A case in point 1

On Monday afternoon, the kitchen staff at the Sunnydale Nursing Home was busy cleaning up after lunch and preparing for dinner. Pete, a kitchen assistant, put a large stockpot of hot, leftover vegetable soup in the refrigerator to cool. Angie, a cook, began deboning the chicken breasts that were stored earlier. When she finished, she put the chicken on an uncovered sheet pan and stored the pan in the refrigerator. She carefully placed the raw chicken on the top shelf, away from the hot soup. Next, Angie iced a carrot cake she had baked that morning. She put the carrot cake in the refrigerator on the shelf directly below the chicken breasts.

What storage errors were made? What food items are at risk?

A case in point 2

Anticipating a slow dinner service, Ed, the owner of Big City Diner, gave his kitchen manager the afternoon off. Some time later, Acme Distributors delivered an order of canned and dry food and supplies, including canned tomato sauce, canned soup, crackers, pasta, paper napkins, and cleaning supplies, such as warewashing detergent and sanitizer.

After checking the order, Ed stacked the canned and dry food onto a dolly and wheeled it into the storeroom. There was an open case of tomato sauce on the shelf with one can left in it and a full case behind it. Ed removed the open case and replaced it with the case on the dolly, he put the single can in an open spot on another shelf. By shifting some boxes around, Ed was able to put the cases of soup, napkins, and pasta on shelves in front of cases already stored there. While moving cases, he accidentally knocked over a container of flour, spilling some on the floor. There was no room on the shelves for the crackers, so he left the case on the floor. He was sweating from exertion and wondered if the storeroom was too hot. He checked the hanging thermometer, which read 70F (21C).

Ed went back to the dock to get the cleaning suppliers. He wheeled them into the storeroom and stacked them against the wall next to several cases of pasta. When he returned the dolly to the back door, a truck from Mike’s Produce pulled up to deliver cases of potatoes and several bags of onions. Ed knew the produce room was overstocked, so he stored the produce in a space sometimes used for storage underneath the dining room stairs.

What did Ed do wrong? What are the possible consequences?

Discussion questions

1. In top-to-bottom order, how would you store the following food in a refrigerator; raw trout, an uncooked beef roast raw chicken, and raw ground beef?

2. How should food that has been taken out of its original package be labeled?

3. What is the proper storage temperature for frozen dairy products?

4. What temperature should the air inside a walk-in refrigerator be to hold products at an internal temperature of 41F (5C)?

5. How should products be stored when following FIFO?

Multiple-choice study questions

1. At what internal temperature would stored ground beef most likely become unsafe to use?

A. 0F (-17C) C. 41F (5C)

B. 30F (-1C) D. 60F (16C)

2. Dry-storage rooms should be kept at

A. 35F to 41F (2C to 5C). C. 50F to70F (10C to 21C).

B. 45F to 50F (7C to 10C). D. 70F to80F (21C to 27C).

3. Under which condition could you use a tank to display live mussels you will be serving to customers?

A. You have obtained a variance from the health department.

B. You clean the display tank at least once a month.

C. You will mix them with other mussels that not have been on display.

D. You have removed the shellstock identification tags as required by law.

4. Which of the following is not a good storage practice?

A. Shelving food based on its expiration date

B. Storing raw poultry at temperatures between 41F and 140F(5C and 60C)

C. Storing live shellfish at 45F (7C) or lower

D. Storing raw meat below ready-to-eat food

5. All of the following statements about the FIFO method of stock rotation are correct except:

A. Food items should be used by their expiration date.

B. Products with the earliest use-by date should be stored in front of products with later dates.

C. The oldest products should be used first.

D. Products that have passed their expiration dates shoul be used first.

6.Improperly stored vacuum-packed food can be a problem because

1. loss of moisture can lessen food quality.

2. heat can cause vacuum-packaged cans to explode.

3. air leakage can contaminate neighboring food.

4. bacteria that cause botulism can grow.

7.If you see that a package of sous vide food is torn, you should

1. cook and serve the product.

2. discard the product.

3. mend the tear and freeze the package.

4. Measure the internal temperature of the food.

8. To keep refrigerated food at an internal temperature of 41F (5C), the air temperature in the refrigerator should be approximately

A. 39F (4C).

B. 32F ()0C.

C.26F (-3C).

D. 0F (-18C).

9. All of the following are incorrect storage practices except

A. lining refrigerator shelving with aluminum foil.

B. cooling hot food in a refrigerator.

C. storing products with the earliest expiration dates in front of products with older dates.

D. storing fresh poultry over ready-to-eat food.

10. Which storage practice is incorrect?

A. Storing fresh poultry at 41F (5C)

B. Storing eggs at room temperature

C. Storing raw clams in their shipping crate at 45F (7C)

D. Storing raw ground beef in its original packaging.

Unit 7