Title: Describe potentially hazardous foods.
Course: Culinary Arts II (16052-II) > Section: Examining Sanitation

Description should include

- identifying the factors that make foods potentially hazardous (i.e., high protein content, moisture content of 85 percent or higher, and slightly acidic pH [4.6–7.5])
- explaining why each of these factors makes foods potentially hazardous
- listing the common foods that are potentially hazardous (e.g., eggs, dairy products, meat, seafood, produce)
- explaining the difference between an outbreak of food-borne illness and a one-off case of food poisoning.

Process/Skill Questions:

Thinking

- What are foods, including vegetables, that are high in protein?
- What is water activity, and how is it determined?
- What is the bacterial growth curve?
- What is a lag phase?
- What are examples of potentially hazardous foods?
- How might nonhazardous foods become hazardous?

Communication

- What are pathogens?
- What is the pH scale?
- What characteristics do potentially hazardous foods share?

Leadership

- How is cross-contamination prevented during food preparation?
- How is cross-contamination prevented during storage?

Management

- What is the purpose of colored-coded equipment, such as cutting boards and knives?
- How could a manager educate employees in the identification of potentially hazardous foods?
- Why should employees be taught to prepare different types of foods in separate locations?