With summer around the corner, some eating establishments are beginning to plan outdoor events such as barbecues, mobile kitchens and backyard catering, but you should be aware that the health department requires the same food safety training standards whether you’re cooking inside or outside. There are quite a few challenges when taking the kitchen to the great outdoors, so we created a food safety training refresher for your use.
Food Safety Training Review for Outdoor Cooking Events
When planning an outdoor event with live cooking stations, you should brush-up your food safety training and make sure that you have the capabilities to follow proper food safety training for:
- Sanitation
- Handwashing
- Temperature control
Since you’re away from your kitchen, you’ll need to take steps to ensure you have an approved sanitizer solution on hand for preparation surfaces and cooking utensils. Not only should you have a bucket of sanitizer solution handy, you should take precautions to refresh your sanitizer solution occasionally. This could be a spare brought from your main facility, or if you’re close enough to your kitchen a replacement could be brought to your outdoor kitchen occasionally.
Another food safety training reminder is setting up an outdoor handwashing station, which is also required if you’re actively cooking and preparing food away from your kitchen. Unlike providing a sanitizer solution, a handwashing station will take a little bit more of an investment. Simply sanitizing hands or wearing gloves will not effectively prevent the transmission of foodborne pathogens from handling raw ingredients. There are a few styles of mobile handwashing stations available, so contact your equipment supplier to find one that is best suited for your setup.
Finally, cold foods will need to be kept cold and hot foods will need to be kept hot. If you’re cooking proteins such as hamburgers, chicken or bratwurst, they must be kept cold until they hit the grill. Make sure that you have a cooler box or ice bath that can maintain a temperature below 41-degrees or have a supply of fresh product brought out to your cooking stations periodically.
Are you planning on setting up an outdoor kitchen to attract customers this summer? Have you scheduled a food safety training refresher for your staff?
