Food Safety Tips
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Documents Food Service Operations NEED to Have
There are a few documents that every food service establishment should have on hand. There are also some that are specific to the food your serve. Here is a quick outline of things you should be aware of.
Every Restaurant Should Have:
1. Employee Health Agreement on hand for all employees (including managers)
2. SOP for Vomit and Bodily Fluid Clean-up
3. MSDS for all chemicals stored/used in the facility
4. Most Recent Hood Cleaning
5. Most Recent Pest Control Report
6. Food Safety Manager Certification
7. Most Recent Health Inspection
8. Valid Fire Extinguisher tag attached to extinguishers.
You may also need to have:
1. Wild Forged Mushroom Invoice for 90 days
2. Documents for fish that will be eaten raw or partially cooked for 90 days for the date of sale
3. Shellstock tags for 90 days from the date of sale
4. Alcohol License
Written by Reese Jackson
Published on February 1, 2021
Food Safety Basic for Line Cooks
It is easy to hire line cooks and expect them to already now a few things upon being hired. However, that is typically not the case. It is vital to take the time to make sure they have the basic food handling skills to serve food safely.
A few things they should know before they are allowed to prepare food unsupervised.
1. How to wash fruits and vegetables
2. How to use a TMD (Temperature Measuring Device)
3. How to test Sanitizer Solution
4. How to cool food correctly
5. How to reheat food
6. How to execute a recipe correctly
7. How to Wash their hands correctly
8. How to label food, according to local laws and company standards
9. Identify the Big 8 Allergens
10. Identify Symptoms and Illness that they must report before coming to work
These are just a few basics, as they begin to develop knife skills, ability to troubleshoot a dishwasher, ability to write/create a recipe are other skills that are helpful for line cooks to know. No one should be able prepare food without having these basic skills.
Written by Reese Jackson
Published on February 1, 2021
Short on Staff?
Staffing is hurting restaurants in more ways than one. I see a lot of restaurants putting food safety on the back burner in order to shorten the list of staff that is required to operate the space. One of the first positions that kitchens end up letting go would be the dishwasher.
The dishwasher is in charge of so many parts of your health inspection including but not limited to (point deductions in parenthesis if they are not trained in this area);
-Managing/Identifying Chemicals (-4)
-Storing Chemicals (-4)
-Mixing, Testing, and Distributing Sanitizer (-4)
-Cleaning and Sanitizing Food Contact Surfaces Every 4 Hours to prevent build-up (-4)
-Cleaning of non-food Contact Surfaces (-1)
Make sure the dishwasher is properly trained and compensated so they are able to pay rent and be the professional that you deserve so you can continue to serve safe food.
FREEZER BURN COULD COST YOU 9 POINTS!!
(What other surprises are awaiting restaurants?)
This past week, Jimmy Johns lost 9 points for having bread in the freezer with freezer burn. The health inspector sited them in accordance with Ga State Food Code 511-6-1.04(1) that states that food must be safe, unadulterated, and honestly presented. This food code is enforced mostly in reference to things like dented cans, moldy cheese and other types of damaged food.
However, freezer burn has been more of a food quality issue in the past rather than a food safety concern.
Same location was also lost 4 points for having a dirty sugar container. This is a popular deduction because many restaurants forget to clean and sanitize their dry good storage containers. This is something I advise all my clients to add to their master cleaning schedule.
Also in the last 30 days the amount of restaurants who lost points for improper cooling has gone up significantly. Make sure you staff is trained on the 4 acceptable ways to cool food down.
Here are 10 Things #fultoncounty County Health Department has deducted points for;
1. Moldy blueberries -9 points
2. Food containers put away as clean, with dried date markings on them & mold in ice chest -4 points
3. Cold Food Held about 41°F -9 points
4. Raw Shrimp in front of RTE broccoli -9 points
5. Hot Food held below 135°F -9 points
6. Missing name on chemical spray bottle -4 points
7. Storage Containers holding food with no name (must be in English) - 3 points
8. Thawing meat in a sink designated for veggie prep -3 points
9. No removable thermometer placed in WIC -3 points
10. Vegetable Wash Area not designated & pooled water in RIC -1 point
Every county is different and here at Savor Training Co., we spend time every day, reviewing health inspection reports and communicating with our clients about what they need to look for to keep a high health inspection score and serve food safely.
How to PASS your HEALTH INSPECTION???
This is the first question when someone thinks about opening a restaurant. How do I know what they are looking for? Has anything changed? When are they coming? These are just a few questions I am bombarded with on a daily basis from owners and managers who don't have an open line of communication with their environmental health specialists.
Many EHS professionals are responsible for training, evaluating, and communicating with over 100 locations so it takes a while for them to get to your restaurant. The system is broken. So what can we do about it?
We start by building a food safety management system for the restaurant. Your food safety management system should include;
-Facilities, Design, and Equipment Maintenance ----Quality Assurance
-Personal Hygiene Program
Supplier Selection -- --Cleaning and Sanitation Program
-Pest Control
-Food Safety Training
-Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)