SFE - Students are Filling Their Plates with Alternative Proteins in School Cafeterias

Chef Jason Schwartz, Director of Safety and Risk Management, SFE

With a focus on fresh ingredients and culinary-based menu options, food safety is at the top of the menu for us at SFE (Southwest Foodservice Excellence). We are a culinary-based management company that feeds nearly one million K-12 students across the country. We are continuously on the cutting edge of evolving new menu choices and concepts, with food safety at the forefront. At SFE we take into consideration the 4 c’s of food safety which include clean, contain, cook and chill.

To understand food safety, we first must understand the threats. Those threats could be anything from a biological, chemical, or physical hazard, or even a foodborne illness. Poor personal hygiene is the leading cause of foodborne illness. Our food service workers practice impeccable personal hygiene by washing their hands and not having any bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods by wearing gloves and using serving utensils to prevent the spreading of potential foodborne illnesses. To prevent cross-contamination, we store and prepare all raw meats and vegetables separately from cooked ready-to-eat foods such as fruits and vegetables. All surfaces, utensils and prep materials should always be cleaned and sanitized as well.

At SFE, we pay close attention to food temperatures, we make sure all foods are cooked to the proper internal temperatures and held at the proper temperature for food safety.

At SFE, we pay close attention to food temperatures. We make sure all foods are cooked to the proper internal temperatures and held at the proper temperature for food safety. Cold dishes should be kept at 40°F or colder. We maintain our hot cooked dishes by holding them in the oven set at 180°F or above before serving. Foods such as ground meat, chicken, and turkey should be cooked to an internal temperature of 165°F, while foods that are to be reheated, also should be reheated to an internal temperature of 165°F.

Foods that need to be chilled must go in the fridge as soon as they are delivered or received. Our teams always make sure food that has been cooked is cooled properly before being stored and covered with a lid on it. Placing a lid on hot food and then placing it into the fridge could breed bacteria. We also make sure to throw out any perishables that have been outside of the fridge for more than two hours.

At SFE we continuously work with each one of our school district’s cafeteria staff in making sure they are compliant with all food safety regulations and provide expert training to all our new partners and staff.

Because school food service is all we do, our SFE food service experts have the highest standards of quality control and processes when it comes to food safety. It is our utmost priority to not only ensure the foods we create are not only delicious but also safe to eat.