The document provides guidelines for safely holding and serving hot and cold foods to prevent temperature abuse and cross-contamination, including requirements for bare-hand contact, utensil use, food reheating/reserving, and special considerations for off-site service and vending machines. Key aspects are holding hot foods above 135°F and cold foods below 41°F, discarding foods left in the danger zone, and preventing contamination through sneeze guards, separate storage/handling of raw and ready-to-eat foods, and clean transport vehicles and service locations.
2. 8. The Flow of Food: Service
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3. Section Goals
• Understand and explain the • Explain the various service
safe food holding staff guidelines for safe food
requirements for hot & cold service.
foods. • Differentiate between items
• Understand and explain the that may be re-served and
requirements for safely items that must be discarded
holding TCS foods without after being served..
temperature control. • List the requirements
• Explain the proper care and regarding self-service areas.
use of utensils by kitchen staff • Explain the safe handling of
as well as the requirements foods for off-site service.
pertaining to bare-hand • Know and explain the
contact with ready-to-eat requirements surrounding
foods. Vending Machine food safety.
4. Definitions
• TCS Food – (Temperature Control for Safety) Foods
that require time & temperature control for safety.
• Cross-contamination – The transfer of pathogens
from one food or surface to another.
• Temperature Danger Zone – (41° F. To 135° F.) The
temperature range in which foodborne pathogens
grow well.
5. Guidelines for Holding Food
• Hold hot foods at 135° F. or higher.
• Hold cold foods at 41° F. or lower.
• Use thermometers to check temperatures (at least)
every four hours and throw out any TCS food that is
found to be between 41° F. and 135° F.
• You may choose to check temperatures every two
hours to allow for corrective actions.
6. Guidelines for Holding Food (cont’d)
• Never use hot-holding equipment to re-heat foods.
• Cover foods and install sneeze guards.
• Create policies regarding how long you will hold food.
For example, your policy might let you refill a pan of
Chicken Tetrazzini all day, as long as it is thrown out at
the end of the day’s service.
7. Holding Foods Without Temperature
Control
There may be times when it is not possible to
hold food using temperature control such as
when displaying food at an off-site event
where electricity is not available.
Use the following guidelines.
8. Holding Cold Food Without
Temperature Control
• Hold the food at 41° F. or lower before
removing it from refrigeration.
• Label the food with the time it was removed
from refrigeration and the time it must be
thrown out.
• Food must be discarded once it reaches 70° F.
or after six hours without temperature control
(whichever comes first).
9. Holding Hot Food Without
Temperature Control
• Hold the food at 135° F. or higher before
removing it from hot holding.
• Label the food with the time it was removed
from refrigeration and the time it must be
thrown out.
• Food must be discarded after four hours
without temperature control.
10. Kitchen Staff Guidelines: Bare-Hand
Contact With Ready-To-Eat Foods
Train kitchen staff on the following procedures:
• Never touch ready-to-eat food with bare
hands.
• Instead, handle ready-to-eat foods with
tongs, deli sheets, utensils, or gloves.
11. Kitchen Staff Guidelines: Utensils
Service Utensils should be handled the following
ways:
• Use separate (cleaned and sanitized) utensils for
each food item and make sure they are cleaned
and sanitized at least every four hours if in
continuous use.
• Store serving utensils in foods with the handle
extending above the rim of the container.
• Scoops, spoons and dishers used for ice cream or
mashed potatoes may be stored under running
water that is at least 135° F.
12. Service Staff Guidelines
Train service staff on the following procedures:
• Hold dishes by the bottom or the edge of the
dish.
• Carry glasses on trays or in racks. Never stack
glasses.
• Hold flatware such as forks, knives and spoons by
the handle only.
• Avoid bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.
• Use ice scoops or tongs to get ice. Never use bare
hands or scoop ice with a glass.
13. Preset Tableware
If your operation presets dining tables you must
take care to prevent the tableware from
becoming contaminated.
• Table settings should be wrapped or
covered, UNLESS:
– The extra items are removed when guests are
seated.
– Otherwise the items are to be treated as if they
were dirty and require cleaning and sanitizing.
14. Re-Serving Food
NEVER REUSE OR RE-SERVE:
• Food returned by a customer.
• Uncovered condiments.
• Bread or Rolls (Also ensure that the baskets are
re-lined with fresh linens).
• Garnishes
Generally, you may re-serve only unopened
packaged food like wrapped breadsticks and
crackers or condiment bottles and packets.
15. Rules Regarding Self-Service Areas
To prevent contamination and time/temperature abuse:
• Protect foods with sneeze guards.
• Label all foods.
• Hold hot foods at 135° F. or higher. Hold cold foods at
41° F. or lower.
• Keep raw meat, seafood and poultry away from ready
to eat foods.
• DO NOT let customers re-use or refill dirty plates.
• Ice used to keep food or beverages co may NEVER be
used as an ingredient.
16. Special Considerations: Off-Site Service
The longer the delay from preparation to service
the greater the risk of contamination or
time/temperature abuse. To transport food
safely:
• Pack food in leak-proof, insulated food containers
that can keep food out of the temperature
danger zone.
• Make sure to clean the inside of transport
vehicles regularly.
• Store raw meat, seafood and poultry and ready-
to-eat foods separately.
17. Special Considerations: Off-Site Service
(cont’d)
Once food reaches an off-site service location, there
are additional guidelines to keep in mind:
• Label the food with use-by date/time and
reheating and service instructions for off-site
staff.
• Check internal temperatures of foods.
• Make sure the off-site location has the necessary
utilities such as safe water for cooking, cleaning
and handwashing and garbage containers stored
away from food and utensils.
18. Special Considerations: Vending
Machines
Handle vended food with the same care as any
other food served to customers:
• Check product shelf life daily.
• Hold hot foods at 135° F. or higher. Hold cold
foods at 41° F. or lower.
• Check internal temperatures of foods.
• Dispense TCS food in its original container.
• Wrap fresh fruit with edible peels (ie. apples and
pears).
Hello and welcome to AtTheInstitute.com’s online preparatory course for the National Restaurant AssociationServSafe Manager Certification Exam.
Next, we’ll be covering section 8 of our ServSafe Course – Service.
After reviewing this section you will be able to: Understand and explain the safe food holding requirements for hot & cold foods.Understand and explain the requirements for safely holding TCS foods without temperature control.Explain the proper care and use of utensils by kitchen staff as well as the requirements pertaining to bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.Explain the various service staff guidelines for safe food service.Differentiate between items that may be re-served and items that must be discarded after being served..List the requirements regarding self-service areas.Explain the safe handling of foods for off-site service.Know and explain the requirements surrounding Vending Machine food safety.
A quick review of some of the concepts you’ll need for this section:TCS Foods – (Temperature Control for Safety) are Foods that require time & temperature control for safety.Cross-contamination – is The transfer of pathogens from one food or surface to another.Temperature Danger Zone – (41° F. To 135° F.) The temperature danger zone is the temperature range in which foodborne pathogens grow well.
When holding food for service, it is important to keep food out of the temperature danger zone.Therefore we’ll hold hot foods at 135° F. or higher. and cold foods at 41° F. or lower.To check those temperatures we’ll need thermometers to check temperatures as well as a clock or timers to make sure that we check temperatures – at least – every four hours. Note here that you may check temperatures more often. Checking temperatures every two hours (for instance) allows for time to take corrective action if temperature standards are not met.[NEXT -]
Remember that hot holding equipment should only be used for holding and not for heating (or reheating) foods. Additionally, foods should be kept covered and sneeze guards should be in place.We’ll need a policy for how long we hold foods also. In the above example, your policy might let you refill the pan of Chicken Tetrazzini all day, as long as it is thrown out at the end of the day’s service.
There are times when it may not be possible to hold food under temperature control.Offsite catering events where there are food displays or simply a lack of utilities like electric necessitate holding food this way.Under these circumstances food still needs to be protected from contamination. Follow these guidelines:
To hold cold food without temperature control:Keep the food at (or below) 41° F. before removing it from refrigeration.Label the food with the time it was removed from refrigeration and the time it must be thrown out.Discard food once it reaches 70° F. or after six hours (whichever comes first).
Hot foods might also be held without temperature control. In order to do this, you must:Hold the food at 135° F. or higher prior to holding it without temperature control.Label the food with the time it was removed from refrigeration and the time it must be thrown out.Hot Food held without temperature control must be discarded after four hours.
Staff should be trained on the following procedures for handling ready-to-eat foods:Never touch ready-to-eat food with the bare hands.Ready-to-eat foods instead should be handled with tongs, deli sheets, utensils, or gloves or another method that prevents bare-hand contact.
Make sure kitchen staff uses the following guideline when handling service utensils:A separate – cleaned and sanitized – service utensil should be used for each food item.These utensils should be cleaned and sanitized every four hours – if in continuous use.Serving utensils should be stored in foods with the handle extending out – above the rim of the container.Alternately these utensils may be stored on a cleaned & sanitized food contact surface (ie. plate)Scoops, spoons and dishers used for serving ice cream or mashed potatoes may be stored under running water that is at least 135 degrees F.
Train service staff on the following procedures:Hold dishes by the bottom or the edge of the dish.Carry glasses on trays or in racks. Never stack glasses.Hold flatware (such as forks, knives and spoons) by the handle only.Avoid bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.Use ice scoops or tongs to get ice. Never use bare hands or scoop ice with a glass.
Many operations preset tables. When dealing with preset tableware, take care to prevent the tableware from becoming contaminated.Table settings should be wrapped or covered, UNLESS:The extra settings are removed when guests are seated.If they are NOT removed, the items are treated as if they were dirty and must be cleaned and sanitized before reusing..
There are very few cases where food may be safely re-served.YOU MUST NEVER REUSE OR RE-SERVE:Food returned by a customer.Uncovered condiments (like mayonnaise in a ramekin).Bread or Rolls (You must also ensure that bread baskets are re-lined with fresh linens before reuse).Garnishes
Self-service areas have many of the same requirements of hot holding in kitchens. For instance, hot food must be held at 135 degrees or higher and cold food must be held at 41 degrees or lower and foods must be protected from contamination with sneeze guards. Too, raw meat, poultry and seafood must be kept separate from ready to eat food and ice used to keep foods cold may not be used as an ingredient.There are some additional requirements for holding food in self-service areas – including:All foods must be labeled.And Customers may never be allowed to refill their dirty plates.
Once food reaches an off-site service location, there are additional guidelines to keep in mind:All foods must be labeledwith use-by dates/times and reheating and service instructions for off-site staff.Internal temperatures of foods must be checked.And it is vital to make sure that any off-site location has the necessary utilities such as safe water for cooking, cleaning and handwashing and garbage containers that are stored away from food and utensils.
Even vending machines require food safety procedures. Vended foods should be handled with the same care as any other food.Follow these guidelines:Check the product shelf life daily.Hold all hot foods at 135° F. or higher and hold cold foods at 41° F. or lower.Check the internal temperatures of TCS foods.Dispense those TCS food in their original containers.And wrap fresh fruit that has an edible peel (such as apples and pears).
All of the information provided can be found in The National Restaurant Association’s, ServSafe Essentials, 5th Edition with 2009 FDA Food Code Updates.For more information check them out online at www.servsafe.com.
Please take this opportunity to complete the review questions for this section before continuing on to section Nine of the course.We hope you’ve found this section informative.For AtTheInstitute.com, this is [your name]. Leave us feedback at “feedback@AtTheInstitute.com”.