| Shared Meal Guidelines |
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| Friday, 21 July 2006 | |||||||||
Page 4 of 7 FOOD HANDLING GUIDELINES The three basic rules of professional food handling are: 1. HOT THINGS MUST STAY HOT! 2. COLD THINGS MUST STAY COLD! 3. AVOID CROSS CONTAMINATION! If your dish is hot when you arrive, make sure that it stays hot in the warming or cooking oven. WE RECOMMEND USING A CROCK POT WHENEVER POSSIBLE. It saves space in the ovens and keeps the food hot. A dish could be cooked overnight and transferred to a crock pot. It is best to not bring food hot from home unless it is in a crock. REMEMBER, there are 2 hours to cook during the service and another 1/2 hour after the service for warming. All foods with eggs, meats or dairy products must be kept either hot or cold. The dishes cannot be left on the kitchen counter for 2 1/2 hours. Hot foods should be cooled as quickly as possible and then reheated if necessary. Please do not leave hot foods setting on the counter to cool for two hours. Desserts with dairy in them MUST remain refrigerated until served. BE CAREFUL TO AVOID CROSS-CONTAMINATION OF DIFFERENT KINDS OF FOODS—It is very important to clean utensils and work surfaces during preparation, especially between raw meats and vegetables both at home and at church. A germicidal cleaner or very mild solution of bleach works fine. Any food to be eaten raw should be washed thoroughly before slicing. Raw fruits and vegetables, particularly melons, are susceptible to salmonella poisons. After the meal, meats especially should be placed in a cooler or refrigerator. If you take home leftovers that have set out throughout the afternoon, please don’t take any chances--dispose of them. Contaminated food isn’t safe, even for pets! |
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