In recent years, there has been a shift in the approach that environmental health specialists are taking with inspections. Many are conducting risk-based inspections, meaning they are focusing on food handling behaviors that are the most likely to cause a foodborne illness. For example, they are taking more temperatures than in the past, because temperatures are a critical component to food safety across many different risk factors for foodborne illness.
Here are five things to focus on to ensure food safety in your establishment, because they are some of the food handling behaviors that are the most likely to cause a foodborne illness if done incorrectly:
- Food from Safe Sources – Make sure you are only buying food from reliable, approved sources and that you are properly handling food once it is delivered to you. An approved source is a facility where the food produced, prepared or processed meets or exceeds the standards of the responsible regulatory agency.
- Adequate Cooking – Make sure you have charts available and your cooking staff is well trained on proper internal cooking temperatures to avoid serving undercooked food.
- Proper Holding Temperatures – Beware of the temperature danger zone. 40°F-135°F is when most pathogens will grow rapidly. Keep hot foods above 135°F and cold foods below 40°F.
- Clean Equipment – Make sure your staff is educated on the danger of cross contamination. Here are some suggestions. Have designated cutting boards for raw meats that are not used for fresh produce. Have color-coded towels for cleaning different areas of the restaurant so cloths used to clean the fresh meat prep area aren’t used in an area where ready-to-eat foods are prepped or served. And ensure that your staff is trained on when, how and what surfaces to sanitize as well as how to test for proper dilution of the sanitizer.
- Good Personal Hygiene – Proper handwashing is key to stopping the spread of infection, yet most people do not do it properly or often enough. Make sure you have a designated handwash sink that has ample soap and towels. Handwashing posters can be hung to remind workers of the proper steps. Proper hygiene also includes things like wearing clean, suitable and protective clothes, restraining hair and not doing things like smoking or touching your face if you are handling food.
