ServSafe Lecture Notes: Food Safety and Management

Compendium of vocabulary and safety standards from the ServSafe food safety training material, covering contaminants, hygiene, storage, and management systems.

Foodborne illness

A disease transmitted to people through food.

Foodborne-illness outbreak

When two or more people have the same symptoms after eating the same food; requires an investigation by regulatory authorities and confirmation by laboratory analysis.

TCS food

Food requiring time and temperature control for safety to limit pathogen growth.

Ready-to-eat food

Food that can be eaten without further preparation, washing, or cooking, including cooked food, washed fruit, deli meat, and seasonings.

Biological contaminants

Pathogens including bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi that are the leading cause of foodborne illness.

Chemical contaminants

Foodservice chemicals such as cleaners, sanitizers, and polishes that can contaminate food.

Physical hazards

Foreign objects like metal shavings, staples, bandages, glass, or dirt, as well as natural objects like fish bones.

Time-temperature abuse

When food has stayed too long at temperatures good for pathogen growth ($41^\text{o}F$ to $135^\text{o}F$).

Cross-contamination

When pathogens are transferred from one surface or food to another.

High-risk populations

Groups of people with a higher risk of getting a foodborne illness, specifically elderly people, preschool-age children, and people with compromised immune systems.

Pathogen

A small, living microorganism that can only be seen with a microscope and causes illness or produces toxins.

The Big Six

The pathogens identified by the FDA as being highly contagious and causing severe illness: Shigella spp., Salmonella Typhi, Nontyphoidal Salmonella (NTS), Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC), Hepatitis A, and Norovirus.

Temperature Danger Zone

The temperature range between $41^\text{o}F$ and $135^\text{o}F$ ($5^\text{o}C$ and $57^\text{o}C$) where bacteria grow rapidly.

FAT TOM

The six conditions bacteria need to grow: Food, Acidity, Temperature, Time, Oxygen, and Moisture.

$a_w$ (Water activity)

The amount of moisture available in food for bacterial growth, measured on a scale from $0.0$ to $1.0$.

Salmonella Typhi

A bacteria linked to ready-to-eat food and beverages; it lives only in humans.

Shigella spp.

A bacteria found in the feces of humans with the illness; often transmitted by flies or via contaminated water and salads containing TCS food.

Jaundice

A yellowing of the skin and eyes, which is a symptom of Hepatitis A.

Biological toxins

Poisons that occur naturally in certain plants, mushrooms, and seafood; example includes Histamine produced when fish like tuna are time-temperature abused.

A.L.E.R.T.

An FDA tool for developing a food defense program to prevent deliberate contamination: Assure, Look, Employees, Reports, and Threat.

Food allergen

A protein in a food or ingredient that some people are sensitive to.

Anaphylaxis

A severe allergic reaction that can lead to death.

The Big Eight

The most common food allergens: Milk, Soy, Eggs, Wheat, Fish, Crustacean shellfish, Peanuts, and Tree nuts.

Cross-contact

The transfer of allergens from food or food-contact surfaces containing an allergen to the food served to a guest.

Hand antiseptic

Liquids or gels used to lower the number of pathogens on skin; must only be used after handwashing and never in place of it.

Finger cot

A protective cover used to secure a dry, tight-fitting bandage on a finger.

Impermeable

A material that liquid cannot pass through, such as a bandage or glove.

Bimetallic stemmed thermometer

A thermometer that measures temperature through a metal stem with a sensing area from the tip to the dimple; accurate to $+/- 2^\text{o}F$.

Calibration

Adjustment of a thermometer to ensure it gives an accurate reading.

Ice-point method

A way to calibrate thermometers by adjusting them to $32^\text{o}F$ ($0^\text{o}C$) in a container of crushed ice and water.

Key drop delivery

A delivery made after-hours when the operation is closed; the supplier is given access to the facility to store products.

Shellstock identification tags

Tags required for shellfish indicating harvest date and location; must be kept on file for 90 days after the last shellfish was used.

FIFO (First-In, First-Out)

A method of stock rotation where items with the earliest use-by or expiration dates are stored in front to be used first.

Variance

A document issued by a regulatory authority that allows a regulatory requirement to be waived or changed.

Minimum internal temperature

The specific temperature a food must reach and hold for a set time to reduce pathogens to safe levels (e.g., $165^\text{o}F$ for poultry).

Active Managerial Control

The manager’s responsibility to actively control the five common risk factors for foodborne illness.

HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)

A system based on identifying significant biological, chemical, or physical hazards at specific points within a product's flow.

Imminent health hazard

A significant threat or danger to health that requires immediate correction or closure, such as a power outage, fire, or flood.

Cross-connection

A physical link between safe water and dirty water, which can lead to backflow.

Backflow

The reverse flow of contaminants through a cross-connection into a drinkable water supply.

Air gap

An air space that separates a water supply outlet from a potentially contaminated source, preventing backflow.

Cleaning

The process of removing food and other dirt from a surface.

Sanitizing

The process of reducing pathogens on a surface to safe levels.

Concentration

The amount of sanitizer to water, measured in ppm (parts per million).