Internal Food Producttemperatures, S A Ni Tation

F O O D H O L D I N G a n d S A N I TAT I O N

S A NI TATION


Food flavor and aroma are usuall y so closely
related that it is difficult,						if not impo ssible,			to
sepa rat e them . There is also an impor tant,									and
insepa rable	relationship				bet ween cleanliness
food flavor.	Cleanliness				, top oper ating efficiency,
and appear ance of equipm ent contribute
consid erably to savory, appet izing foo ds.
Good equipm ent that is kept clea n, works
better and lasts long er.
Mos t food imparts its own par ticular							aroma and
many food s also absorb					exist ing odo rs.
Unfort unately, during this absorption , there is no
dist inction between GOOD and BAD odor s. The
majori ty of objectionable					flavors and odors
troubli ng food service opera tion s are cau sed by
bacteri a growth.			Sourness , rancidity, mustiness ,
stal e or other		OFF flavors				are usually	the result of
germ activity .
The easi est way to insure						full, natural	food flavo r is
through com prehensive clea nline ss. This means
good control	of both			vis ible soil (dirt)			and invis ible
soil (ge rms) . A thoroug h appro ach to sanitation
will provid e essential				clean lin ess . It wil l assu re an
attrac tive appea rance				of equ ipment , along with
maximu m efficiency and utility. More impor tantly,
a good sanitation			prog ram prov ides one of the key
elemen ts in the prevention						of food-bor ne illness es.
A con trolled	holding			envir onm ent for prepared
foods is just one of the import ant factor s								inv olve d
in the prevention			of food-bor ne illn esses .
Tempe rature	monitoring				and control during

receiving, stor age , prepara tion , and the servic e of foods are of equal importa nce.

The mos t accu rate method of measuri ng safe temperatures of both hot and cold foods is by intern al product temperature. A quali ty thermome ter is an effecti ve tool for this purpose, and should be routinely used on all produc ts that requ ire holdin g at a specific temperat ure.

A comprehensive sanitation program shou ld focus on the training of staff in basic sanit ation procedu res. This includes personal hygiene, proper handling of raw food s, cook ing to a safe intern al product temperature, and the routine monitorin g of internal temperatures from receiving through service .

Most food-b orne illness es can be preven ted through proper temperature con trol and a

com prehensive program of sanitation. Both the se factors are import ant to build quality servic e as the fou ndation of cust omer satisf action. Safe food handling practice s to prevent food-b orn e illness is of cri tical import ance to the health and safe ty of your custo mers.

HACCP, an acronym for Hazard Analysis (at) Critica l Control Poi nts, is a quality control progra m of operating proce dures to assure food integri ty, qua lity, and safety. Taking steps neces sary to augment foo d safet y practices are both cost

effec tive and relatively simple. Whi le HACCP guide lines go far beyond the scop e of this manu al, addit ional inform ation is available by contac ting:

CENTER FOR FOOD SAFETY AND APPLIED NUTRITION FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION 1-888-SAFEFOOD

INTERNAL FOOD PRODUCTTEMPERATURES

HOT FOODS

DANGER ZONE	40° TO 140°F	(4° TO 60°C)

CRITICAL ZONE	70° TO 120°F	(21° TO 49°C)

SAFE ZONE	140° TO 165°F	(60° TO 74°C)

	COLD FOODS
DANGER ZONE	ABOVE 40°F	(ABOVE 4°C)

SAFE ZONE	36°F TO 40°F	(2°C TO 4°C)

	FROZEN FOODS
DANGER ZONE	ABOVE 32°F	(ABOVE 0°C)

CRITICAL ZONE	0° TO 32°F	(-18° TO 0°C)

SAFE ZONE	0°F or below	(-18°C or below)

SECTI ON 7 • FOOD HOLDING AND SANITATION

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