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You take pride in your business and how you run it – but are you prepared, right now, for a surprise visit from a health inspector? It can be stressful always being in fear that the health inspector may show up at any moment, but the best strategy and only way to ensure that you always pass health inspections is to be absolutely always prepared. There is no way of cutting corners. From storage to preparation to display to service…
10 Tips to Prepare for a Health Inspection
- Food must be cooled by an approved method whereby the internal product temperature is reduced from 135°F to 70°F or less within two hours and from 70°F to 41°F or less within four additional hours.
- Food must be protected from any potential sources of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation, display or service. Be sure to use cutting boards with anti-slip grips and disposable towels rather than unsanitary wet cloth towels.
- Wash, rinse, and sanitize surfaces that come into contact with food after each use and following any activity when contamination may have happened. Use different colored pails for non-food uses, such as cleaning and sanitizing solutions.
- Always use accurate thermometers and test kits to measure sanitizing solutions in order to ensure that proper sanitation is taking place.
- Personal hygiene is a must. Keep clothing clean of any contaminants. Hair should be restrained in areas where food is exposed.
- In order to provide a means of effective hand hygiene, soap and hand-drying devices must be available.
- Food must be properly stored, covered, and labeled in accordance with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP).
- Cold foods must be stored in the proper temperatures. A good solution for this may be food pans that contain a freezable gel.
- Be sure to keep ice containers and scoops protected from potential sources of contamination during storage, preparation, transportation or service.
- Hands and arms must be protected with gloves or mitts to prevent cuts and burns, which would also lead to the spread of transmissible diseases.
By following these ten tips you should feel more confident that your business is up to code when the health inspector decides to drop by unexpectedly. Source1 Purchasing stays up-to-date on the latest news and trends in the food and beverage and hospitality industries in order to keep you well-informed so that your operation runs at its best. Click here to learn more about how Source1 can benefit your business.
