Ensuring Food Safety Truck to Table
Here’s a list of what to look out for at each step of the food journey to make sure your diners are safe.
There are potential dangers at every stage of food handling from truck to table. Here’s a list of what to look out for at each step of the journey to make sure your food is safe for diners.
1. Selecting reliable suppliers
- Good reputation – choose suppliers with good track records.
- Quality – pay attention to the quality of supplied food.
- Reliability – ensure that they can provide you with on-time delivery for fresh inventory.
- Testing – for new suppliers, order samples or small quantities to test out first.
2. Receiving
- Check for cross-contamination – for example, between raw meat and fresh vegetables.
- Ensure product specifications – if the food is supposed to be frozen, ensure it is not thawed/defrosted.
- Always check the packaging for damage and avoid keeping supplies at room temperature for too long.
- Check for the date of expiry.
3. Storing & issuing
- Remove carton boxes and do not place food items on the floor to prevent the breeding of cockroaches and rodents.
- Observe the First-In, First-Out method for stock allocation to keep ingredients fresh.
- Prevent cross-contamination by storing ready-to-eat food above raw food and at the correct temperature.
Click here for our storage temperature guide for different food. - Cover both raw and cooked food at all times to prevent exposure to oxygen.
- Cool cooked food before refrigerating to reduce moisture.
4. Preparing
- Once frozen food is thawed, it should never be re-frozen.
- Once food is removed from the fridge, it is to be cooked within 2 hours.
- Thaw frozen meat/seafood in a plastic container under running water to prevent exposing the food to room temperature.
- Use separate chopping boards for raw and cooked food.
5. Cooking & holding
- Cook food thoroughly at the required minimum temperature.
Click here for our minimum cooking temperature guide for different food. - Avoid leaving the food exposed at room temperature.
- Do not combine freshly prepared food and food that is on hold (could have been contaminated).
- During reheating of food on hold, ensure it reaches the required minimum temperature for at least 15 seconds.
- Use food covers for ready-to-eat food to prevent exposure to oxygen.
6. Plating & serving
- Serving staff must maintain good hygiene while serving food – for example, by holding the cup by the base/handle and not the mouth, or by serving with a tray whenever possible.
- Serving staff should be aware of their own personal hygiene.
- Use only clean and sanitised utensils.
- Carry out regular cleaning such as wiping tables, sweeping, mopping, and emptying the rubbish.
7. Managing leftovers
Touched Leftovers:
- Throw them away immediately.
Untouched Leftovers:
- Reheat to the required minimum temperature.
Click here for our minimum cooking temperature guide for different food. - Food should only be reheated once, and consumed within 12 hours after reheating.
- To prevent wastage, untouched leftovers can be used as ingredients for other dishes.
- Reuse dry food within 2 days, and wet food within 1 day.
8. Product tracing & recalling
- In the event of a complaint, recall all food related to the complaint from service, kitchen and storage immediately.
- Backtrack all activities – from the serving of food to how it was produced, stored and received.
- Assign someone to respond to customer complaints – record information related to food complaints from diners, contact details, day and time of dining.
Understanding each step of the food handling process will reduce the risk of contamination and ensure safer food is being served to your diners.
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