ServSafe Food Managers Certification Notes: The Flow of Food - Purchasing, Receiving, and Storage

An Introduction to The Flow of Food:


- To prevent cross contamination, use separate equipment, such as colored cutting boards and utensil handles, for each type of food. Clean and sanitize all work surfaces, equipment, and utensils after each task.
- To prevent cross contamination, prep food at different times: prepare raw meat, fish, and poultry at different times than ready-to-eat food (when using the same prep table), or buy prepared food that don’t require much prepping or handling.
- Holding food in the range of 41°F to 135°F (5°C to 57°C) results in time-temperature abuse. Food is also time- temperature abused whenever it is cooked to the wrong internal temperature and cooled or reheated incorrectly.
- To 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; and take corrective actions if time-temperature standards are not met.

Monitoring Time and Temperature:
Bimetallic Stemmed Thermometer: scaled to measure temps from 0°F – 220°F; sensing area to +/- - 2°F.
Thermocouples and Thermistors: have a sensing area on the tip of their probe. This means you don’t have to insert them into the food as far as a bimetallic stemmed thermometer to get a correct reading. They come with different types of probes. For example:
- Immersion probe – used to check liquids (sauces); surface probe – check flat cooking equipment; penetration probe – check internal temperature of thin food, such as hamburger patties or fish fillets; air probe – check temperature inside refrigerators and ovens.
- Infrared: measures the surface of food and equipment but cannot measure air temperature or the internal temperature of food. Hold as close to the food or equipment as possible, and remove anything between the thermometer and the food, food package, or equipment.
- Time-Temperature Indicator (TTI): these are attached to packaging by the supplier. A color appears in the window if the food has been time-temperature abused during shipment or storage.
- Maximum Registering Tape: indicates the highest temperature reached during use. Tape is used where temperature readings cannot be continuously observed, such as the final rinse temperature in dishwashing machines.
- When using thermometers: wash, rinse, sanitize, and air-dry them before and after use; calibrate (adjust) them before each shift and when they fall onto the floor to ensure accuracy; make sure thermometers used to measure the temperature of food are accurate to +/-2°F or +/-1°C; only use glass thermometers if they are enclosed in a shatterproof casing.

- To calibrate a bi-metallic stemmed thermometer using the ice point method:

1) fill a glass with ice and water; 2) insert the thermometer into the water; 3) the temperature must read 32°F when steady; if it doesn’t, then 4) adjust the probe from the nut until it reads 32°F. Then it is properly calibrated.
- When using thermometers: insert the thermometer stem or probe into the thickest part of the product (usually the center); take more than one reading in different spots; and wait for the thermometer reading to steady before recording the temperature.


Food Danger zone: 41°F to 135°F
Pathogens rapid grow: 70°F to 125°F

The Flow of Food: Purchasing, Receiving, and Storage
- An approved, reputable supplier is one that has been inspected, meets all applicable local, state, and federal laws, and has documentation of a Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and/or a Good Agriculture Practice (GAP) program.
- Arrange deliveries so they arrive when staff has enough time to do inspections and they can be correctly received.
- Receiving principles: make specific staff responsible for receiving
(train them to follow food safety guidelines and provide them with the right tools – purchase orders, thermometers, scales, etc.); have enough trained staff available to receive food promptly (inspect delivery trucks for signs of contamination and visually check food items and check temperatures); and store items promptly after receiving.
- In key drop deliveries: the supplier is given after-hour access to the operation to make deliveries. Deliveries must meet the following criteria: must be inspected upon arrival at the operation; must be from an approved source; must have been placed in the correct storage location to maintain the required temperature; must have been protected from contamination in storage; is NOT contaminated; and, must be honestly presented.
- To reject deliveries: separate rejected items from accepted items; tell the delivery person what is wrong with the item; get a signed adjustment or credit slip before giving the rejected item to the delivery person; and log the incident on the invoice or receiving document.
- For food items recalled by the manufacturer: identify the recalled food items; remove the item from inventory, and place it in a secure and appropriate location (such as a cooler or dry storage); store the item separately from food, utensils, equipment, linens, and single-use items; label the item in a way that will prevent it from being placed back in inventory; inform staff not to use the product; and refer to the vendor’s notification or recall notice to determine what to do with the item.
- To check the temperature of Reduced Oxygen Packaging (ROP) food (*MAP, vacuum-packed, and **sous vide food): insert the thermometer stem or probe between two packages. As an alternative, fold packaging around the thermometer stem or probe; avoid puncturing the package. 

˄ROP = Reduced-Oxygen Packaging;
*MAP = Modified Atmosphere Packaging (oxygen is replaced with other gases); and **sous vide food is vacuum sealed and cooked in a water bath.
- To check the temperature of other packaged food: open the package and insert the thermometer stem or probe into the food (stem/probe must not touch package).
- Temperature criteria for deliveries: reject frozen food if there is evidence of thawing and refreezing (time- temperature abuse); fluids or water stains in case bottoms or on packaging; and ice crystals or frozen liquids on the food or packaging.
- Reject food and nonfood packaged items with: tears, holes or punctures in packaging (reject cans with swollen ends, rust, or dents); bloating or leaking ROP food; broken cartons or seals; dirty and discolored packaging; leaks, dampness, or water stains; signs of pests or pest damage; expired use-by/expiration dates; and evidence of tampering.

- Required documents: shellfish must be received with shellstock identification tags (tags indicate when and where the shellfish were harvested, and must be kept on file for 90 days from the date the last shellfish was used from its delivery container).
- Required documents: for fish that will be eaten raw or partially cooked, documentation must show the fish was correctly frozen before being received; keep documents for 90 days from the sale of the fish to consumer. Farm raised fish must have documentation stating the fish was raised to FDA standards; keep documents for 90 days from the sale of the fish to consumer.
- To assess food quality for time-temperature abuse: check its appearance (reject food that is moldy or has an abnormal color); check its texture (reject meat, fish, or poultry if it is slimy, sticky, or dry, or if it has soft flesh that leaves an imprint when touched); and check for odor (reject food with an abnormal or unpleasant odor).
- Labeling food for use on-site: it is not necessary to label food if it clearly will not be mistaken for another item (ex: dry pasta); all other items not in their original containers must be labeled; food labels should include the common name of the food or a statement that clearly and accurately identifies it.
- Labeling food packaged on-site for retail sale: use the common name of the food or a statement clearly identifying it; label with quantity of the food; if the item contains two or more ingredients, list the ingredients in descending order by weight; list the artificial colors and flavors in the food including chemical preservatives; list name and place of business of the manufacturer, packer, or distributor; and list source of each major food allergen contained in the food.
- Date marking: ready-to-eat TCS food must be marked if held longer than 24 hours. The date mark must indicate when the food must be sold, eaten, or thrown out.
- In date marking, ready-to-eat TCS food can be stored for only seven days. If it is held at 41°F (5°C) or lower: the count beings on the day that the food was prepared or a commercial container was opened. Some operations write the day or date the food was prepared on the label; others write the use-by date or date on the label.
- In date marking, if a commercially processed food has a use-by date that is less than seven days from the date the container was opened, the container should be marked with this use-by date, as long as the date is based on food safety.
- In date marking, when combining food in a dish with different use-by dates, the discard date of the dish should be based on the earliest prepared food.
- Temperatures for food storage: store TCS food at an internal temperature of 41°F (5°C) or lower or 135°F
(57°C) or higher; store frozen food at temperatures that keep it frozen; make sure storage units have at least one air temperature measuring device; it must be accurate to +/-3°F or +/-1.5°C; and place the device in the warmest part of refrigerated units, and the coldest part of hot-holding units.
- Temperatures for food storage: do NOT overload coolers or freezers (it prevents airflow and makes unit work harder; also, frequent opening of the cooler lets warm air inside, which can affect food safety); use open shelving (lined shelving restricts circulation); and monitor food temperatures regularly (randomly sample food temperatures).

- First In, First Out (FIFO): method of stock rotation in which products are shelved based on their use-by or expiration dates, so oldest products are used first. 
Throw out food that has passed its manufacturer’s use-by or expiration date.

- Preventing cross-contamination: 
Store all items in designated storage areas: store items away from walls and at least six inches (15 centimeters) off the floor; also store single-use items (e.g., sleeve of single-use cups, single-use gloves) in original packaging; store food in durable containers intended for food; use containers that are durable, leak proof, and able to be sealed or covered: NEVER use empty food containers to store chemicals; and NEVER put food in empty chemical containers; keep all storage areas clean and dry; clean up spills and leaks immediately; clean dollies, carts, transporters, and trays often; clean floors, walls, and shelving in coolers, freezers, dry-storage areas, and heated holding cabinets on a regular basis; store food in containers that have been cleaned an sanitized; store dirty linens in clean, nonabsorbent containers or washable laundry bags; wrap or cover food and store raw meat, poultry, and seafood separately from ready-to-eat food. If this if not possible, store ready-to-eat food above raw seafood, meat and poultry (this will prevent juices from raw food from dripping onto ready-to-eat food; store food items in the following top-to-bottom order: ready-to-eat food, seafood, whole cuts of beef and pork, ground meat and ground fish, and whole and grounded poultry. This storage order is based on the minimum internal cooking temperature of each food.

- Food should be stored in a clean, dry location away from dust and other contaminants. 
To prevent contamination, NEVER store food in these areas: locker rooms or dressing rooms, restroom or garbage rooms, mechanical rooms, under unshielded sewer lines or leaking water lines, and under stairwells.

Here are the unsafe storage practices:
- Chemicals stored with food
- Food stored on the floor
- Boxes of food not label
- Spilled food not cleaned up
- Cooler door open
- Overstocked cooler
- Area not clean
- Unlabeled items in cooler