NEHA CPFM cheat sheet

Temperature danger zone is 41°F to 135°F (5°C to 57°C); TCS food must not accumulate more than 4 hours in this range.

FATTOM growth factors: Food, Acidity (pH 4.6–7.0), Time, Temperature, Oxygen, Moisture (water activity 0.85 or higher); eliminating any one factor controls growth.

FDA Big 6: Salmonella Typhi, nontyphoidal Salmonella, Shigella spp., E. coli O157:H7, hepatitis A, and norovirus - a diagnosis or symptom of any requires exclusion of the food employee.

Viruses (norovirus, hepatitis A) do not multiply in food; they spread fecal-orally via hands and have a very low infectious dose (norovirus roughly 10–100 particles).

Spore formers survive normal cooking: Clostridium botulinum (anaerobic, low-acid, aw 0.85+), Clostridium perfringens (cooling abuse), Bacillus cereus (cooked rice).

Preformed toxins: Staphylococcus aureus (onset 1–6 hours, from hands and skin lesions) and Bacillus cereus emetic type (1–6 hours, reheated rice); both are heat-stable.

Scombroid (histamine) poisoning comes from tuna, mahi-mahi, and mackerel held above 41°F; the histamine formed is not destroyed by cooking.

Big 9 allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, sesame.

High-risk populations are children under 5, adults over 65, pregnant women, and immunocompromised people; never serve them raw or undercooked animal foods.

Receiving standards: cold TCS food at 41°F or lower, frozen food at 0°F or lower and solidly frozen, hot TCS food at 135°F or higher, raw shell eggs and milk at 45°F or lower.

Reject deliveries with swollen, leaking, or seam-dented cans, torn packages, pest evidence, missing labels or dates, or product that has thawed and refrozen.

Shellstock tags stay attached to the container until it is emptied, then are kept 90 days from the date the last shellfish from that lot was sold or served.

Refrigerator storage order, top to bottom: ready-to-eat food, seafood, whole cuts of beef and pork, ground meat, poultry.

Date marking: ready-to-eat TCS food prepared on site and held more than 24 hours is marked and discarded within 7 days at 41°F or lower, counting the prep day as day 1.

Dry storage: 50°F to 70°F, about 50–60% humidity, food at least 6 inches off the floor and away from walls.

FIFO: first in, first out - rotate stock so older product is used before newer product.

Thermometers: bimetallic stemmed type accurate to ±2°F, calibrated in an ice-water slurry at 32°F, and probed into the thickest part of the food.

Chemicals are stored below and away from food, in original labeled containers, never in unlabeled bottles or food containers.

Two-stage cooling: 135°F to 70°F within 2 hours, then 70°F to 41°F within 4 more hours (6 hours total), with times recorded.

Reheating for hot holding: 165°F for 15 seconds within 2 hours; microwave reheating also requires covering, stirring, and a 2-minute stand time.

Cooking minimums: poultry and stuffed foods 165°F instantaneous; ground meat 155°F for 17 seconds; whole-muscle beef/pork and fish 145°F for 15 seconds; commercially processed ready-to-eat food 135°F.

Hot holding at 135°F or higher and cold holding at 41°F or lower, with internal temperatures checked and logged at least every 4 hours.

Approved thawing methods: refrigeration at 41°F or lower, running water at 70°F or lower, microwave followed by immediate cooking, or as part of the cooking process.

No bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food; use utensils, deli tissue, or gloves, and change gloves after handling raw animal foods or touching the face, phone, or trash.

Handwashing: soap and water at 100°F or hotter, scrub 10–15 seconds, at least 20 seconds total, at a sink used only for handwashing.

Time as a public health control: 4 hours maximum without temperature control before discard, or 6 hours if food starts at 41°F or lower and never exceeds 70°F.

Parasite destruction for fish served raw: freeze at -4°F for 168 hours (7 days) or at -31°F for 15 hours.

Cleaning removes visible soil and grease; sanitizing then reduces pathogens on a clean surface by 99.999% (5-log reduction).

Chemical sanitizer concentrations: chlorine 50–100 ppm, quaternary ammonium 200–400 ppm, iodine 12.5–25 ppm, each verified with the matching test strip.

Hot-water sanitizing: 171°F for at least 30 seconds by immersion, or a 180°F final rinse at the manifold in a mechanical dish machine.

Three-compartment sink sequence: scrape, wash in detergent at 110°F or hotter, rinse, sanitize by immersion per label, then air dry on a rack.

Food-contact surfaces in continuous use with TCS food are cleaned and sanitized at least every 4 hours, and whenever switching between raw animal foods.

Backflow prevention: an air gap of at least twice the supply pipe diameter and never less than 1 inch, or an approved vacuum breaker.

Pest exclusion: self-closing doors, 16-mesh screens, air curtains, and sealing gaps of 1/4 inch or larger; live pests or rodent droppings are critical violations.

Lighting: at least 50 foot-candles at food preparation surfaces and handwashing sinks, at least 10 foot-candles in dry storage.

Equipment must be smooth, nonabsorbent, corrosion-resistant, easily cleanable, and certified to NSF/ANSI or an equivalent standard.

The FDA Food Code is a model regulation with no federal enforcement power; state and local jurisdictions adopt or adapt it and inspect against their own rules.

HACCP seven principles: hazard analysis, critical control point identification, critical limits, monitoring, corrective actions, verification, recordkeeping.

Reportable employee conditions: vomiting, diarrhea, jaundice, sore throat with fever, infected wound, and boils or lesions on the hands.

Exclusion removes the employee from the premises; restriction keeps them away from food, utensils, and equipment - a Big 6 diagnosis generally requires exclusion until the regulatory authority clears the worker.

Symptoms of vomiting or diarrhea require exclusion until 24 hours after they resolve; norovirus requires 48 hours under the 2022 Food Code.

Imminent health hazards such as fire, flood, water outage, sewage backup, or heavy pest infestation require stopping operations and notifying the regulatory authority.

Critical violations pose immediate risk (improper holding temperatures, bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat food) and are corrected on the spot or the food is destroyed.

The person in charge must demonstrate food safety knowledge, apply active managerial control, ensure employee illness reporting, and maintain training and temperature records.

Retention examples: shellfish tags 90 days, HACCP and cooling logs per the written plan, and training certificates as required by the jurisdiction.