Author: Texas Public Health Solutions

Cross contamination is one of the primary risk factors contributing to food poisoning. The picture above is a common sight in restaurants and TexasPHS educates staff on the importance of practicing proper food handling and storing techniques. Raw chicken stored on the floor in the walk-in-cooler while leaning against rusted shelves with ready-to-eat foods is simply NOT okay.

This food establishment was defrosting frozen chicken directly on the floor. There are several violations present in this picture.

1. It is never okay to store any items directly on the floor in a food establishment.
2. There are only a few approved methods to properly thaw a frozen item, and letting a food defrost at room temperate on the floor is not one of them.
3. By the time TexasPHS checked the temperature of the chicken, it was already at 54F!