Most food workers know that foods can become contaminated if they are allowed to contact uncooked foods or surfaces where raw foods were previously processed. One example? If your broiler chef puts a cooked steak back on the plate that held it prior to cooking, that’s a recipe for bacterial contamination.

But bacterial contamination is only one kind of food contamination. Does your food service training cover all of them?

Substance Contamination

This happens when non-food items find their way into food that is served to patrons. One common example? Pieces of plastic that are used to package foods. Yet other items like staples and hair can sometimes get served along with food too. Unless your staffers are trained to follow strict protocols for food preparation, those problems could occur in your establishment.

Chemical Contamination

Chemicals found in cleaners that are used to clean food-prep surfaces are a big culprit. That is why the right kind of cleaners – like solutions of vinegar, salt and baking soda – can offer safer alternatives.

Many hand sanitizers are a source of chemical contaminants too. This is a real issue, since food preparers and servers sometimes assume that sanitizers are safe to use. Most aren’t, and their use can result in chemical contamination. The answer? All your food service workers – from cooks to servers to personal who supply tables with fresh linens and dishes – must be trained to correctly wash and rinse their hands.

Bacterial Contamination

As we wrote at the start of this post, cooked foods must not be allowed to come into contact with contaminated surfaces. But to really protect your patrons, food preparers need to understand how to cook foods to the right internal temperatures. Also, personnel who accept incoming foods need to be trained to use the right procedures. They should know to reject meats or fish have been allowed to partially thaw.

Is Your Food Service Training Up to the Job?

If you want to know more about delivering effective training to your restaurant and food service workers, be sure to check out Tortal Training’s industry-leading Out of the Box training solutions, available in Spanish as well as English.