ServSafe Manager Safe Service and Display of Food Summary

Hot-held TCS food must stay at 135°F (57°C) or higher. Hot-holding equipment is not designed to reheat food.

Wrong choices

• 120°F (49°C) or higher: 120°F is in the temperature danger zone.
• 100°F (38°C) or higher: 100°F is in the temperature danger zone.
• 165°F (74°C) or higher at all times: 165°F is a cooking and reheating temperature. Hot holding needs 135°F or higher.

Cold-held TCS food must stay at 41°F (5°C) or lower.

Wrong choices

• 45°F (7°C) or lower: 45°F is too warm for cold holding.
• 50°F (10°C) or lower: 50°F is in the temperature danger zone.
• 32°F (0°C) or lower: Food does not have to be frozen; 41°F or lower is enough.

ServSafe teaches checking the internal temperature of held food at least every 4 hours. Food not at the right temperature must be thrown out. Checking every 2 hours leaves time to take corrective action.

Wrong choices

• Once a day: Once a day is not enough to catch problems.
• Only when food is first put out: Food must be checked during holding as well.
• Every 8 hours: 8 hours is too long.

Ice is a ready-to-eat food. Use a clean ice scoop or tongs to get ice. Never use a glass (it can break), and never use bare hands. Store the scoop outside the ice in a clean container.

Wrong choices

• Scoop the ice with the guest's glass: Glass can break in the ice and become a physical hazard.
• Pick up the ice with bare hands: Bare-hand contact with ice (a ready-to-eat food) is not allowed.
• Scoop the ice with a coffee cup: A cup can chip or break and is not an ice scoop.

Food served to one guest generally must not be re-served to another. You may re-serve unopened, prepackaged food in good condition, such as packets of condiments or crackers.

Wrong choices

• Bread from a guest's bread basket: Bread from one guest's table must not be re-served.
• A garnish returned on a guest's plate: Returned garnishes must be thrown out.
• An opened bottle of salad dressing from a guest's table: Opened condiments from a table should not be re-served.

Guests must not reuse dirty plates or utensils at a self-service area. Post signs telling them to take a clean plate each time they return.

Wrong choices

• Reuse their dirty plate: Dirty plates can contaminate the buffet utensils and food.
• Wash their plate in the restroom: This is not a safe or practical method.
• Ask a server to wipe their plate with a towel: Wiping does not clean and sanitize the plate.

If hot food falls below 135°F (57°C) and you cannot show it has been out of temperature for less than 2 hours, throw it out. Here the last good check was 4 hours ago. Checking every 2 hours allows time to reheat food (to 165°F for 15 seconds) before it must be thrown out.

Wrong choices

• Turn up the steam table and keep serving: Holding equipment should not be used to reheat food, and the food may have been in the danger zone too long.
• Serve it quickly in the next 30 minutes: The food is unsafe and should be thrown out.
• Add fresh hot food to the same pan: Mixing old and new food is not safe.

Sneeze guards are clear barriers placed over self-service food. They protect food from guests' coughs and sneezes.

Wrong choices

• A hairnet: A hairnet is for staff, not for the buffet.
• Gloves: Gloves protect food from hands, not from sneezes.
• A thermometer: A thermometer checks temperature but does not shield food.

Hold flatware and utensils by the handles, never by the parts that touch food or the guest's mouth.

Wrong choices

• By the parts that touch food: Touching food-contact parts can contaminate them.
• In their apron pockets: Pockets are not clean storage for utensils.
• Bundled in their bare hands by the eating ends: Hands should not touch the eating ends.

When using ice to keep food cold, keep food containers set into the ice and let the ice drain. Ice used to cool food must not be used as an ingredient or in drinks.

Wrong choices

• Use the same ice later in drinks: Ice used to keep food cold must not be used as an ingredient.
• Put raw meat directly on top of the ice next to salad: Raw meat must not touch ready-to-eat food.
• Let melted water collect around the food: Standing water can contaminate food; ice should drain.