Environmental
Services
Department
A Retail Food Service Manager’s Guide
Cross Contamination Policy
So, maybe you’ve been running restaurants for twenty years. Or maybe you
just graduated from a prestigious culinary school. You know what you’re
doing. So why did you still get a cross contamination violation?
Maybe it’s time to create a cross contamination policy, so you can ensure
that your employees know how to effectively protect food from contami-
nation and what to do if something isn’t right.
First of all, what is a policy and how do you create a cross contamination
policy for your food establishment?
A policy is a defined set of actions that minimize food safety risks.
Although some small food establishments may have verbal policies,
it is best to write your policies down.
Here are the key steps to consider when developing any policy:
• Include the key people at the table
• Identify the most important steps in your processes
• Ensure that your policy includes corrective actions
• Revise the policy based on problems that arise, or as your food pro-
cesses change
Let’s look at each of these steps more closely.
When writing your policy, make sure you are including the key people in
your establishment, and also consider which staff members may be in-
volved in each step.
Here are common operations in a kitchen. Where could a cross contamina-
tion issue arise in each of these steps?
