What are 4 critical preventative measures that should be followed during the display of food items?

Did you know that an estimated 1 in 6 Americans will get sick from food poisoning this year alone? Food poisoning not only sends 128,000 Americans to the hospital each year—it can also cause long-term health problems. You can help keep your family safe from food poisoning at home by following these four simple steps: , , and, .

Clean: Wash Hands, Utensils, and Surfaces Often

Germs that can make you sick can survive in many places around your kitchen, including your food, hands, utensils, cutting boards, and countertops.

Wash your hands the right way:

• Use plain soap and water—skip the antibacterial soap—and scrub the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.
• Rinse hands, then dry with a clean towel.
• Wash your hands often, especially during these key times when germs can spread:
  • Before, during, and after preparing food
  • After handling raw meat, poultry, seafood, or their juices, or uncooked eggs
  • Before eating
  • After using the toilet
  • After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used the toilet
  • After touching an animal, animal feed, or animal waste
  • After touching garbage
  • Before and after caring for someone who is sick
  • Before and after treating a cut or wound
  • After blowing your nose, coughing, or sneezing
  • After handling pet food or pet treats.

Wash surfaces and utensils after each use:

• Wash cutting boards, dishes, utensils, and countertops with hot, soapy water, especially after they’ve held raw meat, poultry, seafood, or eggs.
• Wash dish cloths often in the hot cycle of your washing machine.

Wash fruits and vegetables, but not meat, poultry, or eggs:

• Rinse fruits and vegetables under running water without soap, bleach, or commercial produce washes.
• Rinse fruits and vegetables before peeling, removing skin, or cutting away any damaged or bruised areas.
• Scrub firm produce like melons or cucumbers with a clean produce brush.
• Dry produce with a paper towel or clean cloth towel.
• Don’t wash meat, poultry, eggs, or seafood to avoid spreading harmful germs around your kitchen.
• Produce labeled as “pre-washed” does not need to be washed again.

Additional Information:

Food Safety Quick Tips: Clean (FDA)

Cleanliness Helps Prevent Foodborne Illness (USDA)

Separate: Don’t Cross Contaminate

Use separate cutting boards and plates for produce, meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs:

• Use one cutting board for fresh produce or other foods that won’t be cooked before they’re eaten, and another for raw meat, poultry, or seafood. Replace them when they are worn.
• Use separate plates and utensils for cooked and raw foods.
• Use hot, soapy water to thoroughly wash plates, utensils, and cutting boards that touched raw meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, or flour.

Keep certain types of food separate:

• In your shopping cart, separate raw meat, poultry, seafood, and eggs from other foods and place packages of raw meat, poultry, and seafood in plastic bags if available. When you check out, place raw meat, poultry, and seafood in separate bags from other foods. 
• At home, place raw meat, poultry, and seafood in containers or sealed, leakproof plastic bags. Freeze them if you’re not planning to use them within a few days.
• In the fridge, keep eggs in their original carton and store them in the main compartment—not in the door.

Additional Information:

Food Safety Quick Tips: Separate (FDA)

Cook to the Right Temperature

Food is safely cooked when the internal temperature is high enough to kill germs that can make you sick:

• Use a food thermometer to be sure your food is safe. When you think your food is done, place the food thermometer in the thickest part of the food, making sure not to touch bone, fat, or gristle.
• Refer to our Minimum Cooking Temperatures Chart to be sure your foods have reached a safe temperature.

Keep food hot (140˚F or above) after cooking:

If you’re not serving food right after cooking, keep it out of the temperature danger zone (between 40°F -140°F) where germs grow rapidly by using a heat source like a chafing dish, warming tray, or slow cooker.

May 25, 2017

Running a buffet at your food business can introduce a number of food safety risks.

Buffets often include displays of hot and cold food, as well as food held at room temperature, which means that keeping a close eye on time and temperature control is essential.

Buffets that provide potentially hazardous foods (such as seafood, meat and dairy products) can be risky as bacteria thrive in these types of food and can reach harmful levels quickly.

And members of the general public often have limited food safety skills and knowledge and may contaminate food items without realising. 

Follow the 5 rules below to improve food safety at your buffet.

Rule 1. Have at least one cleaned and sanitized serving utensil for every food item

Having one or more serving utensils for each food item discourages customers from using the same serving utensil to pick up several different food items. 

This type of behaviour can cause cross contamination especially when the same utensil is used to pick up raw foods such as sushi or sashimi and then used for other items such as bread or crackers. Allergens can also be transferred between foods in this manner.

Always remove any food or utensils that you notice have become contaminated from service and replenish with fresh items.

Rule 2. Supervise & Monitor

Allocate at least one staff member to supervise the buffet or self-service area, and train them on the steps to take if they notice a possible contamination incident. 

It can be a fine balance to maintain careful supervision without making customers feel uncomfortable or alarmed, so ensure that the staff member is not too intrusive and has good customer service skills.

It's also recommended to put out signs requesting that customers use the utensils provided for each food and do not use their fingers to serve themselves. 

Customers should be encouraged to use clean plates, cutlery and napkins when they revisit the buffet for refills.

And children should always be supervised by an adult when using buffet or self-service facilities.

Rule 3. Manage Time & Temperature Control

Ideally all food items should be displayed in hot or cold displays outside of the Temperature Danger Zone (5°C to 60°C).

For items being held in the hot or cold food zones, check the temperature every 2 hours with a cleaned and sanitized calibrated thermometer.

Use labels to show how long food has been displayed for, and when the last temperature check was performed.

If you must hold food at room temperature, be sure to discard of any food that’s been on display for 2 hours or longer.

It’s best practice to prepare and display all food in small batches that can be used within a 2 hour timeframe.

Rule 4. Consider The Display of Food and Utensils

There are some practical steps that can be taken to prevent food and utensils for contamination.

Use lids or covers on each food item where possible, and always use sneeze guards over the buffet area to prevent bacteria from sneezing or saliva reaching the food.

Ensure that the handles of serving utensils do not touch the food as bacteria can be passed from the customers hand to the utensil to the food. 

Keep raw food that will be used for ‘cook to order’ items, such as eggs for breakfast omelettes, well away from pre-prepared or cooked foods.

And keep cutlery and napkins under cover or well away from the food.

Rule 5. Throw Out Unused Food

It's best practice to throw out any food from a buffet or self-service facility that has not been used within two hours. 

Never add fresh food to old batches of food, and never re-use food that has been sitting on a buffet table, even if it’s only been there a short time.

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