Food Safety Consultants Best Practices on Holiday Food Handling

The holidays are traditionally times of large private parties in restaurants and the serving of food dishes that food safety consultants recommend your foodservice establishment keep an eye on. The last headline or customer review you want appearing on Yelp or Trip Advisor is how someone was sick from eating at your restaurant or hotel. The most common food borne illness is from salmonella. Holiday meals are a common source of the bacteria if not prepared and held properly. These foods often include: Meat dishes, such as fresh whole turkeys; Other poultry products, such as whole goose and duck; Fresh hams. In addition to the whole bird, stuffing or dressings can be full of the bacteria unless cooked and held at the proper temperatures. Read more about 10 tips that the food safety consultants at WebMD recommend. Fresh hams can be another popular holiday menu item. Unlike cured hams, this is raw pork. There is a tendency these days in restaurants to not cook pork all the way through so it stays a bit pink and moist and not over done in the center. Internal cooking temperatures should always reach a minimum 165 degrees for meats and poultry to prevent salmonellosis. Also, once it is removed from the oven, it should be served immediately or cooled down in a refrigerator and held below 40 degrees until it reheated and served again. Holiday traditions also feature large buffets and salad bars stocked with seasonal favorites. Another best practice in food safety management includes “Never leave meals in a getaway resort out for more than one hour. Salmonella is particularly prevalent in holiday getaway package deal accommodations and where all-inclusive buffets get left out warm for hours on end.” Need other tips and ideas by food service consultants on proper food handling procedures? Be sure to consult our bookstore. Or, please post your own best practices for other restaurateurs and food safety consultants below.