Retail Food Safety key terms

A situation in which two or more people experience a similar illness after eating the same food, with laboratory or epidemiological evidence confirming the food as the source.

A living organism or its toxin that can cause illness when present in food, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, and molds.

A harmful substance that contaminates food unintentionally or through misuse, such as cleaning compounds, pesticides, toxic metals, or unapproved additives.

A hard or foreign object that can injure a person who eats the food, such as glass, metal fragments, bone, stones, or packaging materials.

A microorganism capable of causing disease, including bacteria such as Salmonella and Listeria, viruses such as norovirus, and parasites.

A bacterium that can form a heat-resistant resting structure, allowing it to survive normal cooking and later grow in food held at unsafe temperatures.

The temperature range of 41°F to 135°F (5°C to 57°C) in which bacteria multiply most rapidly in food.

Food that requires time and temperature control for safety because it supports rapid bacterial growth, such as meat, poultry, dairy, cooked rice, and cut melons.

The transfer of harmful microorganisms or other contaminants from one food, surface, or utensil to another, often through direct contact or shared equipment.

The transfer of an allergen from a food containing it to a food that does not, typically through shared utensils, surfaces, or frying oil.

A protein in a food that triggers an immune reaction in sensitive individuals; major ones include milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame.

A sink designated and used only for washing hands, supplied with hot and cold running water, soap, and a means of drying hands.

The practice of cleaning hands at proper times and in the proper way, including wetting, soaping, scrubbing, rinsing, and drying, to reduce contamination.

The practice of wearing single-use gloves over clean hands, changing them when soiled or torn and between tasks, as a supplement to rather than a substitute for handwashing.

A regulatory restriction that prevents a food employee diagnosed with or symptomatic for a communicable illness from working in food operations.

A limitation placed on a food employee's duties so they avoid contact with food, utensils, and clean equipment while they may be carrying a communicable illness.

A written document in which employees acknowledge their duty to report symptoms, diagnoses, and high-risk exposures to their person in charge.

The process of bringing cooked food down quickly through the danger zone, typically from 135°F to 70°F within two hours and to 41°F within six hours total.

Raising previously cooked and cooled food to a safe internal temperature, generally 165°F for 15 seconds, before hot holding.

Maintaining cooked food at or above 135°F (57°C) to prevent bacterial growth until it is served.

Maintaining food at or below 41°F (5°C) to slow or stop the growth of microorganisms until it is used or served.

A written procedure allowing food to be held without temperature control for a limited time, provided it is marked and discarded or cooked when that time expires.

Removing visible soil, food residue, grease, and other debris from a surface using detergent and mechanical action.

Reducing the number of microorganisms on a cleaned surface to safe levels using heat or an approved chemical sanitizer at the proper concentration and contact time.

A paper or plastic strip used to measure the concentration of a chemical sanitizer solution so it stays within the required range.

A sink setup with separate basins for washing, rinsing, and sanitizing equipment and utensils by manual immersion.

A device or air gap that stops contaminated water from flowing backward into the potable water supply.

Water that is safe to drink and use in food preparation, obtained from an approved source and protected from contamination.

A preventive approach to pest control that combines sanitation, exclusion, and monitoring, using pesticides only as a last resort under trained supervision.

A record kept by the operation documenting observed pests, evidence of activity, and the corrective actions taken in response.

The check performed when deliveries arrive to verify temperature, packaging integrity, labeling, and condition before accepting food.

A vendor that has been verified as meeting regulatory standards and can provide documentation, such as a letter of guarantee, for the foods it supplies.

A label attached to a container of live molluscan shellfish identifying the harvest area and date, which must be retained for 90 days after sale.

The first HACCP principle, in which a team identifies potential biological, chemical, and physical hazards and the steps needed to control them.

A step in the flow of food where a control measure can be applied to prevent, eliminate, or reduce a significant hazard to an acceptable level.

A measurable value, such as a temperature or time, that must be met at a critical control point to keep a hazard under control.

The step taken when monitoring shows a critical limit was not met, including fixing the problem and handling the affected food safely.

Scheduled observation or measurement, such as taking temperatures, to confirm that critical limits at control points are being met.

Activities, other than monitoring, that confirm the food safety system is working as intended, such as record review, calibration checks, and internal audits.

The operator's ongoing, deliberate system of procedures and oversight that actively prevents, eliminates, or reduces food safety hazards rather than reacting after problems occur.

The individual present during operations who is responsible for food safety, including supervising employees, monitoring temperatures, and enforcing hygiene and illness policies.

The combined written policies, procedures, monitoring records, and training an operation uses to control hazards and demonstrate compliance.