WHAT IS Back to Basics? Four food safety training activities - to assist you with training your frontline employees. WHAT YOU GET Four interactive activities (approximately 10 minutes each) -- demonstrations, practice and discussions Short quiz Attendance roster WHAT YOU NEED - TRAINING RESOURCES www.servsafe.com - register as a ServSafe user, go to the Resource Center and download FREE posters, quizzes and fact sheets for food safety, including a quiz and poster on Proper Temperatures for Hot- and Cold-Holding ServSafe - Preparation, Cooking and Serving: DVD optional (use entegra discount at ServSafe.com) ServSafe Essentials, 5 th Edition: Pages 8.2, 8.3, 8.4 ServSafe Manager, 6 th Edition: Pages 7.1-7.4 HOW TO USE Back to Basics Use for groups or "one-on-one" training. Use one activity per week or combine two or more activities. Keep a training record on file (training topic, date, attendees) or use the attached sample tracking sheet. Use this material for future training. File in a 3-ring binder or accordion file for easy reference.
EXPLAIN: Improper holding of hot and cold TCS (time and temperature controlled for safety) foods can result in foodborne illness. Let s review what we must do to keep these foods out of the temperature danger zone (between 41 F/5 C and 135 F/57 C) during holding and serving. REVIEW: Critical Control Point (CCP): Hot food must be maintained at a minimum temperature of 135 F(57 C) or above while holding and serving. Cold food must be maintained at a maximum temperature of 41 F(57 C) or below while holding and serving (review local regulations for temperatures). TRY THESE ACTIVITIES - ONE EACH WEEK OR COMBINE TWO OR MORE: ACTIVITY 1 ACTIVITY 2 ACTIVITY 3 ACTIVITY 4 Ask employees to describe the proper equipment and the steps needed for keeping TCS foods hot during holding and serving. Answer key: Hot holding equipment (i.e. heated cabinet, steamtable, bain marie, chafing dish, etc) must keep food temperature at 135 F (57 C) or higher. Steps: Use pre-heated serving containers. 2) If possible, prepare food in small batches so it is used faster. Don t prepare farther ahead of service than necessary. 3) Stir food often to distribute heat evenly throughout. Don t pile food too high (top part will not retain heat). 4) Keep food covered. 5) Check internal product temperature a minimum of every 4 hours (check every two hours to leave time for corrective action). REVIEW YOUR FACILITY POLICY HERE. 6) Never mix fresh food with food already being served. Ask employees to describe the proper equipment and the steps needed for keeping TCS foods cold during holding and serving. Answer key:cold holding equipment (i.e. refrigerator, serving station, salad/deli bar) must keep food temperature at 41 F(5 C) or lower. Food should not come in direct contact with ice. Steps: 1) Use pre-chilled containers, esp. when mixing salads containing TCS ingredients (i.e chicken salad, potato salad, etc). Don t pile food too high (top part will not retain chilled temperature). 2) Stir salad mixtures during service, if set-up allows, to maintain cold temperature through out the product. 3) Check internal product temperature a minimum of every 4 hours (check every two hours to leave time for corrective action). REVIEW YOUR FACILITY POLICY HERE. 6) Never mix fresh food with food already being served. Reminder: Protect food from contamination with covers or sneezeguards. Ask one or more volunteers to demonstrate the proper way to check and record the internal temperature of hot food on serving stations (provide your temperature recording log). Answer key: Explain/review corrective action of product temperature is below 135 F(57 C). Reheat immediately to 165 F (74 C) within 2 hours. Never use hot holding equipment to reheat food. Discard product if it has been held for more than 2 hours. Ask one or more volunteers to demonstrate the proper way to check and record the internal temperature of cold food on serving stations (provide your temperature recording log). Answer key: Explain/review corrective action of product temperature is above 41 F(5 C). Food cannot exceed 70 F(21 C) during service. Discard product if it exceeds this temperature. Follow up after training: What has been learned? Observe and provide feedback.
How to keep hot food hot: Hot holding equipment (i.e. heated cabinet, steamtable, bain marie, chafing dish) must keep food temperature at 135 F (57 C) or higher. Preheat serving containers Prepare food in small batches so it is used faster Don t prepare food too far in advance Keep food covered to maintain temperature Stir food often to distribute heat evenly Don t pile food too high (the top part will cool too quickly) Never mix fresh food with food already being served Check product temperature often (per facility policy) How to keep cold food cold: Cold holding equipment (i.e. refrigerator, seving station, salad bar, deli bar) must keep food temperature at 41 F (5 C) or lower. Use pre-chilled serving containers. Stir mixtures during service, where possible Don t pile food too high (the top part will get warm quickly) Never mix fresh food with food already being served. Don t let food come in direct contact with ice. Check product temperature often (per facility policy). Check and record temperature on temperature log: Use a cleaned, sanitized and calibrated thermometer. Place a thermometer in the center or thickest part of the food. Temperature must register for at least 15 seconds. Record temperature (and corrective action, when needed) per facility policy.
QUIZ Circle either True or False 1. True False Hot TCS food must be held at 135 F (57 C) or above and cold food at 41 F (5 C) or below. 2. True False As long as we pre-chill our serving containers for the salad bar, we can pile them really high with chicken salad and tuna salad. That way we don t have to refill them too often during the meal period. 3. True False A good way to keep foods hot during service is to stir them often and keep the serving containers covered during slow periods. 4. True False The beef stew on our hot food bar has not been selling well today. The internal temperature is now 130 F (54 C). If we add some really ot stew from the kitchen it will come back to the proper temperature. It is more important to wash my hands with lots of soap 5. True False Food should be cooked in small batches whenever possible so it is served quickly. That way we can be sure the food does not get cold. 6. True False The chicken salad hs been held at 52 F (11 C) for 1 ½ hours so must be discarded. 7. True False Holding food at improper temperatures is one of the common factors responsible for foodborne illness. 6. True False To keep hot food and cold foods safe, we must keep it out of the temperature danger zone. Name the danger zone.
QUIZ -- ANSWER SHEET 1. True False Hot TCS food must be held at 135 F (57 C) or above and cold food at 45 F (5 C) or below. False: The required temperature for cold food is 41 F (5 C) or lower. 2. True False As long as we pre-chill our serving containers for the salad bar, we can pile them really high with chicken salad and tuna salad. That way we don t have to refill them too often. False: The top part of the food will get warm too quickly and rise to a temperature above 41 F(5 C). 3. True False To keep foods hot during service, to stir them often and keep the serving containers covered during slow periods. True: Keeping hot food covered as much as possible during service will help retain heat. Stirring the food will distribute the heat evenly throughout the product. 4. True False The beef stew on our hot food bar has not been selling well today. The internal temperature is now 130 F (54 C). If we add some really hot stew from the kitchen it will come back to the proper temperature. False: Add hot food to this stew may bring up the temperature a little but this is NOT the way to do it. If the food is below 135 F (57 C) it must be reheated quickly to 165 F (74 C). 5. True False Food should be cooked in small batches whenever possible so it is served quickly. That way we can be sure the food does not get cold. True: It is easier to maintain proper temperatures if the food is cooked as close to service as possible. Whenever possible, prepare foods in small batches so the food will be used faster. 6. True False The chicken salad has been held at 52 F (11 C) for 1 ½ hours so must be discarded. False: Since the chicken salad has remained between 41 F/5 C and 70 C/21 C for less than 2 hours, it should either be served immediately or chilled quickly to 41 F(5 C) or below before placing it back in service. 7. True False Holding food at improper temperatures is one of the common factors responsible for foodborne illness. True: Other common factors are poor personal hygiene, not cooking food to proper temperature and using contaminated equipment. 8. True False To keep hot food and cold foods safe, we must keep it out of the temperature danger zone. Name the danger zone. To keep hot food and cold food safe, we must keep it our of the temperature danger zone. The danger zone is 41 F (5 C) and 135 F(57 C).
ATTENDANCE ROSTER Date: Trainer's Name: Name of Attendees: