Food Service and Safety Q&A
State of Georgia PUBLIC HEALTH CHAPTER 290-5-14 FOOD SERVICE Used As Reference Source
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Q & A On This Page:
How do I prevent pathogens from growing?
How is time used in pathogen control?
How long is left-over food good?
What are the conditions which allow pathogens to grow?
What is food contamination?
What is food cross-contamination?
What is needed for proper food safety?
What is proper and correct sanitation?
What makes people sick from eating food?
When should I discard left-over food?
Why is proper observance of time and temperature important?
What is proper refrigeration?
Why do people get sick from eating food and why? (Pathogens and Parasites)
Why are Thermometers so important?
Getting Started: To properly practice food safety, the two most important
pieces of equipment needed are a working refrigeration/freezer system and a thermometer(s).
Without these two elements, proper food safety is practically impossible.
Some Items Needed for Proper Food
Safety: Proper and Correct Sanitation,
Proper Refrigeration, Thermometers, Proper Observance of Times and Temperatures,
and Knowledge of Pathogen and Parasite Destruction.
Proper and Correct Sanitation is very
important in the preparation and service of food. Improperly washed hands and utensils
will spread pathogens and will probably result in some food borne illness. To properly
wash hands:
Cooks should use the following cleaning procedure in the order stated to clean their
hands and exposed portions of their arms, including surrogate prosthetic devices
for hands and arms:
(i) Rinse under clean, running warm water;
(ii) Apply an amount of cleaning compound recommended by the cleaning compound manufacturer;
(iii) Rub together vigorously for at least 10 to 15 seconds while:
(I) Paying particular attention to removing soil from underneath the
fingernails during the cleaning procedure, and
(II) Creating friction on the surfaces of the hands and arms or surrogate
prosthetic devices for hands and arms, finger tips, and areas between the fingers;
(iv) Thoroughly rinse under clean, running warm water; and
(v) Immediately follow the cleaning procedure with thorough drying using disposable
paper towels, a continuous towel system or a heated-air hand drying device. (Rule
290-5-14-.03 Management and Personnel. (5) Personal Cleanliness (5)(b))
Proper Refrigeration is very important
in holding food items at proper temperatures. If food items, both cooked and uncooked,
are not maintained and stored at proper temperatures, the growth of pathogens is
permitted and food borne illness is very likely. Critical temperatures for storing
food is at or below 41°F for refrigerated food and at or below 0°F for frozen food.
Thermometers are very important in holding
and cooking food items at proper temperatures. It is essential in safe food pratice
to maintain food at critical temperatures, depending on the stage and state of food
service. It is essential that food spend an absolute minimal time at temperatures
between 42°F and 134°F.
To ensure proper temperatures, a thermometer should be in each
type of refrigeration unit - in freezers and in refrigerators. Thermometers should
also be used in checking the temperature of cooking and cooked food items. Back to
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Proper Observance of Times and Temperatures
is extremely important in holding and cooking food items at proper temperatures.
It is essential in safe food pratice to maintain food at critical temperatures.
Temperatures at or below 41°F and at or above 135°F are generally food friendly.
Temperatures at or above 42°F and at or below 134°F are not generally food friendly.
Any time food is maintained between 42°F and and 134°F, time becomes critical. (Time
is also pertinent when food is maintained at other temperatures which are normally
assumed to be safe.) (Rule 290-5-14-.04 Food. (6) Limiting the Growth of Pathogens
(f)) Back
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Knowledge of Pathogen and Parasite Destruction
are areas which most home cooks do not concern themselves. For food safety, some
general understanding of what pathogens are, should be knowledge of all safety minded
cooks. For simplicity sake, pathogens are little "bugs" which will cause food borne
illness. Parasites are organisms which are living in or on a food item and may affect
a person who consumes that food product. Pathogens and parasites are two entirely
different problems which the home cook must confront.
Pathogens
are microscopic bodies which will cause food borne illness if food items contain
them. The growth of pathogens is controlled by proper use of temperature and proper
sanitary practices. It is not the pathogen which causes food borne illness, per
se, but rather the body waste (which all living creatures create), which is toxic
and will cause sickness. Killing the pathogen does not necessarily cause a food
item to be safe to eat as the "toxins" may still be present and viable. Once a food
item is "spoiled" due to an active pathogen population, there is no way to make
it "safe" again - toxins will remain present even if high temperatures or even microwaves
are applied to the food item.
Food items obtained from a State approved retail
food vendor (grocery stores, for example) should have any potential for parasites
dealt with prior to retail sale. However, when food items obtained from other than
State approved retail food vendors are used, the potential for food borne parasites
is present. (Rule 290-5-14-.04 Food. (6) Limiting the Growth of Pathogens (6) Limiting
the Growth of Pathogens) (Rule 290-5-14-.04 Food. (5) Pathogen Destruction. (d)
Parasite Destruction.) Back to Top Back to Index
Conditions Which Allow Pathogens to Grow
can be described in the two words
F-A-T T-O-M:
F - Food. This is your food which pathogens use as their
food. They may be on the food at the same time you eat the food.
A - Acid (or the lack thereof). This is a condition which
may or may not kill a pathogen or which will allow a pathogen to grow.
T - Time. In order for a pathogen to affect your food,
it must have some time. Although a small amount of a pathogen may be enough, if
a pathogen is given time to multiply, the affect will probably be more significant.
T - Temperature. A pathogen multiplies more in their ideal
temperature range, which is between 42°F and 134°F. This temperature range should
be avoided.
O - Oxygen. As a living organism, pathogens need oxygen
to survive.
M - Moisture. Moisture is needed for a pathogen to survive
and multiply.
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To Prevent Pathogens From Growing:
A.
Proper and Correct Sanitation
is essential in the prevention of contamination and cross-contamination.
B.
Proper Refrigeration
is essential in the prevention of pathogens by maintaining food items at correct
storage temperatures.
C. Avoiding Contamination and
Cross-Contamination is essential in the prevention of pathogens by
NOT introducting pathogens into the preparation and cooking process.
1. Food will be contaminated if food is
handled or touched by improperly cleansed hands or cooking utensils. For example,
petting your dog or touching your own hair and then touching food will contaminate
the food and thereby allow for the introduction and growth of pathogens.
2. Cross-contamination is the process by
which a pathogen may be transferred from one food item to another, or to food from
any other source. For example, if you taste a food with a spoon and then place that
spoon into another food item, cross-contamination occurred and the growth of pathogens
may begin. Another example would be if you place a utensil into the sink and then
take the utensil out of the sink and touch a food item with the spoon, cross-contamination
occurred and the transfer of pathogens probably occurred.
D.
Proper Observance of Times
and Temperatures and an awareness of different food items and types and
how they respond to temperature is important. Time does become critical in the process
of preparing and serving food, however, temperature is by far the most critical
aspect of pathogen prevention. An awareness of
FAT TOM
and what conditions are necessary for pathogens to grow is useful.
The amount of food items and the different cooking methods makes presenting a definitive
statement about each food item type and to what temperature is a safe temperature
impossible to present in the scope of this content.
There are known temperatures at which pathogens are destroyed if the internal temperature
of the food item reaches that temperature - which is
165°F.
Note that a crucial point in the use of temperature is
internal temperature. The internal temperature becomes crucial when temperature
of ground meat, as opposed to a whole-muscle, intact meat, a roast for example,
is taken.
If a thermometer is inserted just to the outside portion of a hamburger patty, the
temperature might very well register 165°F, but, the internal temperature of the
patty may very well be well below 165°F. For this reason, especially with ground
meats, the
internal temperature is very
important.
The internal temperature of ground meats is critical due to
the manner is which ground meat is made. Suppose that prior to being ground, the
meat is exposed to some type of pathogen - the outside of the meat to be ground
has been contaminated. The meat is then ground into hamburger meat, for example.
The act of the meat being ground does not kill pathogens. As a result, the inside
of the ground meat contains pathogens. In order to kill the pathogens, the
internal temperature of the ground meat must
reach 165°F.
The internal temperature of whole-muscle, intact beef, is not as critical as ground
meat. The following rule states that whole-muscle, intact beef may be served if,
"The steak is cooked on both the top and bottom to a surface temperature of 145°F
(63°C) or above and a cooked color change is achieved on all external surfaces.
The different between ground meat and whole-muscle, intact
beef, is that pathogens have no direct way of entering whole-muscle meat. Therefore,
a steak cooked to a temperature less than 165°F is considered safe, however, there
is a warning in the Rules about serving under cooked food to individuals who are
highly susceptible. (Rule 290-5-14-.04 Food. (5) Pathogen Destruction)
E.
Time Control
is used in a number of ways to prevent the growth of pathogens, and time is also
used to govern when a food item should be discarded due to the potential for pathogen
growth which has already occurred.
In using time as
a control, it is extremely important that all temperature
control/range requirements have been met and maintained. Time as a control
IS NOT valid if proper temperatures have not been maintained.
7 Days:
Food which has been properly maintained and cooked within the temperature requirements,
and then maintained according to requirements, is good for 7 days.
Application of the 7 Days starts on the day the food is
prepared and cooked. If for example, the food is cooked on Monday, then Monday is
day 1. If the food is maintained daily in compliance with the temperature control/range
requirements, the food should be discarded on the following Sunday. The 7 days would
be, Monday - day 1, Tuesday - day 2, Wednesday - day 3, Thursday - day 4, Friday
- day 5, Saturday - day 6, and Sunday - day 7. The food should be edible all day
Sunday and then discarded on or before Monday - day 8.
Example of the 7 day rule: On Monday, I cook a food item
(the item does not matter - may be meat or vegetable) according to proper procedures;
properly washed hands and utensils, food has previously been maintained at correct
temperatures, and the food is cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F or above.
After a portion of the food has been consumed and the meal is over, the food is
transferred to a clean utensil and a lid is placed on the utensil to seal the food
inside the utensil.
I
date the lid of the utensil indicating the date the food was cooked. I also count
what date would be the 7th day, and I indicate the discard date on the lid.
I
maintain the food in the sealed utensil and inside refrigeration of at or below
41°F.
Over the next 7 days, I consume the food by heating to 165°F or above prior to eating,
or on the discard date, I discard the food.
Each
day after consuming some of the food, I return the food to an environment of at
or below 41°F. as quickly as possible.
Variation of the 7 day rule: If at any time in the 7 days,
I determine that I would like to keep the food item, however, I do not care to consume
more at this time - I freeze the remaining and stop the 7 day count. When I want
to start the count again I take the food out of the freezer. The days count is on,
into the freezer, and then out of the freezer days count would be:
I
cooked the food on 7/1/45. I mark on the storage utensil, C 7/1/45 D 7/7/45 (7 days).
I follow proper procedures and on the 3rd, I decide that I want to freeze the food
for later consumption. I mark through the D 7/7/45 and replace it with F 7/3/45.
(At this point the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd days of the 7 days have been used.) On the
15th, I decide I would like to eat more of the food. I remove it from the freeze
and following proper procedures, I thaw the food and re-heat it to 165°F. or higher
internal temperature. I consume a portion of the food and prepare to place it in
refrigeration at or below 41°F. I mark through the F 7/3/45, and replace it with
D 7/18/45. If the food is not consumed by 7/18/45, it is discarded. (Rule 290-5-14-.04
Food. (6) Limiting the Growth of Pathogens. (h) Ready-to-Eat, Potentially Hazardous
Food (Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food), Date Marking)
4 Hour Rule:
Food which is not maintained at or below 41°F. or at or above 135°F., should be
disposed of after 4 hours. (Rule 290-5-14-.04 Food. (6) Limiting the Growth of Pathogens.
(i) Ready-to-Eat, Potentially Hazardous Food (Time/Temperature Control for Safety
Food), Disposition. 2.)
6 Hour Rule:
The food shall have an initial temperature of 41°F (5°C) or less when removed From
temperature control and the food temperature may not exceed 70°F (21°C) within a
maximum time period of 6 hours; If the internal temperature of food is monitored,
and the temperature does not exceed 70°F., the food must be discarded after 6 hours.
If during the 6 hours, the internal temperature exceeds 70°F., the food should be
discarded. (Rule 290-5-14-.04 Food. (6) Limiting the Growth of Pathogens. (i) Time
as a Public Health Control. 3.)
(Rule 290-5-14-.04 Food. (6) Limiting the Growth of Pathogens (g))
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