7.2 Serving Food Safely

The final step in the flow of food is service. All the careful purchasing, receiving, storage, preparation, cooking, and holding can be undone by unsafe serving practices. This section covers how to get food safely from the kitchen to the customer.

Service Utensils and Bare-Hand Contact

One of the most important food safety rules for service is preventing bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods.

The No Bare-Hand Contact Rule:

Food handlers must NOT touch ready-to-eat foods with bare hands.

Ready-to-eat (RTE) foods are foods that:

• Will be eaten without further cooking
• Are already cooked and will be served as is
• Won't receive any additional heat treatment

Examples of RTE foods:

• Salads (green salads, potato salad, pasta salad)
• Deli meats and cheese
• Cooked vegetables served cold
• Bread and baked goods
• Cut fruits and vegetables
• Ice for beverages
• Garnishes (lemon wedges, parsley, lettuce cups)

Proper Tools for Handling RTE Foods:

For the Exam: Know the no bare-hand contact rule. Food handlers cannot touch ready-to-eat foods with bare hands—they must use gloves, tongs, deli tissue, or other utensils.

Proper Glove Use:

When to Wear Gloves:

• Handling ready-to-eat foods
• When you have cuts or wounds on hands (even with bandages)
• As an additional barrier during food prep

When to Change Gloves:

• Before starting a new task
• After touching raw meat, poultry, or seafood
• After touching your face, hair, or body
• After coughing, sneezing, or using a tissue
• After handling dirty dishes or garbage
• After any interruption in the task
• At least every 4 hours during continuous use
• When gloves become torn or contaminated

Never:

• Wash and reuse disposable gloves
• Use gloves as a substitute for handwashing
• Touch your face, hair, or phone with gloved hands
• Handle money with gloved hands then touch food

Common Mistake: Thinking gloves eliminate the need for handwashing. You must still wash hands before putting on gloves and after removing them.

Self-Service and Buffet Guidelines

Self-service areas and buffets present unique food safety challenges because customers handle the food and serving utensils.

Buffet Food Safety Requirements:

Sneeze Guards (Food Shields):

• Required height: 14 inches above the food counter
• Positioned between customer's mouth and the food
• Protects food from coughs, sneezes, and other contamination
• Must be present for all self-service areas (salad bars, buffets, beverage stations)

Why 14 inches? This height prevents customers from breathing, coughing, or sneezing directly onto food while still allowing easy access.

Temperature Control on Buffets:

• Hot foods held at 135°F or above using steam tables, chafing dishes, or heat lamps
• Cold foods held at 41°F or below using ice baths, cold wells, or refrigerated displays
• Check temperatures at least every 4 hours
• Discard food that has been in the danger zone too long

Serving Utensils:

• Provide separate serving utensils for each food item
• Store utensils in the food with handles extending above the rim
• Or store on a clean, sanitized surface beside the food
• Never allow customers to use their personal utensils or plates to serve themselves

Protecting Food:

• Cover food when not in use
• Label all food items (especially important for allergens)
• Provide separate serving utensils to prevent cross-contact between foods
• Remove and replace food that shows signs of contamination

Self-Service Customer Rules:

Plates and Utensils:

• Customers must use clean plates each time they return to the buffet
• Never allow customers to reuse dirty plates (high risk of contamination)
• Provide fresh plates at the beginning of the buffet line
• Post signs reminding customers to use clean plates

Ice Dispensers:

• Customers should use provided scoops or dispensers
• Never allow customers to scoop ice with glasses or cups (can break and contaminate ice)
• Keep ice scoops stored properly (handle out, not touching ice)

Condiment Stations:

• Use squeeze bottles or pump dispensers for condiments
• Never refill partially used bottles ("marry" bottles)
• Wipe down bottles and containers regularly
• Discard condiments left on tables after use

For the Exam: Sneeze guards must be 14 inches above the food. Customers must use clean plates each time they return to buffets—never allow plate reuse.

Off-Site Service and Catering

When serving food away from your establishment, additional challenges arise. Off-site service requires extra planning to maintain food safety.

Off-Site Service Challenges:

• No access to commercial cooking equipment
• Limited refrigeration and hot-holding capacity
• Longer time from preparation to service
• Transportation risks (temperature abuse, contamination)
• Weather conditions (heat, cold, wind, rain)
• Pest exposure (flies, insects at outdoor events)

Off-Site Service Best Practices:

Temperature Control During Transport:

For Cold Foods:

• Pack in coolers with ice or cold packs
• Pre-chill coolers before loading food
• Keep coolers closed as much as possible
• Check food temperatures at the serving site (must be 41°F or below)
• Bring extra ice for replenishment

For Hot Foods:

• Use insulated food carriers
• Preheat carriers before loading food
• Wrap food containers in towels for extra insulation
• Check food temperatures at the serving site (must be 135°F or above)
• If below 135°F, reheat to 165°F before serving

During Transport:

• Prevent cross-contamination by separating raw and RTE foods
• Secure containers to prevent spills
• Keep vehicles clean
• Don't transport food in personal vehicles unless approved
• Monitor transport time (minimize time in vehicles)

Equipment and Supplies for Off-Site Service:

Essential Items to Bring:

• Calibrated thermometers (multiple backup thermometers)
• Hand sanitizer and handwashing station
• Disposable gloves
• Serving utensils (extras for each food item)
• Ice for cooling and ice baths
• Sanitizing solution and clean cloths
• Trash bags and waste containers
• Clean aprons and serving utensils
• Fire extinguisher (if using heating equipment)

Food Safety Supplies:

• Covers for all food containers
• Sneeze guards if applicable
• Labels for allergens and food items
• Thermometer calibration equipment
• Temperature logs
• First aid kit

Critical Rule: Always bring more supplies than you think you'll need. You can't run back to the kitchen for forgotten items.

Setting Up Off-Site Service:

Location Selection:

• Choose a clean, pest-free area
• Ensure adequate shade or cover
• Check for handwashing facilities nearby
• Verify electricity is available if needed
• Avoid locations near garbage bins or restrooms

Food Setup:

• Set up tables away from customer traffic
• Position food tables at appropriate heights
• Install sneeze guards for self-service areas
• Keep hot and cold foods separated
• Create barriers to prevent customer access to food prep areas

Temperature Monitoring:

• Check all food temperatures upon arrival
• Take corrective action if temps are outside safe range
• Check temps every 2 hours during service (minimum every 4 hours)
• Document all temperature readings
• Discard any food held in danger zone too long

Service Line Safety

Whether in your establishment or off-site, proper service line procedures protect food safety.

Kitchen-to-Table Service:

Plating Foods:

• Use clean, sanitized plates for each order
• Handle plates by the edges or bottom, never touching food-contact surfaces
• Don't stack plates with food on them
• Wipe plate rims if food spills onto them
• Garnish plates using tongs or gloves, not bare hands

Holding Plated Foods:

• Plate foods as close to service time as possible
• Use heat lamps for brief holding (less than 15 minutes)
• Don't let plated hot foods cool below 135°F
• Cover plates if holding longer than a few minutes
• Check temperatures if food waits more than 15 minutes

Server Responsibilities:

• Wash hands before each shift and after breaks
• Pull hair back and wear clean uniforms
• Don't touch food-contact surfaces of plates, glasses, or utensils
• Carry glasses by the base or stem, never by the rim
• Don't touch the eating surface of utensils
• Never use bare hands to scoop ice

Preventing Contamination:

• Don't use fingers to remove garnishes or adjust food
• Use serving utensils to rearrange plated food if needed
• Don't reuse serving utensils from one table for another without washing
• Clear dirty dishes away from areas where food is being plated

For the Exam: Servers must handle dishes properly—plates by the edges/bottom, glasses by the base/stem, and utensils by the handles. Never touch food-contact surfaces.