill it with a small amount of apple cider vinegar or orange juice. Then, place a thin film of dish soap on top. Fruit flies will be attracted to the sugar of the vinegar or juice. They will become trapped when the soap prevents them from breathing.

While MN food safety certification training does not outline steps for preventing these invasive pests, such as fruit flies, there are ways to control their presence and provide a safe and healthy food preparation environment.

Timely hints on food Storage For Food Safety Certification

Timely Hints On Food Storage For Food Safety Certification

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Proper storage of all types of food products, whether raw meats, dairy, produce or fully prepared foods, is essential in any branch of the food service industry. Improperly stored food can lead to loss of profits due to waste, food-borne illness due to cross contamination and wasted time while employees search for product. This post provides timely hints on food storage regulations that go beyond food safety certification.

Timely Hints On Food Storage For Food Safety Certification

Image credit: National Center for Environmental Health

Food Safety Certification MN Tips On Meat Storage

Meat storage tends to be the most misunderstood and poorly implemented procedure when it comes to food storage. Raw meat should always be stored below cooked product, but food safety certification MN states that raw meats should be kept separate during storage and production. One way to ensure the safe storage of raw products and prevent cross contamination is by storing products with lower cooking temperatures on higher shelves than those with higher temperatures. The properly organized refrigerator should look like this in descending order if you store raw meats on the same rack.

  • Raw steaks and full cuts of beef (145 degrees minimum)
  • Raw ground beef (155 degrees)
  • Raw poultry (165 degrees)

You will notice that we have not included seafood on our list. Even though seafood has a minimum cooking temperature of 145 degrees, we recommend separating it further from all other product. We feel that this is an important food safety certification precaution for food storage to protect those who have allergies to seafood and shellfish.

The optimal way to achieve proper storage is to have dedicated areas for meat, dairy, and produce. Larger outlets such as large-scale food manufacturing plants can easily achieve this by using multiple refrigeration units. Many restaurants, hotels, and smaller institutional facilities do not have this luxury, so diligence is important.

Tips for Streamlining Food Storage

The first tip food safety certification to ensure proper food storage is to label everything. Food labeling and dating should occur when received or prepared. This is the obvious first step, and is required to know for food safety certification in MN, but it is helpful to take labeling one step further than minimum requirements.

Label the sections, shelves and empty spaces in your refrigerators. Employees will be able to see the designated storage location for each type of product. It will also prevent the confusion of a storage system that constantly changes.

Another tip is to store produce and meat as far away from each other as possible. In many cases, this can be achieved by splitting refrigeration space in half. One side of a walk-in refrigerator will contain produce, the other meat products. Two separate refrigerators would be the ideal storage solution, but this is not always achievable. In cramped quarters, the labeling of all available space will streamline your storage process.

Proper food storage appears simple on paper, but implementing an organized system is well worth the vigilance.

ice machine sanitation

Helpful Tips For Food Managers On Sanitation Of The Overlooked Ice Machine

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As one of the many dedicated certified food managers in Minnesota, you devote countless hours to training your staff on the critical points of food safety. You drill them on handling raw proteins, maintaining the cold chain, and cooking foods to precise temperatures. Yet, a universal ingredient, one that cools drinks and preserves buffet displays, often gets overlooked: ice. Proper ice machine sanitation is not a minor detail—it’s a fundamental component of a safe kitchen that every food manager should regularly review with their team.

The Hidden Risks: Why Ice Is a Food

ice machine sanitation

Ice is food. Learn about Ice Machine Maintenance.

It’s easy to forget, but the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially classifies ice as food. This means it is subject to the same strict handling and sanitation requirements as any other ready-to-eat product. When standards slip, the dark, damp interior of an ice machine becomes a perfect breeding ground for bacteria, biofilm, and mold. The problem isn’t just theoretical.

  • Health Hazards: Contaminated ice can introduce harmful pathogens, such as norovirus and E. coli, to your customers, leading to serious foodborne illness outbreaks.

  • Allergen Concerns: Mold spores that proliferate in a poorly maintained machine can trigger allergic reactions or asthma attacks in sensitive individuals.

Compliance Violations: A dirty ice machine is a clear red flag for health inspectors and can cause costly violations that damage your establishment’s reputation.

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Mastering Proper Handling and Ice Machine Sanitation

Simply having an ice machine doesn’t guarantee the production of safe ice. The daily procedures your kitchen and bar staff follow are critical for preventing cross-contamination. Reinforcing these two key handling protocols is essential for everyday safety.

  • Eliminate Bare-Hand Contact: The Minnesota food code clearly states that ready-to-eat foods must not be handled with bare hands. Staff should always use a dedicated, sanitized scoop to retrieve ice. For best practice, wearing single-use gloves adds another layer of protection, preventing hands from inadvertently touching the ice supply, even when using a scoop.

  • Sanitary Scoop Storage: Do not leave an ice scoop on top of the machine, where it can collect dust, or store it inside the ice bin, where the handle can become contaminated. The only acceptable method is to store the scoop in a dedicated, clean, and sanitized container, or on a sanitized tray, ensuring it is not exposed to environmental contaminants between uses.

Maintaining a Clean Zone: Inside and Out

Ice in a drink-Ice machine sanitation

Are you serving safe drinks? Learn about Ice machine sanitation!

The safety of your ice depends on the cleanliness of both the machine’s interior and its surrounding environment. You must treat the ice machine as food-contact equipment and maintain the surrounding area to prevent pests and external contaminants from compromising your ice supply.

  • The machine is for ice only: It may seem convenient, but you should never use the ice bin as a refrigerator to chill canned beverages, bottles of wine, or other food products. The exterior of these containers is not sanitary and will introduce bacteria and dirt directly into your ice.

  • Keep the surrounding area clean: The warmth and moisture from an ice machine’s condenser can create an attractive environment for pests. Clean and remove all debris from the floor and drains under and around the machine. Keep the top of the machine clear and never use it as a storage shelf for boxes, dirty dishes, or other items.

Protecting your customers requires a comprehensive approach to food safety that accounts for every ingredient, including the ice. At Safe Food Training, we focus on the real-world challenges that certified food managers in Minnesota face on a daily basis. Our training goes beyond the basics to cover these often-overlooked hazards that can impact your operation.

Don’t let poor ice machine sanitation undermine your hard work. If you and your team are ready to deepen your understanding of Minnesota’s food safety standards, our expert-led, instructor-led options provide the convenient and comprehensive training you need. 

Visit Safe Food Training today to schedule your next session and ensure your establishment is a model of safety, from the first ingredient to the last ice cube.