This document provides guidelines for safely holding and serving potentially hazardous foods. It recommends checking food temperatures regularly, discarding foods after a set time, and maintaining proper hot or cold holding temperatures. Specific tips are given for serving food, delivering food off-site, catering events, and using vending machines to protect food safety.

2. When holding potentially
hazardous food:
 Check internal temperatures
using a thermometer
 Check temperatures at least
every four hours
 Discard it after a predetermined
amount of time
 Protect it from contaminants
with covers/sneeze guards
 Prepare it in small batches
so it will be used faster

3. When holding potentially hazardous hot food:
Hold it at an internal temperature of
135F (57C) or higher
Only use equipment that can
maintain this temperature
Never use hot-holding equipment
to reheat food
Stir it at regular intervals
to distribute heat evenly

4. When holding potentially
hazardous cold food:
Hold it at an internal temperature of
41F (5C) or lower
Only use equipment that can maintain
this temperature
Do not store food directly on ice

5. Ready-to-eat, potentially hazardous
food can be held without temperature
control if:
It was held at the proper temperature before
removing it from temperature control
It contains a label that specifies when it
must be discarded
It is sold, served, or discarded within four hours

6. Which of the following items meet the
requirements for holding food without
temperature control?
 1. Potato salad is taken out of refrigeration at 10:00 A.M.
and is labeled “Discard at 3:00 P.M.”
 2. Properly cooked scrambled eggs are placed in a hot-holding unit
at 9:00 A.M., held at 120F (49C), and discarded at 11:00 A.M.
as the label indicated.
 3. Sliced ham held at 50F (10C) the previous night, is held at
room temperature for four hours and then is discarded as the
label indicated.

7. To minimize the risk of
contamination when serving food,
kitchen staff should:
Store serving utensils properly
Use serving utensils with long handles
Use clean and sanitized utensils for serving
Minimize bare-hand contact with food
that is cooked or ready-to-eat
Practice good personal hygiene

8. Handling Food, Glassware, Dishes,
and Utensils

9. Handling Food, Glassware, Dishes,
and Utensils continued

10. To keep food safe on
food bars and buffets:
Install sneeze guards
Separate raw meat, fish, and poultry
from cooked and ready-to-eat food
Hand out fresh plates to customers
Label all food items
Maintain proper temperatures
• Practice FIFO

11. When delivering food off-site:
Use containers capable of maintaining
proper temperature
Check internal food temperatures regularly
Keep raw products separate from cooked
and ready-to-eat food
Clean the inside of delivery vehicles regularly
Provide food safety guidelines for consumers

12. When catering:
• Have potable water for cooking, warewashing, and cleaning
• Have adequate power for cooking/holding equipment
• Serve cold food in containers on ice
• Use single-use items
• Keep garbage away from food-preparation and serving areas

13. To protect food in vending machines:
 Keep potentially hazardous food at
135 F (57 C) or higher or 41 F (5 C) or lower.
 Dispense potentially hazardous food
in its original container.
 Check product shelf life, and discard food
within seven days of preparation.
 Sanitize food-contact surfaces
when replenishing food.