Food safety practices in serving meals

Preparing and serving foods for large crowds may require certain precautions, which
ordinarily is of no concern on daily basis when preparing and serving meals for the family.

The following are concerns:

Planning the menu for safe food service

1. The menu must be carefully planned according to the limitations of the kitchen
where the preparations will be done.
-The menu items must take into consideration what is available in order to make it
easier to control food safety and sanitation.
2. The quantity to prepare must be limited to the available facilities. This means that
the number of people to be invited must be conform to the limitations of the
kitchen facilities,
3. The menu must take into considerations the capacity of the one preparing the
items.
Avoid menus that must all be done in the last minute. When chaos occurs, there is
the danger cross contamination because of the number of different foods sitting
on the counter all at once.
4. Avoid food items that require a lot of hand usage during preparation. Canapés and
fancy food shapes require the use of the bare hands.
5. Very complicated recipes using a lot of ingredients are not practical to cook for
large crowds. The simpler the dish, the better. Roast, baked, fried and simple
casseroles are best. Sauces must be limited to simple gravy or au jus.
6. Avoid serving uncooked meats, fish or any seafood such as kilawin or sashimi. It is
safer to serve only cooked foods

Cooking the food

1. When cooking for a crowd care must be taken to maintain the aesthetic quality of
food. Cooking in quantity often results in mashing the food, if not resulting to
uneven cooking.
2. When preparing food in advance, it should not be cooked halfway, and then
continued the next day. Cooking must be completed otherwise there is danger of
bacterial growth when the proper internal temperature of the food has not been
achieved.
3. All food that will be served raw as in salads must be washed and sanitized. Choice
of dressing should be limited to plain instead of creamy types.
 4. The cook must be free from any infections and must observe proper washing and
cleaning of hands. Proper attire includes a clean apron, well-groomed hair and
manicured short nails.
5. Cooked foods must not be left on the counter longer than the 2-hour limit. It must
be kept at the proper temperature while waiting for the others to be cooked.

Serving the food

1. Hot foods must be kept hot at 140 degrees F while cold foods must be
kept cold at 40 degrees F. chafing dishes have been used to keep hot foods hot.
The chafing dish is like a double boiler. The lower pan holds hot water that is
kept hot with the flame underneath. This source of heat prevents scorching of
the food when heated, at the same time can keep it at a hot temperatures
desired. The same chafing dish can be used to keep foods cold, by placing
crushed ice instead of hot water. When foods are to be served for a crowd
where not everyone will eat at the same time, chafing dishes are practical to
keep foods hot or cold.
2. Foods that were kept in the refrigerator must not be taken out until 2 hours
before the party. In general, the longest time food should be left to stand at
room temperature is 2 hours.
3. Each dish should be provided with its own serving spoons or flatware. These
should be kept on small plate provided near the dish, rather than left stuck in
the food.
4. Foods should be cut up in serving pieces to make it easier for the guest to help
themselves and to make serving the entire crowd faster.
5. Food garnishes are nice to use, but it should be limited to those which require
very little handling.
6. Replenishment of the food on the table must be done systematically.
Preferably, do not mix fresh batch with food that had already been out too
long. Replenishment is done by taking out the entire empty or half empty
container and replacing with a new container of food.
7. Protection from flies must be taken into consideration. Leaving the food
covered when not in service may help. Someone may also be assigned to keep
driving flies away if this becoming a nuisance.
8. When serving appetizers and dips, guests should be provided with small plates
to put enough dip for themselves.
9. Food dishes must not be placed too close to each other.
-Space must be provided between the dishes to allow guest to put their plate
down while serving.
Advice to diners or guests

1. Never use utensils you have already used to get food from the service plate.
Always use the serving flatware provided when it haste.
2. Double dipping should be avoided. This is the act of taking a chip and putting into
the dip, partially eating it, and then returning the chip in for a second.
3. Do not take too much food all at once. They only mix together to your plate and
the flavor will all mixed up.
4. Never return uneaten food even if it was untouched.
5. If you smelled or tasted anything funny, please tell the host or hostess, so they
can investigate and dispose of anything that would be detrimental to anyone.
6. Never use your finger to taste the food from the table, thinking it is only harmless
swipe.

Clearing the table

1. Leftover foods from the table must be refrigerated promptly. Any leftovers from
individual plates must be discarded even this are whole and untouched.
2. Used plates and flatware must be soaked and washed properly.
3. All food wastes must be disposed properly. Tabletops must be wiped clean and
linens laundered promptly. Any food debris left will attract flies. Floors must be
swept clean and any spills taken cared of.