1. Chapter 6 The Flow of Food: Purchasing, Receiving, and Storage
Instructor Notes
You can’t make unsafe food safe. So, you must make sure you bring only safe food into your operation. Purchasing food from approved, reputable suppliers and following good receiving procedures will help to ensure the safety and quality of the food your operation uses.

2. Purchasing Purchase food from approved, reputable suppliers
Approved suppliers:
Have been inspected
Meet all applicable local, state, and federal laws
Arrange it so deliveries arrive:
One at a time
During off-peak hours
Instructor Notes
Make sure your suppliers have good food safety practices. This applies to all suppliers along the supply chain. Your operation’s supply chain can include growers, shippers, packers, manufacturers, distributors (trucking fleets and warehouses), or local markets.
Develop a relationship with your suppliers, and get to know their food safety practices. Consider reviewing their most recent inspection reports. These reports can be from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), or a third-party inspector. They should be based on Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) or Good Agricultural Practices (GAP).
Suppliers must deliver products when staff has enough time to do inspections.
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3. Receiving and Inspecting
Receiving Principles
Have enough trained staff available to promptly receive, inspect, and store food
Authorize staff to accept, reject, and sign for deliveries
Have policies and procedures for rejecting deliveries
Instructor Notes
If you must reject an item, set it aside from the items you are accepting. Then tell the delivery person exactly what’s wrong with the rejected item.
Make sure you get a signed adjustment or credit slip before the rejected item is thrown out or given back to the delivery person.
Finally, log the incident on the invoice or the receiving document.
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4. Receiving and Inspecting
Temperature Criteria for Deliveries
Receive cold TCS food at 41˚F (5˚C) or lower, unless otherwise specified
Receive hot TCS food at 135˚F (57˚C) or higher
Receive frozen food frozen. Reject if:
Fluids or frozen liquids are in case bottoms
Ice crystals are on product or packaging
Water stains are on packaging
Instructor Notes
Reject frozen food for the following reasons:
Fluids or frozen liquids appear in case bottoms.
There are ice crystals on the product or the packaging, or there are water stains on the packaging. This may be evidence of thawing and refreezing.
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5. Receiving and Inspecting
Checking Meat, Poultry, and Fish Temperatures
Insert the thermometer stem or probe into the thickest part of the food (usually the center)
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6. Receiving and Inspecting
Checking ROP Food Temperatures
Insert the thermometer stem or probe between 2 packages
As an alternative, fold packaging around the thermometer stem or probe
Instructor Notes
ROP stands for reduced oxygen packaging. It includes MAP, vacuum-packed, and sous vide food.
If the package allows, fold it around the thermometer stem or probe. Be careful not to puncture the package.
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7. Receiving and Inspecting
Checking Other Packaged Food Temperatures
Open the package and insert the thermometer stem or probe into the food
Instructor Notes
When checking the temperature of food by this method, make sure the sensing area of the thermometer stem or probe is fully immersed in the food. It must not touch the package.
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8. Receiving and Inspecting
Reject packaged items with:
Tears, holes, or punctures in packaging; reject cans with swollen ends, rust, or dents
Broken cartons or seals or dirty wrappers
Leaks, dampness, or water stains
Signs of pests or pest damage
Expired code or use-by dates
Instructor Notes
The packaging of food and nonfood items should be intact and clean. It should protect the food and food-contact surfaces from contamination.
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9. Receiving and Inspecting
Reject food if:
It has an abnormal color
It has an abnormal or unpleasant odor
Reject meat, fish, or poultry if:
It is slimy, sticky, or dry
It has soft flesh that leaves an imprint when touched
Instructor Notes
Poor food quality can be a sign that the food has been time-temperature abused and, therefore, may be unsafe.
Work with your suppliers to define specific safety and quality criteria for the products you typically receive.
In addition to the guidelines in the slide, always reject any item that does not meet your company’s standards for quality.
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10. Receiving and Inspecting Specific Food
Eggs
Eggs must be clean and unbroken when received
Shell eggs must be received at an air temperature of 45˚F (7˚C) or lower
Liquid, frozen, and dehydrated egg products must be pasteurized and have a USDA inspection mark
Eggs must comply with USDA grade standards
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11. Receiving and Inspecting Specific Food
Milk and Dairy Products
Must be received at 41˚F (5˚C) or lower, unless otherwise specified by law
Must be pasteurized and comply with USDA grade A standards
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12. Receiving and Inspecting Specific Food
Shellfish—Raw Shucked
Must be packaged in nonreturnable containers
Containers must be labeled with the packer’s name, address, and certification number
Containers smaller than one-half gallon (1.9 L) must have a “best if used by” or “sell by” date
Containers bigger than one-half gallon (1.9 L) must have the date the shellfish were shucked
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13. Receiving and Inspecting Specific Food
Shellfish—Live
Receive with shellstock identification tags
Tags must remain attached to the delivery container until all the shellfish have been used
Employees must write on the tags the date that the last shellfish was sold or served from the container
Operators must keep these tags on file for 90 days from the date written on them
Reject shellfish if they are very muddy, have broken shells, or are dead
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14. Receiving and Inspecting Specific Food
Sliced Melons and Cut Tomatoes
Must be received at 41˚F (5˚C) or lower
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15. Receiving and Inspecting Specific Food
Prepackaged Juice
Must be purchased from a supplier with a Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) plan
Must be treated (e.g., pasteurized) to prevent, eliminate, or reduce pathogens
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16. Receiving and Inspecting Specific Food
Products Requiring Inspection Stamps
Meat and poultry
Packaging must have a USDA or state department of agriculture stamp
Stamp indicates product and processing plant have met certain standards
Egg products
Package must have an inspection stamp indicating federal regulations have been enforced
Instructor Notes
Checking for inspection stamps is a way to make sure food is coming from an approved source.
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17. General Storage Guidelines
Label Food
Ready-to-eat TCS food that was prepped on-site and held longer than 24 hours, must contain a label that includes:
Name of the food
Date by which it should be sold, eaten, or thrown out
Instructor Notes
Labeling is required when the food has been held for longer than 24 hours.
If an item has been previously cooked and stored and is later mixed with another food item to make a new dish, the label on the new dish must indicate the discard date of the previously cooked item.
For example, if ground beef has been cooked and then stored at 41F (5C) or lower and is later used to make meat sauce, the meat sauce must be labeled with the discard date of the ground beef.
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18. General Storage Guidelines
Discard food that has passed the manufacturer’s expiration date
Ready-to-eat TCS food that was prepared in-house:
Can be stored for 7 days at 41°F (5°C) or lower
Must be thrown out after 7 days
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19. General Storage Guidelines
Rotate food to use the oldest inventory first
One way to rotate products is to follow FIFO:
Identify the food item’s use-by or expiration date
Store items with the earliest use-by or expiration dates in front of items with later dates
Use items stored in front first
Instructor Notes
The first in, first out (FIFO) method is commonly used to ensure that refrigerated, frozen, and dry products are properly rotated during storage.
There are several ways to follow FIFO. This slide illustrates one way.
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20. General Storage Guidelines
Deplete stored product on a regular basis
If product is not sold or consumed by a specified date:
Throw it out
Clean and sanitize the container
Refill the container with fresh food
Instructor Notes
Establish a schedule to ensure that stored product is depleted on a regular basis.
For example, flour stored in plastic bins should be used within 12 months from the time it was placed in the bins. After 12 months, throw out the remaining flour and clean and sanitize the bins. Then refill the bins with new flour.
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21. General Storage Guidelines
Temperatures
Keep cold TCS food at 41°F (5°C) or lower
Keep hot TCS food at 135°F (57°C) or higher
Check the temperature of stored food and storage areas at the start of the shift
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22. General Storage Guidelines
Product Placement
Store food in containers intended for food
Containers should be:
Durable
Leak proof
Sealed or covered
Store food, linens, and single-use items in designated storage areas
Away from walls
At least 6” (15 centimeters) off the floor
Instructor Notes
Never use empty food containers to store chemicals or put food in empty chemical containers.
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23. General Storage Guidelines
Cleaning
Keep all storage areas clean and dry
Clean up spills and leaks right away
Clean dollies, carts, transporters, and trays often
Store food in containers that have been cleaned and sanitized
Store dirty linens in a clean, washable container
Instructor Notes
Floors, walls, and shelving in refrigerators, freezers, dry-storage areas, and heated holding cabinets should be properly cleaned on a regular basis.
Spills and leaks should be cleaned up immediately to keep them from contaminating other food.
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24. Refrigerated and Frozen Storage
Maintenance
Schedule regular maintenance to make sure coolers and freezers stay at the right temperature
Defrost freezers to allow them to operate more efficiently
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25. Refrigerated and Frozen Storage
Temperatures
Set the temperature of coolers to keep the internal temperature of TCS food at 41°F (5°C) or lower
Set freezer temperatures to keep food frozen
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26. Refrigerated and Frozen Storage
Monitoring
Monitor food temperatures regularly
Randomly sample the temperature of stored food with a calibrated thermometer
Check cooler temperatures at least once per shift
Instructor Notes
Randomly sample the temperature of stored food to verify that the cooler is working. Check cooler temperatures at least once during each shift. Place hanging thermometers inside the cooler to make this task easy to do. Some coolers have a temperature readout on the outside. Also check these for accuracy.
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27. Refrigerated and Frozen Storage
Airflow
Do NOT overload coolers or freezers
Keep cooler doors closed as much as possible
Use open shelving
Instructor Notes
Do not overload coolers or freezers. Storing too many food items prevents good airflow and makes the units work harder to stay cold.
Lining shelves with aluminum foil, sheet pans, or paper restricts circulation of cold air in the unit.
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28. Refrigerated and Frozen Storage
Preventing Cross-Contamination
Wrap or cover food
Store refrigerated raw meat, poultry, and seafood separately from ready-to-eat food
Instructor Notes
Raw meat, poultry, and seafood should be stored separately from ready-to-eat food. If these items cannot be stored separately, then store them below ready-to-eat food. This will prevent juices from raw food from dripping onto ready-to-eat food.
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29. Refrigerated and Frozen Storage
Preventing Cross-Contamination
Store food items in the following top-to-bottom order:
Ready-to-eat food
Seafood
Whole cuts of beef and pork
Ground meat and ground fish
Whole and ground poultry
Instructor Notes
The order for storing the food items indicated in the slide is based upon the minimum internal cooking temperature of each food.
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30. Dry Storage Keep storerooms: Store dry food:
Cool: 50°F to 70°F (10°C to 21°C)
Dry
Well ventilated
Store dry food:
Away from walls
At least 6” (15 centimeters) off the floor
Instructor Notes
To keep food at its highest quality and to assure food safety, the temperature of the dry storage area should be between 50°F and 70°F (10°C and 21°C).
Good ventilation in dry-storage areas will help keep temperature and humidity constant.
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31. Prepping Specific Food
To package fresh juice for later sale:
The juice must be treated (e.g., pasteurized) according to an approved HACCP plan
As an alternative, the juice must be labeled as specified by federal regulation
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32. Prepping Specific Food
To avoid contaminating ice:
Never use ice as an ingredient if it was used to keep food cold
Transfer ice using clean and sanitized containers and scoops
Never hold ice in containers that held raw meat, seafood, poultry, or chemicals
Instructor Notes
Make ice from water that is safe to drink
Never hold or carry ice in containers that have held raw meat, seafood, or poultry or chemicals.
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33. Prepping Specific Food
To avoid contaminating ice: continued
Store ice scoops outside ice machines in a clean, protected location
Never use a glass to scoop ice or touch ice with hands
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34. Preparation Practices That Require a Variance
You need a variance if prepping food in these ways:
Smoking food to preserve it but not to enhance flavor
Using food additives or components to preserve or alter food so it no longer needs time and temperature control for safety
Curing food
Instructor Notes
A variance is a document issued by the regulatory authority that allows a requirement to be waived or changed.
When applying for a variance, your regulatory authority may require you to submit a HACCP plan. The plan must account for any food safety risks related to the way you plan to prep the food item.
Vinegar or other components are sometimes added to preserve or alter food so it no longer needs time and temperature control for safety.
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35. Preparation Practices That Require a Variance
You need a variance if prepping food in these ways: continued
Custom-processing animals
Packaging food using a reduced-oxygen packaging (ROP) method
Sprouting seeds or beans
Offering live, molluscan shellfish from a display tank
Instructor Notes
An example of custom-processing animals may include dressing deer in the operation for personal use.
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36. Cooking Food When cooking TCS food, the internal portion must:
Reach the required minimum internal temperature
Hold that temperature for a specific amount of time
Instructor Notes
The only way to reduce pathogens in food to safe levels is to cook it to its required minimum internal temperature. This temperature is different for each food.
If customers request that food items be cooked to temperatures lower than their minimum internal temperatures, you need to inform the customers of the potential risk of foodborne illness. Also be aware of special menu restrictions if you serve high-risk populations.
While cooking reduces pathogens in food, it does not destroy spores or toxins they may have produced. You still must handle food correctly before you cook it.
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37. Cooking Requirements for Specific Food
Minimum internal cooking temperature:
165°F (74°C) for 15 seconds
Poultry—whole or ground chicken, turkey or duck
Stuffing made with TCS ingredients
Stuffed meat, seafood, poultry, or pasta
Dishes that include previously cooked, TCS ingredients
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38. Cooking Requirements for Specific Food
Minimum internal cooking temperature:
155°F (68°C) for 15 seconds
Ground meat—beef, pork, and other meat
Injected meat—including brined ham and flavor-injected roasts
Ground seafood—including chopped or minced seafood
Eggs that will be hot-held for service
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39. Cooking Requirements for Specific Food
Minimum internal cooking temperature:
145°F (63°C) for 15 seconds
Seafood—including fish, shellfish, and crustaceans
Steaks/chops of pork, beef, veal, and lamb
Eggs that will be served immediately
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40. Cooking Requirements for Specific Food
Minimum internal cooking temperature:
145°F (63°C) for 4 minutes
Roasts of pork, beef, veal, and lamb
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41. Cooking Requirements for Specific Food
Minimum internal cooking temperature:
135°F (57°C)
Commercially processed, ready-to-eat food that will be hot-held for service (cheese sticks, deep-fried vegetables)
Fruit, vegetables, grains (rice, pasta), and legumes (beans, refried beans) that will be hot-held for service
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42. Cooking TCS Food in the Microwave
Minimum internal cooking temperature:
165°F (74°C)
Meat
Seafood
Poultry
Eggs
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43. Cooking TCS Food in the Microwave
When cooking food in a microwave:
Cover it to prevent the surface from drying out
Rotate or stir it halfway through cooking so heat reaches the food more evenly
Let it stand for at least 2 minutes after cooking to let the food temperature even out
Check the temperature in at least 2 places to make sure the food is cooked through
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44. Consumer Advisories
If your menu includes TCS items that are raw or undercooked, you must:
Note it on the menu next to the items
Advise customers who order this food of the increased risk of foodborne illness
Post a notice in the menu
Provide this information using brochures, table tents, or signs
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45. Operations That Mainly Serve High-Risk Populations
Never serve:
Raw seed sprouts
Raw or undercooked eggs, meat, or seafood
Instructor Notes
Examples or raw or undercooked eggs, meat, or seafood include over-easy eggs, raw oysters on the half shell, and rare hamburgers.
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46. Cooling Food Cooling Requirements Instructor Notes
First, cool food from 135˚F to 70˚F (57˚C to 21˚C) within two hours.
Then cool it to 41˚F (5˚C) or lower in the next four hours.
If food has not reached 70˚F (21˚C) within two hours, it must be thrown out or reheated and then cooled again.
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47. Cooling Food
If you cool food from 135˚F to 70˚F (57˚C to 21˚C) in less than 2 hours:
Use the remaining time to cool it to 41˚F (5˚C) or lower
The total cooling time cannot be longer than 6 hours
Example:
If you cool food from 135˚F to 70˚F (57˚C to 21˚C) in 1 hour
Then you have 5 hours to get the food to 41˚F (5˚C) or lower
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48. Methods for Cooling Food
Before cooling food, start by reducing its size:
Cut larger items into smaller pieces
Divide large containers of food into smaller containers or shallow pans
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49. Methods for Cooling Food
Safe Methods for Cooling Food
Place it in an ice-water bath
Stir it with an ice paddle
Place it in a blast chiller
Place it in a tumble chiller
Instructor Notes
Never place large quantities of hot food in a cooler to cool. Coolers are designed to keep cold food cold. Most are not designed to cool hot food quickly. Also, placing hot food in a cooler or freezer to cool it may not move the food through the temperature danger zone quickly enough.
After dividing food into smaller containers, place them in a clean prep sink or a large pot filled with ice water. Stir the food frequently to cool it faster and more evenly.
Plastic paddles are available that can be filled with ice or with water and then frozen. Food stirred with these paddles will cool quickly. Food cools even faster when placed in an ice-water bath and stirred with an ice paddle.
Blast chillers blast cold air across food at high speeds to remove heat. They are typically used to cool large amounts of food.
Tumble chillers tumble bags of hot food in cold water. Tumble chillers work well on thick food such as mashed potatoes.
Food can also be cooled by adding ice or cold water as an ingredient. This works for soups, stews, and other recipes that have water as an ingredient. When cooling this way, the recipe is made with less water than required. Cold water or ice is then added after cooking to cool the food and provide the remaining water.
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50. Reheating Food Food Reheated for Immediate Service
Can be reheated to any temperature if it was cooked and cooled correctly
Food Reheated for Hot-Holding
Must be reheated to an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C) for 15 seconds within 2 hours
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