Social distancing and recent shelter-in-place orders have made it difficult for food managers who need to certify or recertify to take the FPMC exam in person. Fortunately, in-person testing is not the only option. StateFoodSafety offers an online food manager certification exam and online proctoring, which means managers can get their certification 100% online, without […]
5 Food Safety Guidelines You Should Follow at Home
When you are cooking food for yourself at home, do you ever worry about your food safety practices? You might. What if you were ordering food from a restaurant and witnessed unsafe food handling? You would definitely be worried! So what’s the difference between someone else doing something unsafe with your food and you doing […]
How to Support Restaurants During COVID-19
As health officials work to slow the spread of COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus), some of the precautions they’re taking will likely have a big impact on restaurants. Perhaps the most impactful precaution is the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation against gatherings of 50 or more people. After the recommendation was issued on March […]
Coronavirus 101: How to Prevent Viral Infections
After recent news of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) reaching the United States, communities across the country are cancelling school and sporting events, and locals are making a mad dash to buy all the water and toilet paper at Wal-Mart. During this time of fear and anxiety for many, much misinformation is spread about infectious disease. […]
March Cartoon: How to Clean and Sanitize Your Kitchen Equipment
If you’re a food handler, you know cleaning out the popcorn machine or the deep fryer can be a pain. But do you understand how those tasks protect your customers from getting sick? Dirty kitchen equipment attracts all sorts of unwanted visitors, whether they’re pests like rodents and cockroaches or biological hazards like bacteria and […]
How to Store Food to Keep It Fresh
Sour milk, rotten fruits and veggies, freezer burn, spoiled packaging, moldy bread. These words conjure unpleasant images and feelings. It’s difficult not to cringe imagining or experiencing food that has gone bad. And no one likes to throw food out and feel like they’re wasting money. It’s impossible to be perfect in buying the right […]
6 Reasons to Maintain Commercial Kitchen Equipment
Managing a restaurant kitchen is so much more than overseeing the staff and placing food orders. All of the equipment, systems, and services in a commercial kitchen require routine maintenance. Not only does this include daily cleaning your cooking appliances and work surfaces, it may also mean scheduling a professional deep clean of ventilation hoods […]
How to Clean and Care for Your Fridge
Germs have been around since the dawn of time — but only in the past few hundred years has humankind begun to be aware of them. In the 1800s, doctors wouldn’t wash their hands between performing autopsies and life-saving surgeries. They didn’t understand the microscopic world that is invisible to the naked eye. Today, we […]
5 Tips for Preparing Tex-Mex Food Safely
Tex-Mex food is everywhere — although if you’re like me, you may not recognize it by name. When I was growing up, I simply thought of Tex-Mex as “Americanized” Mexican food. What is “Tex Mex”? The name “Tex Mex,” or Tex-Mex, is a combination of two words: Texan and Mexican. As the name suggests, Tex-Mex […]
February Cartoon: Food Safety and Jewelry
Have you ever thought about how many pathogens and germs your jewelry might have? If you were to put your jewelry under a microscope, you’d probably be disgusted to see the number of bacteria and dead skin cells that jewelry can accumulate — especially rings and bracelets. The fact is, everyone carries disease-causing microorganisms on […]