Food Storage and Safety

Nutritious and sanitary food service in children's group settings requires careful planning. Whether you serve meals or only snacks, careful handling will prevent food borne illnesses that may cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and fever in children and adults. Often blamed on the "flu," these illnesses result from bacteria and parasites that take advantage of our failure to control food temperatures and perform basic sanitation procedures.

Give Your Kitchen a Tune-up

Check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer. The refrigerator should be 35-40°F and the freezer should be 0°F. If you do not have a refrigerator/freezer thermometer, add it to your shopping list. The door gaskets should be in good repair, and there should be no build-up of ice or debris to prevent refrigerator or freezer doors from closing tightly.

Write the date on any leftovers. Most foods should be eaten within 2-3 days; throw out foods that have been forgotten in the refrigerator. Remember, food that is no longer safe to eat does not always appear moldy or slimy and may not be smelly. This also might be a good time to wipe down the inside of the refrigerator with a solution of baking soda and water.

Examine your cutting boards. Be sure to replace cutting boards that become deeply scratched. Hard plastic cutting boards are durable and easy to clean and sanitize. Wooden cutting boards must be scrubbed with a non-toxic detergent and stiff nylon brush after each use. Never soak a wooden cutting board in a sanitizing solution.

A cabinet check is next. Check to be sure you have an adequate supply of hand washing soap, dish washing soap, bleach for making a sanitizing solution, and paper towels. Cleaning supplies must be labeled, stored separately from food stores, and locked away from children. Look for expiration dates on your food supplies. Rotate items so that items dated for expiration soon are in the front-a rule of thumb is "first bought, first used." Make sure all food items are properly closed to avoid attracting insects, roaches, or mice.

Every kitchen should have a "quick read" thermometer. This thermometer has a metal stem and a round dial-type indicator. It can be used to check the temperature of cooked meats, casseroles, salads, etc. You will need to clean the thermometer each time it is used to check a temperature.Test the thermometer periodically to make sure it is accurate. Do this by inserting the stem into a glass of slushy ice-water and adjust the calibration device to make the thermometer read 32°F (0°C).

Supermarket Savvy

Always purchase or obtain food from an approved food source such as a bakery, grocery store, school cafeteria, or licensed caterer. Do not serve unpasteurized milk and milk products or home-canned foods to the children in your care.

Plan your shopping activities to make the supermarket your last stop. If you must shop for your groceries an hour or more from home, carry a picnic cooler with ice or ice-substitute blocks to transport your frozen and refrigerated items.

In the supermarket, select fruits and vegetables that have unbroken skin and do not show signs of bruising or spoiling. Avoid eggs that are cracked and foods that are damaged or have passed their expiration dates. The wholesomeness and safety of these foods cannot be guaranteed.

Pick up refrigerated and frozen foods last so they do not have time to become warm or thaw while you shop. Select frozen foods from below the "frost" or "load" line seen on horizontal commercial display cases. Choose frozen foods that feel "rock solid."

Ask for cold items to be bagged separately from other groceries. Not only will this make them easier to identify and to put away promptly upon your return, but they will help keep each other cold. It also is helpful to take a large cooler or a blanket to wrap around cold and frozen items.

Tightly cover or bag all foods that go into the refrigerator or freezer. Place prepared (already cooked) foods above raw items so spills do not contaminate ready-to-eat foods. Rinse all fruits and vegetables to eliminate, dirt, insects, pesticides, and germs from the hands of others who may have "squeezed the tomatoes."

Ready to Cook

Always wash your hands before preparing or serving food or infant's bottles. Wash them again after handling raw meats, if they become soiled, and after using the restroom.

Clean counters and table tops before preparing food by first washing with hot, soapy, water and then rinsing with clear water. Sanitize food preparation areas with a bleach and water solution (1 teaspoon of bleach to 1 quart of water).

To avoid cross-contaminating foods, thoroughly wash and sanitize all cookware and utensils used in preparing raw foods. Also, remember to wash cutting boards, the blades of cutting implements, slicers, grinders, and can-openers after each use.

Thaw frozen foods in the refrigerator or under cold, running water. If you defrost food in the microwave, it must be cooked immediately. Never thaw food at room temperature.

Use a thermometer to make sure food is cooked to the recommended temperatures.

Keep hot foods hot-above 140°F. After two hours, discard hot foods that have not been kept above this temperature.

Keep cold foods cold--40°F or colder. If foods have not been maintained at these temperatures, discard them after two hours. In hot weather, more than one hour may be enough to make food unsafe to eat. Be aware that meat, egg dishes, cream-filled desserts, and pies, can spoil very quickly above a temperature of 40°F.

Those Leftovers

Make sure you discard food left on individual plates or left in serving plates or bowls that were used at the table. Also, discard food and containers of milk that have been out of refrigeration for two hours or more.

Food that was not served should be covered and brought to a temperature of 40°F. or less as quickly as possible. Food will cool more quickly if large quantities are divided and placed into small, shallow portions.

When preparing leftovers to be served, reheat them to a temperature of 165°F. Do not guess; use your thermometer to check.

Clean-up Time!

Cleaning food and food areas promptly is just as important as preparation. Wash dishes using the method recommended by your local health department for your setting and put them away. Sweep or wet-mop floors as needed and take out the trash.

Last but not Least...

Pat yourself on the back for a job well-done! From planning to clean-up, your careful attention has assured children have received wholesome, nutritious foods that will help them grow and not leave behind any tell-tale tummy aches.

Your local health department or university cooperative extension office may offer food handling classes to help you in your efforts to provide high-quality food service to the children in your care. Bon apetit!

Kathleen M. Ford, BSN
Early Childhood Nurse Consultant
Pima County Health Department, Tucson, AZ

Resources

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/list.html

U.S. Government food safety, www.foodsafety.gov and www.nutrition.gov

North Dakota State Food Safety and Nutrition, http://www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/food.htm

Iowa State Extension Service, www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety

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