Food Safety

Some of our policies and procedures were written specifically to provide you with the basics of safe food storage and handling.  They include storing food 4-6 inches above the floor, away from chemicals and in a clean environment – free from odors, insect or rodent infestation and damp conditions.  We also require that you log the temperature of each refrigerator and freezer at least once each week and keep the logs for 2 years or until your next monitoring. We recommend referring to this simple handout for similar tips.

ServSafe offers free posters and quiz sheets here, including the popular hand-washing poster.

If you want to learn more about safe food storage and handling for free, there are a variety of online references you may wish to consult, including:

Fight Bac! is a food safety initiative that educates consumers about the four simple practices — clean, separate, cook and chill – that can help reduce their risk of foodborne illness.

“The Food Keeper” (PDF) provides guidelines – not hard and fast rules – on how long food can be stored safely. This resource was developed for the Fight Bac! campaign by the Food Marketing Institute, which now has an interactive version on their website. The PDF linked above is hosted by the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County.

To ask a specific food safety question, try AskKaren.gov, a searchable knowledge base with information for consumers about preventing foodborne illness, safe food handling and storage, and safe preparation of meat, poultry, and egg products.

FoodSafety.gov has both static information on food safety and timely blog entries on seasonally relevant topics.

Some food recalls cause people to feel uneasy about eating any of the products in question even though most of the supply is perfectly fine.  Here are materials on:
Eggs