As we close the book on another year and find our cafeterias recharging and goal setting for the new year, this seems like a perfect time to “refresh” the staff and students on food safety.
Thank you to our small wares prime vendor, Rapids Wholesale Equipment Co., for providing the information below (including market basket items) as a little “food for thought” for food safety goal setting in 2022.
Start 2022 by establishing, evaluating, and/or modifying your food handling procedures.
If you're a school food service director or team member, you know just how important it is to follow proper food safety protocols - an outbreak of food poisoning at your establishment means more than just sick customers. It can hurt your business in several different ways.
That's why it's important to take the time to go over your existing procedures each year (or more frequently). This check should include making sure you are following the four major steps (clean, separate, cook, and chill) and that you have the tools you need to safely handle your food.
If you find you need to stock up on any new small wares, Rapids has you covered!
1. Keep it CLEAN
Regularly clean your hands, prep surfaces, utensils, and anything else you use to prepare your food to prevent cross-contamination.
For more general cleaning supplies, the Winco six-quart cleaning pails are color-coded to prevent cross-contamination. Green pails are used for soap solutions, while red is for sanitizing solutions (and even have a helpful formula printed on the side!).
2. SEPARATE to Stop the Spread
Cross-contamination is one of the biggest food poisoning culprits. Make it easier to separate foods that can spread germs (like raw meat and eggs) with products specifically designed to help!
The market basket has a variety of 18" x 24" cutting boards in four assorted colors and a brown 12” x 18” cutting board. Each color represents what the board should be used for: green is for vegetables, red is for raw meat, yellow is for poultry, white is all-purpose, and brown is for cooked meat.
3. COOK to the Proper Temperature
Heating foods up to the recommended temperature from the safe minimum internal temperature chart is necessary to kill any harmful bacteria that can cause illness.
As your food finishes cooking, confirm that the internal temperature is within the safe zone with a probe thermometer.
A few market basket options are the Taylor digital thermocouple thermometer with folding probe and the CDN folding thermocouple thermometer.
4. Don't Let Foods CHILL Out
Don't wait to put perishable foods in your refrigerator or freezer. Cold temperatures help to inhibit the growth of bacteria, so refrigerate all food within two hours (within one if it's above 90°F).
Before you put your food in the fridge, label it with a Cambro 2”x3” dissolvable food rotation label (available in packs of 100 OR 250). These labels help you implement a proper first-in-first Out (FIFO) system, and dissolve underwater in less than 30 seconds when you are done using them!
All great reminders, as we say goodbye to 2021 and gear up for 2022! Do you have a helpful tip you could share or a food safety reminder day scheduled with your staff?? We would love to spotlight your cafeteria by featuring you on the AEA Purchasing Twitter Feed and Facebook Page!!
Not an AEA Purchasing Cooperative Food Member? We would love the opportunity to talk… email megan@aeapurchasing.org.
