TITLE/DESCRIPTION: DEPARTMENT: PERSONNEL: Infection Control Dietary Department, Infection Control Dietary Personnel EFFECTIVE DATE: 1/97 REVISED: 5/00, 5/06, 9/11 I. PURPOSE: Maintenance of strict sanitary conditions is of paramount importance in the Dietary Department in order to eliminate food contamination and to prevent toxins. II. POLICY: Personnel: Personal cleanliness is an important factor in sanitary food preparation. Clean working attire. Clean hair - covered with an effective hair restraint when preparing or serving food. Inservice classes are held regularly to encourage employees to maintain good personal health and hygiene. Careful handwashing by personnel is of prime importance in disease control. When beginning work. Between handling of dirty dishes or equipment and handling clean food or utensils. After toilet use. After break. Between handling of cooked and uncooked meats.
Hands must be washed after each visit to the restroom, after coughing or sneezing, after leaving the department and then returning to the work area, after delivering trays to the patients, i.e., before handling, preparing, or serving food'. Hands must also be washed after handling some raw foods used in meal preparation. Fingernails must be clean and trimmed to 1/4" or shorter. Any task involving direct contact with food and with clean eating utensils must be performed while wearing disposable gloves. Workers in the dish room must also wear gloves. Coughing, sneezing or nose blowing is not to be done in food preparation or serving areas. Hands must be washed after doing so. Employees must bathe daily before reporting for duty and a deodorant must be used. Uniforms must be washed daily and clean undergarments must be worn. Teeth must be brushed. Men must be clean-shaven or beard neatly trimmed. Any illness such as a sore throat, fever, open lesions or infected wounds, or diarrhea must be reported to the supervisor before going on duty. Gum chewing is forbidden. Personal belongings are not allowed in the food preparation or serving areas. This includes newspapers, pocketbooks, coats, sweaters, hats, beverages, etc. A separate storage area is available for brooms, mops and cleaning solutions outside of food production and service areas. Receptacles are provided for soiled linen. Disposable gloves are worn when scraping soiled dishes, and loading the dish machine. Gloves must be changed to unload clean dishes from machine. Pot/pan food waste is disposed of in trash cans in the pot wash area. All other trash is removed from the department and taken to the outside dumpster three times daily, or as necessary.
Used grease is stored in a closed container by the courtyard outside and collected regularly by the a rendering company. Employee Health: Employees feeling ill should report to their supervisor. Employees with skin infections, upper respiratory infection or enteric disease should be referred to Infection Control or to their personal physician for evaluation and clearance for work. All cuts, abrasions, burn or other lesions must be reported to their supervisor and appropriate action taken. Smoking or use of tobacco, in any form, is prohibited on the hospital property. Other Health Requirements: Mobile County Health Department food handlers card with bi-annual renewal. Handwashing Facilities: Should be in close proximity to food preparation area. Must provide hot and cold running water, soap and paper towels. Food Preparation: There should be specifically designated areas for salad preparation, meat cutting and baking. Salads should never be prepared in meat cutting areas. Gloves must be worn when handling raw food or ready to eat foods. Work areas should be thoroughly cleaned with soap and water at the end of each shift, then sanitized. Equipment Steam Table: Temperature must be taken and recorded before each meal that is served on the tray line. Hot food should be held at a temperature of 140 degrees F. or above Cold food should be held at 40 degrees F. or below. Food Cart:
During transportation, all food should be in covered containers. Cart must be cleaned after every meal. In the kitchen grease filters located in hood are self-cleaning. Hood exterior is cleaned weekly. The grill hood has disposable filters that are cleaned daily. A minimum of 3 times/year the hoods in the kitchen and grill are serviced by a contract company to be completely cleaned inside and out. Meat slicer and meat preparation area: Slicing of cooked meat (ready for serving) should not follow slicing of raw or uncooked meat. Slicer blades are be removed and washed after each use.. Counters, on which uncooked meat has been placed, should be thoroughly cleaned with detergent before any other food is placed thereupon. Production area is cleaned with detergent disinfectant at end of each shift. Cutting Boards: There should be separate cutting boards for vegetables, ready-to-eat foods and meats. Green cutting boards for vegetables, Red for meats and White for ready-to-eat foods. Should be constructed of seamless nonporous material. Should be thoroughly sanitized and rinsed with hot water, after each use. At the end of each working shift, the boards should be thoroughly scrubbed with detergent, rinsed with hot water and allowed to air dry. Pots and Pans: Three compartments sinks or power wash soak sink should be utilized for washing pots, pans and mixer blades. Wash with hot water and detergent until all debris is off. Rinse in hot water and sanitize by using a sanitizing agent in the final rinse. Blenders:
After cleaning, invert to drain and thoroughly air dry. Preparation for dishwashing Prior to washing, all eating utensils shall be pre-flushed or pre-scraped to remove gross particles. This work area should be separated from the clean dish processing area. Automatic Dishwasher: The pumps, and the wash and rinse spray or jets should be so designed that a forceful stream of water will reach all utensils when properly stacked. Wash and rinse water should be thermostatically controlled with readily visible thermometers in wash and rinse lines. The wash period shall be at least 30 seconds with a minimum temperature of 140 degrees F. The sanitizing rinse period shall be at least 20 seconds with the temperature 180 degrees F. or higher. Use care in removing utensils from conveyor in order not to contaminate clean items; stack properly for use for next meal. Gloves should be worn when removing clean utensils. Dishes should not be stored when wet. Towel drying of dishes should not be permitted. Eating utensils should be cycled through the dishwasher with handles downward. Machines must be kept clean. Should be drained and flushed daily.
All wash arms and jets should be dismounted, thoroughly flushed and checked to see that spray jets are not plugged. Scraping trough should be cleaned and the tank drain checked for obstructions. Pumps should be inspected regularly for leakage. Large equipment may be sanitized: With a hot water power wash. By spraying or wiping with a sanitizing solution. Cleaning Of Food Preparation Areas: All kitchenware and food contact surfaces used in the preparation or serving of food and drink shall be cleaned after each meal preparation. Use wiping cloths and detergent disinfectant for cleaning all surfaces. After cleaning and until use, all food-contact surfaces of equipment and utensils shall be handled and stored so as to protect from contamination. Non-food contact surfaces of equipment shall be cleaned at such intervals as to keep them in a clean and sanitary condition. Storage: Should be kept clean. Refrigerators: Spills should be wiped up immediately. No boxes of food shall be stored on the floor of the refrigerator. Should have thermometers that are monitored frequently throughout day. Produce: 35-45 degrees F. Poultry, meat, eggs, milk: 30-40 degrees F. Ice Cream, frozen foods: 0 degrees F. or less. Food must be covered when stored. Garbage Control And Disposal:
Garbage must be removed regularly and placed in containers with closures unless immediately transported to a cover dumpster. Garbage cans must have nonpermeable plastic liners and should be cleaned and deodorized daily. Housekeeping and Sanitation: Spills should be cleaned up immediately. Floors should be mopped at the end of each shift. Storage of Supplies: Insecticides, sprays, etc. MUST NOT be stored in any area with food products. Insect and Rodent Control Arrangements should be made for regular spraying for insects. Rodent control should be included in the service contract. Inservice: Is the responsibility of the Food Service Director and should be conducted on a regular basis. Subjects should include: Good handwashing. Causes of food-borne illnesses. Proper cleaning of equipment. Sources and transmission of infections. Isolation Patients: Isolation patients receive regular trays. Dietary Employees delivery meals to all patients except those requiring a mask. Those patient trays are delivered to the Nursing station for distribution to the patient. Isolation policy must be observed. Standard Precautions must be followed. In Case Of Suspected Food-Borne Outbreaks
Microbiological Monitoring: Pull food in question from being served. Any leftover food from meals can be cultured if needed. The cultures are to be collected by the Mobile County Board of Health. Random checks may be conducted; the Infection Control Officer determines frequency. New applicants must acquire a food handlers permit from the Mobile County Health Department by attending a basic instructional class in food handling techniques. All dietary employees are required to have their permit renewed bi-annually. Employees are trained in the practice of standard precautions. Employees with infected or draining wound, acute respiratory infections, gastroenteritis will not be allowed to work. Cuts or infected lesions must be reported to the supervisor before beginning to work and properly covered with a glove worn over the Band-Aid covered wound. The dietary supervisor monitors the injury until it is resolved. All personnel handling, preparing or serving food are required to wear hair restraints. Employees performing any task that involves direct contact with food or clean utensils must wear gloves. Separate sinks are used for washing raw foods, hands and utensils. An adequate number of leakproof, non-absorbent containers for garbage and refuse disposals are available, covered with appropriate lids, and cleaned daily. Plastic can liners are used. Food delivery carts are cleaned and sanitized daily by treatment of chemical solution and allowed to air dry. Unauthorized Personnel: Signs on all doors into the Department stating that "No Unauthorized Personnel Allowed". Those personnel allowed are: Department employees
Administrative personnel Delivery personnel from vendors Salesman by appointment only