KEEP FOOD COLD FOR SAFETY

Cooling and Cold Holding foods are 2 very important food preparation steps to working with food safely. We see a lot of cooling issues in our county, which can result in the need for a risk control plan. A risk control plan is an agreement between the food operator and the health department on the processes to follow to keep food safe and avoid violations at inspections. Cooling and cold holding risk control plans are on the rise.

COOL FOOD QUICKLY

You must cool food to below 41°F. Bacteria can grow quickly in cooling food. It is important to cool food through the danger zone (41°F - 135°F) as fast as possible to keep bacteria from growing. The best cooling method to use is the Shallow Pan Cooling method. Divide the food into shallow pans, with the food depth not more than 2” deep. Keep pans uncovered and place them on the top shelf of the refrigerator. Do not cover or stack pans while cooling. This will keep the heat in the food longer.

If there are reasons you are unable to use the shallow pan method, you can also create a plan to use the Time and Temperature Cooling method and monitor the process. This involves meeting the two cooling steps:

Step 1: Cool food, uncovered, within 2 hours, from 135°F to 70°F.

Step 2: Then cool, within a total of 6 hours, to 41°F.

This means that you have a total of 6 hours to complete the cooling steps, but the first step must be completed within the first 2 hours. An example of a Time and Temperature cooling method is Ice Bath Cooling.

Raw Meat Storage in the Refrigerator picture

COLD HOLD FOOD

Keep cold food cold, below 41°F. All Temperature Control for Safety (TCS) Foods need to be stored in a refrigerator or walk-in or reach-in cooler. Food should be stored correctly, with ready-to-eat foods on the top. Raw meat should be stored in the order of its final cook-out temperature, with the foods cooked to the hottest temperatures stored on the lowest shelf. Keep foods separate to prevent cross-contamination.

Make sure equipment is working correctly. Use a digital Thermometer to take the temp of the food in the cold holding equipment to make sure that the food is staying below 41°F. A refrigerator thermometer should always be stored in the fridge or cooler as well, but you want to know what the food is being kept at to make sure the food stays below 41°F.

New Educational Resource Pages

We have been working hard to get resources translated into different languages. To highlight these translated forms and handouts, we created 4 new webpages in the languages we see the most in our county: Chinese, Korean, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Foreign Language Resource page buttons on website

You will find the above buttons on our Food Safety Educational Resources page. Click on the button to go to the resource page for that language to see what we have. We are always looking for ways to make our resources helpful and accessible. If you have another language that you feel would benefit our county, please reach out with that recommendation food.safety@snoco.org.

Certified Protection Manager instructing a Person in Charge at a restaurant

Certified Food Protection Manager

The primary focus of the Certified Food Protection Manager (CFPM) requirement is to increase proactive food safety, looking at things before they go wrong. Food safety policies and procedures must be taught to employees. This is an ongoing process. You must monitor and verify that staff understand and remember practices and procedures. This proactive approach helps to prevent Food Borne Illnesses, which can have lasting consequences.

When the health department performs an inspection, we will ask what the establishment policies are. We will also gather information on where the training is coming from. The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) has created many templates to use when creating policies and procedures. You can find the templates on the DOH Food Safety Rules and Regulations webpage.

Here are some things to note about the CFPM requirement:

The CFPM does not need to be on-site, although a copy of the certificate does. This means that not all managers need to be certified. You could have one person designated as the CFPM for the food service establishment or even several establishments. Sharing a CFPM between establishments is acceptable, but you must be able to maintain Active Managerial Control (AMC).
An establishment will have 60 days to replace a CFPM if their previous CFPM leaves.
The CFPM will be responsible for implementing a food protection program which helps each Person in Charge (PIC) and any other employees follow the food code.
The CFPM will be responsible for training each PIC so that they understand food safety concepts and are able to demonstrate knowledge and maintain Active Managerial Control (AMC). AMC has been shown to reduce the risk factors associated with Foodborne Illness (FBI) outbreaks.
A CFPM is not required to take a class, although it is encouraged. They are just required to pass one of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approved food manager tests. This is a list of the different ANSI approved courses that will meet the CFPM Requirement.
Low risk permitted establishments, temporary event food operations and school/youth activity concessions are NOT required to have a CFPM. It is still encouraged for those operators to have a CFPM, but not a requirement for operation.

Keep in mind that, with the CFPM certifications, you are looking for the FOOD MANAGER options. These companies also provide a Food Handler option. That is not an acceptable way to meet the CFPM requirement. At this time, those Food Handler certificates will not be accepted as your food workers card either. The only food worker card accepted in Washington can obtained from Do it Right, Serve it Safe! (wa.gov).

5-YEAR FOOD WORKER CARDS

After you receive the CFPM certificate, you will qualify for a 5-year food worker card. You’ll still need to take and pass the food worker card class and test, but if you do this within 2 years of your CFPM certification date, you’ll qualify for a 5-year card. At that time, email food.safety@snoco.org and attach a picture of your CFPM certificate and we can increase the new card to a 5-year card.

Campylobacter

According to the CDC, Campylobacter causes an estimated 1.5 million illnesses each year in the United States. People usually get sick 2-5 days after eating the bacteria and symptoms can last for about a week. Symptoms include diarrhea, stomach cramps, fever, vomiting and bloody diarrhea in some cases.

Campylobacter is a bacterium that can be found in raw and undercooked poultry and beef, stews, gravies, seafood, produce, unpasteurized milk and contaminated water. It can also be spread through cross contamination. Campylobacter is found in most warm-blooded animals, but there can be more of the bacteria in certain animals that we like to eat, such as chickens and cows. These animals can carry this bacterium even if they have no symptoms. When the animals are slaughtered, bacteria can spread from the intestines to the parts people eat.

The best way to prevent Campylobacter from causing illness is by cooking foods to their proper temperatures. Poultry, particularly chicken, should be cooked to 165°F and ground beef products cooked to 158°F. Avoid cross contaminating foods as well. Keep raw poultry and beef away from other foods that are ready-to-eat or that will be cooked to a lower temperature than what is required for chicken and beef. Make sure to only use the prep sink designated for meat prep (not the vegetable prep sink) and use separate cutting boards designated for raw poultry and beef. Use a separate sanitizer bucket in areas where meat, like raw poultry and beef, are being prepped. After contact, thoroughly clean and sanitize all surfaces and utensils. As always, wash your hands properly for at least 10-15 seconds to prevent the risk of contaminating other foods and surfaces.

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