Each week during the month of September, the Louisiana Restaurant Association has brought you different aspects of serving guests
safely with food allergens. Based on the newly-released National Restaurant Association online training course—ServSafe Allergens—we’ve learned about the
Big 8 and cross-contact, reading labels, preventing cross-contact in the front
of the house, purchasing and transportation and finally, separation in
equipment and storage.
One of the main ways to prevent cross-contact is to keep
food and equipment separate. Use separate equipment and utensils when preparing
food for people with food allergies, and store food containing food allergens
separately from other food.
Equipment and utensils that have touched a food allergen can
spread that allergen to other food. So it’s important to always wash, rinse and
sanitize all equipment and utensils correctly. One extra step that can be taken
is having designated equipment for food that contains allergens. This equipment
should be stored separately and it should be labeled in some way to signify
that it is only to be used on food allergens.
One common designation is to use purple-colored equipment and
utensils for food containing allergens.
When storing food that contains food allergens, keep it
separate from other food. A good way to do this is to store the
allergen-containing food in separate, sealed containers. It should then be kept
in a completely separate area from other food that does not contain allergens.
Visit www.foodsafetymonth.com
for downloadable activities to help you and your staff understand the tenants
of serving guests with food allergies safely.
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