Food safety library
Plain-language guides for kitchens, each with its sources. 4 guides free; sign up free to read them all. Emergency guides are always free.
Sick workers
- Sick workers: report it and stay homeOne sick worker can make many customers ill, so anyone who is sick stays away from food.
- Coming back to work after being sickWorkers come back only when the germ they had can no longer spread through food.
- Food handler permits and food safety managersUtah requires food workers to be trained and permitted, and a certified manager to run each kitchen.
Hands and gloves
- HandwashingClean hands are the best way to stop germs like norovirus from getting into food.
- Gloves and no bare hands on ready-to-eat foodFood that won't be cooked again must never touch bare hands, because nothing will kill the germs hands leave behind.
- Hair, jewelry, nails and clothesHair, jewelry and long nails carry germs and can fall into food.
- Cuts, burns and bandagesBlood and infected sores carry germs, and some make a toxin that cooking can't destroy.
- Tasting food while you cookTasting the wrong way puts mouth germs right into food that customers eat.
Temperatures
- Cooking temperaturesCooking to the right inside temperature kills the germs in raw meat, eggs and fish.
- Hot and cold holdingGerms grow fast between 41°F and 135°F, so held food stays hotter or colder than that.
- Cooling food in two stagesFood that cools too slowly grows germs, so cooked food must drop fast in two steps.
- Reheating leftoversCooked and cooled food must get hot fast, all the way through, before it is held hot again.
- Thawing frozen foodThe outside of food thawing on the counter sits in the danger zone while the middle is still frozen.
- Time as a public health control (the 4-hour rule)Food may sit out without temperature control only for a set time, with a written plan and a marked discard time.
- Thermometers and calibrationA thermometer that reads wrong makes every temperature check wrong.
Storage and labels
- Date marking: the 7-day ruleReady-to-eat food can't stay in the fridge forever, so it gets a use-by date and is thrown out when time is up.
- Fridge and freezer storage orderStacking food by cooking temperature keeps raw meat juices from dripping onto food that won't be cooked.
- Dry storage and first in, first out (FIFO)Using the oldest food first means nothing expires at the back of the shelf.
- Receiving deliveriesChecking food when it arrives stops unsafe food before it ever gets into your kitchen.
- Food labelsA clear label tells everyone what the food is, when it must go, and how to keep it safe.
Allergens
Cleaning and sanitizing
- Cleaning vs sanitizing, and sanitizer strengthsCleaning removes dirt and sanitizing kills germs, and sanitizer can't work on a dirty surface.
- The three-compartment sink, step by stepWashing, rinsing and sanitizing in order is how dishes get truly clean by hand.
- Dishwashers (dish machines)A dish machine only sanitizes when its water or chemical hits the right mark on every cycle.
- Wiping cloths and sanitizer bucketsA cloth in weak sanitizer spreads germs instead of killing them.
- Vomit and diarrhea cleanupVomit can spread norovirus across a whole room, so it gets a strong bleach cleanup, not a regular wipe.
- Chemicals and Safety Data Sheets (SDS)Cleaning chemicals can poison food and hurt workers if they're stored or mixed the wrong way.
Restrooms, mops and rags
Pests
Events and potlucks
- Temporary events, potlucks and fundraisersEvents outdoors or away from your kitchen bring the same rules, with fewer tools to follow them.
- Transporting food hot or coldFood in a car can drift into the danger zone fast, so it travels hot, cold, or not at all.
- Buffets and self-serviceOn a buffet, many hands and breaths get near the food, so it needs guards, utensils and a watchful eye.