From past experience, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list these six circumstances as the ones most likely to lead to a foodborne illnesses outbreak. Check through the list below to make sure you have eliminated these problems from your kitchen.

1. Inadequate Cooling and Cold Holding.  More than half of all foodborne illnesses are due to keeping foods out at room temperature for more than 2-4 hours. You can reduce your risk of causing an illness by:

• Preparing foods needing refrigeration from products that have been pre-chilled (i.e. chill canned foods in the refrigerator before adding them to the recipe
• Minimizing hand contact with foods that will not be cooked prior to service
• Promptly refrigerating cold products until they are needed for service
• Checking product temperatures to ensure they have cooled to a temperate of 45°F or below
• Making sure foods on cold bars are rotated in a manner that prevents placing fresh products on top of products that have been on display for a while

• Limiting the length of time products are on display to 2 hours

2. Preparing Food Too Far Ahead of Service.  Food prepared 12 or more hours before service increases the risk of temperature abuse because the food may never cool to a safe temperature before it is served. When hot foods are placed in refrigeration in large containers, the center of the foods may not reach a safe storage temperature of 45°F or below for 24 hours or more. Even if these foods are properly reheated, some bacteria may produce toxins that are not killed in the reheating process that can make your patrons ill. To reduce your potential of causing an outbreak:

• Where possible, prepare foods immediately before service to eliminate the need to refrigerate them overnight
• When not possible, place hot foods in shallow pans (4" or less) to speed the cooling process
• Allow space between pans so they do not insulate one another
• Use ices baths or ice paddles to speed cooling
• When reheating foods, make sure they are heated to a temperature of at least 165°F

• Once reheated, keep hot foods stored at 140°F or above until served.

3. Poor Personal Hygiene and Infected Personnel.  Poor handwashing habits and foodhandlers working while they are ill are implicated in 1 out of every 4 foodborne illnesses. Hands are vehicles for transmission of all types of organisms, some of which can cause foodborne illness. Simple means of reducing your risk in this area include:

• Staying out of work when you have a contagious disease or when you have cuts on your hands or arms
• Washing hands each time they are contaminated such as after going to the toilet, after handling raw foods and before handling cooked items, after touching your hair, your face or any object that is not clean

• Minimizing hand contact with ready to eat products

4. Inadequate Reheating.  When leftovers are not reheated to 165°F or above, illness often results. While not a surefire means of preventing an outbreak, reheating foods to at least 165°F can provide a margin of safety that may just prevent a foodborne illness.  This could make the difference between a beautiful dining experience and the loss of your reputation and business.

5. Inadequate Hot Holding.  Cooked foods not held at 140°F or above until served can become highly contaminated. Under ideal conditions, bacteria can double in number every 20 minutes. If you start with a single organism, you could have over 1 million organisms in less than 7 hours. Imagine the numbers if you started with a million organisms which is still too small to see. To prevent potential problems:

• Cook all foods to the appropriate minimum temperature for the product
• Use appropriate warming devices to maintain foods at 140°F or above
• Check temperatures on hot holding bars to be sure you are maintaining appropriate temperatures

• Do not re-heat foods that have already been re-heated once before. They need to be discarded.

6. Contaminated Raw Foods & Ingredients.  Serving raw shellfish, using raw eggs in sauces and dressings, and adding potentially contaminated raw foods to a product that will not receive further cooking has often led to outbreaks of foodborne disease.  

• If you serve raw shellfish, make sure you have posted a "Customer Advisory" in a conspicuous location in the restaurant
• Use pasteurized foods (such as pasteurized eggs) when preparing sauces and dressings

• Do not pool raw eggs prior to cooking. A single contaminated egg could contaminate the entire batch.