Food safety precautions, is your restaurant compliant?

In a restaurant, among the various standards that must be followed, ANVISA, on a national level, determines various factors related to a professional kitchen to be followed. In addition, each municipality also has an ordinance aimed at this sector which, in the case of São Paulo, is Ordinance 2619/11, issued by the Municipal Health Department, which determines factors such as storage time, refrigeration, form of storage, structural issues, etc. Throughout the article we will comment on some of the main points mentioned in the ordinance regarding Food Safety.

Keep food at safe temperatures

One of the first points to establish is temperature. All foods have microorganisms that proliferate at a certain temperature range, called the risk temperature, which occurs between 10°C and 60°C. In other words, the handling of food between this range should be as fast as possible in order to prevent reproduction that can lead to illness in the customer.

The freezing process is highly recommended because it prolongs the life of the food, so that all the organoleptic characteristics are maintained, especially when using equipment such as an ultra-freezer.

In the case of industrialized frozen products, the standard states that the manufacturer's recommendations regarding storage conditions before and after opening must be followed. If these instructions are not given or if a product is prepared in the establishment, the following criteria must be followed:

1. From 0 to -5°C: 10 days;
2. From -6 to -10°C: 20 days;
3. From -11 to -18°C: 30 days;
4. Below -18°C: 90 days.

Refrigerated foods, on the other hand, follow more extensive parameters, determined for each type of food. Even so, above these deadlines, the supplier's recommendations must be followed, as is the case with freezing.

1. Milk and dairy products: maximum at 7°C for 5 days;
2. Eggs and other products: maximum 10°C for 7 days;
3. Beef, pork, poultry, among others, and their raw manipulated products, except mixed skewers, steak rolls, breaded raw meats and preparations with ground meat: maximum at 4°C for 3 days;
4. Mixed skewers, steak rolls, raw breaded meats, and preparations with ground meat: maximum at 4°C for 2 days;
5. Raw fish and fish products: maximum 2°C for 3 days;
6. Ready-to-eat bakery and confectionery products with toppings or fillings containing ingredients that require refrigeration: maximum 5°C for 5 days;
7. Sliced, chopped or ground cold cuts and sausages: maximum 4°C for 3 days;
8. Post-cooked food, except fish: maximum 4°C for 3 days;
9. Post-poaching fish: maximum 2°C for 1 day;
10. Desserts and other preparations with dairy products: maximum at 4°C for 3 days or above 4°C up to 6°C for 2 days or above 6°C up to 8°C for 1 day;
11. Mayonnaise and mayonnaise mixtures with other foods: maximum at 4°C for 2 days or above 4°C up to 6°C for 1 day;
12. Sanitized, split or peeled fruits, vegetables, juices, pulps, sugar cane juice: maximum 5°C for 3 days;
13. For other prepared foods: maximum 4°C for 3 days.

Regardless of how it is stored, it is extremely important to label the food that is produced or opened in the restaurant, which should include four main points: product description; manufacturing date; expiry date and the person responsible for production. All these factors are inspected by representatives of the Municipal Health Department who, depending on the infraction committed, may request that the premises be closed.

Transportation and storage

It is important to always keep utensils and equipment sanitized and categorized, and to take the necessary precautions to prevent cross-contamination. This usually occurs when food, utensils and especially hands contaminate other surfaces during the food preparation process.

So, learn more about how our refrigeration line can help you improve and maintain the food safety of your business: the importance of refrigeration for food safety.

In order to prevent cases like this from happening, most restaurants look for nutritionists who specialize in food safety to carry out weekly inspections in order to continuously improve their processes.