Welcome to Food Safety Training.
Food safety is very important when you are supporting people who depend on your ability to prepare and serve nutritious, healthy meals. This course will provide you with a background in safe food handling, preparation, service, and storage.
Section 1: Food Sickness
1.1: Food Sickness Defined
Food Sickness happens when the food you eat makes you sick because of the amount of bacteria in the food.
Bacteria is present in all food. The trick is to kill the bacteria or keep the amount of bacteria so low that it won't make you sick.
1.2: How Food Makes You Sick
Raw food such as meats, fruits and vegetables, and dairy products can be contaminated with bacteria when you buy them at the grocery store. Food can also be contaminated by handling it without washing your hands, by using unsanitized equipment, and by coming into contact with unsanitized kitchen surfaces.
Salmonella is the bacteria which is most commonly found in foods and which causes most instances of food sickness. The amount of salmonella present in meats, fish, poultry, dairy products, and many fruits and vegetables is more than is present in most other foods. The more salmonella a food has in it, the more the chance of getting sick from it.
1.3: How Bacteria Grows
Bacteria grows best in moist environments when the temperature of the food is between 40 degrees and 140 degrees. This is called, "The Danger Zone" because food at these temperatures can become unsafe to eat very quickly. In fact, at room temperature, bacteria growth can double every 20 minutes.
It is a myth that bacteria are killed at temperatures below 40 degrees. In fact, bacteria growth is slowed, but not stopped. The only way to kill bacteria by temperature is by cooking food at temperatures of 165 degrees or more. Bacteria also die in highly acidic environments like pickle juice.
1.4: Symptoms of Food Sickness
Symptoms of food sickness can include diarrhea, abdominal cramping, fever, headache, vomiting, severe exhaustion, and sometimes blood or pus in the stool. Symptoms may begin as little as half an hour after eating contaminated food, or as long as days or weeks, depending on the type of bacteria and the amount of bacteria in the food eaten.
Since symptoms of food sickness resemble those of the flu, people often don't realize they have gotten sick from food.
Section 2: Food Temperatures
2.1: Temperature Controlled Devices
A temperature controlled device is anything that keeps food at a controlled temperature. That means an oven, a refrigerator, a crock pot, freezer or electric roaster. It does not mean a thermos, microwave oven (unless it has a "hold" feature with a probe), bag of ice, chest cooler, or dish with an insulated carrying case. In any case, foods must be served within 20 minutes of leaving a temperature controlled device.
2.2: Bacteria Survival Information
All of food safety is based on keeping food out of the danger zone (40 degrees to 140 degrees), except for short periods of time during actual food preparation. Foods at temperatures between 40 degrees and 140 degrees are perfect hosts for bacteria to multiply--rapidly enough so that foods left out longer than 2 hours are unsafe to eat. Food should never be in the danger zone for more than 2 hours.
Bacteria do not multiply but will survive below 32 degrees.
Bacteria multiply slowly between 32 and 40 degrees.
Danger Zone! Bacteria multiply rapidly between 40 and 140 degrees.
Bacteria will not multiply but may start to die between 140 and 165 degrees.
Bacteria will die at temperatures above 212 degrees.
2.3: How to Take Food Temperatures
Know how to get an accurate reading with your thermometer!
Find the actual spot on the thermometer where the temperature is sensed. This is not always at the tip of a stick type thermometer. Be sure the place where the temperature is sensed reaches the middle of the food or the deepest part of the food before you read the temperature. For example, in a turkey, this would be at the very center of breast meat. In a chicken leg, this would be at the thickest part of the leg near the bone.
Section 3: Food Storage
3.1: Food Storage Temperatures
Perishable food temperatures must be kept below 40 degrees and above 140 degrees. Anything else is not safe, especially during hot summer months when conditions are perfect for bacteria growth.
Food must be kept out of the danger zone!
3.2: The 2-Hour Rule
Sometimes it will be impossible to keep food in a controlled temperature setting. Times like this include the time it takes to get from the grocery store to the home and putting the groceries away, times between cooking the food and actually eating it, and times after a meal before leftovers are stored in the refrigerator or freezer.
There is a rule, called the 2 hour rule which says the temperature of a food needs to return to 40 degrees or less within 2 hours.
Scenario 1
You went to the grocery store and bought ground beef for hamburgers tonight. You left the grocery store at 1:00 p.m. and returned to the home at 1:30 p.m. You put the ground beef in the refrigerator right away. Because of the 2-hour rule, you should check the temperature of the ground beef every 15 minutes to be sure it returns to 40 degrees or less within two hours of leaving the store. If it doesn't, you don't have to throw it away. Instead, immediately cook the hamburger and then refrigerate the cooked patties until supper time.
Scenario 2
You're going on a picnic to Lake Shawnee. You stop at the grocery store and buy ground beef and potato salad at 12:00 (noon). At 12:30 p.m. you arrive at the lake and cook the hamburgers to a teperature of 150 degrees. After eating, you put the leftover hamburgers and potato salad on ice in an ice chest and then return to the home at 2:00 p.m. The potato salad and hamburgers are at a temperature of 45 degrees when you unpack them from the chest. What should you do?
Answer to scenario #1
1. Throw the potato salad away - it has been out of the refrigerator (a temperature controlled device) for 2 hours and is not 40 degrees.
Answer to scenario #2
2. Put the hamburgers in the refrigerator and make sure they return to a temperature of 40 degrees by 2:30 p.m.. (They left the grill--a temperature controlled device--at 12:30 so they have until 2:30 according to the two hour rule.)
3.3: Storing Uncooked Food
Uncooked food such as fresh meats, poultry, and fish should not be stored in the refrigerator more than 3 days. Follow the freshness date guidelines found on all packaged dairy products and eggs for storage of these items. Make sure your refrigerator maintains a temperature of less than 40 degrees and your freezer a temperature less than 0 degrees. Check to make sure that they are at this temperature by reading your refrigerator thermometers at least once a day.
Remember: bacteria stops multiplying at lower temperatures, but bacteria will not start to die unless it is heated to a temperature above 140 degrees.
3.4: Frozen Food Storage
How long can you keep frozen food? Forever, as long as it stays frozen all the time. It may not taste as good but it is still safe.
After being frozen for 6 months, the quality of frozen fish is considerably diminished, but the fish is still safe to eat.
After being frozen for 1 year, the taste of most food is considerably diminished, but it is still safe to eat.
3.5: Storing Leftovers
Leftovers must be: Refrigerated or frozen within 2 hours of leaving a temperature controlled device. Must be stored in a covered container (or covered with plastic wrap). Must be labeled with the name of the food and the date it was prepared. Must be thrown away if refrigerated for more than 3 days from preparation date. Must be reheated to a temperature of 165 degrees or more before it is served again.
Cooling Food
3.6: Cooling Leftovers
To cool hot foods down quickly, follow these tips.
Pour hot foods such as stews, soups and chilis into shallow pans before placing in the refrigerator.
Allow plenty of room around the hot food in the refrigerator in order to increase air circulation.
Allow very hot foods to cool on the counter in a shallow pan for 30-45 minutes before refrigerating. This keeps the hot food from warming the refrigerator. Watch the temperature of the food once you put it in the refrigerator to make sure it gets to 40 degrees or less within the 2 hour time limit.
3.7: Sell-By Dates
Some foods, especially dairy products, have "sell by" dates on them. This date means that after that time, the quality of the product might begin to deteriorate. It does not mean that the food is unsafe to eat after that time.
How long is the food still good after the "sell by" date? It's not easy to tell. It depends on shipping and storage conditions, the preservatives that were used, and the type of food it is. Generally milk and cottage cheese are usually good 5 to 7 days after the "sell by" date. Yogurt and sour cream can last a week or more after the "sell by" date. Cereal can be good months after the "sell by" date.
You have to use your discretion in deciding what to do with foods that have a "sell by" date. Foods that have a "use by" or "Guaranteed fresh until..." date usually are not good to eat or need to be thrown away after that date.
Section 4: Food Preparation
4.1: Sanitizing
Bacteria live everywhere on our bodies. If you touch any part of your body like your hair, your face, your eyes, or your mouth while cooking, wash your hands again before touching any food, plates or utensils.
Bacteria live and grow on our hands. They can be transferred from one place to another by “hitching a ride” on our hands. Before touching any food and after touching any kind of meat, wash your hands! Use hot water, plenty of soap, and scrub your hands, fingers, around nails, backs of your hands, and wrists for at least 20 seconds. Dry your hands with a clean towel and use the towel to turn off the running water.
Sanitizing the following areas before and during food preparation is essential.
A contaminated washcloth can house millions of bacteria in a short amount of time. After each use, store washcloths in a sanitizing solution and launder daily. Or, consider using paper towels for clean up and throw them away after each use.
Uncooked meat, fish, and poultry naturally contain large amounts of bacteria. When these items are placed on plates, counters, cutting boards, or refrigerator shelves, or any other surface, they leave behind a trail of bacteria. That’s why it’s important to sanitize those surfaces before anything else touches them. To sanitize the surface, wash it with a solution of 1 teaspoon chlorine bleach to 1 quart of water or a commercial kitchen sanitizing solution . Using more bleach that 1 teaspoon to 1 quart of water only increases the risk of damage to kitchenware.
4.2: Raw Foods
Do you like to lick your fingers or the bowl and taste the dough when you’ve been baking from scratch? If the cake and cookie batters that you are sampling contain eggs, you are eating raw eggs! Raw eggs are a tremendous source of the bacteria salmonella. Sampling before cooking could make you terribly sick! Some older cookbooks have recipes calling for the use of raw eggs. These recipes are often for foods like homemade ice cream, mayonnaise, eggnog, or uncooked desserts. It is recommended that you do not prepare these recipes due to the risk of food poisoning from the bacteria in raw eggs.
Raw meat, fish, and poultry naturally contain bacteria. The longer these items stay raw in the refrigerator, the more bacteria they will have in them. The more bacteria in them, the greater the chance of them causing food borne illness. Touching these items with your hands, or a utensil, or letting these items or the juices from them touch other items in the refrigerator transfers the bacteria to those surfaces. To prevent the possibility of food borne illness, store these foods in a manner that keeps them and their juices from touching other foods. Cover the top of them with plastic wrap and encircle the bottom of them with a dish or pan that will collect any dripping from them. Then, cook these foods as soon as possible to a temperature of 140-165 degrees or more. After cooking, eat them as soon as possible. Store in the refrigerator for 3 days or less or freeze for up to 1 year.
The ground that many fruits and vegetables are grown in contains bacteria which can live on the surface of these foods. Before eating or preparing these foods for eating, be sure to scrub the outer surface of them with cool running water and a vegetable brush. Even fruits or vegetables with skins or rinds that will not be eaten should be cleaned and scrubbed. In the refrigerator, store fruits and vegetables in bins or containers that keep them from touching meats, fish, poultry, and the juices of those foods.
4.3: Cooking Times
Some foods can be extra delicious if cooked at very low temperatures for long periods of time. Examples of this would be recipes which utilize a crock pot for cooking or the slow roasting of large pieces of meat like a turkey in an oven set to a low temperature. Smoking is also an example of a slow cooking process. Whenever you use these cooking methods, it is very important to cook these foods to temperatures of 140 to 165 degrees and check for doneness by using a meat thermometer. The slow, low temperature cooking process means these foods stay in the Danger Zone for a very long period of time and although they are being cooked, bacteria in them are growing and multiplying sometimes for quite a few hours before the foods reach temperatures that kill the bacteria. It is for this reason that you should never "taste" any of these foods during the cooking process.
Thank you for reading this important information about food safety.
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