ServSafe Manager Study Guide for the ServSafe

Food Service

Holding and serving are steps in the flow of food where food must continue to be monitored for time-temperature abuse and cross-contamination.

Holding Food

Holding food (like on a buffet) puts foods at risk of time-temperature abuse if they are not kept out of the TDZ, and makes them vulnerable to cross-contamination if they are not properly protected. Procedures must be in place to minimize these risks.

General Guidelines

Risk minimizing procedures should include: covers/lids and sneeze guards, holding hot foods at 135°F or higher and cold foods at 41°F or lower, and checking food temperatures at least every 2 hours (to leave time for corrective action) with the proper thermometer inserted into the food. Discard foods that aren’t hot or cold enough unless they can be corrected, like hot TCS foods that are not hot enough being reheated. Do not reheat in hot-holding equipment. Reheat correctly before returning to holding.

Holding Without Temperature Control

Never hold foods without temperature control if you primarily serve high-risk customers. For raw shell eggs, this is never permitted if you serve high-risk populations. Only hold without temperature control when holding foods for a short time, or when the power is out. To do this, you must prepare written procedures in advance, maintain them on-site, and make them available to the regulatory authority upon request.

Cold Food

Cold foods can be held without temperature control for up to six hours if: proper preparation procedures were followed, the food has written procedures for use and has written approval from the local regulatory authority (that should be available upon request), the food was kept at 41°F or lower before holding, the food is labeled with a discard time that’s 6 hours from time of removal, and the food temperature never exceeds 70°F during service (discard if it does). Serve, sell, use, or discard cold food within 6 hours.

Hot Food

Hot foods can be held without temperature control for up to four hours if: the food was held at 135°F or higher, or the food is labeled with a discard time that’s 4 hours from time of removal. Serve, sell, use, or discard food within 4 hours.

Serving Food

At the serving step in the flow of food, foods are at highest risk for cross-contamination. Staff must understand how to handle foods correctly and safely in the kitchen, dining room, self-service areas (buffets), off-site locations (catering), and when using/stocking/maintaining vending machines.

Kitchen Staff

Staff should be trained to handle and serve food in specific ways to guard against contamination.

Contacting Food

Single-use gloves must be worn when making contact with RTE food, or staff must use tongs, spatulas, deli sheets, etc. to avoid contact with food.

Utensil Use

Separate foods require separate utensils, and they must be cleaned and sanitized after each task. Utensils used continuously must be cleaned and sanitized at least once every four hours. Store serving utensils in the food with the handle extended above the rim of the container, or on a clean and sanitized food-contact surface. Some spoons or scoops can be stored under running water or in a container of water kept at 135°F.

Refilling Returnable Containers

Specific types of containers may be refilled if they were designed to be reused (single-service containers cannot be refilled). They must be cleaned and sanitized by a food handler before being refilled and visually inspected for requirements. When refilling, avoid handling the food-contact surfaces of the containers. Take-home beverage containers can also be refilled as long as the beverage is not a TCS food and the container is for the same guest. The container must be rinsed with fresh, hot water under pressure before refilling.

Service Staff

Servers have to be just as careful of spreading pathogens as kitchen staff and should follow specific service guidelines to minimize cross-contamination.

Tableware

Plates must be held by the bottom or edge, glasses by the middle, stem, or bottom, and flatware by the handles. Never touch the food contact areas of these items. Carry glasses in a rack or tray, never stack and carry them. Never touch RTE foods with bare hands or use bare hands to get ice. Scoop ice with the designated scoop or tongs. Never use a glass as it may chip into the ice. Preset tables with wrapped or covered items only.

Re-Serving Food

Never re-serve one guest’s returned food to another guest. Protect condiments from contamination by serving them in original packaging or containers designed to prevent contamination. Never re-serve opened/used condiments. Discard all open portions of condiments, like butter, salsa, or ketchup. Never re-serve uneaten bread. Discard and prepare a fresh bread basket. Never reuse garnishes. Only re-serve packaged food (like crackers) that’s unopened and in good condition.

Self-Service Areas

These areas need protection, like sneeze guards or display cases, and need labels on each item. In accordance with recent updates, bulk food labels in self-service areas must now include written notification of any major food allergens (the “Big Nine”) present in the food.

Hot self-service (buffet) foods should be kept at 135°F or higher and cold foods should be kept at 41°F or lower. Most raw and RTE foods can’t be self-service, unless: the facility serves foods like sushi or raw shellfish, the self-service items will be immediately cooked and eaten (like a Mongolian bbq), or it’s raw, frozen, shell-on shrimp or lobster. Never allow guests to refill dirty plates and post signs stating such. Keep areas stocked with proper utensils like tongs, ladles, and deli sheets.

Utensils must be cleaned and sanitized every four hours, or immediately if they become contaminated. Never use ice that’s keeping foods cold as an ingredient. Label all bulk foods where guests can see, unless: the product makes no health or nutrient claims, there are no required labeling laws, the food is made on site, or the food is made off site by the same facility management.

Off-Site Food Service

Food for catered events should be transported in insulated, food-grade containers that are leakproof. Use containers that can be held at appropriate temperatures. Label them with use-by date and time, and reheating and serving instructions. Internal temperatures should be taken. Delivery vehicles should be cleaned regularly, and use the shortest delivery routes and most efficient equipment when transporting. Catering sites should have adequate water, dishwashing, handwashing, prep, storage, and serving areas, and trash cans (kept away from food areas). Raw proteins (meat, poultry, seafood) should be stored away from RTE foods (salads).

Vending Machines

Food prepped for these machines should experience the same care as any food in any facility. Product shelf life should be checked daily via their code or use-by/expiration date. Discard expired foods or foods not sold within 7 days. TCS foods should be kept at 41°F or lower or 135°F or higher. Vending machines must have a control that prevents TCS food from being dispensed if the temperature has stayed in the danger zone for a specific amount of time, and any food subject to time-temperature abuse should be discarded. Keep foods in their original containers. Wash and wrap any fresh fruits with edible peels before placing them in vending machines.

Systems of Food Safety Management

Everything learned thus far can be applied to a food safety management system. These are practices and procedures that identify risks and hazards in your facility and ways to control them in order to prevent foodborne illness. The most recent ServSafe curriculum introduces a heavy emphasis on building a strong “Food Safety Culture”—the shared values, beliefs, and practices that prioritize food safety across the entire organization.

Types of Management Programs

There are many types of food service management programs. Under the latest FDA Food Code, most establishments are now required to maintain a documented, written food safety management system that is available to regulatory authorities upon request. Here are the foundational programs:

Personal hygiene program
Food safety training program
Supplier selection and specification program
Quality control and assurance program
Cleaning and sanitizing program
Standard operating procedures (SOPs)
Facility design and equipment maintenance program
Pest-control program

The Manager Is in Charge

Active Managerial Control is a proactive initiative to identify and actively control the risk factors along the flow of food that contribute to foodborne illness. ServSafe defines it as “the purposeful incorporation of specific actions or procedures by management to gain control over foodborne illness risk factors.” It must be proactive (anticipating risks), reactive (correcting issues), and adaptive (evolving as conditions change). The 5 common risks are:

Purchasing from an unsafe source
Not cooking food properly
Not holding food properly
Using contaminated items
Having poor personal hygiene

The FDA suggests using training programs, employing manager supervision, and incorporating your Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)—which are written, step-by-step instructions for specific tasks—to achieve active managerial control. Managers must also grant access to health inspectors and be prepared to post public notification of inspection results if required by local law. Take these steps when implementing managerial control:

Identify risks: Locate the possible risks in your facility so they might be controlled or eliminated. You are expected to document these potential risks and identify which hazards can be specifically controlled or eliminated (such as holding times).
Monitor: Critical points along the flow of food, such as cooking, cooling, and reheating temperatures, should be monitored. The Person in Charge (PIC) has a specific responsibility to ensure staff are accurately monitoring temperatures during the thawing process.
Corrective Action: Proper monitoring allows for corrective action to be taken if needed. For example, if a sanitizer level is too low, it must be remixed immediately. These actions should be incorporated back into your policies to prevent the issue from happening again.
Oversight: Managers must verify that all policies, procedures, and corrective actions are followed. This ensures that the “Standard” in your SOPs is actually being met daily.
Training: Staff should be trained and retrained on all policies, procedures, and corrective actions. Managers must identify specific training needs through job performance observation, interviews, or formal assessments.
Re-evaluation: The system should be assessed from time to time to ensure it works correctly and effectively. This periodic reassessment is what makes a food safety management system “adaptive” to new challenges.

FDA Recommendations

The FDA’s public health interventions are designed to provide specific recommendations to control the five common risk factors that lead to foodborne illness. These interventions protect public health by focusing on:

Knowledge—Managers must be certified in food safety and be able to demonstrate their knowledge of safety protocols to regulatory authorities.
Health—Managers must ensure staff practice good personal hygiene and must require staff to report illnesses and symptoms. The most recent ServSafe update emphasizes that management must have written evidence that employees have been informed of their responsibility to report illness.
Hands/food handling—Establishments must implement controls to prevent bare-hand contact with Ready-to-Eat (RTE) foods, such as the use of tongs, deli sheets, or single-use gloves.
Time and temperature—Procedures must be in place to limit the time food spends in the Temperature Danger Zone (TDZ). This includes checking hot-held foods at least every two hours to allow for corrective action.
Consumer advisories—If you serve raw or undercooked food, you must provide a notice on the menu (or other written device) that includes a disclosure of the item and a reminder of the increased risk of foodborne illness.

HACCP

A Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) program is a specific food safety management system based on identifying the biological, chemical, or physical hazards that might occur in your facility at specific points along the flow of food. Once identified, hazards can be prevented, reduced to safe levels, or even eliminated. A HACCP plan is generally required when requesting a variance (e.g., smoking food for preservation, curing, or custom processing game) or when using specialized methods like Reduced Oxygen Packaging (ROP).

The Seven HACCP Principles—Your unique HACCP plan must be built in this specific order:

Conduct a hazard analysis: Identify potential hazards in the food you serve and assess the risks.
Determine Critical Control Points (CCPs): Find the points in the process where hazards can be prevented, eliminated, or reduced to safe levels.
Establish critical limits: For each CCP, establish minimum or maximum limits that must be met to prevent or eliminate the hazard.
Establish monitoring procedures: Determine the best way to check that your critical limits are consistently being met.
Identify corrective actions: Predetermine the steps that must be taken when a critical limit is not met.
Verify that the system works: Evaluate the plan regularly using monitoring charts and records to ensure it is effective.
Establish procedures for record keeping: Maintain your plan and keep all documentation, including monitoring logs and corrective action reports.