Manual of Naval Preventive Medicine
Chapter 1: Food Service Sanitation
X: Foodborne Illnesses

1-72. Preventive Measures.

Department of the Navy
Bureau of Medicine and Surgery

1. Preventive measures are plainly indicated by potential sources of contamination. Meats must be procured only from approved sources and must be properly refrigerated. Pasteurized milk or egg and egg products should be used whenever possible.

2. Food, especially meat mixtures, must not be prepared and set aside to be served at a subsequent meal. The time between the preparation and serving of food must be kept to a minimum. If it becomes necessary to hold any food, it must be put in shallow pans, covered, and refrigerated immediately within the recommended temperature range until it is to be served or prepared for serving. Food must be stored in a refrigerator in a manner that permits free circulation of air.

3. Experience has proved that it is not good practice to prepare sandwiches containing meat, fish, fowl, or meat products that will be served several hours after preparation unless the sandwiches can be kept refrigerated. If made from canned meats or meat products, sandwiches must be prepared only by opening the can immediately before serving. If cooked meats are used, the sandwiches must be prepared in the galley and kept refrigerated.

4. A high standard of sanitation is essential in all food service spaces. The personal hygiene of all food service personnel must be observed, particularly the washing of hands after visiting rest room facilities. Food service personnel with a communicable disease or with open lesions, particularly on the face, neck, arms or hands must be prohibited from duty in food service operations until pronounced fit for resumption of duties by the medical officer or representative. Food service personnel with symptoms or a diagnosis of an enteric disease, particularly salmonellosis or hepatitis A, must be excluded from food service operations until they are no longer infectious. Personnel with bacterial foodborne infections, i.e., salmonellosis, should generally not resume food service duties until they have had three consecutive negative stool cultures. The first culture must not be taken until all symptoms have subsided and treatment has been terminated. At least 24 hours should elapse between each specimen taken from the patient.