Cross Contamination versus Cross Contact

  1. Cross Contamination - the process by which bacteria or other microorganisms are unintentionally transferred from one substance or object to another, with harmful effect.
  2. Stop Cross Contamination – by using the proper cutting boards and no others, using knife for one protein only, turning or cleaning cutting boards, surface washing, washing and sanitizing knives, watch hours of exposure (under 4!), scale cleaning, not using or re-using towels improperly, proper quaternary disinfection.
  3. Cross Contact – protein driven, dairy, fish, nuts, eggs, wheat.
  4. Stop Cross Contact - Sanitation can’t help. Only proper washing, glove use, and physical contact to proper areas can solve this issue. Even steam from Seafood/Fish can contaminate other meats. Proper use of paper on scales and disposal of that paper.
  5. Fish Ware Washing – all fish ware washing must be done last at the end of the day, or if you must wash fish exposed items during the day you must drain all 3 sinks, wash them and refill.
  6. Personal Food and Drink – no personal food up front only in back, personal drinks must have a lid and straw or closure (cap, lid), must wash hands after eating and if you are smart before eating.
  7. Clothing – roll up long sleeves on shirts and butcher coats to avoid saturation and enable washing

Hand Washing Procedure

  1. Turn the water on and allow to run until reaching a temperature of about 110-120°F (43 to 49°C).
  2. Wet hands with warm water.
  3. Apply approx. 5 ml of soap using the dispensing pump (5 ml is about the size of a silver dollar).
  4. Forcefully scrub hands, under nails, up the forearms and the fingertips for 26 seconds.
  5. Rinse hands thoroughly with warm water. Rinsing is important to remove microorganisms that were loosened during scrubbing.
  6. Apply another 5 ml of soap and wash (do not scrub) for 10 seconds.
  7. Rinse thoroughly with warm water and dry with a clean brown paper towel.

When do I need to wash my hands?

  1. BOH requires we wash our hands after every time we touch Chicken or Fish, gloved or not
  2. Before touching any cooked meats, deli, etc
  3. After every trip to the restroom or after leaving for a break (smoking, lunch, etc.)
  4. After coughing, sneezing, using tissue
  5. After re-entering business from taking groceries to car, delivering goods, or walking outside
  6. After touching bare human body parts (fingers in eyes, mouth, ears)

Apron and Butcher Coat rules

  1. Apron’s must be worn at all times when on the floor
  2. Apron’s must be removed when going on break or leaving the building
  3. Overly soiled aprons must be changed during the day
  4. Butcher Coats may not be used more than one day
  5. Butcher Coats must be removed when going on breaks, BOH rule.

Ready to eat Foods/Deli Sides/Deli Slicers

  1. Must use single use gloves, tongs, spoons, deli papers, no bare hands!
  2. Deli sides, cleanliness not allowing spoons to cross contact, placement of spoons to avoid flip out and spillage
  3. Deli meats and cheeses MUST be re-wrapped prior to ending your customer transaction, include it as part of what you do
  4. NO contact of deli meats or cheeses with the bare green deli board is allowed, single use deli wraps are mandatory for all items
  5. Slicers must be cleaned with warm soapy water, then rinsed with water after particularly staining or juicy meats and cheeses (Muenster, Salsalito Chicken, Roast Beef, etc), or every 4 hours minimum

Scale Use

  1. Scales must look good and clean to customer at all times, use common sense. Walk out to floor and examine.
  2. Must use clean single use deli papers or small sheets of butcher paper to cover scale tops and limit amounts of meat juices on scales.
  3. Two scales in chicken/fish area will prevent cross contact
  4. Deli scale for cooked, ready to eat foods ONLY!

Ware / Cart Washing

  1. Quaternary Ammonia (Quat) must be mixed with cold clean water only! Warm, hot or soapy water renders Quat ineffective!
  2. Must use 5 step washing procedure: 1) throw out solids or heavy soil, place in trash, 2) Rinse ALL soiled items in middle sink and stack on left board, then clean center sink, 3) wash in warm soapy water using brush or cloth to scrub item, 4) rinse item completely to avoid soap getting into Quat, 5) dip and completely cover item in Quat bath and place on right board to drain, dry.
  3. Seafood Items: save all Seafood (raw or cooked) contacted items for last washing at end of day, if you must wash during the day, take a single use towel or rag and soak with soap, wash item in rinse sink, and rinse in rinse sink, sanitize item. The rinse sink must then be rinsed and cleaned so that it can be used for other non-fish items. On the fish prep sink, you may use it to rinse and wash fish dishes in the morning but you must then single use dry each item with paper towels.
  4. Carts: One cart should be designated for Seafood the other for Chicken. EVERY day all three carts must be washed with soap and water, rinsed, and then spray bottled with Quat to let dry overnight or used wet to place pans of chicken and seafood on for overnight storage.

Storage of meats and dry goods

  1. Six inches minimum off the floor – all products, no exceptions
  2. Preferred method: Silo – each protein has its own shelves with no other protein above or below the protein. Cooked on top, then raw lower. (ex. Seafood – crab cakes and salmon patties on top shelf, with canned crab, then raw seafood)
  3. Alternative: Cooking temp order: allows for storage on same shelves of multiple proteins, and applies to single proteins using Silo method as well: Top shelf – cooked ready to eat, then descending shelves in cooking temp order: Deli prepared salads and meats/cheeses, Beef/Lamb, Pork, Fish/Seafood, Chicken. This method is not preferred as it could allow for cross contact of Seafood to Chicken though it is safe from a cross-contamination perspective (fish at 145 degrees versus Chicken at 160 degrees)
  4. Hybrid and common sense: know when and how to use both methods (as example when doing seafood cart, cooked shrimp, crab cakes and salmon patties on top, then raw seafood on shelves below).

Sanitation of front room flat surfaces, handles on meat cases, front of cabinets, tables, etc

  1. During the day cleaning: a) rinse first if needed, b) warm water soapy wash(green bucket), c) rinse, d) use Quat bucket to ring rag and wipe surface(red bucket). Rinse rags and return them to their proper buckets after each use.
  2. Evening cleaning; a) rinse as needed, b) warm soapy water wash (green bucket or spray bottle of soapy), c) rinse, d) spray Quat light mist and allow to dry overnight
  3. Spray bottle rules: a) Always label properly, b) not allowed to sit on any cutting board, c) stored on rack or in cabinet, d) properly mixed at mop sink
  4. Checkout counters: will get soiled more often, to prevent cross contact of chicken juice to other proteins, etc. vigilance is needed and surface must be wiped and sanitized as needed!

Meat Room – general rules for front room staff

  1. No Seafood is allowed to be processed in the meat room, period.
  2. Chicken and poultry must stay on yellow board in middle of the room
  3. Pork and Beef are divided on the cutting table
  4. Butchers follow unique set of sanitation rules on grinders, etc. in a separate procedure
  5. Cleaning of meat room: a) hot water rinse and removal of debris, cleaning of floor drain, b) warm water soak with soapy water/degreaser from hose – soak 5 to 20 minutes (while doing dishes?), c) scrub of soapy tables, floor, saw, etc, d) rinse with clean water, e) Quat sanitation of all surfaces including floor and drains and allow to dry overnight, f) squeegee of floors, understanding of water movement in room and low areas under grinder and west end of 3 bay
  6. All of the above are superseded by specific instruction by the Butchers who may have reasons to change some of the above

Miscellaneous rules/items

  1. No jewelry on hands other than plain wedding band or ring, no bracelets, no fingernail polish unless gloved, wounds covered and gloved or over clothed,
  2. Hat or hair restraint required
  3. 7 day rule on cooked foods, dating of all previously opened items from date of open
  4. Notice of rule violations or expired products to supervisor, always report to supervisor or ask questions
  5. You must not work if you have, a) fever, b) diarrhea, c) sore throat with fever, d) vomiting

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