ServSafe Manager Safe Receipt, Storage, Transportation and Disposal of Food Summary

Cold TCS food (time/temperature control for safety food) should be received at 41°F (5°C) or lower, unless a different temperature is allowed for that item.

Wrong choices

• 45°F (7°C): 45°F is allowed for a few items, such as milk (then cooled to 41°F within 4 hours) and shell eggs (air temperature), not for cold TCS food in general.
• 50°F (10°C): 50°F is too warm for cold TCS food.
• 32°F (0°C): 32°F is the freezing point of water. Cold food does not have to be that cold.

Hot TCS food should be received at 135°F (57°C) or higher. Food between 41°F and 135°F is in the temperature danger zone.

Wrong choices

• 120°F (49°C): 120°F is in the temperature danger zone.
• 100°F (38°C): 100°F is in the temperature danger zone, where germs grow fast.
• 165°F (74°C): 165°F is a cooking and reheating temperature, not the receiving minimum for hot food.

Shellstock tags must stay on the container until the last shellfish is used and then be kept for 90 days from the date the last shellfish was sold or served from it. The tags help trace the source if there is an outbreak.

Wrong choices

• 30 days from the date of delivery: 30 days is too short.
• 7 days after the container is opened: 7 days is the ready-to-eat food holding limit, not the tag rule.
• Until the next health inspection: The rule is a fixed 90 days, not tied to inspections.

Store raw meat, poultry, and seafood by minimum internal cooking temperature, with the food that needs the highest cooking temperature on the bottom. Ready-to-eat food goes on top. Order: seafood (145°F), whole cuts of beef and pork (145°F), ground meat and ground fish (155°F), whole and ground poultry (165°F).

Wrong choices

• Poultry, ground meat, whole cuts of beef and pork, seafood: This is upside down. Poultry should be on the bottom.
• Ground meat, poultry, seafood, whole cuts of beef and pork: Poultry above other raw food can drip onto it.
• Whole cuts of beef and pork, seafood, poultry, ground meat: Poultry needs the highest cooking temperature, so it goes on the bottom.

Ready-to-eat TCS food prepared in-house can be stored for up to 7 days at 41°F (5°C) or lower. The day the food was prepared counts as day 1, and it must be labeled with the date it must be used or thrown out.

Wrong choices

• 3 days: 3 days is shorter than the limit.
• 14 days: 14 days is too long.
• 30 days: 30 days is far too long.

To check the temperature of meat, poultry, and fish, insert the thermometer stem or probe into the thickest part of the food (usually the center).

Wrong choices

• Touch the package to see if it feels cold: Touch does not give an accurate temperature.
• Read the temperature on the delivery truck's display: The truck's air temperature is not the food's temperature.
• Check the use-by date on the label: A date does not show the food's temperature.

Store food at least 6 inches (15 cm) off the floor and away from walls. This helps cleaning and keeps pests and moisture away.

Wrong choices

• At least 1 inch (2.5 centimeters): 1 inch is too low.
• At least 2 inches (5 centimeters): 2 inches is too low.
• It may be stored on the floor if it is in a box: Food in boxes must also be stored off the floor.

Store chemicals in their original labeled containers in a separate area away from food, utensils, and equipment. If they must be in the same area, store them below and away from food.

Wrong choices

• On a shelf above the prep table: Chemicals above food can spill or leak into it.
• Next to the flour in dry storage: Chemicals must not be stored next to food.
• In empty food containers: Never put chemicals in food containers.

All food must come from approved, reputable suppliers that have been inspected and meet applicable local, state, and federal laws. Home-canned or home-prepared food is not allowed.

Wrong choices

• A neighbor who sells home-canned vegetables: Home-canned food is not from an approved source.
• A supplier with the lowest prices: Price does not make a supplier approved.
• A friend who hunts deer: Wild game must be inspected and come from an approved source.

Live shellfish can be received at an air temperature of 45°F (7°C) and an internal temperature no higher than 50°F (10°C). Once received, they must be cooled to 41°F (5°C) or lower within four hours.

Wrong choices

• Cook them within one hour: There is no one-hour cooking rule. The food must be cooled.
• Freeze them right away: Live shellfish are kept alive and cold, not frozen.
• Serve them within six hours without cooling: They must be cooled to 41°F or lower.