THE FOOD

PRODUCT FLOW
FOOD PRODUCTION
• A continuous supply of nutritious, safe, and appealing food that
is essential for people who are living and working under unusual
conditions
• It require a reliable way to produce food from remote areas away
from farms and fields.
• Preparation of menu items in the needed quantity in the
desired quality, at a cost appropriate to the particular food
service operation.
THE FOOD PRODUCTION CHAIN
WHAT IS FOOD FLOW
• It refers to a process of receiving, storing, preparing,
cooking, holding, serving, cooling and reheating that the
food goes through in a food service facility.
• Each step in the flow of food is a general food safety
procedure that should be followed to help reduce the risk of
contamination and mishandling which could consequently
lead to foodborne illness outbreaks.
THE FOOD PRODUCT FLOW
PURCHASING
 PURCHASING
• Purchasing involves obtaiing the necessary foods in the
right quantity of the best quality at the right time, in the right
place, and for the most economical price.
• A quality-control program in a food in a food establishment
should ensure that only foods which meet written
specifications are purchased from reputable vendors.
EXAMPLES OF APPROVED FOOD SUPPLIERS
PURCHASING
Purchase specifications:

Quality grade
Weight
Count
Contents
Packaging
 GUIDELINES TO PURCHASING FOOD
1. Understand regulations for specific foods:
Purchase packaged or processed food only from suppliers who
receive their products from licensed reputable purveyors and
manufacturers, who adhere to good manufacturing practices.
Fresh produce may be purchased directly from local growers as there
is no inspection process for these non-potentially hazardous foods
(with exception of melons and fresh alfalfa sprouts). When making
direct purchases, buyers should ensure packages are clean and will
maintain the integrity of the food item, as communicated through
product specifications.
 GUIDELINES TO PURCHASING FOOD
1. Understand regulations for specific foods:
Meat and fresh shell eggs may be purchased from local
licensed producers.
Purchase pasteurized diary products.
2. Visit approved vendors to ensure that they maintain clean
warehouses adhere to safe storage and handling practices
and have a secure facility to minimize intentional
contamination.
 GUIDELINES TO PURCHASING FOOD
3. Observe the delivery vehicles to ensure that they are clean and
temperatures are controlled.
4. Use written product specifications to ensure that the vendor
knows what is to be delivered.
THE RESTAURANT MANAGER WILL:
• Develop and implement written product specifications to ensure
products purchased consistently meet restaurant expectations.
• Coordinate delivery times with vendors/suppliers to ensure that
deliveries are made when they can be stored immediately. Schedule
receiving times when product quantity and quality can be checked,
including product temperatures.
• Review orders and delivery information to ensure orders and
product specifications are being met.
• Request a written letter from all vendors indicating that they follow
either a HACCP program or good manufacturing practices.
• Follow up as necessary
RECEIVING
 RECEIVING
• All food should be cheked for proper conditions once they are
recieved by the facility.
• When a delivery is made, it should be checked for both quality
and quantity.
• Temperature and time are the two most important factors to
control.
• The staff of a food service establishment should check for
temperatures and conditions of recieved foods at once, so they
can be stored as soon as possible
 RECEIVING
• All refrigerated foods should be put away quickly to prevent
time and temperature abuse.
• Frozen foods should not have large ice crystals, be discolored or
dried out.
• Canned goods should have labels, and no swelling, flawed
seams, rust or dents. Never accept home-canned foods to prevent
the risk of botulism.
STORING
STORING
• Food storage is the process in which both cooked and raw
materials are stored in appropriate conditions for future use
without any entry or multiplication of microorganisms.
STORAGE UPON RECEIVING:
1. Place potentially hazardous foods in the proper storage area quickly
to avoid bacterial growth:
• 5ºC or lower – refrigerator temperatures
• 3ºC to 0ºC or below – deep chill storage temperatures
• 17ºC or below – freezer temperatures
• 10ºC to 21ºC at 50% to 60% humidity – dry storage temperatures
 STORAGE UPON RECEIVING:
Top
2. Place foods into appropriate
Prepared or ready-to-eat Shelf
storage areas immediately
upon receipt in the following foods
order: Fish and seafood items
Whole cuts of raw beef
Whole cuts of raw pork
Ground or processed
meats
Raw poultry Bottom
Do not over-store the
Shelf
refrigerator, keep air circulate • Frozen Foods
inside. • Dry Foods
STORAGE UPON RECEIVING:
3. Keep all food items on shelves at least 6” above the floor to facilitate
air circulation and proper cleaning.
4. Store food out of direct sunlight.
5. Place chemicals and supplies in appropriate storage areas, away from
food.
6. First In, First Out inventory rotation.
7. Make sure all packages (i.e. each can in the case) are dated with
receiving date and use-by date.
THAWING
THAWING
• Is the process of warming food that has been frozen so that the
food can be eaten or prepared to be served.
• For example, frozen meats, fish, fruits, raw dough, prepared
entrees, and vegetables should be defrosted in the refrigerator
to limit the harmful bacteria that would build up if the meat
were defrosted in a warmer environment.
THAWING
• All foods should be thawed using the appropriate practices to
ensure food safety.
• Thawing foods may take several hours depending on the size
of the food item being thawed.
• This must be done to reduce the risk of cross-contamination
and lessen the time that PHF is in the temperature danger zone
(5ºC to 60ºC)
THAWING
Steps for Thawing Food:
1. Use one of the three acceptable methods for thawing food:
a. In refrigerator. Thaw food in the refrigerator at 5ºC or below.
NEVER thaw food at room temperature.
b. In running water. Thaw food that is needed for immediate
service under potable running water at 21ºC or lower. Prepare the
product within four hours of thawing.
c. In microwave. Thaw the product in the microwave if it needs to
be cooked immediately.
THAWING
2. Use the lowest shelf in the cooler for thawing raw meat to
prevent cross-contamination and separate raw products from
cooked and ready-to-eat products.
3. Do not re-freeze thawed food, unless they are cooked or
processed.
PREPARING
GUIDELINES IN PREPARING SAFE FOOD
1. Start with a clean, wholesome foods from reputable suppliers.
Whenever applicable, buy government-inspected meat, dairy
and egg products.
2. Handle foods as little as possible. Use tongs, spatulas, or other
utensils instead of hands.
3. Use clean, sanitized equipment and work tables. Clean and
sanitize cutting surfaces and equipment after handling raw
poultry meat, fish, or eggs and before working on another food.
4. Clean as you go. Do not wait to clean the work place until the
end of the workday.
GUIDELINES IN PREPARING SAFE FOOD
5. Wash fruits and vegetables thoroughly
6. When bringing foods out of refrigeration, do not bring out more
than what can be processed in an hour.
7. Keep foods covered whenever possible unless in immediate use.
8. Do not mix leftover with freshly prepared foods.
9. Chill all ingredients for protein and potato salads before
combining.
FOOD THERMOMETERS
• A device used for checking the doneness of meat or other foods to
ensure that the appropriate and safe internal temperature has been
achieved.
• Food temperatures should be checked with a thermometer regularly
• Foods used in outdoors service or in an excessively warm room will
require more frequent checking.
FOOD THERMOMETERS
• The following are the most commonly used thermometers:

Bimetal Instant Read Thermocouple Bimetal-Oven Safe

FOOD THERMOMETERS
• The following are the most commonly used thermometers:

Digital Infrared Oven

Thermometer Thermometer Thermometer
PREPARING COLD FOODS
Employees preparing cold foods should:
• Prepare Cold Foods
1. Pre-chill ingredients for food that needs to be served cold
(sandwiches and salads) to below 5ºC before combining them
together.
2. Discard thawed PHF that has been above 5ºC for more than four
hours
3. Discard cold PHF after four hours if they have not been properly
held below 5ºC.
PREPARING COLD FOODS
Employees preparing cold foods should:
• Maintain food contact surfaces
1. When possible, use color-coded cutting boards for all product – red
for raw meat, green for vegetables or fruits, and yellow for poultry.
2. Food contact surfaces should be smooth, can be easily cleaned and
sanitized, and made of appropriate material.
3. Clean and sanitize all food contact surfaces prior to and after use.
Cleaning and sanitizing steps need to be done separately for
effectiveness
COOKING
COOKING
• Is the art, technology and craft of preparing food for
consumption with the use of heat.
• All foods will be cooked using appropriate practices and
procedures to ensure safety. This includes properly cooking
foods with the required internal temperatures and taking and
recording temperatures.
• Cooking is the thermal heating of foods at sufficient temperature
over time to kill microorganisms in the food.
COOKING
• To effectively eliminate pathogens, there are a number of factors
to consider, such as the level of pathogens in the raw product, the
initial temperature of the food, and the bulk of the food. Another
factor to consider, to kill the pathogenic organisms in food, is
that cooking must heat all parts of the food to their required
temperatures.
EMPLOYEES INVOLVED IN THE PRODUCTION OF FOOD MUST
COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING STEPS
Prepare Hot Foods
1. Cook hot foods to these minimum end-point temperatures or
higher. Avoid overcooking. Use a calibrated thermometer to
check the product’s temperature in the thickest part of the item
Food Type Minimum Internal Temperature at
Minimum Time Before Serving
Poultry 74ºC for 15 seconds
Stuffing, stuffed meat, 74ºC for 15 seconds
casseroles, and other dishes
combining raw and cooked food
 Food Type Minimum Internal Temperature at
Minimum Time Before Serving
Potentially hazardous foods cooked 74ºC . Let food stands for 2 minutes after
in microwaves cooking. Stir during cooking process

Ground or flaked meat 68ºC for 15 seconds

Pork 63ºC for 15 seconds
Beef and pork roasts 63ºC for 15 seconds
Beef steaks, veal and lamb 63ºC for 15 seconds
Commercially raised game animals 63ºC for 15 seconds
Fish, and foods containing fish 63ºC for 15 seconds
Shell Eggs 63ºC for 15 seconds
Vegetables (Canned, frozen, fresh) 57ºC for 15 seconds
Ready-to-eat 57ºC for 15 seconds
HOLDING
HOLDING
• Holding foods properly keeps prepared, ready-to-eat foods, either
hot or cold, free of contaminants and out of The Food Danger
Zone until they are served. Properly handled and cooked foods
are considered safe to eat because the heat applied has either
stopped the growth of, or killed any bacteria or pathogens
outright.
• Once a food is heated or cooked, the food must be maintained at a
holding temperature to limit the growth of bacteria. The correct
hot holding temperature is 60ºC.
HOLDING
• Once food has been reheated, the potential for the growth of
pathogenic bacteria greater than the potential in raw food. The
spoilage organisms that may be present in raw foods inhibit the
growth of pathogenic organisms by competition. Once a food is
cooked, these spoilage organisms are reduced.
• All hot food should be held hot, above 60ºC, and cold food should
be held cold, below 5ºC. Temperatures of food must be taken
routinely to ensure the safety of the food served, especially to
children. Any conflict between food quality and food safety must
always be decided in favor of food safety. When in doubt about
the safety of food, throw it out.
HOLD HOT FOOD
1. Prepare and cook only as much food as is needed. Batch cooking is
ideal for maintaining food temperature and quality.
2. Use hot-holding equipment that can keep hot food at 135ºF or
higher.
3. Follow manufacturer’s instructions in using hot-holding
equipment. (NOTE: Customize your SOP by including
instructions. For example, you may need to indicate that the steam
table wells need to be filled with hot water and at what level.)
4. Keep foods covered to retain heat and to keep contaminants from
falling into food.
HOLD HOT FOOD
5. We recommend measuring internal food temperatures once an
hour using a calibrated thermometer. Record temperatures in
the Holding Temperature Log. If temperatures are below
135ºF, then reheat to 165ºF.
6. Discard hot potentially hazardous food after four hours if they
have not been properly held at or above 135ºF.
7. Do not mix freshly prepared food with food being held for
service
HOLD COLD FOOD
1. Use cold-holding equipment that can keep cold foods below
41ºF.
2. We recommend measuring internal food temperatures once an
hour using a calibrated thermometer. Record temperatures in the
Holding Temperature Log. If temperatures are above 41ºF,
then refrigerate.
3. Protect cold food from contaminants with covers or food shields.
4. Discard cold potentially hazardous foods after four hours if they
have not been properly held below 41ºF.
HOLD COLD FOOD
5. If there are no temperature controls, cold food held for longer
then six hours must be discarded.
6. Place cold food in pans or on plates first, never directly on ice.
The only exceptions are whole fruits and vegetables that will
be washed after holding.
7. Ice used on a display should be self-draining. Wash and
sanitize drip pans after each use.
SERVING
SERVING
• Once food has been prepared for serving, it will no longer
undergo any heat treatment. It is therefore important not to re-
contaminate food by practicing proper serving methods that would
assure the consumers of safe, hygienic food.
CLEANING AND SANITATION:
1. Clean on around the service area, using warm soapy water
and designated clean cloths before food is placed in service
area. Thoroughly rinse surfaces after washing.
2. Sanitize on and around the service area, using an approved
chemical sanitizer at proper concentration.
3. Wipe down area as needed throughout service with cloth
stored in sanitizing solution away from food.
4. Cloths used for cleaning food spills should not be used for
anything else.
SERVICE UTENSILS/SERVICE WARE:
1. Store utensils properly, with the handle extended above the
container, or on a clean, sanitized food-contact surface.
2. Use serving utensils with long handles to keep hands away
from the food item.
3. Clean and sanitize utensils before using.
4. Use separate utensils for each food item.
5. Handle glassware and dishes properly; so hands are not in
contact with surfaces that will be touched by food or
patron’s mouth.
PRACTICE GOOD PERSONAL HYGIENE
1. Wash hands before handling place settings or food.
2. Never touch cooked or ready-to-eat foods with bare hands.
Always use gloves or utensils.
3. Never touch food with bare hands. Serve with tongs or
gloves.
4. Wash hands between each different task. For example, if
the same employee is loading dirty dishes and taking out
clean dishes, a thorough hand washing must be done
between the two tasks. Hand dips are not acceptable.
COOLING
COOLING
• Cooling is a process of removing heat from food quickly enough
to prevent microbial growth. One method is by placing foods in a
shallow containers no deeper than two inches and leaving them
uncovered until cold, 5ºC.
ONE-STAGE (FOUR HOUR) METHOD
1. Cool hot cooked food from 57ºC to 5ºC within four hours
using an appropriate procedure.
2. Take temperatures of product after four hours to make sure
that food temperature was reached below 5ºC.
3. Record temperatures on Cooling Log.
4. Reheat food to above 74oC if food has not cooled to 5ºC in
four hours.
TWO-STAGE METHOD (FDA FOOD CODE)
1. Using an appropriate procedure, cool hot cooked food from 57ºC to
21ºC or lower within two hours, and then cool down to 5ºC or lower
within an additional four hours, for a total cooling time of six hours.
2. Take temperatures at the two and six hour intervals to make sure that
the appropriate temperatures were reached.
3. Reheat food to above 74oC if food has not cooled to 5ºC in four
hours.
The reason that the two-stage method allows six hours to cool is that in
the first two hours of cooling the food is passed through part of the
temperature danger zone where the growth of microorganisms is most
likely to occur.
 FACTORS THAT AFFECT HOW
QUICKLY FOODS COOL DOWN
• Size of the food item being cooled – the thickness of the food or
distance to its center plays the biggest part in how fast a food cools.
• Density of the food – the denser the food, the slower it will cool. For
example, chili will take longer than chicken noodle soup.
• Container in which a food is stored – stainless steel transfers heat
from foods faster than plastic. Initially loosely wrap food items.
• Size of container – Shallow pans with product depth less than two
inches allow the heat from food to disperse faster than deep pans.
METHODS FOR COOLING FOODS
1. Reduce the quantity of the food being cooled. Cut large
food items into smaller pieces or divide large containers of
food into smaller containers.
METHODS FOR COOLING FOODS
2. Use blast chillers or tumble chillers to cool food before
placing it into refrigerated storage.
METHODS FOR COOLING FOODS
3. Use ice-water baths. Divide cooked food into shallow pans
or smaller pots then place them in ice water and stir food
items frequently.
 METHODS FOR COOLING FOODS
4. Add ice or water as an ingredient. This works for foods that contain
water as an ingredient, such as a soup or stew. The recipe can initially
be prepared with less water than is required. Cold water or ice can
then be added after cooking to cool the product and to provide the
remaining water required in the recipe.
METHODS FOR COOLING FOODS
5. Stir food to cool faster and more evenly. Ice paddles (plastic
paddles that are filled with water and frozen) and chill sticks can be
used to stir food through the cooling process. Stirring food with
these cold paddles chills food quickly as this acts as internal ice
baths.
REHEATING
REHEATING
• Reheating is the thermal process to heat foods that have been
previously cooked and cooled in a food service establishment.
Proper reheating can eliminate a major portion of pathogens as
long as the food is heated to 74ºC within two hours.
• The more a food is processed, the greatest the risks are from
contamination caused by personnel, equipment, procedures and
other factors. When food is cooked and cooled the products goes
through the temperature danger zone several times, thereby
increasing the risks for microbial growth.
EMPLOYEES REHEATING FOOD SHOULD:
1. Remove leftover food from the freezer/refrigerator.
2. Check the temperature of the food to make sure it is lower
than 41°F using a calibrated thermometer. Record on the
Reheating Log.
3. Reheat the food product to 74°C for 15 seconds using an
oven, stove, or steamer. The goal is to take the food through
the temperature danger zone (5°C - 60°C) as quickly as
possible. Discard food that has not reach this temperature
within two hours.
EMPLOYEES REHEATING FOOD SHOULD:
4. Serve the food immediately, or place the food in a steam
table or a pre-heated hot cart and recheck temperature to
make sure temperature is held at or above 60°C.
5. Check the temperature of the food before serving if the food
has been held.
6. Discard any potentially hazardous foods held in the
temperature danger zone (5°C to 60°C) for more than four
hours. This should be noted on the Reheating Log.