Top 10 Food Safety Training Tips

1. Hand Hygiene - Wash hands between tasks and after touching your face or hair.
WHY? Hand-washing is the single most important means of preventing infection.

2. Personal Hygiene - Wearing a clean uniform is important. You can't ball it up, smash it in your locker and wear it again tomorrow!
WHY? A clean uniform helps prevent contamination of food, equipment, utensils, and linens.

3. Glove Use - Gloves cannot be worn to the bathroom and reused, and are not a substitute for hand washing. As with hand hygiene, replace gloves between tasks and after touching your face or hair. 
WHY? Clean gloves prevent contamination of food, equipment, utensils, and linens. 

4. Safety - Do not put a knife in soapy water in the sink. Tell others when you are carrying a knife or something hot.
WHY? Food production includes many hazards, so risk management is the practice of managing the possibility of injury to employees and clients or harm to the organization, and is key to preventing accidents. 

5. Cleaning and Sanitizing - Clean and sanitize work surfaces, emphasizing the difference between the two.
WHY? Clean means free of visible dirt and debris. Sanitize means free of harmful levels of microorganisms. 

6. Color-Coded Cutting Boards - They are not just for show, they have a purpose.
WHY? Color-coded cutting boards can help you avoid cross-contamination. For example, red for meat, yellow for poultry, white for dairy, green for fruits and vegetables, beige for cooked poultry, and blue for seafood. 

7. FIFO - Use the first in, first out inventory rotation method for all products.
WHY? Older products are used first and waste is avoided.

8. Food Temperatures - Perform temperature checks on food, coolers, freezers. Document everything.
WHY? Food stays in the correct range and out of the danger zone where most bacteria grow rapidly. 

9. Proper Thawing Techniques - Thawing can be done under refrigeration, submerged under cold, potable, running water, or as part of the cooking process.
WHY? These techniques avoid the food entering the danger zone where most bacteria grow rapidly. 

10. Storing Leftovers - All leftovers need to be wrapped, dated, labeled, and disposed of properly.
PRO TIP? Always carry a Sharpie! 

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