Subject: Storage and Transportation of Ready-To-Eat Foods (Time and Temperature Controls for Safe Food)

What will be done and who will do it?

New employees must:

• Review this procedure.
• Be trained by a team leader.
• Sign the training checklist.

All employees must:

• Keep frozen foods frozen during transportation.
• Maintain the temperature of refrigerated, potentially hazardous foods at 41° F or below and cooked foods that are transported hot at 135° F or above.
• Use only food carriers for transporting food approved by the National Sanitation Foundation International or that have otherwise been approved by the state or local health department.
• Prepare the food carrier before use:
  • Ensure that all surfaces of the food carrier are clean.
  • Wash, rinse, and sanitize the interior surfaces.
  • Ensure that the food carrier is designed to maintain cold food temperatures at 41° F and hot food temperatures at 135° F or above.
  • Place a calibrated stem thermometer in the warmest part of the carrier if used for transporting cold food, or the coolest part of the carrier if used for transporting hot food. Refer to the SOP - Using and Calibrating Thermometers.
  • Pre-heat or pre-chill the food carrier according to the manufacturer’s recommendations.
  • Store food in containers suitable for transportation. Containers should be:
    • Rigid and sectioned so that foods do not mix.
    • Tightly closed to retain the proper food temperature.
    • Nonporous to avoid leakage.
    • Easy-to-clean or disposable.
    • Approved to hold food.
  • Place food containers in food carriers and transport in clean trucks to remote sites as quickly as possible.
• Follow the SOP - Process and Controls for Food Storage and Receiving when food arrives at remote site.

Who will make sure it's done and how?

• Team leaders are expected to continually model appropriate storage and transportation practices for employees.
• Team leaders will ensure the temperature of the food carrier is reached prior to placing food into it.
• Team leaders will verify that employees are storing and transporting food properly by visually monitoring employees during the shift.

How should problems be fixed?

• Team leaders must immediately train and counsel employees who are not properly storing and transporting cooked and ready-to-eat potentially hazardous foods.
• Continue heating or chilling food carrier if the required temperature is not reached.
• Reheat food to 165° F for 15 seconds if the internal temperature of hot food is less than 135 ºF (refer to SOP - Reheating Potentially Hazardous Food).
• Cool food to 41° F or below using a proper cooling procedure if the internal temperature of cold food is greater than 41° F (refer to SOP - Cooling Potentially Hazardous Foods for the proper procedures to follow when cooling food).
• Discard food held in the danger zone for greater than 4 hours.

What records will be kept?

• Completed training checklist.
• Temperature record logs.
• Receiving logs.

Created(Date): 1/4/16

By: Randall Davis, Food Hub & Food Safety Coordinator

Last Revised: 4/5/17

By: Randall Davis, Food Hub & Food Safety Coordinator

Document available here - 3.7 Storage and Transportation of RTE Foods