NYC - Food Protection Course

All food service establishments must have a current and valid permit issued by the NYC Health Department. Health Inspectors have the right to inspect a food service or food processing establishment as long as it is in operation. Inspectors must be given access to all areas of the food establishment during an inspection. According to the NYC Health Code, supervisors of all food service establishments are required to have a Food Protection Certificate. Food is any edible substance, ice, beverage, or ingredient intended for use and used or sold for human consumption. Potentially Hazardous Food (PHF) refers to foods which support rapid growth of microorganisms. Examples of Potentially Hazardous Foods include all raw and cooked meats, poultry, milk and milk products, fish, shellfish, tofu, cooked rice, pasta, beans, potatoes, cut leafy greens, cut tomatoes and melons, garlic in oil etc. (Exceptions: Air-cooled hard-boiled eggs with intact shell, beef jerky, cheese pizza, crispy bacon) The Temperature Danger Zone is between 41°F and 140°F. Within this range, most harmful microorganisms reproduce rapidly. The three thermometers allowed to be used for measuring food temperatures are: Bi-metallic stem (range from 0°F to 220°F), thermocouple, and thermistor (digital). The use of glass thermometers in a food establishment is prohibited by law. Meat inspected by the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture must have a USDA inspection stamp. Raw shell eggs must be stored at a minimum temperature of 45°F. Smoked fish must be held at 38°F or below because of the bacteria Clostridium botulinum. All refrigerated food must be held at or below 41°F (except raw shell eggs 45°F or below and smoked fish 38°F or below) Shellfish must be received with the shellfish tags. These tags must be kept on file for at least 90 days after the product is used up. Milk and milk products must be pasteurized with sell-by dates of 9 days or ultra-pasteurized with sell-by dates of 45 days. All fruits and vegetables served raw must be thoroughly washed before being served. Canned products must be rejected if there are dents at the seam, swelling, severe rust, leakage or no label. Home canned foods are also unacceptable. (exception: slight dent on the body of the can) All commercial modified atmosphere packaged foods must be used per manufacture specifications. Vacuum Packaging of any food product in a retail food establishment is prohibited by law unless special authorization is obtained through the Department of Health. The acronym FIFO means First In First Out, and the first step in implementing FIFO is to date the products. The New York City Health code requires that all food items must be stored at least 6 inches off the floor. In order to prevent cross-contamination, raw foods in a refrigerator must be stored below cooked foods. Cold temperatures slow down the growth of microorganisms. All cold foods must be held at 41°F or below (except smoked fish at 38°F) at all times. Keep dry storage areas well lighted and ventilated. Never store foods under waste water lines. Food for storage must be kept covered and stored in vermin-proof containers. Ice intended for human consumption cannot be used for storing cans, bottles or other food products. When foods are stored directly in ice, the water from that ice must be drained constantly. "First Aid Choking" poster must be displayed conspicuously in each designated eating area. Food establishments which serve alcoholic beverages are required to display the "Alcohol and Pregnancy Warning" sign. A "Wash Hands" sign must be displayed at all hand washing sinks. “No smoking” signs must be displayed throughout each facility. There are three main hazards to our health in a food establishment: physical, chemical and biological. The presence of a foreign object (glass fragments, pieces of metal, etc.) in a food is considered a physical hazard. Presence of harmful chemicals (pesticide, cleaning agents, prescription medicine etc.) in a food is called a chemical hazard. Biological hazard is the presence of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi) in the food. Foods that have been contaminated with pathogenic bacteria have no change in appearance, taste or smell. Under favorable conditions bacteria can double their population every 20 to 30 minutes. There are 4 phases of bacterial growth: Lag, Log, Stationary and Death. The most rapid growth of bacteria takes place in the log phase. The six factors that affect the growth of bacteria are: Food, Acidity (Low acidity), Temperature Danger Zone, Time, Oxygen (or lack of oxygen) and Moisture (FATTOM). Viruses cannot reproduce in food; they only use food as a means to get inside the human body. Hepatitis A and norovirus are two common food-borne viruses that typically contaminate our food supply through fecal (human) contaminated waters and food. The food-borne parasite typically found in under-cooked pork is called Trichinella spiralis. The illness trichinosis is caused by a parasite known as Trichinella spiralis. Trichinella spiralis can be eliminated by cooking pork to 155°F for 15 seconds A food-borne parasite typically found in marine fish is called Anisakis simplex. Salmonella enteritidis is mainly associated with raw poultry and raw shell eggs. When preparing any egg recipe where eggs are not cooked or partially cooked, one must always use pasteurized eggs only. We can control the growth of the microorganism Clostridium perfringens by rapid cooling, rapid re-heating and avoid preparing foods in advance. Staphylococcus aureus is a bacterium that is commonly carried by healthy human beings. Staphylococcal food intoxication is a common cause of food-borne illness caused by Staphylococcus aureus, which can be prevented by good personal hygiene and avoiding bare hands contact with ready-to-eat foods. Food workers sick with an illness that can be transmitted by contact with food or through food should be prevented from working until fully recovered. Ground meats such as hamburgers must be cooked to a minimum temperature of 158°F to eliminate E. coli 0157:H7 Clostridium botulinum causes the disease known as botulism. This bacterium is associated with home-canned foods, swollen cans, smoked fish, garlic in oil and any food in an anaerobic (without air) environment. Ciguatera Intoxication occurs during warm weather when toxic red algae in the water are eaten by small fish. The small fish are then eaten by certain predatory fish (barracuda, red snapper etc.,) Humans become sick once they eat the predatory fish with accumulated toxins from red algae. Scombroid poisoning occurs from eating certain fish (e.g., tuna, mackerel, bonito, mahi mahi, blue fish, etc.) with high levels of histamines due to time and temperature abuse. Hands must be washed thoroughly after any activity in which the hands have become contaminated. For example, before starting work, after handling raw foods, coughing, sneezing, smoking, eating, drinking, scratching, etc. The NYC Health Code requires that hand-washing sinks must be located within 25 feet of each food preparation, food service and ware-washing area and in or adjacent to employee and patron bathrooms. The hand wash sinks must be provided with soap, hot and cold running water, disposable towels or a hand dryer and a “wash hands” sign. The NYC Health Code requires that all food workers wear proper hair restraints, clean aprons and outer garments, abstain from wearing jewelry and wearing make-up. It is illegal to handle ready-to-eat foods with bare hands. Workers must use gloves, tongs, deli paper, spatula or other clean and sanitary utensils. Foods that will be cooked (e.g. raw beef for stew, raw dough for bread, etc.) may be handled with clean bare hands. The three acceptable methods of thawing frozen foods are to refrigerate them, place under cold running water or in a microwave oven with continuous cooking afterwards. When bacteria from a raw food get into a cooked or ready-to-eat food, this is called cross contamination The correct cooking temperature for poultry, stuffed meat and stuffing is 165°F. Ground meat and foods containing ground meat must be cooked to an internal temperature of 158°F. To prevent illness, pork must be cooked to an internal temperature of 155°F. Eggs, fish, shellfish, lamb, and other meats must be cooked to a minimum temperature of 145°F All hot foods stored on a hot-holding unit must be held at 140°F or higher. Some of the effective ways to rapidly cool foods are: immersion in an ice-water bath with occasional stirring, use of 4 inches shallow cooling pans with a product depth of 1 to 2 inches, using a rapid-chill unit, and cutting solid foods into smaller pieces (6 lbs. or less). Hot foods placed in a refrigerator for cooling must be covered only after they have completely cooled to 41°F or below. Previously cooked and refrigerated foods that will be served from a hot holding unit must be rapidly reheated to 165°F using a stove or an oven. Never use a hot-holding unit to reheat foods. Bare hands may never be used when working with ready-to-eat foods. Always use utensils such as clean and sanitary pair of gloves, tongs, spatula, deli paper, spoon, knife, etc. When using disposable gloves, they must be changed often to prevent contamination of food. Air-breaks must be provided in all culinary (food related) and pot/dish washing sinks. Atmospheric Vacuum Breakers (AVB) must be installed in any equipment that has a direct connection with potable water supply. Examples include ice-machine, coffee machines, dishwashers, etc. Cross-connection can be prevented by installing a hose-bib vacuum breaker. All gas-fired hot water heaters must be installed by a licensed plumber and must be monitored for back draft. NYC laws make it illegal to dump grease in any sink that does not have a proper grease interceptor. The proper sequence for the manual dish washing operations is Wash, Rinse, Sanitize and Air-dry. Between each use, cutting boards must be Washed, Rinsed and Sanitized. Hot-water sanitizing can be done by immersing utensils in water with a temperature of 170°F for at least 30 seconds. To prepare a 50 PPM chlorine based sanitizing solution, add 1/2 ounce of bleach to 1 gallon of water. To prepare a 100PPM chlorine based sanitizing solution, add one ounce of bleach to 1 gallon of water. 50 PPM sanitizing solution is used for immersion/soaking of utensils for at least 1 minute. 100 PPM sanitizing solution is typically used for wiping, spraying or pouring. Wiping cloths must be stored in a sanitizing solution with strength of 50 PPM. During chemical sanitization, the chemical solution must be checked with a test kit. Bathrooms for patrons must be provided when there are 20 seats or more in the dining area of a food establishment. The three key strategies of Integrated Pest Management are: Starve them, Build them out and Destroy them. When food is unavailable to mice that have infested a restaurant, they will move out. Rats are known to enter buildings through openings that are as small as the size of a quarter Presence of fresh rat droppings in a food establishment is a critical violation. The best method of eliminating flies and roaches from an establishment is through proper cleaning and sanitizing. Insecticides and rodenticides can only be applied in a restaurant by a Licensed Pest Control Officer. NYC Health code requires that a pest control officer must inspect a food establishment at least once a month. HACCP is an acronym that stands for Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point The seven principles of HACCP are: Identify hazards, Determine Critical Control Points (CCP), Set up Critical Limits, Monitor CCP, Take Corrective Actions, Verify the system is working, and Record Keeping. HACCP is a system of food safety, which is mainly concerned with the control of harmful microorganisms. A Critical Control Point (CCP) is any point in the food flow where action must be taken to eliminate the hazard. If potentially hazardous foods are left in the Temperature Danger Zone for more than two hours, then the food must be discarded as it is no longer considered safe. Whenever making cold salads such as tuna, it is recommended that ingredients are pre-chilled. Artificial trans fat increases LDL – the bad cholesterol, leading to heart disease. Artificial trans fat are banned from all Restaurant foods. An excellent way to improve food safety, security and general work practice is to conduct a self-assessment of food operations on a regular basis. The most common injuries among restaurant workers in a work place are: slips, trips, falls, cuts, lacerations, burns, muscle strains, sprains and electrocution. To avoid slips, trips and falls, slip resistant shoes must be worn by food workers.