Purchasing, Receiving, and Storage
Buy only from approved suppliers
Start with the source: purchase only from approved, inspected suppliers, never from a private home or unapproved vendor. Then inspect at the door.
Receiving numbers
- Cold TCS food: 41F or lower. Hot TCS food: 135F or higher. Frozen food: frozen solid with no evidence of thawing and refreezing.
- Shell eggs: 45F or lower. Milk: 45F. Live shellfish: 45F air temperature with an internal temperature of 50F; keep shellstock tags 90 days. Shucked shellfish: 45F.
- Reject torn packaging, swollen or leaking cans, deep dents, missing labels or dates, pest evidence, and freezer burn.
Storage
Label with date received or prepared. Follow FIFO. Store 6 inches off the floor in a clean, dry area kept at 50F to 70F. Bottom-to-top order: ready-to-eat food, seafood, whole beef and pork, ground meat, poultry. Keep chemicals and personal items away from food. Date-mark ready-to-eat TCS food held more than 24 hours: seven days at 41F or lower, counting the day of preparation as day 1.
Traps
- Storage order: whole cuts above ground meat; poultry always at the bottom.
- The 45F versus 41F distinction for eggs and milk.
- Date marking counts preparation day as day one; the seventh day is the discard date.
- Reduced-oxygen packaged fish and shellfish need date labeling and strict temperature control.
- Food transferred to a working container needs the common name on the label.
Rule of thumb: when in doubt, send it back. Once you accept a delivery, you have taken on the problem.