Proper Procedures for Production Schedules and Risk Management Essay

In the United States Army Food Program there are specific ways to fill out and prepare documents according to AR 30-22, The Army Food Program. These procedures are outlined in the Department of the Army Pamphlet (DA PAM) 30-22, Operating Procedures for the Army Food Program. This paper will advise the proper way to document the required items on a Production Schedule as well as completing a Risk Management Data Log – Cooking and Serving as summarized from DA PAM 30-22. DA Form 3034, Production Schedule is a document used to outline the specific products to prepare for a meal. Each meal for the day will have a separate completed Production schedule and set of Risk Data Management Logs. A Production Schedule will be prepared despite the size, or environment, weather that be in garrison or in a field environment. When filling out a DA 3034, it should be clearly understood by any cook personnel. Within the DA Form 3034, Production Schedule are 16 data categories or columns. Columns 1 through 6 pertain to the location and meal, the columns include the date and hours of the meal as well as the unit and projected headcount for that meal. Columns 7 through 14 informs the reader of the product including the person assigned to that product and when he or she should start, how many portion to prepare, and the recipe number in witch to follow when preparing that product. After the meal the shift leader would then fill in columns 12 and 13 regarding how many portions were actually prepared during the meal and how many portion discarded or leftover for a following meal. There is also a column to specify all if any special instructions, for example any added ingredients or specific details on how the manager wants that product to be prepared. Leftovers or discards should be entered immediately after the meal is completed. These items should be filled out in pen weather blue or black and highlighted with a read through fluorescent marker. These items should also reflect on the subsequent menu. Any menu changes including but not limited to; portion size, ingredients used, or serving instructions will be annotated. On the AFMIS generated Production Schedule it also list the products that have Critical Control Points or CCP’s. These points represent the potential for bacterial growth if the product reaches above or below a specified temperature. Reference TB MED 530 for more information regarding those temperatures. For products noted with a CCP you must check the product throughout the meal to make sure that foods stay at the right temperature. IE: Hot foods need to stay at or above 140 degrees for 15 seconds or longer. Cold foods need to stay at or below 40 degrees for 15 seconds or longer. On the production schedule you should annotate the readings as the temperature/15 seconds followed by your initials. For example 145/15 sec. JS. Annotating CCP’s on a DA 3034 Production Schedule along with completing a DA Form 7458 Risk Management Data Log Cooking and DA Form 7459 Risk Management Data Log Serving is required to maintain food safety and health measures. Risk Management Data Logs are used to document appropriate safety monitoring measures of the cooking and serving process according to TB MED 530. The shift leader will fill out the DA Form 7458 with the appropriate date and meal as well as who is monitoring the products to be checked. On the Cooking Data Log the products to check for breakfast should include 2 meat items and 2 other hot items. For lunch and dinner, 3 entree items should be checked as well as any leftovers intended to be used for that meal. You should monitor the internal temperature for the specified product throughout the cooking process until the internal cooking temperature is reached (specified in TB MED 530). On the DA Form 7459 Risk Management Data Log Serving you should check three menu items that are cold served focusing on items like pasta, diced meats, fruit and vegetable cut ups, and creams found most commonly in desserts. For hot serving during breakfast check 2 meats to make sure they are holding an internal temperature of 140 degrees or higher for at least 15 seconds or longer. Be sure to include one self-service item as well. It is required that you check the same items 2 to 3 times during the serving period. For the lunch and dinner periods check at least one meat and 3 other hot menu items. When filling out the information onto the 7458 and 7459 Data Logs you have different CAT’s or categories. On the 7458 you have CAT’s 1, 2, and, 3 respectively they correspond with the cooking temperature required 1, >145 2, >155 3, >165 these temperatures are concurrent with the internal temperatures needed for the different meats used in the products (reference TB MED 530 for the different meat internal temperatures). For each product enter the CAT and the piece of equipment you used to cook or heat the product. Then annotate the times and temperature each time you checked the product throughout the process. If the required temperature is not reached when you check the product continue cooking and mark the corrective action. On a 7459 Serving Data Log annotate each products CAT and location of the product and the times and temperature of the product when you check it as well as any corrective action for products in non-compliance. For each day and meal period a separate 7458 and 7459 Risk Management Data Log must be completed. By following these simple steps when filling out a DA Form 3034 and DA Forms 7458 and 7459 you are ensuring that the proper procedures are maintained in the Army Food Program.