Food Safety Essentials for AFSCME Employees

Cross-contact happens when one food comes into contact with another food and their proteins mix. As a result, each food then contains small amounts of the other food. These amounts are so small that they usually can’t be seen.

Tips to avoid cross-contact:

• Start with fresh clean hands, gloves, workspace, utensils, pans and dishes.
• Use utensils, cutting boards and pans that have been thoroughly washed with soap and water. Consider using separate utensils and dishes for making and serving safe foods. 
• If you are making several foods, cook the allergy-safe foods first.
• Keep the safe foods covered and away from other foods that may splatter.
• If you make a mistake, you can’t just remove an allergen from a meal. Even a small amount of cross-contact makes a food unsafe.
• Wash your hands with soap and water before touching anything else if you have handled a food allergen. Soap and water or commercial wipes will remove a food allergen. Sanitizing gels or water alone will not remove an allergen.
• Scrub down counters and tables with soap and water after making meals.
• Double check orders before serving and only serve if allergen free.

Cross contamination happens when:

• Bacteria from raw foods get onto other foods.
• When blood or juice from raw chicken or other meat gets onto the counter, cutting board, utensils or hands, bacteria can spread to other foods.

To avoid this:

• Wash hands after handling raw meat
• Wash and dry all food-contact surfaces that touch raw meat.
• Prepare raw meat in an area away from other foods.
• Use a separate cutting board for raw meat 
• Store raw meat below other foods in the refrigerator or freezer
• Thaw like items together. Do not thaw chicken, beef etc. over any cooked food.

Foods that have been prepared and frozen for future use (such as salami) and foods being prepared for an upcoming meal (wraps and sandwiches) must be covered, labeled and dated. Labels should include two dates: 

• date it was prepped or opened
• date it should be used by (7 days after, counting the day prepped/opened) 

If removing frozen food from freezer, remember to change the use-by date upon putting food back in service.  

Example: 

Beef Lasagna

Prep: 08/17

Use by: 08/23 

Improper hand washing is the main cause of food borne illness and can spread contagious diseases like COVID-19. Each employee is expected to practice good personal hygiene by frequently scrubbing hands for at least 20 seconds when washing and after or before the following activities:

• When first reporting to work
• Before putting on gloves, face masks and other PPE
• Before and after handling uncooked food
• Before and after handling or serving food
• After touching your face or hair
• After adjusting or removing gloves, face mask or other PPE
• After taking a break, eating or smoking
• After returning to the kitchen from any other area
• After using the restroom
• After sneezing, coughing or blowing your nose
• When leaving work

Fingernails must be clean and neatly trimmed. Nail brushes are available at hand wash sinks to clean under the nails. Fingernail polish is not allowed; it can chip and contaminate food.

Never touch ready-to-eat food with bare hands. Instead, use a serving utensil, such as tongs, or disposable plastic or latex gloves. Ready-to-eat foods include: cookies, bagels, fruit, salad preparation and any other food not cooked before serving. Change gloves between hand washings.

CLEAN HANDS SAVE LIVES

Follow these steps every time:

1. Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.
2. Apply soap and scrub between fingers, thumbs, nails and up the lower arms for at least 20 seconds.  
3. Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
4. Dry hands completely using a paper.

Always wash hands before putting on gloves!

Keep food out of the Danger Zone (41 – 135˚F)!

All foods cooked and served hot should be held at or above 135˚F. After meal service, any leftover food needs to be cooled properly (see below). During recipe preparation, any food that is heated and not held hot also needs to follow the cooling food procedure, including cooked ingredients used in a cold recipe.

Cooling food procedure:

After food has finished cooking or hot holding/meal service has ended, all food must be cooled efficiently, if it is to be served again or used in a recipe:  

• Within 2 hours: internal temperature must reach 70˚F or below 
• Within 4 hours: internal temperature must be at or below 41˚F after the 70˚F mark has been reached. 

(Six hours in total is allowed to cool from 135˚F or above to 41˚F.)

Depending on the type of food, use one of three methods to cool, referred to as “The ABC’s of Cooling.” The specific cooling method will be indicated in the recipe. 

Don’t let food stay in the Danger Zone (41 – 135˚F) long! Use proper cooling procedures.

Food that naturally supports the growth and survival of pathogenic micro-organisms are considered potentially hazardous foods (PHF) and need to have time and temperature controls in place to reduce growth of pathogens. Common examples of PHF include: 

• Meat, fish, poultry and seafood 
• Eggs and dairy products 
• Starches (cooked rice, pasta and potatoes)
• Fruits and vegetables (tofu, sprouts and cut melon)
• Garlic or herb bottled in oil

All food that is considered potentially hazardous must be held at or below 41˚F OR above 135˚F. If a PHF enters the Danger Zone (41 – 135˚F), it can be served for a maximum of four hours before it must be discarded. Temperature control should be used on PHF to confirm that holding temperatures are outside of the Danger Zone, or that corrective action needs to occur.

WMU Dining Services is now using an EcoLab food safe disinfectant that has demonstrated effectiveness against viruses similar to SARS-CoV-2 on hard non-porous surfaces. 

Sink and Surface Cleaner dispensers are located in each foodservice unit and automatically dispenses product at the proper concentration for effective disinfection. 

• Towels need to be sorted in designated spots for future use or in red pails with sanitizing solutions, NOT lying on counters, etc.
• Sanitizer may be applied in marked spray bottles.
• All equipment and food contact surfaces need to be washed, rinsed and sanitized.
• Any contact surface that has been in contact with food for a four-hour period must be re-cleaned and sanitized before continuing with operations.

• Use gloves when preparing ready-to-eat foods, such as sandwiches, slicing vegetables or fruit.
• Put on gloves for sorting clean silverware or utensils.
• Gloves or finger cots must be worn if you have bandages, sores or cuts.
• Throw gloves away after completing every task.

If you are concerned you have COVID symptoms, such as cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, call Sindecuse Health Center at (269) 387-3287.

All WMU Dining Employees are required to sign the Food Employee Reporting Agreement, which confirms that you agree to report to your manager any of the following symptoms or diagnoses:

Symptoms: 

• Diarrhea 
• Vomiting 
• Jaundice 
• Sore throat with fever 
• Infected cuts or wounds, or lesions containing pus on the hand, wrist , an exposed body part, or other body part and the cuts, wounds, or lesions are not properly covered (such as boils and infected wounds, however small)

Diagnosis of you or a household member (or working in a setting with a confirmed outbreak of): 

• Hepatitis A
• E. Coli 0157:H7 (or other EHEC/STEC infection)
• Salmonella typhi (Typhoid fever)
• Shigellosis
• Norovirus (confirmed diagnosis)

After infectious illness with diarrhea or vomiting, you cannot work until free from symptoms for 24 hours.

• All food employees in WMU Dining Service kitchens and customer areas must have good personal hygiene and cleanliness, must wear clean clothing and must comply with all aspects of the dress code.
• All employees must have their hair off their shoulders, properly restrained and wear a WMU hat or hairnet.
• For sanitary reasons wear aprons.
• Take off aprons when leaving the work environment, taking out the trash and using the restroom.
• Do not leave hats or aprons on the counter, etc.
• Please put aprons in laundry bags at the end of your shift.