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About Jim Austin

Jim is a food safety consultant in private practice, based in Denver, Colorado. He is a former Colorado local health department manager who was responsible for the food inspection program. He can be reached at www.coloradorestaurantconsulting.com/ or by email at Jim@coloradorestaurantconsulting.com

Author Archive | Jim Austin

Shelving

10 Energy Saving & Compliance Tips For Your Restaurant

By on November 6, 2012 in Food Service, In The Restaurant, Restaurant Management and Operations

Tweet Here are suggestions for energy savings and compliance with the Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations: 1. Ensure efficient door closers for coolers. I frequently observe cooks open doors on line coolers and the doors are left standing open until someone thinks to kick them closed. What a waste of cold air and [...]

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Test Paper

Test Strips and Sanitizers: A Complete Buying Guide

By on September 8, 2012 in Food Safety, Food Service

Tweet Are Test Strips Required, and Why? Commercial sanitizers and test strips are required by health department regulations, and in Colorado those are the Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations.  Why do you need them?  Because test strips tell you if the chemical sanitizing solution is the required concentration.  Section 4-402 reads: “A test [...]

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When, Where, And What To Expect From A Health Inspection

By on February 26, 2012 in Food Safety

Tweet I sometimes hear employees say that health inspections occur only between 8:00 am and 4:00 pm on weekdays. Well…that is when they usually DO occur, but they CAN occur just about anytime. When Inspections Occur The Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations state, “Agents of the Department, after proper identification, shall be permitted [...]

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Are Serving Utensils Going To Get You In Trouble With The Health Inspector?

By on November 13, 2011 in Food Safety

Tweet You have 4 options for storing “in-use” dispensing utensils…the requirement is in Section 3-306 of the Colorado Retail Food Establishment Rules and Regulations:   Stored in the food with the dispensing utensil handle extended out of the food; or Stored clean and dry; or Stored in potable running water as in a running water [...]

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A Review of My Favorite Pocket Thermometer

By on September 14, 2011 in Food Safety, Product Watch

Tweet Above is an image of my favorite thermometer for everyday foodservice use, the COMARK PDT-300. Here is why: It is NSF approved and meets the Colorado requirement for a thin probe thermometer to measure the temperatures of thin foods such as patties, fillets, etc. It reads quickly, in just a few seconds. It is [...]

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Two Products That Will Really Help Your Food Safety Efforts

By on December 18, 2010 in Food Safety, Product Watch

Tweet I want to talk about some products that can really help your food safety efforts: 1.  Stainless steel 1/6 pans for your prep table coolers. Stainless is a much better conductor  than plastic, so keep your foods in them and it will help you avoid critical cold holding violations from the health department.  Additionally, [...]

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