A cook finishes handling raw ground beef and immediately needs to plate cooked, ready-to-eat quesadillas. To prevent cross-contamination, he must:
a.Swap to a clean pair of gloves without washing the hands underneath, and rub the bare fingertips with hand sanitizer first
b.Do nothing extra, because the quesadillas were already cooked to a temperature that killed the pathogens
c.Rinse his hands under cold running water without soap, then plate right away, since the running water carries the raw beef juices off
d.Wash his hands thoroughly (and put on clean gloves), because handling raw ground beef before ready-to-eat food requires handwashing
Explanation
After handling raw ground beef, the cook must wash his hands thoroughly, and put on clean gloves, before plating the cooked, ready-to-eat quesadillas, to avoid transferring pathogens like STEC and Salmonella. Raw juices reach the skin around and inside the gloves, so swapping gloves without washing leaves contaminated hands underneath, and cold water with no soap does not lift or kill what is on them. The quesadillas were cooked before this contact and will not be cooked again, so contamination added now reaches the guest.
Law Reference: FDA Food Code §2-301.14Practice all 500 questions free — no signup required.
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