Food Control Plan Checklist - Tararua District Council

Serve SafeCooking1 Goal 2 Why?To ensure food is properly cooked.• Harmful microbes are present in many foods. Cooking (andreheating) can kill harmful microbes.• Microbes are invisible to the human eye and cannot bephysically removed from food.3 How this is doneFollow the manufacturer’s cooking instructions, if any.PoultrySee Cooking poultryProcessed meatProcessed meat such as rolled joints, tenderisedor injected meats, livers, minced meats andmeat products (eg, sausages, burgers) mustbe thoroughly cooked because microbialcontamination can be throughout the meat.• Meat products are checked that they are steaming hotthrough to the centre, with no red or pink meat remaining.• Rolled joints are checked by inserting a skewer into thecentre until juices run out. Juices will show no pink or redwhen joints are properly cooked.Whole cuts and whole joints of meat• The surface of the meat is thoroughly sealed to kill themicrobes present.Whole cuts and whole joints of meat can becooked to preference and served rare, if properlysealed (any contamination will only be on theoutside surface of the meat).4 What if there is a problem?• Cook the food for longer.• Look at recipes and change cooking times and/ortemperatures.• Divide the food into smaller quantities or use differentequipment.• Retrain staff as necessary.5Write it downIf food does not cook properly when followingset recipes and procedures, record in theDiary:what you did with the food that did notcook properly, andwhat action was taken to prevent thishappening again.Liquid dishes (eg, soups, sauces, gravies etc)• Cold spots are avoided by stirring frequently so an eventemperature is reached.• Dishes are brought to a simmer.Shellfish• Look for change in colour and texture. Prawns will turnfrom blue-grey to pink and scallops become milky whiteand firm when cooked.• Before cooking, any mussel or clam with an open ordamaged shell is thrown away as it may not be safe to eat.• To check that a mussel or clam is cooked, make sure the shellis open and that the mussel or clam has shrunk inside the shell.If the shell has not opened during cooking, throw it away.Customer self-cookThe following steps are taken when food is provided for customersto cook their own meals (eg, hot stone, steamboat/hotpot, BBQ etc):• customers are given appropriate instructions on how tocook and handle food safely• sufficient appropriate utensils and tableware are provided toenable customers to avoid cross-contamination• cooking equipment (eg, hotstone, grill etc) provided iscapable of cooking food safely.Food Control Plan Version 3.0 2011S10