A. Operate observing food safety policies and procedures
B. Maintaining  policies and procedures
  1. PIC (Person in Charge)
  2. Smoking area
  3. Ethical truth in menu practices
C. Hazard Analysis and control
D. Manager communication and employee training
E. Operational improvement
F. Handling emergencies
G. Program  enforcement, recognition, and renewal

A.  We shall operate observing the following food safety policies and procedures.
Definitions:
Policy:  A rule that management wants everyone to follow.  It is not necessarily from the government.
Procedure:  How employees are to do a task.
Standard:  The outcome of a procedure.  A condition that can be measured and has been validated as achievable if the procedure is followed.
          It is the policy of this establishment to operate so that there is complete assurance that both customers and employees will receive the optimum nourishment, and will never be made ill from our food, or be injured by a foreign object in our food.
In order to achieve this operating standard, we will be guided by the Food and Drug Administration's Foodservice Sanitation recommended ordinance, our local state and city rules, and this Hazard Analysis Critical Control-Based, Food Safety Policy, Procedures, and Standards Manual.
    All persons will follow a four-step Quality Assurance cycle.
        1)  They will plan the food production operation, and how it can be done safely.
        2)  They will organize and learn to do each production step and any related tasks correctly.
        3)  They will operate, doing tasks according to the procedures and standards of this manual, and will immediately check that they have met necessary standards at each production step.
        4)  Employees will measure and evaluate what they have done, and will make suggestions to management as to how tasks and steps can be improved in the next operating cycle with a higher degree of Quality Assurance.
              -  If a person does not know how to do a task in the production of food safely, he or she will stop, ask, and then be taught to do it correctly by designated supervisory personnel.  In case of a mistake, he or she will take any necessary action immediately to assure that customers or other employees are not injured or made ill.
              -  Employees will monitor their work.  In case of a mistake, employees will take any necessary action immediately to assure the production of safe food products.  Employees will stop and report potentially hazardous food handling practices, potentially hazardous conditions, or potentially hazardous foods to the supervisor, immediately.
              -  Employees will stop and immediately report potentially hazardous food handling practices, potentially hazardous conditions, or potentially hazardous foods to the supervisor.  Management must be notified as soon as possible if the situation is not corrected and there is still a hazard.

B.  Maintaining policies and procedures. Owner/CEO/manager shall maintain policies and procedures for employees to follow in order to assure the production, sale, and/or dispensing of safe food products of designated quality.
  1.  PIC (Person in Charge)
        Responsible for assuring compliance by all personnel shall be assigned to competent supervisory personnel.
        Personnel who are responsible for identifying sanitation failures or food contamination shall have a background or education and/or experience to enable them to produce clean, safe food.
        Training shall include proper food handling techniques, food protection principles, and the danger of poor personal hygiene and unsanitary practices.
        There shall be at all times at least one supervisory level person on duty during all operating hours, trained in the prevention of foodborne illness and injury.
      • A PIC will answer technical questions and provide coaching as needed for transfer of training, organization, self-directed learning, and employee improved performance.
      • The PIC shall perform the following duties:
            -  Assure that no unauthorized persons are allowed in the food operations area / kitchen.
            -  Assure that those authorized will comply with the policies, procedures, and standards of this document.
            -  Monitor employee hand washing.
            -  Monitor employee food receiving.
            -  Monitor employees in the preparation of potentially hazardous food.
            -  Monitor the cooling of food.
            -  Inform consumers of the health risk when they order raw or partially cooked foods of animal origin.
            -  Assure that employees are properly sanitizing cleaned, multi-use equipment and utensils.
            -  Assure that consumers are notified that clean tableware is to be used when they return to self-service areas.
            -  Assure that employees are properly trained in food safety as it relates to their assigned duties.
  2.  Smoking areas.  The PICs shall assure compliance with smoking / nonsmoking policies as declared by local or state regulations and/or by the establishment.
  3.  Ethical truth in menu practices.  Menus shall contain no incorrect or deceptive merchandising terms relating to the method of preparation, characteristics, or geographic points of origin of a food product that cannot be verified by the supplier.  Any products that have been frozen, canned, or preserved to extend shelf life shall not be labeled as "fresh."  The representation of weight, price, brand, number, quality, standard, or grade of products shall be accurate or consistent with the menu and advertised claims.  Customers shall be notified whenever a food is substituted.

C.  Hazard analysis and control
Owners/CEOs/managers shall:
      • Continually analyze the operations processes to find new and recurring food hazards through food safety audits, environmental monitoring, and self inspections to identify jobs and processes that have hazards that could lead to foodborne illness.
      • Mandate the use of the Retail Food Operation Food Hazard Control Checklist (Section XI, encl. 3) based on safety-assured policies, procedures and standards.
      • Maintain appropriate equipment programs to cover the calibration, use, cleaning, maintenance, and eventual replacement of equipment.
      • Maintain an up-to-date cleaning and sanitation schedule for all facility areas and equipment with specified employee assignments.  Cleaning and sanitizing of utensils and equipment shall be conducted so as to protect against contamination of food, food contact surfaces, or food packaging materials.
            i.  Follow a written cleaning and sanitation program for all equipment and premises (production and storage areas) that includes the name of the responsible person; the frequency of the activity; the procedures for cleaning and sanitizing; the chemicals and concentrations used; the temperature requirements; and the type and frequency of inspection to verify the effectiveness of the program.
            ii.  Procedures for cleaning and sanitizing will be as follows:  identify equipment and utensils; identify areas on the equipment requiring special attention; and follow method of cleaning, sanitizing, and rinsing.
            iii.  Chemicals must be used in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.  There will be Material Safety Data Sheets for all chemicals.
            iv.  The sanitation program should be carried out in a manner that does not contaminate food or packaging materials during or following cleaning and sanitizing (e.g., aerosols, chemical residues).
            v.  The effectiveness of the sanitation program will be monitored and verified by an audit or pre-operational inspections of premises and equipment or, where appropriate, by microbiological sampling.  The sanitation program will be adjusted accordingly.
            vi.  Operations will begin only after sanitation requirements are met.
      • Maintain a list of the ingredients in foods sold to customers so that employees can correctly answer customer questions concerning ingredients used to prepare menu items.
            -  Employees shall be educated to know that some individuals are allergic to certain foods or ingredients and must receive accurate information regarding the presence of these foods or ingredients in any item served or sold by the facility.

D.  Manager communication and employee training
Owners/CEOs/managers:
      • Shall provide training for PICs and supervisors in pertinent food safety matters, food safety leadership, coaching, and employee empowerment to take action at any time to prevent a problem.
      • Shall provide training for new employees in pertinent food safety concerns.
      • Communicate the food safety program to all employees in monthly training sessions of at least 15 minutes.
      • Maintain a written training program.
      • Maintain records of training that include: date, topic, content, attendance.
      • All employees shall be issued with documented company rules with regard to hygiene policy.
      • Provisions shall be made to train those employees who are not proficient in English.
      • Additional training shall be provided as necessary to ensure current knowledge of equipment and process technology.

E.  Operational improvement
Owners/CEOs/managers shall:
      • Support improvement of unit performance.
          - PICs, supervisors, and employees shall constantly be aware of environmental conditions, equipment failure, and facility and process performance.  Immediate action must be taken to correct problems.
          - Systematic audits shall be performed in order to evaluate prevention system weaknesses; analyze the cause of problems; take action through improved policies, procedures, and standards and system development to prevent future problems.

Examples of charts that can be used for operational improvement include:

Weekly Self-improvement Schedule  (Section I, encl. 1)

Yearly Self-improvement Schedule (Section I, encl. 2)

Corrective Action Log and Preventive Action Schedule (Section I, encl. 3)

Quality Management Team (Section I, encl. 4)

Cause-Effect Analysis Diagram (Section I, encl. 5)

Cause-Effect Analysis Worksheet (Section I, encl. 6)

Problem-Opportunity Action Plan and Program (Section I, encl. 7)

Group Action Log (Section I, encl. 8)

Individual Action Log (Section I, encl. 9)

Examples of charts that can be used to prevent and handle food related injury and illness include:

• Employee-Customer Report of Quality or Hazard Problem and Disposition (Section I, encl. 10)
• Action to Correct (Section I, encl. 11)
• Foodborne Illness Information Form (Section I, encl. 12)
• Action Report (Section I, encl. 13)
• Foodborne Illness Symptoms Table (Section I, encl. 14)

Subject area ____________________________________________________  Date  ___________________
Persons contributing _______________________________________________________________________
 

Person ______________________________________
 

EMPLOYEE-CUSTOMER REPORT OF QUALITY OR HAZARD PROBLEM AND DISPOSITION

Names of other persons in the party.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.

1. EXPRESS SINCERE CONCERN ABOUT THE PROBLEM.  Do not acknowledge responsibility.  It may not be the fault of your operation.  Ask the customer if food was taken from the establishment.  If the customer has any leftover suspect food, tell them to refrigerate it (not to freeze it) and save it for possible analysis.

2. Inform the person that the items consumed will be checked.  The problem will be brought to the attention of the general manager, who will investigate and call back within 24 hours.

3. If the problem continues, the ill customer should contact his or her physician (at his or her expense).

4. Call the general manager immediately.

5. Find and save about 1 pound (1 pint) of any suspect food, if possible.  Refrigerate in a clean container, covered, labeled, and separated from all other foods. If it cannot be analyzed in 24 hours, freeze the sample.
 
 

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To Section II