1. THE FLOW OF FOOD: PURCHASING, RECEIVING, and STORAGE
SERVSAFE/CHAPTER 6
THE FLOW OF FOOD:
PURCHASING, RECEIVING,
and STORAGE

2. FACTS
An approved food supplier is one that has been inspected and meets all applicable local, state, and federal laws.
Make sure food suppliers have good food safety practices.
Develop a relationship with your suppliers, and get to know their food safety practices.

3. AGENCIES USDA: U.S. Department of Agriculture
FDA: Food and Drug Administration
GMP: Good Manufacturing Practices
GAP: Good Agricultural Practices

4. RECEIVING and INSPECTING
Arrange deliveries so they arrive one at a time and during off-peak hours
Deliveries should be carefully and immediately inspected and put away as quickly as possible.
If you must reject an item, set it aside from the items you are accepting.

5. Temperature Criteria
Receive cold TCS food at 41 degrees F. or lower, unless otherwise specified
Receive hot TCS food at 135 degrees F. or higher, unless otherwise specified
Receive frozen food frozen

6. Packaging of Food
Reject items with tears, holes, or punctures in their packaging.
Reject cans with swollen ends, rust, or dents.
Reject items with leaks, dampness, or water stains
Reject items with signs of pests or pest damage.
Reject items with expired code or use-by dates

7. Product Quality
Poor food quality can be a sign that the food has been time-temperature abused.
Reject food with an abnormal color.
Reject meat, fish, or poultry that is slimy, sticky, or dry.
Reject food with an abnormal or unpleasant odor.

8. SPECIFIC FOOD Inspections
EGGS
Must be clean and unbroken
Shell eggs should be received at an air temperature of 45 degrees F. or lower
Liquid, frozen, and dehydrated egg products must be pasteurized as required by law and have a USDA inspection mark

9. SPECIFIC FOOD Inspections
MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCTS
Must be received at 41 degrees F. or lower unless other specified by law.
Must be pasteurized.
Must comply with FDA grade A standards.

10. SPECIFIC FOOD Inspections
SHELLFISH
Can be received either shucked or live.
Raw: nonreturnable containers; must be labeled with the packer’s name, address, and certification number;
Live: must have shellstock identification tags; tags must be kept for 90 days from the date written on them
Reject shellfish if they are muddy, have broken shells, or are dead.

11. SPECIFIC FOOD Inspections
PRODUCE
Sliced melons, cut tomatoes, and fresh-cut leafy greens must be received at 41 degrees F. or lower.
PREPACKAGED JUICE
Must be purchased from a supplier with a HACCP plan.
Juice must be pasteurized.

12. SPECIFIC FOOD Inspections
FISH SERVED RAW OR PARTIALLY COOKED
Must be frozen by the supplier for a specific time to kill parasites
Must keep records of the frozen times and temps. (provided by the supplier) for 90 days from the date you served the fish

13. INSPECTION STAMPS
Meat and Poultry-must have a USDA or state department of agriculture’s inspection stamp.
NOTE: The stamp indicates that the product and
the processing plant have met certain standards
Egg Products-must have inspection stamp indicating that federal regulations have been enforced to maintain quality and reduce contamination

14. STORAGE GUIDELINES
Rotate food in storage to use the oldest inventory first.
Label all TCS, ready-to-eat food prepped in-house that you have held for longer than 24 hours.
Throw away food that has passed its expiration date.
Store refrigerated raw meat, poultry, and seafood separately from ready-to-eat food.
If necessary, store ready-to-eat food above raw seafood, meat, and poultry.

15. How to “Stack” food in a refrigerator…
Ready-to-eat food (TOP)
Seafood
Whole cuts of beef and pork
Ground meat and ground fish
Whole and ground poultry (BOTTOM)

16. REFRIGERATED AND FROZEN STORAGE
Schedule regular maintenance
Defrost freezers
Set the temperatures of coolers to keep the internal temp. of TCS food at 41 degrees F.
Check cooler temps. at least once during each shift
Do not overload coolers or freezers.
Use open shelving (DO NOT line shelves with aluminum foil, sheet pans, or paper…this restricts circulation of cold air in the unit)

17. DRY STORAGE
The temperature of dry-storage area should be between 50 and 70 degrees F.
Store dry food away from walls and at least six inches off the floor.
Make sure dry-storage areas are well ventilated…try to keep temperature and humidity constant throughout the area.

18. Chapter Review
A care of beef roast that carries both a USDA inspection stamp and a USDA choice grade stamp indicates that the meat and processing plant have met USDA standards and the meat quality is acceptable.
Scheduling all deliveries at the same time is NOT a general purchasing and receiving principle.
Receiving is an important step in the flow of food in a food service establishment because food is examined for the first time.

19. Review Cont.
If poultry passed inspection by the USDA and was received and stored properly, it is safe to eat as long as it is cooked to 165 degrees F. for 15 seconds.
A torn label does NOT indicate that canned products are unsafe.
A fresh shipment of pork delivered to a hospital will be pink lean meat with white fat.
When choosing a food supplier, it is MOST important that it meets food safety standards.

20. Review Cont.
Fresh eggs should be received at a temperature of 45 degrees F. (72 degrees C.).
Sous Vide packed food that is leaking should be rejected.
The term “first in first out” means food supplies should be used in order in which they were received.
To hold food at a specific internal temperature, the air in the refrigerator must be kept approximately 2 degrees F. (1 degree C.) or lower.

21. Review Cont.
Potentially hazardous, ready-to-eat food can be stored in the refrigerator 7 days before it should be discarded.
Floor cleaner should NOT be stored in a dry-storage area.
Uncovered fresh fish on the bottom shelf is stored in the refrigerator improperly.
Storing raw poultry on the bottom shelf of the refrigerator is an incorrect storage practice.

22. Review Cont.
Dry goods should be stored at a temperature between 50 degrees F. to 70 degrees F. (10 degrees C. to 21 degrees C.).
60 degrees F. (16 degrees C.) is an unsafe internal temperature to store ground pork.
To prevent pests, food supplies should be stored six inches off the floor and away from the wall.
The temperatures of commercial refrigerators and freezers in a kitchen should be checked daily.

23. Review Cont.
Cooked chicken breats over fresh poultry is stored correctly in the refrigerator.
Storing cleaning chemicals above food in dry storage areas can lead to the contamination of food.