SERVSAFE/CHAPTER 6

THE FLOW OF FOOD:PURCHASING, RECEIVING,

and STORAGE

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.

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

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.

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

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

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.

SPECIFIC FOOD Inspections• EGGS1. Must be clean and unbroken2. Shell eggs should be received at an air

temperature of 45 degrees F. or lower3. Liquid, frozen, and dehydrated egg

products must be pasteurized as required by law and have a USDA inspection mark

SPECIFIC FOOD Inspections• MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCTS1. Must be received at 41 degrees F. or

lower unless other specified by law.2. Must be pasteurized.3. Must comply with FDA grade A

standards.

SPECIFIC FOOD Inspections• SHELLFISH1. Can be received either shucked or live.2. Raw: nonreturnable containers; must be

labeled with the packer’s name, address, and certification number;

3. Live: must have shellstock identification tags; tags must be kept for 90 days from the date written on them

4. Reject shellfish if they are muddy, have broken shells, or are dead.

SPECIFIC FOOD Inspections• PRODUCE1. Sliced melons, cut tomatoes, and fresh-

cut leafy greens must be received at 41 degrees F. or lower.

• PREPACKAGED JUICE1. Must be purchased from a supplier with a

HACCP plan.2. Juice must be pasteurized.

SPECIFIC FOOD Inspections• FISH SERVED RAW OR PARTIALLY

COOKED1. Must be frozen by the supplier for a

specific time to kill parasites2. Must keep records of the frozen times

and temps. (provided by the supplier) for 90 days from the date you served the fish

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

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.

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)

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)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.