SECTION III

FOOD ESTABLISHMENT GUIDE FOR DESIGN, INSTALLATION, AND CONSTRUCTION RECOMMENDATIONS

Adequate facilities must be provided to promote good hygienic practices, sanitary food handling and to minimize the potential of cross contamination between ready to eat and raw products.

GENERAL FOOD PROTECTION

Provide a separate food preparation area for handling, washing and preparing raw meat, fish, and poultry, if served. Where portable cutting boards are planned, they should be color coded or labeled for specific use.

All food being displayed, served, or held must be adequately protected from contamination by the use of: packaging; serving line, storage or salad bar protector devices; display cases, or by other effective means including dispensers.

Salad bars and sneeze guards shall comply with the standards of an ANSI accredited certification program. The food shield should intercept the direct line between the customer's mouth and the food on display. On the average, the vertical distance from the customer's mouth to the floor is 4'6" to 5'. This average must be adjusted for children in educational institutions, and for other special installations such as to accommodate the wheel chair bound. See figure #3-1 thru #3-3.

Running water dipping wells should be provided for the in-use storage of dispensing utensils where frozen desserts are being portioned and dispensed.

Cleaned equipment and utensils shall be stored in a clean, dry location where they are not exposed to splash, dust, or other contamination. This should be of particular concern at salad bars and waitress stations.

FOOD PREPARATION SINK

Provide separate areas to segregate food handling operations involving raw and ready to eat products. For washing raw fruits and vegetables, it is advisable to provide a separate food preparation sink with a minimum 18" drainboard.

Figure #3-1

Figure #3-2

Figure #3-3