Sanitation Guidelines for
Food Service Employees

Employee Hygiene Practices

  1. All employees must wash their hands with soap and water when they arrive at work and before starting food preparation.
  2. All employees must wash their hands with soap and water after using the toilet, and after covering their mouth or nose after sneezing or coughing.
  3. Employees must wear clean clothes.
  4. Employees with long hair must wear hats, hair nets or other form of hair restraint approved by EH&S.
  5. Employees with cuts or sores on their hands must wear disposable latex gloves, finger cots or other waterproof covering, as needed.
  6. Employees with diarrhea or severe coughing are not allowed to work.
  7. Employee coats and other private articles must be stored in a designated area.
  8. Employees should eat only during assigned breaks, not while working in the kitchen.
  9. Food preparation areas are limited to employees only. Visiting with friends is to take place only in public areas of the restaurant.

Food handling and Storage Practices

  1. Cover all prepared food stored in refrigeration units. Use foil, plastic wrap or a tight fitting lid. Do not use cloth covers.
  2. Store all prepared food above raw meat or unwashed produce.
  3. Defrost frozen meats, fish or dairy products in one of the four ways listed below, not at room temperature.
    • In the refrigerator
    • During cooking
    • In a microwave
    • Under cold running water, if it is wrapped
  4. Meat, fish, poultry, dairy products, tofu, cooked beans, and cooked rice must be kept above 140 degrees or below 45 degrees Fahrenheit.
  5. Heat all foods to at least 160 degrees before putting it in the steam table.
  6. Stir food stored in the steam table to prevent burning and ensure uniform temperatures.
  7. Cool hot foods in containers no more than five inches deep whenever possible.
  8. Wash all raw produce before preparation.
  9. Do not store food or containers of food on the floor.
  10. Opened bags of bulk ingredients such as flour, rice, and grains must be placed in containers with tight fitting lids to keep out rodents and insects.
  11. Store all chemicals below food or utensils and label all chemical containers.
  12. Do not use any dented canned goods if the ends of the can bulge, there are stains along the seams which indicate leaking, or if the cans are dented to the point they cannot be stacked on top of each other.
  13. Only food prepared in the restaurant or obtained from licensed wholesale or retail facilities may be sold. Home-prepared foods may not be stored or sold in any food facility. Any portion of a meal that has been served to a customer cannot be re-used or re-served.

Display and Service

All foods on display must be protected from contamination or handling by the public by using any of the methods listed:

Dishwashing and Utensils

All dishes which are used by the public must be cleaned and sanitized after use. This may be done using a commercial dishwasher using high temperature (>180) or an approved sanitizer or a three-compartment commercial sink, using the method described below.

  1. Wash dishes in the three-compartment sink using all three compartments in this order:
    • Compartment #1: water with dish soap.
    • Compartment #2: clear rinse water.
    • Compartment #3: water with bleach. Use ¼ cup bleach to 5 gallons water. Note: other sanitizers such as iodine and quaternary ammonia compounds may be used. Check with EH&S prior to using these compounds.
  2. Clean all utensils before reusing.
  3. Wash all cutting boards and knives used for preparing raw chicken or other meat. Then sanitize with a 10% solution of bleach and water immediately after use.
  4. Pots and pans do not need to be sterilized but must be washed thoroughly.
  5. All utensils must be free of cracks or other defects and must be readily cleanable. Tape or string on utensil handles is prohibited.

Fire Safety

  1. Secure all compressed gas cylinders to the wall or other fixed objects using chains or racks designed for cylinder storage.
  2. All fire extinguishers must be serviced annually and have an up-to-date inspection tag.
  3. The fire suppression system for the exhaust hood must be inspected at an interval determined by the Fire Marshall and have an up-to-date inspection tag.
  4. Keep all corridors free of obstructions.
  5. Exhaust hood grease filters and duct(s) are to be cleaned at an interval sufficient to prevent the build up of excess grease but no less than annually.
  6. The exhaust hood grease filters must be in place whenever deep-frying or grilling.

Cleaning and Sanitation

  1. Equipment such as slicers and blenders must be taken apart and cleaned at the end of each day they are used. If the slicer is used for raw meat, it must be cleaned and sanitized before re-use on other products.
  2. All floor surfaces are to be swept and mopped daily.
  3. All counter tops are to be cleaned and sanitized daily.

Thermometers

  1. All refrigeration units must be provided with readily visible, accurate thermometers.
  2. Probe thermometers should be available to take temperatures of soups, meats and other products where an accurate internal temperature is needed.

Rodent & Insect Activity

Most rodent and insect problems can be controlled by keeping doors and windows closed whenever possible. The campus pest control department should be contacted whenever there are signs of internal rodent or insect activity.

Equipment

All equipment used in the facility must meet the standards of the National Sanitation Foundation or be equivalent in construction. Equipment meeting this standard will have a blue NSF stamp on it. Any equipment not meeting these standards must be approved by EH&S prior to use.

In general, equipment purchased for home use is not suitable for commercial restaurant operations. Home-style equipment is not as durable, and compressors on refrigerators and freezer units are smaller and do not have the ability to rapidly cool a commercial quantity of food.

Basic goal is to provide food that is safe and free of contamination

Types of contamination

Sources

Conditions for bacterial food poisoning