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Ontario Food Handler study materials
Ontario Food Handler study resources

Ontario Food Handler: Safe Food Handling Practices (Receiving, Storage, Preparation, Holding, Cooling, Reheating)

Ontario Food Handler · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.

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Safe Food Handling Practices (Receiving, Storage, Preparation, Holding, Cooling, Reheating)

Safe food handling practices

This domain tests the flow of food from receiving to service: delivery inspection, storage, preparation, holding, cooling, and reheating. The exam favours scenario questions about a step that was skipped and the safest correction.

Core rules

  • Receiving: inspect the vehicle and packaging; reject torn boxes, swollen or dented cans, pest evidence, expired products, and frozen food with ice crystals or thaw marks. Check temperatures: refrigerated food 4°C or colder, frozen food -18°C or colder and solidly frozen.
  • Storage: label and date food, use FIFO (first in, first out), keep food 15 cm (6 in) off the floor and away from walls, and store raw meat, poultry, and seafood below ready-to-eat food. Keep chemicals in a separate area.
  • Preparation: work in small batches, thaw properly, wash produce under running water, use separate cutting boards and utensils for raw and ready-to-eat food, and return perishables to refrigeration promptly.
  • Holding: check and record hot and cold holding temperatures at least every 2 hours; stir hot food to distribute heat; do not top up containers with fresh food.
  • Cooling: divide food into shallow pans, use an ice bath or blast chiller, and meet the 2-hour/4-hour cooling limits. Reheating: to 74°C within 2 hours, once only.
  • Date-code leftovers and ready-to-eat foods; follow manufacturer instructions and local public health requirements.

Worked example

A delivery driver unloads ground beef that reads 7°C at the centre of the package and has soft, partially thawed edges. The receiver should reject the shipment. Ground beef is a high-risk food and must arrive at 4°C or colder; 7°C means it has been time-temperature abused, and partially thawed edges suggest the cold chain failed. Accepting it and cooking it well is not a corrective action, because toxins may already be present and the supplier's records are incomplete.

Traps

  • Topping up a hot-holding pan with raw or cold food restarts the temperature danger.
  • Washing raw poultry is not required and spreads bacteria; proper cooking is the control.
  • Date labels are not optional; FIFO prevents expired stock.
  • Cooling in a deep, tightly covered pot is too slow.