SEPTEMBER 2019
NEWSLETTER
Boil
Water Notices: Depending
on how close Hurricane Dorian gets to Florida, we may see some boil water
notices, particularly along the coast.
The spec to make water safe is a rolling boil for one minute.
Dishwasher
Performance Specifications: Every
dish machine has an “NSF tag.” NSF
International is a company which certifies machinery and equipment for use in
food service. You can often see their logo on pans, utensils and food
preparation equipment. The NSF tag
specifies correct temperature, sanitizer, water flow and water hardness. Health codes require all commercial dishwashers
to have this tag. When we test the dish
machine, we are making sure it is within the NSF guidelines to properly
sanitize equipment. Nearly all low
temperature dish machines use 50-100 parts per million (ppm) chlorine to
sanitize and typically 120°, but those numbers can vary. Check the tag to be sure.
Sanitizing
food contact surfaces: Like
the dish machine, quaternary ammonium (quat) sanitizer has specifications. Ideally quat sanitizer should be between 200
– 400 parts per million (ppm),but can be as low as 150 or as high as 500. It also needs to be at a minimum temperature
of 75° to properly sanitize. The store
is required to have test strips available to test chemicals from the dish
machine, sanitizer buckets, and heat (if a high temperature dish machine is
used).
If
you use a sanitizer dispenser, make sure the person dispensing the sanitizer
physically checks for the proper concentration, same with the dish machine. The most common cause of violations on
sanitizer is the container being empty.
If you use tablets or packets to make sanitizer, be sure to follow the
instructions, too much or too little water will also create a violation. If your dispenser is broken, you can manually
make a sanitizer bucket. ¼ tsp of quat sanitizer in one gallon of water
will get you around 300-400ppm.
The
most important part of the sanitization process is allowing the item to air
dry. The evaporation process essentially
sucks the water out of bacteria to kill it.
For this reason, pans and utensils should not be dried with a towel or stacked
while wet. When using quat sanitizer to
sanitize knives, cutting boards and food contact surfaces, the air-drying process
takes 30 seconds, an eternity when you are busy. Inspectors will sometimes check to see the
cook is waiting a full 30 seconds before using a knife that has been sanitized.
The easiest solution is the have multiple knives available.
Rings,
Bracelets, Watches, Nails, Nail Polish: The rule against anything on
the wrists, anything other than a plain wedding band, fake nails, and nail
polish is most often enforced against cooks, but can also be enforced against
service staff. Because most inspectors
give the front of the house staff some room on this, Bright Green does not
score the front of the house as aggressively on these items as the back.
Storage
of “In use” utensils: In use utensils such as tongs, knives,
scoops, etc. can be stored 4 ways. 1)
Clean, 2) Hot, 3) Cold, 4) Using Time as a Public Health control. Because we are dealing with microscopic
bacteria, any item with food debris should be handled the same as food. We teach our customers to hold grill utensils
in hot, clean, water above 135°. Scoops for
cold foods can be stored in the food so long as the handle is not in the
food. If you use Time as a Public Health
Control for utensils, the utensils must be time marked the same as food, then
sanitized after four hours. Make sure to
store ice buckets upside down so they will not hold standing water. Make sure not to place them directly on a
hard surface where water will collect around the lip. Either hanging, on slotted shelving, or on
dry dek.
Food
Manager Class and Test: The next food manager class and test
will be in Orlando on Monday September 30th at 9am. The location is Chela Tequila and Tacos, 183
South Orange Avenue, Orlando 32801. Please let me know by 9/20 if you have
anyone who will be attending the class.
