ServSafe Manager Concept Review

Overview

This chapter is about the manager's job in food safety. The manager does not only cook or serve; the manager builds a system that keeps food safe every shift. The Food Code requires a person in charge (PIC) to be on site during all hours of operation, and that person must be able to show food safety knowledge, for example by being a certified food protection manager.

Most foodborne illness comes from a few common risk factors that the CDC has identified: buying food from unsafe sources, not cooking food correctly, holding food at the wrong temperature, using contaminated equipment, and poor personal hygiene. Active managerial control means the manager controls these risk factors every day through training, monitoring, and corrective action.

A HACCP plan is a written way to control hazards at specific points. It has seven principles, always in the same order, starting with a hazard analysis and ending with record keeping. Some special processes, such as curing food or smoking food to preserve it, need a variance from the regulatory authority before they can be used.

Some guests get sick more easily: preschool-age children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems. Operations that mainly serve these highly susceptible groups must not serve certain risky foods, such as raw seed sprouts. When raw or undercooked animal foods are on the menu, a consumer advisory must tell guests about the risk.

Overview

This chapter covers how food handlers themselves can make food unsafe and how to stop it. Hands are the main way germs move to food, so correct handwashing is the most important habit. The whole process takes at least 20 seconds, with 10 to 15 seconds of scrubbing, and hand sanitizer never replaces it.

Ready-to-eat food must not be touched with bare hands unless the regulatory authority approves. Food handlers use utensils, deli tissue, or single-use gloves. Gloves are changed when they get dirty or torn, between tasks, after handling raw meat and before ready-to-eat food, and, in ServSafe guidance, after four hours of continuous use.

Food handlers wear clean clothes and hair restraints and only a plain band ring on the hands. A wound on the hand or wrist is covered with an impermeable cover, such as a bandage or finger cot, and then a single-use glove. They eat, drink, and smoke only in designated areas.

The manager must decide when a sick worker is restricted (kept away from food) or excluded (kept out of the operation). Vomiting, diarrhea, and jaundice mean exclusion. Certain illnesses, such as Norovirus, Hepatitis A, Shigella, Shiga toxin-producing E. coli, and Salmonella, must be reported to the regulatory authority.

Overview

This chapter follows food from the supplier to the shelf. All food must come from approved suppliers that are inspected and follow the law. Deliveries should be scheduled when staff have time to inspect them, and cold and frozen items are put away first.

Receiving temperatures are a key check. Cold TCS food is received at 41°F or lower and hot TCS food at 135°F or higher. A few items have special rules: shell eggs and milk at an air or product temperature of 45°F or lower, and live shellfish at 45°F air and 50°F internal, then cooled to 41°F within four hours. Food showing signs of time-temperature abuse or damaged packaging is rejected.

Stored food is labeled and rotated using first-in, first-out (FIFO). Ready-to-eat TCS food made in-house can be kept for seven days at 41°F or lower, counting the prep day as day 1. Shellstock tags are kept for 90 days after the last shellfish is sold or served.

In the refrigerator, raw meat, seafood, and poultry are stored by minimum cooking temperature, with poultry on the bottom so its juices cannot drip onto other food. Food is stored at least 6 inches off the floor, and chemicals are kept in a separate area away from food. Recalled food is removed, labeled, and handled as the supplier directs.

Overview

This chapter is about keeping food safe while it is prepared and cooked. The most important number is the temperature danger zone, from 41°F to 135°F, where germs grow fastest. Prep work is done in small batches so food spends as little time in this zone as possible.

Frozen food is thawed in the refrigerator, under running drinkable water at 70°F or lower, in a microwave if it is cooked right away, or as part of cooking. Each food has a minimum internal cooking temperature: 165°F for poultry and stuffed foods, 155°F for ground meat, 145°F for seafood, steaks, and chops, and 135°F for plant foods that will be hot-held.

Cooked food that will be stored is cooled in two stages: from 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then to 41°F or lower in the next 4 hours. Food that will be hot-held after cooling is reheated to 165°F for 15 seconds within 2 hours. With written procedures, time can be used instead of temperature control: 4 hours for hot food and up to 6 hours for cold food that stays at 70°F or lower.

Thermometers are calibrated, often with the ice-point method at 32°F, and cleaned and sanitized between uses. Cross-contamination is prevented with separate equipment or cleaning and sanitizing between raw and ready-to-eat food. The nine major food allergens are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, and sesame, and cooking does not destroy them.

Overview

This chapter covers food after it is cooked and before the guest eats it. Hot TCS food is held at 135°F or higher and cold TCS food at 41°F or lower. Holding equipment is not used to reheat food, and ServSafe teaches checking temperatures at least every 4 hours; checking every 2 hours leaves time to fix problems.

Servers keep their hands off surfaces that touch food or the guest's mouth by holding glasses by the base, plates by the edge, and flatware by the handle. Ice is scooped with a clean scoop or tongs, never with a glass or bare hands, and ice used to cool food is never used in drinks.

Food served to one guest is not re-served to another, except unopened, packaged food in good condition. At self-service areas, sneeze guards protect the food and guests take a clean plate each time they return.

Food sent off-site is kept at the right temperature in insulated containers and labeled with a use-by date and time and reheating and service instructions. Vending machines are checked often for expired food and correct temperatures.

Overview

This chapter explains how to clean and sanitize and how to keep chemicals and pests under control. Cleaning removes food and dirt; sanitizing reduces germs on a clean surface to safe levels. The steps are always scrape, wash, rinse, sanitize, and air-dry.

Food-contact surfaces are cleaned and sanitized after each use, between different types of food, after interruptions, and at least every 4 hours if they are in constant use. A three-compartment sink is set up as wash, rinse, and sanitize. Hot-water sanitizing in a sink needs at least 171°F for 30 seconds, and high-temperature dishwashers need a final rinse of at least 180°F (165°F for stationary-rack, single-temperature machines).

Chemical sanitizers work only at the right concentration, temperature, and contact time, so staff check them with a test kit. Wiping cloths are stored in sanitizer solution. Chemicals are labeled, stored away from food, and described in Safety Data Sheets, and a written plan is required for cleaning up vomit and diarrhea.

Pests are controlled with integrated pest management: keep them out, deny them food and shelter, and work with a licensed pest control operator. A strong oily odor and pepper-like droppings point to cockroaches, while gnaw marks and nests point to rodents.

Overview

This chapter covers the building and equipment that make safe food handling possible. Handwashing stations need hot and cold running water, soap, a way to dry hands, a garbage container, and a handwashing sign, and they are used only for washing hands.

Water must come from an approved source. A cross-connection is a link between safe water and dirty water, such as a hose left in a mop bucket, and it can cause backflow. An air gap between the faucet and the sink's flood rim is the only completely reliable way to prevent backflow.

Food-contact surfaces are smooth, durable, nonabsorbent, and easy to clean. Floor equipment is placed on legs at least 6 inches high or sealed to the floor, light bulbs in prep areas are shielded, and outdoor garbage containers have tight-fitting lids. Acidic food is not stored in galvanized containers because metal can leach into it.

An imminent health hazard is a serious threat that needs immediate action, such as a sewage backup, loss of water service, a power outage, a fire, or a serious pest infestation. In these cases the manager stops service, notifies the regulatory authority, and follows the emergency plan.