CHAPTER 7

• To keep food safe throughout the flow of food:

  • Prevent cross-contamination
  • Prevent time-temperature
• Preventing Cross-Contamination

  • Separate equipment
  • Use separate equipment for each type of food.
  • Clean and sanitize all work surfaces, equipment, and utensils after each task Prep food at different times
  • Prepare raw meat, fish, and poultry at different times than ready-to-eat food Buy prepared food
  • Buy food items that do not require much preparing or handling
• Preventing Time-Temperature Abuse Time-temperature control:

  • Food held in the range of 41 F and 135 F (5 C – 57 C) has been time-temperature abused.
  • Food has been time-temperature abused whenever it is handled in the following ways (1) Cooked to the wrong internal temperature (2) Held at the wrong temperature (3) Cooked or reheated incorrectly.
• 1. But most pathogens grow much faster between 70F and 125F. The longer food stays in the temperature danger zone, the more time pathogens must grow. To keep food safe, you must reduce the time it spends in this temperature range. If food is held in this range for four or more hours, you must throw it out.
• Avoid Time-Temperature Abuse:

  • Monitor time and temperature
  • Make sure the correct kinds of thermometers are available
  • Regularly record temperatures and the times they are taken
  • Minimize the time that food spends in the temperature danger zone
  • Take corrective actions if time-temperature standards are not met
• Learn which food items should be checked, how often, and by whom. Use timers in pre areas to check how long food is in the temperature danger zone. A policy limiting the amount of food that can be removed from a cooler when prepping it can limit the time food spends in the temperature danger zone. Reheating soup that was being held below 135 degrees F is an example of a corrective action.
• Monitoring Time and Temperature

  A bimetallic stemmed thermometer can check temperatures form 0 degrees F to 220 degrees F. This thermometer measures temperature through its metal stem. When checking temperatures, insert the stem into the food up to the dimple. You must do this because the sensing area of the thermometer goes from the tip of the stem to the dimple.
• Thermocouples and thermistors:

  • Measure temperature through a metal probe
  • Display temperatures digitally
  • Come with interchangeable probes
  • ❏  Immersion probe
  • ❏  Surface probe
  • ❏  Penetration probe
  • ❏  Air probe
  • Have a sensing area on the tip of their probe
• The sensing area on thermocouples and thermistors is on the tip of their probe. This means you don’t have to insert them into the food as far as bimetallic stemmed thermometers to get a correct reading. Thermocouples and thermistors are good for checking the temperature of both thick and thin food. Immersion probes are used to check the temperature of liquids such as soups, sauces, and frying oil.
• Surface probes are used to check the temperature of flat cooking equipment such as griddles. Penetration probes are used to check the internal temperature of food. Small-diameter probes should be used to check the internal temperature of thin food such as meat patties and fish fillets. Air probes are used to check the temperature inside coolers and ovens.
• Infrared (laser) Thermometers:

  • Used to measure the surface temperature of food and equipment
  • Hold as close to the food or equipment as possible
  • Remove anything between the thermometer and the food, food package, or equipment
  • Follow manufacturers guidelines
• When using thermometers:

  • Wash, rinse, sanitize, and air-dry thermometers before and after using them.
  • Calibrate them before each shift to ensure accuracy
  • Make sure thermometers used to measure the temperatures of food are accurate to +/- 2oF or +/- 1oC
  • Only use glass thermometers if they are enclosed in a shatterproof casing
  • Insert the thermometer stem or probe into thickest part of the product (usually center)
  • Take more than one reading in different spots
  • Wait for the thermometer reading to steadybefore recording the temperature
• Surface probes are used to check the temperature of flat cooking equipment such as griddles.
• Penetration probes are used to check the internal temperature of food.
• Small-diameter probes should be used to check the internal temperature of thin food such as meat patties and fish fillets.
• Air probes are used to check the temperature inside coolers and ovens.