ServSafe Food Handler Cross-contamination and Allergens Summary

Store raw poultry on the bottom shelf. If its juices drip, they will not fall onto other food. Poultry needs the highest cooking temperature, so it goes lowest.

Wrong choices

• On the same shelf as fresh fruit, side by side: Raw poultry next to fresh fruit can spread germs.
• Above the salads and cooked foods: Raw juices could drip onto ready-to-eat food.
• On the top shelf: Juices from raw poultry could drip onto food below.

Store ready-to-eat food above raw meat, seafood, and poultry. Ready-to-eat food will not be cooked again, so any germs that drip on it stay there.

Wrong choices

• On the floor of the walk-in cooler: Food must not be stored on the floor.
• Below raw meat, seafood, and poultry: Raw juices could drip onto the salad.
• Anywhere, as long as it is covered: Covering helps, but ready-to-eat food still goes above raw food.

Cross-contamination happens when germs move from one food or surface to another, for example from raw chicken to a cutting board and then to lettuce.

Wrong choices

• A guest's allergic reaction to food: An allergic reaction is not the definition of cross-contamination.
• Mixing two foods together in a recipe: Mixing foods in a recipe is normal cooking.
• Food left too long in the temperature danger zone: That is time-temperature abuse, not cross-contamination.

The FDA lists nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.

Wrong choices

• Five: The FDA lists more than five major food allergens.
• Six: Six is the number of FDA reportable germs (the "Big 6"), not allergens.
• Twelve: The FDA lists nine major food allergens, not twelve.

Peanuts are one of the FDA's nine major food allergens. The others are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.

Wrong choices

• Carrots: Carrots are not one of the FDA's nine major food allergens.
• Apples: Apples are not one of the FDA's nine major food allergens.
• Rice: Rice is not one of the FDA's nine major food allergens.

Cross-contact is when an allergen (a food that causes an allergic reaction) gets into a food that should not contain it. For example, a knife used to spread peanut butter is then used on a sandwich for a guest with a peanut allergy.

Wrong choices

• When a guest orders two dishes at once: Ordering two dishes has nothing to do with cross-contact.
• When hot food touches cold food: That is not allergen cross-contact.
• When germs move from raw meat to a cutting board: That is cross-contamination with germs, not allergen cross-contact.

Use a separate board for raw meat if you can. If you must use the same board, wash, rinse, and sanitize it after raw meat and before ready-to-eat food like lettuce.

Wrong choices

• Flip it over and use the other side: Germs from the raw chicken can still spread from the board.
• Wipe it with a dry towel: Wiping does not remove the germs.
• Rinse it with water only: Water alone does not remove all the germs.

If an allergen gets into a guest's food by mistake, throw the food away and make it again with clean equipment. Picking off or scraping the allergen does not make the food safe.

Wrong choices

• Pick the nuts off and serve it: Bits of nut and nut oil stay in the food after picking.
• Serve it and tell the guest to eat around the nuts: This can cause a serious allergic reaction.
• Scrape the top layer off and serve it: Scraping does not remove all of the allergen.

Sesame became the FDA's ninth major food allergen in 2023. The full list is milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame.

Wrong choices

• Mustard: Mustard is not on the FDA's list of nine major food allergens.
• Corn: Corn is not on the FDA's list of nine major food allergens.
• Celery: Celery is not on the FDA's list of nine major food allergens.

To prevent cross-contamination, use separate equipment, store ready-to-eat food above raw food, and clean and sanitize surfaces between tasks. Just wiping a board with a cloth does not remove the germs.

Wrong choices

• Using separate cutting boards for raw meat and ready-to-eat food: Separate boards are a good way to prevent cross-contamination.
• Storing ready-to-eat food above raw meat in the refrigerator: This is correct storage and prevents raw juices from dripping on ready-to-eat food.
• Cleaning and sanitizing a work area between raw meat and ready-to-eat food: This is a good way to prevent cross-contamination.