Food Service Manual (Program Statement 4700.08)

By Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., and Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA

Field	Value
Program Statement	4700.08
Subject	Food Service Manual
Effective / current edition	05-07-2026 (the PDF header reads “Number 4700.08 / Date May 7, 2026”)
Change notices	None. The header carries no change notice.
Supersedes	PS 4700.07, Food Service Manual (4/8/2024), rescinded — PS 4700.08 at p. 1
Governing statute	The manual cites none. The Bureau’s duty to “provide suitable quarters and provide for the safekeeping, care, and subsistence” of people in its custody is 18 U.S.C. § 4042(a)(2). Religious exercise in federal prison is governed by the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, 42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1.
28 C.F.R. anchor	Part 547, “Food Service” — subparts A–B are [Reserved]; the only live provision is subpart C, “Special Food or Meals,” which contains one section, § 547.20. Religious diets are governed by 28 C.F.R. § 548.20 (part 548, “Religious Programs,” subpart B).
Related BP forms	PS 4700.08 names two, both staff-facing: BP-A0100 Stores Requisition, Invoice & Transfer Receipt and BP-A1137 Food Service Delivery Rejection Report (PS 4700.08 at p. 55). The inmate-facing religious-diet forms live in PS 5360.10: BP-A1142 Religious Diet Interview, BP-A0700 Notification of Inmate Religious Diet Accommodation, BP-A0820 Notification of Inmate Religious Diet Violation.
Official PDF	bop.gov/policy/progstat/4700_008.pdf

Checked against the BOP policy set · 2026-09-06.

The Food Service Manual is the Bureau of Prisons’ internal instruction to its own staff on how federal prison food gets bought, cooked and served: the National Menu every institution has to follow, the religious and medical diets that sit alongside it, how many meals a day and how far apart, and the sanitation rules behind the serving line. Program Statement 4700.08 replaced the 2024 edition on 7 May 2026 and rewrote the nutrition standard, the budget process and the leftovers rule.

If you want the plain-language walkthrough of what is actually on the tray — what the chow hall looks like, what the mainline offers, what the commissary adds — start with What Do You Eat in Prison. This page is the rule behind it: the numbers, the diets, the pin-cites, and the line between what the regulation requires and what is only the Bureau’s own instruction to staff.

The rule itself: food service

Everything in this section is transcribed from the Bureau’s own text at bop.gov/policy/progstat/4700_008.pdf.

Three meals, two hot, and the fourteen-hour rule

This is the paragraph people come looking for. PS 4700.08 at p. 17, transcribed verbatim:

8. MEAL PLANNING

When planning meals, the following considerations are made:

– Meals contain a variety of nutrient-dense foods among the basic food groups. – Money, manpower, and materials required to produce the menu. – Food flavor, texture, temperature, and appearance. – Eating preferences of the population.

Three meals are served each day, two of which are hot. A sandwich meal may be offered on the same day as a continental breakfast if a hearty hot soup is offered with the sandwich meal. No more than 14 hours may elapse between the evening and breakfast meals. Variations are allowed based on weekend and holiday Food Service demands, provided basic nutritional needs are met.

Pork is not served as the only entree on holiday meals.

Three things follow from that short passage, and each one answers a question families ask.

First, the fourteen-hour figure is the only interval the manual sets. It is not a rule about when breakfast is served; it is a ceiling on the gap. An institution that serves dinner at 4:30 p.m. and breakfast at 6:00 a.m. is inside it. Second, the sentence immediately after the fourteen hours is the weekend and holiday answer: “Variations are allowed based on weekend and holiday Food Service demands, provided basic nutritional needs are met.” Many institutions run a brunch-and-dinner schedule on Saturday and Sunday. That is contemplated by the policy, not a violation of it. Third, the manual sets no clock times at all. Actual meal hours are set locally by the institution’s own schedule, which is why the same policy produces a 4:00 p.m. dinner at one prison and a 6:00 p.m. dinner at another.

The manual adds one posting requirement at p. 17: “The planned menu will be available for review at least one week in advance, accessible to staff, and posted so inmates can examine it before reaching the serving counter,” and “Food items, including heart healthy items, no-flesh alternatives, and items prepared or seasoned with pork, will be identified on the National Menu.”

The numbers, in one table

What	The Program Statement’s own words	Pin-cite
Meals per day	“Three meals are served each day, two of which are hot.”	PS 4700.08 at p. 17
Maximum gap, dinner to breakfast	“No more than 14 hours may elapse between the evening and breakfast meals.”	PS 4700.08 at p. 17
Weekends and holidays	“Variations are allowed based on weekend and holiday Food Service demands, provided basic nutritional needs are met.”	PS 4700.08 at p. 17
Saturated fat	“Maintain saturated fat below 10 percent of total daily calories.”	PS 4700.08 at pp. 3, 14
Sodium	“In most circumstances, the National Menu will limit sodium offerings consistent with federal recommendations of less than 2,300 mg.”	PS 4700.08 at pp. 3, 14
Salt on the table	“Pepper may be offered as a condiment, however, salt or salt containing seasonings may not be offered in inmate dining areas or on satellite feeding trays.”	PS 4700.08 at pp. 16, 20
Menu posting	“The planned menu will be available for review at least one week in advance.”	PS 4700.08 at p. 17
No-flesh option	“A no-flesh protein option will be provided at both noon and evening meals whenever a main entree containing flesh is offered.”	PS 4700.08 at p. 22
Minimum bag meal / box meal	“two sandwiches with two ounces of protein each (non-pork), one of which will be a no-flesh sandwich, one portion of fruit, and one beverage”	PS 4700.08 at p. 27
Alternate-menu review	“After seven days, the inmate is removed from the alternative meal service or, if necessary, a new authorization is generated.”	PS 4700.08 at p. 27
Bag meals beyond a week	“If an inmate is (or inmates in the case of a lockdown are) served a bag meal for more than seven days, the FSA will provide the Bag Lunch Alternate Menu.”	PS 4700.08 at p. 27
Ceremonial meal lead time	“at least 45 days before the scheduled date of the observance”	PS 4700.08 at p. 22
Passover participant list	“must be received eight weeks before Passover from Religious Services”	PS 4700.08 at p. 23
Bag breakfast, perishables	Non-perishable items only “[u]nless refrigeration is provided, or the period between the time the bag breakfasts are removed from temperature control and consumed is less than four hours”	PS 4700.08 at pp. 22–23
Transportation-meal notice	“The Department Head/Supervisor of Correctional Systems will notify the FSA at least 24 hours in advance of the number of meals required.”	PS 4700.08 at p. 27
Food Service inspections	“at least once per week, with daily follow-up”; at a Correctional Complex, “at least one inspection monthly of each Food Service area”	PS 4700.08 at p. 28

There is no calorie floor in this Program Statement. The 2026 edition does not state a minimum daily calorie count for the National Menu — a change worth knowing, because older secondary sources still repeat a figure that no current BOP policy sets. What the manual does instead is define a standard and hand the arithmetic to a dietitian; that definition is the next section.

What “nutritionally adequate” means, in the Bureau’s own words

The 2026 edition replaced the old terminology with a defined term. PS 4700.08 at p. 3 (repeated as the National Menu standard at p. 14), transcribed verbatim:

Nutritional Adequacy. A balanced dietary pattern aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and federal nutrition science. The National Menu is designed to promote and support this standard. The National Menu will:

– Provide appropriate and standardized portion sizes to support caloric balance. – Emphasize nutrient-dense foods, including a variety of whole fruits and vegetables offered in fresh, frozen, dried, or canned forms with no or limited added sugars. – Include high-quality protein sources from a variety of animal-based options (e.g., eggs, poultry, seafood, and lean meats) as well as plant-based sources. – Prioritize cooking methods such as baking, roasting, broiling, grilling, and sautéing over deep-frying. – Emphasize fiber-rich whole grains while limiting refined carbohydrates and highly processed items. – Maintain saturated fat below 10 percent of total daily calories.

In most circumstances, the National Menu will limit sodium offerings consistent with federal recommendations of less than 2,300 mg.

The check on that standard is annual and external to the kitchen. PS 4700.08 at p. 16: “Following the annual menu update and before the updated menu is implemented, a nutritional analysis is conducted by a Registered Dietitian to ensure the menus consider the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) developed by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences,” and “Nutritional analyses are certified in writing by a Registered Dietitian.” The same page adds: “If the National Menu is changed substantially after the initial nutritional analysis is completed, the analysis is verified by a Registered Dietitian.”

The menu itself is national, not local. PS 4700.08 at p. 14: “Institutions must adhere to the approved National Menu, including all authorized substitutions, modifications, and addendums issued by the Food Service Branch,” and “Planned changes or substitutions to the approved National Menu, recipes, or product specifications will not be made at the local or regional level.” Unplanned substitutions for a late delivery or broken equipment are allowed, and every one of them is supposed to be papered: “All changes to the planned menu are documented by creating an as-served menu. A dated as-served menu is printed, reviewed to ensure compliance with the basic daily servings, and signed by the FSA or designee” (p. 15). The as-served menu is the document that matters if you are ever trying to prove what was actually served on a given day.

A Warden who genuinely cannot serve the National Menu has to ask permission upward, not improvise. PS 4700.08 at p. 15: “If a unique condition at an institution restricts the ability to serve the National Menu as written, the Warden may request a menu variance. A memorandum that states the specific variance requested, the reason for the request, and the suggested menu substitutions is forwarded through the Regional Director to the AD, HSD, for evaluation and approval. A variance does not extend beyond the fiscal year in which it is granted.”

The religious diet program, as the Food Service Manual carries it

Chapter 4 of PS 4700.08 is the food-production half of the religious diet. The enrollment half — who applies, who approves, what removes you — lives in the regulation and in PS 5360.10, and is covered in the next two sections. Here is what the Food Service Manual itself says.

PS 4700.08 at p. 21, on what “certified” means:

d. Certified Food Procedures. There are two components within the Certified Food Program: certified kosher and certified halal. Prepared foods purchased for use on the Certified Food Menu will be certified by a nationally accepted Orthodox Kashrut supervision service or World Halal Food Council (WHFC) member. Only items indicated by an “H” on the posted menu require this standard for halal items. … In addition to the Kashrut certification, bread, margarine, potato chips, vegetable juice, salad dressing, ketchup, and mustard used for the Certified Food Menu must be Certified Parve meaning they are certified to contain neither meat nor dairy products.

Same page, on how it is served: “Prepared foods, except bread and beverages as detailed immediately below, will be procured and served in sealed individual serving packages marked with the appropriate Religious Certification. … Any item to be heated is double-wrapped and sealed in a package that may be heated in a conventional or microwave oven.” Three exceptions follow — loaf bread from a Kosher Parve package, beverages from dedicated sealed equipment or instant powder, and, “[w]hen ordered by the Warden, due to packaging that may be a security concern,” food moved into a covered disposable container. PS 4700.08 at p. 22 adds the handling rule: “Only disposable single-use utensils (serving spoons, plates, cups, etc.) and single-use disposable plastic gloves will come into direct contact with Certified Food when handling is authorized.”

PS 4700.08 at p. 22 states the participation rule that generates most of the disputes on this topic:

e. Participation. … Inmates participating in the Certified Food Component are not authorized to consume mainline or hot bar food items; however, they may consume items from a salad bar (where salad bars are part of the Food Service program), knowing that salad bar items may not meet their religious dietary needs. Violations will be reported as required by the Program Statement Religious Beliefs and Practices.

Read that sentence carefully, because it is the trap. Being seen eating from the mainline while enrolled in the certified component is a program violation reportable under PS 5360.10 — and the consequence there is removal from the diet, on a timetable set by regulation. It is not a disciplinary charge under the Inmate Discipline Program, and the two should not be confused.

The second religious-diet component is the no-flesh option, which requires no enrollment at all. PS 4700.08 at p. 22: “A no-flesh protein option will be provided at both noon and evening meals whenever a main entree containing flesh is offered. No-flesh production requirements will be determined by the FSA. Vegetables and starches seasoned with flesh will have an alternate no-flesh option.” “No-Flesh” is defined at p. 3 as “free of the flesh of all animals, fish, or birds.”

The rest of Chapter 4 covers the calendar. Ceremonial meals: “The Chaplain will consult with the Food Service Administrator to develop the menu for each ceremonial or commemorative meal at least 45 days before the scheduled date of the observance. All ritual/traditional food items will be approved and funded by Chaplaincy Services, procured by the Food Service Department, and served only to ceremonial meal participants. No other foods are authorized for ceremonial meals” (p. 22). Ramadan: participants in the Certified Food Component “receive the approved lunch and dinner menu after sundown in the Food Service Department or Special Housing Unit (SHU),” and those observing without being enrolled “may receive a combination of the mainline lunch and dinner menu after sundown,” with “a non-pork entree” (p. 23). Passover: “During the eight days of Passover, inmates identified by Religious Services are given the Kosher for Passover menu in place of the Certified Food Menu,” and “[t]he list of participants must be received eight weeks before Passover from Religious Services to allow time to procure the required items” (pp. 23–24). Fasts and pre-dawn Ramadan breakfasts get bag meals, which “contain only non-perishable items, such as ultra-high pasteurized milk, fresh fruit, peanut butter, dry cereal, etc.” unless refrigerated or eaten within four hours (pp. 22–23).

The medical diet: self-selection first, special diet second

Chapter 5 is short and it is the part most people get wrong. The Bureau’s default is not a special tray. It is teaching you to build the right plate from the regular line.

PS 4700.08 at p. 3: “Medical Diet. A diet to supplement a medical regimen. Medical diets will be provided by mainline self-selection from the items available on the National Menu for that meal unless menu items fail to meet the medical requirement.”

PS 4700.08 at p. 4: “Self-Selection. The main method of providing medical diets to inmates, whereby an inmate is educated on how to select the items needed to meet the prescribed diet from the items available on the National Menu, and the inmate self-selects the appropriate items.” And: “Special Diet. Also referred to as a therapeutic diet, is ordered only by authorized Health Services staff noted in the Program Statement Patient Care when self-selection of a medical diet is not possible.”

PS 4700.08 at p. 25, the operative chapter, transcribed verbatim:

1. GENERAL POLICY

The FSA will provide medical diets at all institutions. A Bureau Registered Dietitian should certify the most common medical diet food offerings (i.e., reduced carbohydrate, calorie controlled, sodium controlled, low fat). A copy of the certification memorandum/letter will be maintained on the Bureau’s intranet site or in the FSA office.

Menu item replacements may not always be provided when inmates may have to avoid certain foods in the self-selection process.

If there is concern the medical diet self-selection process is not adequate to meet the nutritional needs, a Bureau Registered Dietitian should be consulted to determine if a special diet is indicated. Special diets are based on the Guidance for Medical Diets which is available on the Food Service Branch page on the Bureau’s intranet site. If separate special diets are prescribed other than those listed in the Guidance for Medical Diets, the FSA should consult with a Bureau Registered Dietitian. If a special diet is determined to be required to ensure adequate nutrition, it will be provided by pre-plating or controlled plating.

So the sequence is: a clinician orders the diet, you self-select from the National Menu, and only if self-selection cannot meet the need does a Registered Dietitian get consulted about a pre-plated special diet. The path to any of it runs through Health Services, not Food Service — see Patient Care (PS 6031.06). Snacks are on the same footing: “Supplemental feedings (i.e., snacks) are provided when ordered only by authorized Health Services staff as noted in the Program Statement Patient Care” (p. 25).

Two operational commitments in the same chapter are worth naming, because they are what you cite when a tray does not arrive. PS 4700.08 at p. 25: “The FSA will develop procedures to ensure inmates who are unable to self-select due to circumstances such as satellite feeding, a medical treatment/trip, or other reasons beyond their control receive proper food items,” and, under Altered Diet Requirements, that those procedures cover people with “a Medical Diet, Special Diet, or a supplemental feeding order” who cannot “attend mainline or pick up an ordered tray due to a medical treatment/trips or other reasons beyond their control.”

Food is not a disciplinary tool — and what the alternate menu actually is

PS 4700.08 at p. 26 states this in one flat sentence:

Food will not be withheld, or the standard menu varied, as a disciplinary measure. The Warden or Acting Warden, may authorize an alternate menu:

The three authorized grounds follow at pp. 26–27, transcribed verbatim:

– When an inmate uses food products, Food Service items, or the feeding process itself in a manner that poses a threat to the safety, security, or orderly operation of the institution, or to the inmate themself, other inmates, or staff. A written explanation of the reason(s) for alternate meal status must be included in the Warden’s authorization. After seven days, the inmate is removed from the alternative meal service or, if necessary, a new authorization is generated. – In emergency situations, such as an institution lockdown, when Satellite Meal Service is not practical, and it is authorized by the Warden. – In routine situations, such as an outside or nighttime work detail, when Satellite Meal Service is not practical, and it is authorized by the Warden.

And the contents, at p. 27: “The FSA will provide a minimum bag meal consisting of two sandwiches with two ounces of protein each (non-pork), one of which will be a no-flesh sandwich, one portion of fruit, and one beverage. The use of cheese as a no-flesh sandwich is not authorized.” Past a week, the bag meal is supposed to be upgraded: “If an inmate is (or inmates in the case of a lockdown are) served a bag meal for more than seven days, the FSA will provide the Bag Lunch Alternate Menu … until the inmate(s) are returned to regular menu service.” People enrolled in the Certified Food Component get the certified version of that menu.

Two things make this section useful in a real dispute. The alternate menu is a food safety and security measure with a written justification and a seven-day clock, not a sanction — and the sanctions a Discipline Hearing Officer can actually impose are set out separately in 28 C.F.R. § 541.3 and our Inmate Discipline Program page. If someone has been on bag meals for three weeks with no new authorization, the paper trail the policy calls for is the thing to ask about by name.

Satellite Meal Service — the trays that go to the Special Housing Unit, to Communications Management Units, and to work details — carries its own short rules. PS 4700.08 at p. 26: “Three meal periods corresponding to the times breakfast, lunch, and dinner are normally served in situations where inmates are secured in their cells or units,” and “Inmates receiving Satellite Meal Service are given the opportunity to request a no-pork or no-flesh tray. No-pork trays are provided by replacing a pork entree with a no-flesh protein alternative.” The general rule at the top of the same chapter: “All inmates, except those on medical or religious diets, should be served the same meals in a dining room setting when consistent with the security and orderly operation of the institution.”

Applied Insight — Christopher Zoukis, JD, MBA, Managing Director: The single most useful document in this whole manual is the as-served menu (PS 4700.08 at p. 15). It is dated, it is signed by the Food Service Administrator or a designee, and it records what was actually served rather than what was planned. Almost every food dispute — a missing no-flesh entree, a certified tray that never arrived, a medical diet item that was not on the line — turns into a factual argument about a particular day, and the as-served menu is the only contemporaneous record of that day. Ask for it by name and by date in your first written request, while it is still easy to retrieve. Ask for the Registered Dietitian’s written certification too if the fight is about nutrition rather than about one meal.

What binds and what does not in PS 4700.08

This distinction decides what you can actually do with this policy, so it belongs near the front rather than buried at the end.

A Program Statement is the Bureau’s internal instruction to its own staff. It is not a regulation. The Supreme Court described a BOP Program Statement in Reno v. Koray, 515 U.S. 50 (1995), as “an internal agency guideline” that is “akin to an ‘interpretive rule’ that ‘do[es] not require notice and comment,'” though still entitled to some deference where it is a permissible construction of the statute. So when this page says the manual “directs staff” to do something, that is precise language, not hedging.

PS 4700.08 is an unusually pure example. Some Program Statements print the governing regulation inside the policy and mark it typographically — PS 5514.01, the drug-testing statement, carries the legend “Federal Regulations from 28 CFR: this type. Implementing instructions: this type.” on every page. PS 4700.08 carries no such legend and reproduces no regulation at all. Its running header reads only “PROPERTY OF US GOVERNMENT.” Every sentence in the fifty-five pages of this manual is staff instruction.

What binds is short, and it is not in the manual. 28 C.F.R. part 547 is titled “Food Service.” Subparts A and B are [Reserved]. Subpart C, “Special Food or Meals,” contains exactly one section:

The Bureau of Prisons is responsible for procuring and preparing any food or food ingredients to be served to the institution’s inmate population. Except as allowed for in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section, the Bureau requires that special food or meals prepared for and/or served to any group(s) of inmates also be served to the institution’s entire inmate population. Special food or meals, as identified in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section, may be prepared and/or served to a specific group of inmates rather than to the entire inmate population of the institution.

(a) Food items sold in the institution’s commissary. (b) Religious dietary practices as authorized in accordance with 28 CFR 548.20. (c) Medical diet foods.

— 28 C.F.R. § 547.20

That is the entire federal regulation on prison food service. It says the Bureau buys and cooks the food; it says a special meal for one group has to be served to everyone; and it carves out three exceptions — commissary, religious diets, medical diets. There is no regulation setting a calorie count, a meal interval, a portion size, or a menu. Those are all policy.

One structural detail follows from that, and it is unusual. Most Program Statements hand a list of decisions to a local Institution Supplement, an institution-level document BOP does not publish. This one does not: PS 4700.08 at p. 2 states “b. Institution Supplement. None.” The National Menu, the meal counts and the diet rules are national, which is why the same answer applies at a camp in Alabama and a penitentiary in Colorado. What is genuinely local is narrower than people assume — actual serving times, the advance-count procedure for satellite trays (p. 26), inspection report formats (p. 28), and Food Service post orders (p. 12).

The practical consequence is worth stating plainly. A departure from PS 4700.08 — a fifteen-hour gap between dinner and breakfast, a missing no-flesh entree, a menu that was not posted a week out — is a policy problem, addressed through the Administrative Remedy Program, not a regulatory violation you can enforce in court as such. The two food claims that do rest on binding law are the religious-diet claim, which rests on 28 C.F.R. § 548.20 and on the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and an Eighth Amendment claim about a genuinely inadequate diet, which is a constitutional claim and a different animal entirely.

The religious diet question, stated precisely

This is the most misstated point on this topic anywhere on the internet, so here it is with the statutes quoted.

The statute that applies to the federal Bureau of Prisons is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, not RLUIPA. RFRA provides that “Government shall not substantially burden a person’s exercise of religion even if the burden results from a rule of general applicability,” and may do so only where it “demonstrates that application of the burden to the person — (1) is in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that compelling governmental interest” (42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-1(a)–(b)). RFRA reaches the Bureau because RFRA’s own definition says so: “government” there “includes a branch, department, agency, instrumentality, and official (or other person acting under color of law) of the United States, or of a covered entity” (42 U.S.C. § 2000bb-2(1)). The Supreme Court applied RFRA against a federal agency on exactly that footing in Gonzales v. O Centro Espírita Beneficente União do Vegetal, 546 U.S. 418 (2006), holding that “RFRA requires the Government to demonstrate that the compelling interest test is satisfied through application of the challenged law ‘to the person’ — the particular claimant whose sincere exercise of religion is being substantially burdened.”

RLUIPA is the state-and-local statute. The Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act protects “a person residing in or confined to an institution” on materially the same substantive standard (42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-1(a)) — but its definition of “government” means “a State, county, municipality, or other governmental entity created under the authority of a State,” any branch or official of such an entity, and “any other person acting under color of State law.” That definition includes the United States only “for the purposes of sections 2000cc-2(b) and 2000cc-3” — the burden-of-persuasion and rules-of-construction provisions — not for the operative prohibition (42 U.S.C. § 2000cc-5(4)). RLUIPA’s institutionalized-persons rule also has a jurisdictional predicate that a federal prison does not satisfy: it applies where the burden is imposed “in a program or activity that receives Federal financial assistance” or affects interstate or foreign commerce (§ 2000cc-1(b)).

Holt v. Hobbs, 574 U.S. 352 (2015), is the case everyone cites on prison religious accommodation, and it is a RLUIPA case against the Arkansas Department of Correction. It is still useful to a federal reader for one reason the Court stated directly: RLUIPA “allows prisoners ‘to seek religious accommodations pursuant to the same standard as set forth in RFRA.'” Holt also explains why the two statutes exist separately — Congress made RFRA applicable to the States, the Court held in City of Boerne v. Flores that this exceeded Congress’s power, “Congress responded to City of Boerne by enacting RLUIPA, which applies to the States and their subdivisions.” A federal prisoner cites Holt for the standard and cites RFRA for the cause of action. Citing RLUIPA as the operative statute against the BOP is the error to avoid.

The mechanics of enrolling in a religious diet are set by regulation. 28 C.F.R. § 548.20, quoted from the regulation itself:

(a) The Bureau provides inmates requesting a religious diet reasonable and equitable opportunity to observe their religious dietary practice within the constraints of budget limitations and the security and orderly running of the institution and the Bureau through a religious diet menu. The inmate will provide a written statement articulating the religious motivation for participation in the religious diet program.

(b) An inmate who has been approved for a religious diet menu must notify the chaplain in writing if the inmate wishes to withdraw from the religious diet. Approval for an inmate’s religious diet may be withdrawn by the chaplain if the inmate is documented as being in violation of the terms of the religious diet program to which the inmate has agreed in writing. In order to preserve the integrity and orderly operation of the religious diet program and to prevent fraud, inmates who withdraw (or are removed) may not be immediately reestablished back into the program. The process of reapproving a religious diet for an inmate who voluntarily withdraws or who is removed ordinarily may extend up to thirty days. Repeated withdrawals (voluntary or otherwise), however, may result in inmates being subjected to a waiting period of up to one year.

(c) The chaplain may arrange for inmate religious groups to have one appropriate ceremonial or commemorative meal each year for their members as identified by the religious preference reflected in the inmate’s file. An inmate may attend one religious ceremonial meal in a calendar year.

Those three time limits — no immediate reinstatement, ordinarily up to thirty days to be reapproved, up to a year after repeated withdrawals — are regulation, not policy. They bind the Bureau and they constrain you.

The implementing detail sits in PS 5360.10, Religious Beliefs and Practices (10/24/2022), which is a separate page on this site. In outline: a written request goes to Chaplaincy Services; the Chaplain “will ordinarily complete the BP-A1142, Religious Diet Interview form within two working days of receiving the request”; the approved participant receives a “BP-A0700, Notification of Inmate Religious Diet Accommodation”; and within 24 hours of approval the Chaplain enters the person on the SENTRY religious diet participant list, with Food Service beginning certified service “within two days of SENTRY notification” (PS 5360.10 at pp. 17–18). Someone not approved for the certified line “may request a re-interview at three-month intervals.” A violation notice comes on a “BP-A0820, Notification of Inmate Religious Diet Violation form,” and the same policy states that “[r]emoval is not punitive in nature, but provides an opportunity for the inmate and staff to reevaluate whether the program meets the inmate’s religious dietary needs” (p. 18). The full picture is on our Religious Beliefs and Practices (PS 5360.10) page and, in plain language, at Religious Rights and Programs in Federal Prison.

What the Food Service Manual means for you

If you are the person inside: learn the National Menu

Learn the National Menu rather than the tray. Almost everything in this policy runs through the menu: the medical diet is self-selection from the National Menu; the no-flesh option is an item on the National Menu; the heart-healthy alternative is flagged on the National Menu. The menu is supposed to be posted at least a week ahead and readable before you reach the serving counter (p. 17), and in cafeteria service “all inmates must have the opportunity to select fruit regardless of the other items they may select” (p. 15).

If you have a medical condition that food affects, the request goes to Health Services, not to Food Service. Food Service cannot order you a diet; only “authorized Health Services staff noted in the Program Statement Patient Care” can (p. 4). If a clinician has ordered a diet and self-selection is not meeting it, the specific ask is for a Registered Dietitian consult — that is the exact trigger the policy names at p. 25. See Patient Care, Inmate Copayment Program and, for the family-facing view, Medical and Dental Care in Prison.

If you are on the certified religious diet, understand the rule that gets people removed. Under p. 22 you are “not authorized to consume mainline or hot bar food items,” salad bar excepted, and violations are reported under PS 5360.10. Buying and eating non-certified commissary items counts too. The consequence is removal on the § 548.20 timetable — up to thirty days to be reapproved, and up to a year after repeated withdrawals — not a shot. If that timetable is being applied to you, get the BP-A0820 violation notice and the signed diet agreement in hand before you argue anything.

If you work in Food Service, one clearance controls everything. PS 4700.08 at p. 29: unit staff “[c]heck the Medical Duty Status (MDS) of any inmate being considered for a Food Service assignment,” and only people with an MDS of “Yes Food Service Work” may be assigned. A single health entry can cost you the job. Pay and assignment rules are on our Work and Performance Pay (PS 5251.06) page and, practically, at Federal Prison Jobs and Work Assignments.

If you are the family member: three things that surprise families

Three things reliably surprise families, and none of them means anything is wrong.

The schedule is compressed. Dinner in many federal institutions is served in the late afternoon, and the manual permits up to fourteen hours before breakfast (p. 17). Weekend service is often two meals plus a brunch, which the policy expressly allows. Commissary food is how most people bridge the gap, which is why the money question and the food question are really one question — see Inmate Canteen Commissary Items and the Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual.

The religious diet takes time and it is not automatic. The written request, the chaplain interview, the SENTRY entry and the first certified tray are separate steps (PS 5360.10 at pp. 17–18). Weeks, not days, is normal.

Food complaints are hard to win in the abstract and easy to document in the particular. “The food is bad” goes nowhere. “On 14 March the posted menu listed a no-flesh entree at the evening meal and none was served, and the as-served menu will show it” is a claim with a document behind it. If your loved one is describing a recurring problem, ask them for dates. Our broader family orientation is What Families Should Know About Federal Prison.

If you are counsel: food service and diets

Three practical points.

First, know which body of law your claim actually sits in. A garden-variety menu or service failure is a Program Statement problem: it is grieved, not sued, and Koray is the reason. A religious-diet denial is a RFRA claim with a regulation (28 C.F.R. § 548.20) underneath it, and the substantial-burden and least-restrictive-means framing of O Centro and Holt is where the analysis goes. A nutritional-adequacy claim is a conditions-of-confinement claim under the Eighth Amendment, with its own elements, and it is not made stronger by adding the Food Service Manual to the caption.

Second, the documents that decide these cases are institution-level and short-lived. The dated as-served menu signed by the FSA (p. 15); the Registered Dietitian’s written nutritional-analysis certification (p. 16); the Warden’s written alternate-menu authorization with its stated reasons and seven-day review (p. 27); the weekly Food Service inspection reports naming the inspecting staff member and the discrepancies found (p. 28); the religious-diet interview and notification forms in the Central File (PS 5360.10 at pp. 17–18). Request them early through the unit team and, where staff will not produce them, through a FOIA or Privacy Act request.

Third, exhaustion is not optional if court is ever on the table. Under the Prison Litigation Reform Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1997e(a), no action may be brought about prison conditions until available administrative remedies are exhausted. “Exhaustion” means completing every level of the internal grievance ladder, on time. The ladder and the deadlines are on our Administrative Remedy Program page.

What changed from PS 4700.07 to 4700.08

PS 4700.08, dated 5/7/2026, rescinded PS 4700.07, Food Service Manual (4/8/2024). The header at p. 1 lists six changes verbatim:

– Incorporates the use of Food Service criteria to clarify specific procedures and timelines for many objectives. – Updated terminology (i.e., nutritional adequacy). – Updated Chapter 1, Section 2, Institution Organization and Staff Responsibilities to reflect current goals. – Updated the Budget Management process. – Removed reheating for hot-holding process and restricted the use of leftover time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food items. – Updated Garden Operations to allow the use of Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) garden produce.

Three of those matter to someone eating the food rather than cooking it.

“Updated terminology (i.e., nutritional adequacy)” is the substantive one. The 2026 edition defines Nutritional Adequacy as a dietary pattern — Dietary Guidelines alignment, nutrient density, saturated fat below 10 percent of total daily calories, sodium under 2,300 mg in most circumstances (p. 3) — rather than as a fixed intake target. If you are comparing this page against an older description of BOP food policy that quotes a daily calorie number, that number does not come from the current manual.

The leftovers change is the one people will notice at the tray. The Bureau “[r]emoved reheating for hot-holding process and restricted the use of leftover time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food items” (p. 1). In practice that means less reuse of cooked food across meal periods.

Garden produce moved in the other direction. Chapter 12 now provides that “Institution Food Service Departments are authorized to accept produce from Bureau garden programs (e.g. Federal Prison Industries (FPI) and institution horticulture programs) for the incorporation into meal production,” with the produce entered into inventory on a BP-A0100 (p. 54).

What did not change is as informative. The three-meals-a-day rule, the fourteen-hour interval, the weekend and holiday variation, the two-component certified religious diet, the self-selection medical diet, and the prohibition on withholding food as discipline all carry forward. And the manual still contains no regulation text and still does not list 28 C.F.R. part 547 or part 548 in its References — the References section at p. 55 cites only “Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 5 – Administrative Personnel,” along with the FDA Food Code and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

One more currency note, because it affects which page you should be reading. This site’s older explainer at the URL ending food-service-manual-bop-program-statement-4700-07 describes the rescinded 2024 edition. It is left unlinked here deliberately; this page states the current edition.

Where people get stuck with food service and diets

Four problems recur, and the route matters more than the complaint.

“They took me off the religious diet.” This is the most common food dispute in the federal system and it is not a disciplinary matter, so do not defend it like one. Removal runs on 28 C.F.R. § 548.20(b) and PS 5360.10, and the first move is documentary: ask, in writing, for the BP-A0820 violation notice, the signed religious-diet agreement you are said to have violated, and the date the removal was entered. Then work out which clock you are on — the ordinary up-to-thirty-day reapproval, or the up-to-one-year waiting period that applies only after repeated withdrawals. If the institution is applying the longer period to a first removal, that is the specific error to name. Start with an Inmate Request to Staff — form BP-A0148, universally called a “cop-out” — to the Chaplain, then the formal ladder: BP-9 to the Warden, BP-10 to the Regional Director, BP-11 to the Office of National Inmate Appeals, under 28 C.F.R. part 542, subpart B. The deadline is short — 28 C.F.R. § 542.14(a) sets “20 calendar days following the date on which the basis for the Request occurred,” subject to an extension “[w]here the inmate demonstrates a valid reason for delay.” BOP publishes BP-A0148 but does not publish the BP-9, BP-10 or BP-11 forms; you get those from your unit team. See Request to Staff and Administrative Remedy Program.

“My medical diet was ordered and nothing changed on the tray.” Nine times out of ten this is because the order was for a medical diet, which the policy delivers by self-selection from the regular line, not by a special tray (pp. 3–4, 25). If self-selection genuinely cannot meet the order, the policy names the next step: a Bureau Registered Dietitian is consulted “to determine if a special diet is indicated,” and a special diet, if indicated, “will be provided by pre-plating or controlled plating” (p. 25). Put that request in a cop-out to Health Services and use those words. Where the underlying problem is the medical care rather than the food, that is a Health Services issue: Patient Care and Medical Designations and Care Levels.

“We have been on bag meals for weeks.” Lockdowns and modified operations are the usual cause, and they are lawful; what has a limit is the paperwork. The manual gives the Warden three grounds, directs that “[a] written explanation of the reason(s) for alternate meal status must be included in the Warden’s authorization,” sets a seven-day review, and directs that beyond seven days the Bag Lunch Alternate Menu replaces the minimum bag meal (pp. 26–27). Ask for the authorization and the date, and ask whether the Bag Lunch Alternate Menu has been implemented. Background: Lockdowns and Modified Operations and Special Housing Units.

“There was no no-flesh option.” This one is squarely inside the policy and easy to state: “A no-flesh protein option will be provided at both noon and evening meals whenever a main entree containing flesh is offered” (p. 22). Name the date, name the meal, and ask for the as-served menu for that day. In the SHU or on a satellite tray, the corresponding rule is that people “are given the opportunity to request a no-pork or no-flesh tray” (p. 26), and the practical failure is usually that the advance count never reached Food Service — so ask about the local notice procedure too.

Where the underlying problem is designation, sentence computation, medical care or a hunger strike, the administrative remedy path is necessary but rarely sufficient on its own. Those belong in a consult — see Federal Prison Consulting Services, Federal Prison Problems, or contact us. Refusing food as a protest is its own regulated situation with medical consequences and is governed by a different policy: Hunger Strikes (PS 5562.05).

Related BOP policy on food service

The paired information page is What Do You Eat in Prison, which covers the chow hall, the mainline and the day-to-day experience; this page carries the rule behind it, and the two link both ways. Also useful for orientation: A Guide to Dining in the Federal Bureau of Prisons and, for the diet-and-health angle, 7 Prison Weight Loss Secrets.

Policies that meet food service directly: Religious Beliefs and Practices (PS 5360.10) owns the religious-diet application, approval and removal process, and this page defers to it. Patient Care (PS 6031.06) owns the medical diet order and supplemental feedings. Work and Performance Pay (PS 5251.06) owns the Food Service job assignment and its pay. Trust Fund/Deposit Fund Manual (PS 4500.13) owns commissary, which 28 C.F.R. § 547.20(a) treats as one of the three exceptions to the serve-everyone rule.

Where food problems go: Administrative Remedy Program (PS 1330.18) for the grievance ladder, Request to Staff (PS 5511.08) for the cop-out that precedes it, and FOIA and Privacy Act Requests for the as-served menus and inspection reports when staff will not produce them.

Adjacent situations: Special Housing Units (PS 5270.12) and Lockdowns and Modified Operations (PS 5525.01) for satellite and alternate meal service; Inmate Discipline Program (PS 5270.09) for what an actual sanction is, since the alternate menu is not one; Management of Aging Offenders (PS 5241.01) and the Female Offender Manual (PS 5200.09) for populations with distinct dietary needs; and What Are Indigent Federal Prison Inmates Provided? for people who cannot supplement from commissary.

Frequently Asked Questions About BOP Food Service

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Program Statement 4700.08 — full text

The text below is the Bureau of Prisons’ own. Program Statement 4700.08 is reproduced here in full from the PDF the agency publishes: bop.gov/policy/progstat/4700_008.pdf. Wording and spelling are the Bureau’s.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Federal Bureau of Prisons

PROGRAM STATEMENT Food Service Manual Approved by

William K. Marshall III Director, Federal Bureau of Prisons DPI HSD Number 4700.08 Date May 7, 2026

Summary of Changes Program Statement Rescinded:

• 4700.07 Food Service Manual (4/8/2024) Changes:
• Incorporates the use of Food Service criteria to clarify specific procedures and timelines for many objectives.
• Updated terminology (i.e., nutritional adequacy).
• Updated Chapter 1, Section 2, Institution Organization and Staff Responsibilities to reflect current goals.
• Updated the Budget Management process.
• Removed reheating for hot-holding process and restricted the use of leftover time/temperature control for safety (TCS) food items.
• Updated Garden Operations to allow the use of Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau) garden produce.

1. PURPOSE AND SCOPE

This program statement establishes standardized policy and national direction for the management and operation of the Food Service program throughout the Federal Bureau of Prisons (Bureau). It ensures consistent, safe, secure, and efficient delivery of nutritionally adequate meals by establishing direction for food procurement, menu planning, preparation, service, sanitation, and oversight.

a. Program Objectives.

• Inmates will be provided with nutritionally adequate meals, prepared and served in a manner that meets established government health and safety codes.
• Essential resources will be planned, developed, and managed to meet the operational needs of the Food Service program.
• Inmates assigned to work in the Food Service Department will be given opportunities to acquire skills and abilities that may assist in obtaining employment after release.
• Inmates will be provided with nutritional information that enables them to determine and establish healthy eating habits that may enhance their quality of life.

b. Institution Supplement. None.

2. DEFINITIONS

Beverage. A liquid for drinking, including water.

Dry Storage Area. A room or area designated for the storage of packaged or containerized bulk food that is not time/temperature control for safety food and dry goods, such as single-service items.

Food Contact Surface. A surface of equipment or a utensil with which food normally comes into contact, or a surface of equipment or a utensil from which food may drain, drip, or splash into a food or onto a surface normally in contact with food.

Food Product Dating. Refer to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) website for the definitions of “Best if Used By/Before,” “Sell-By,” and “Used-By” dates.

Handwashing Sink. A lavatory, basin or vessel for washing, a wash basin, or plumbing fixture especially placed for use in personal hygiene, designed for the washing of hands; includes an automatic handwashing facility.

Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point Plan (HACCP). A written document delineating formal procedures for following the HACCP principles developed by the National Advisory Committee on Microbiological Criteria for Foods.

Hermetically Sealed Container. A container designed and intended to be secure against the entry of microorganisms and, in the case of low-acid canned food, to maintain the commercial sterility of its contents after processing.

Injected. Manipulating a meat so that infectious or toxigenic microorganisms may be introduced from its surface to its interior through tenderizing with deep penetration or injecting the meat by processes that may be referred to as injecting, pinning, or stitch pumping.

Medical Diet. A diet to supplement a medical regimen. Medical diets will be provided by mainline self-selection from the items available on the National Menu for that meal unless menu items fail to meet the medical requirement.

mg/L. Milligrams per liter, the metric equivalent of parts per million (ppm).

National Menu. Menu and variants approved by Central Office Food Service Branch.

No-Flesh. The item is free of the flesh of all animals, fish, or birds.

Nutritional Adequacy. A balanced dietary pattern aligned with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and federal nutrition science. The National Menu is designed to promote and support this standard. The National Menu will:

• Provide appropriate and standardized portion sizes to support caloric balance.
• Emphasize nutrient-dense foods, including a variety of whole fruits and vegetables offered in fresh, frozen, dried, or canned forms with no or limited added sugars.
• Include high-quality protein sources from a variety of animal-based options (e.g., eggs, poultry, seafood, and lean meats) as well as plant-based sources.
• Prioritize cooking methods such as baking, roasting, broiling, grilling, and sautéing over deep-frying.
• Emphasize fiber-rich whole grains while limiting refined carbohydrates and highly processed items.
• Maintain saturated fat below 10 percent of total daily calories.

In most circumstances, the National Menu will limit sodium offerings consistent with federal recommendations of less than 2,300 mg.

pH. The symbol for the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion concentration, a measure of the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution.

Ready-to-Eat Food. Food that is edible without additional preparation to achieve safety. A ready-to-eat food may receive additional preparation for palatability or aesthetic purposes.

Satellite Meal Service. Service of the National Menu in an area other than where it was prepared.

Self-Selection. The main method of providing medical diets to inmates, whereby an inmate is educated on how to select the items needed to meet the prescribed diet from the items available on the National Menu, and the inmate self-selects the appropriate items.

Special Diet. Also referred to as a therapeutic diet, is ordered only by authorized Health Services staff noted in the Program Statement Patient Care when self-selection of a medical diet is not possible.

Specifications. A written description of a USDA food, and it includes the specific requirements the vendor must follow to meet the USDA contract for producing and delivering USDA food. The National Food Service Administrator (NFSA) or designee makes the final determination on whether a product meets National Specifications.

Supplemental Feeding. A method of providing inmates additional food through “snack” offerings, if clinically indicated, as part of the treatment regimen.

Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food (formerly potentially hazardous food [PHF]). A food that requires time/temperature control for safety (TCS) to limit pathogenic microorganism growth or toxin formation.

• Time/temperature control for safety food includes:
  • See current U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Code requirements.
• Time/temperature control for safety food does not include:
  • See current FDA Food Code requirements.

For other definitions, see the most current U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Food Code, Chapter One, Purpose and Definitions.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1 – ADMINISTRATION 1. General Policy …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….8 2. Institution Organization and Staff Responsibilities …………………………………………………………..8 3. Custody and Security ……………………………………………………………………………………………………9 4. Storage and Requisition of Supplies ……………………………………………………………………………..10 5. Ordering and Receipt of Controlled Stores …………………………………………………………………… 11 6. Stock Rotation ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11 7. Inventory of Accountable Food Service Stores ……………………………………………………………… 11 8. File Management ………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 11 9. Post Orders ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 12 10. Staff Meetings ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 12 11. Posting Staff Work Schedules …………………………………………………………………………………….. 12 12. Staff Training and Reference Materials ………………………………………………………………………… 12 13. Job Orientation Training ……………………………………………………………………………………………. 13 14. Temperature/Sanitizer Documentation …………………………………………………………………………. 13

CHAPTER 2 – NATIONAL MENU PLANNING 1. General Policy ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14 2. Menu Changes ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 14 3. Menu Additions ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 15 4. Menu Variance …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 15 5. Menu Review …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 15 6. Nutritional Analysis ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 16 7. Nutritional Information ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 16 8. Meal Planning ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17 9. Menu Requirements ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 17

CHAPTER 3 – COMPUTERIZED FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT 1. General Policy …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..18 2. Responsibility ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………18 3. Operational Procedures ………………………………………………………………………………………………18 4. Budget Management…………………………………………………………………………………………………..19 5. Software Updates ………………………………………………………………………………………………………19

CHAPTER 4 – RELIGIOUS DIET PROGRAM 1. Certified Food …………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 20 2. No-Flesh Option ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22 3. Annual Ceremonial Meals ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22 4. Fasts ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 22 5. Ramadan ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 23

6. Passover …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 23 7. Religious Meal Accommodation …………………………………………………………………………………. 24

CHAPTER 5 – MEDICAL DIETS/SELF-SELECTION ON MAINLINE 1. General Policy …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 25 2. Responsibilities ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 25 3. Supplemental Feedings …………………………………………………………………………………………….. 25

CHAPTER 6 – SPECIALIZED FOOD SERVICE PROGRAMS 1. General Policy …………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 26 2. Food Donations ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 26 3. Satellite Meal Service ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 26 4. Satellite Meal Periods ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 26 5. Satellite Menu Selections ………………………………………………………………………………………….. 26 6. Alternate Menu ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 26 7. Alternate Menu Contents …………………………………………………………………………………………… 27 8. Transportation Meals ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 27

CHAPTER 7 – FOOD SAFETY – MANAGEMENT, PERSONNEL, AND RECEIVING

REQUIREMENTS

1. Responsibility ………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 28 2. Supervision ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 28 3. Verification of Cooking and Cooling Temperatures ……………………………………………………… 28 4. Inspections ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. 28 5. Health and Hygiene ………………………………………………………………………………………………….. 29 6. Food Receiving Requirements……………………………………………………………………………………. 31

CHAPTER 8 – FOOD SAFETY – PROTECTION AFTER RECEIVING 1. Preventing Contamination from Hands ……………………………………………………………………….. 34 2. Preventing Contamination When Tasting ……………………………………………………………………. 34 3. Packaged and Unpackaged Food – Separation, Packaging, and Segregation …………………….. 34 4. Food Storage Containers Identified with Common Name of Food ………………………………….. 35 5. Washing Fruits and Vegetables ………………………………………………………………………………….. 35 6. Storage or Display of Food in Contact with Water or Ice ………………………………………………. 35 7. Food Contact with Equipment and Utensils …………………………………………………………………. 35 8. In Use Utensil Storage ………………………………………………………………………………………………. 35 9. Linens, Napkins, Wiping Cloths, Use Limitation ………………………………………………………….. 36 10. Gloves, Use Limitation ……………………………………………………………………………………………… 36 11. Using Clean Tableware for Second Portions and Refills ……………………………………………….. 36 12. Food Storage …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….36 13. Food Storage, Shelf Stable ………………………………………………………………………………………….37 14. Storage, Prohibited Areas ……………………………………………………………………………………………37

15. Food Display …………………………………………………………………………………………………………….37 16. Self-Service Operations ………………………………………………………………………………………………37

CHAPTER 9 – FOOD SAFETY – DESTRUCTION OF ORGANISMS OF PUBLIC

HEALTH CONCERN

1. Raw Animal Foods …………………………………………………………………………………………………….38

CHAPTER 10 – FOOD SAFETY – LIMITATION OF GROWTH OF ORGANISMS OF

PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN

1. Temperature Control ………………………………………………………………………………………………….40 2. Time as a Public Health Control ………………………………………………………………………………….40 3. Cooling …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….41 4. Cooling Methods ……………………………………………………………………………………………………….41 5. Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food, Hot and Cold Holding ………………………………….41 6. Ready-to-Eat, Time/Temperature Control for Safety Food, Date Marking …………………………42 7. Food Preservation Limitations …………………………………………………………………………………….42 8. Special Food Safety Requirements ……………………………………………………………………………….42

CHAPTER 11 – FOOD SAFETY – EQUIPMENT 1. Food Equipment, Certification …………………………………………………………………………………….43 2. Use Limitation …………………………………………………………………………………………………………..43 3. Back-Flow Prevention ………………………………………………………………………………………………..43 4. Walk-In Refrigerator and Freezer Requirements …………………………………………………………….43 5. Lubricants …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………44 6. Warewashing and Sanitizing ……………………………………………………………………………………….44 7. Cleaning of Equipment and Utensils …………………………………………………………………………….46 8. Protection of Clean Items ……………………………………………………………………………………………48 9. Utensils, Consumer Self-Service ………………………………………………………………………………….49 10. Can Openers ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..49 11. Cutting Surfaces ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..49 12. Bulk Milk Dispensers …………………………………………………………………………………………………49 13. Temperature Measuring Devices ………………………………………………………………………………….49 14. Equipment Maintenance and Security …………………………………………………………………………..50 15. Equipment Safety ………………………………………………………………………………………………………51 16. Deep Fat Frying …………………………………………………………………………………………………………51 17. Waste Handling ………………………………………………………………………………………………………… 51 18. Physical Facilities ………………………………………………………………………………………………………52

CHAPTER 12 – INSTITUTION GARDEN OPERATIONS……………………………………………54

CHAPTER 1 – ADMINISTRATION

1. GENERAL POLICY

The Food Service Branch of the Health Services Division, under the direction of the Bureau’s Assistant Director (AD), Health Services Division (HSD), coordinates training, policy, and program development for Food Service programs.

At the Central Office level, the Food Service program is under the direct supervision of the National Food Service Administrator (NFSA). The NFSA interprets the Bureau Food Service policy and provides support through institution visits, classroom training, distance learning, and other means as directed by the AD, HSD.

At the Regional level, the Food Service program is under the direct supervision of the Regional Food Service Administrator (RFSA). The RFSA provides support through institution visits, distance learning, remote assessment, and other means as directed by the Regional Director.

At the institution level, the Food Service Department is under the direct supervision of the Food Service Administrator (FSA).

2. INSTITUTION ORGANIZATION AND STAFF RESPONSIBILITIES

a. Food Service Administrator (FSA). Institution Food Service operations will be supervised

by a FSA experienced in Food Service management. The FSA has overall responsibility for the administration, oversight, and direction of Food Service operations; ensures compliance with all applicable Bureau policies and procedures; manages the institution’s Food Service budget by establishing budget allocations and implementing fiscal and operational controls to remain within authorized funding levels; monitors food costs, inventory usage, and production trends; and ensures food production is adjusted to align with approved menus, inmate population counts, participation levels, and inmate preferences while maintaining nutritional adequacy, food safety, and cost efficiency. The FSA performs duties as outlined in the Standardized Position Description (PD) for Food Service Administrator.

b. Assistant Food Service Administrator (AFSA). The AFSA assists the FSA in the daily

management of Food Service operations and ensures compliance with Bureau policies and procedures. Under the direction of the FSA, the AFSA implements and monitors budgetary and operational controls; tracks expenditures; assists with inventory and cost management; supports adjustments to food production based on inmate population counts and operational requirements; and provides operational oversight to ensure Food Service activities remain within approved budget allocations while maintaining food quality, safety, and service standards. The AFSA performs duties as outlined in the Standardized PD for Assistant Food Service Administrator.

c. Cook Supervisor Responsibilities. Under the supervision of the FSA or AFSA, Cook

Supervisors are responsible for direct inmate supervision related to food production, food service, and sanitation, with emphasis on food safety and security. Cook Supervisors execute approved menus; adjust daily food production quantities as directed to align with inmate population counts, participation levels, and meal service requirements; ensure proper food handling, preparation, and sanitation practices; and ensure compliance with Bureau Food Service policies and locally developed post orders. Cook Supervisors perform duties as outlined in the Standardized PD for Cook Supervisor.

d. Food Service Administrative Assistant. Under the supervision of the FSA or AFSA, Food

Service Administrative Assistants are responsible for performing clerical and administrative support functions within the Food Service office and warehouse. Duties include maintaining records and files; assisting with data entry, reporting, correspondence, inventory documentation, and procurement related paperwork; and supporting administrative processes necessary for effective Food Service operations. Food Service Administrative Assistants ensure compliance with Bureau policies and locally developed post orders and perform duties as outlined in the Standardized PD for Food Service Administrative Assistant.

e. Food Service Material Handler Supervisor. Under the supervision of the FSA or AFSA,

Food Service Material Handler Supervisors are responsible for supervising inmate workers engaged in the receiving, storage, handling, and delivery of Food Service supplies and equipment. Duties include overseeing proper receiving procedures; ensuring accurate inventory control, storage, and rotation of products; coordinating the distribution of supplies to production and service areas; and performing or overseeing related clerical and documentation tasks within the Food Service office and warehouse as necessary. Food Service Material Handler Supervisors ensure compliance with Bureau policies and locally developed post orders and perform duties as outlined in the Standardized PD for Food Service Material Handler Supervisor.

3. CUSTODY AND SECURITY

All Food Service staff reference the Program Statement Correctional Services Procedures Manual to ensure custody and security are maintained. In addition, the following procedures are adhered to:

• Only one key is issued to the knife cabinet in the Food Service Department.
• Only one key is issued to the yeast cabinet. Yeast is managed and dispensed only by Food Service staff. Once issued, yeast must be under close supervision until thoroughly incorporated into the item being prepared. Items such as mace, nutmeg, cloves, and alcohol-based flavorings, if maintained in the institution, will be handled like yeast.
• Only instant or instant active yeast is used in the Food Service Department. Yeast is stored in a locked metal cabinet behind a locked door in an appropriate storage area to prevent inmate

access. Empty yeast bags or containers and uncooked dough are controlled until rendered inactive or properly disposed of. An inventory record includes:

• Date and quantity of issue.
• Date and quantity of receipt.
• Balance on hand.
• Initials of staff member making the entry.

• For official counts, inmates are sitting or standing in one section of the dining room/secured area of the Food Service Department and moved to the other side as their names are called. Inmates are identified by using detail cards or inmate identification cards. At no time are any inmates allowed to remain in their work area for an official count.
• All knife points will be rounded or blunted with the exception of boning knifes.
• All large (three feet or longer) metal paddles will be secured with a cable to prohibit removal from the food preparation area. Exceptions to this policy may be made at institutions when deemed appropriate by the Institutional Correctional Service Tool Classification Supplement (e.g. Federal Prison Camps).
• Milk bladders will be destroyed by cutting, and then disposed of by staff.
• Cut-resistant gloves in sufficient sizes and quantities must be shadowed in the Food Service Class A knife cage and issued for use during cutting and slicing procedures as outlined in the department hazard assessment. Cut-resistant gloves must be 100% food-safe, a minimum of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) 105:2016 Level 5 protection, and machine washable.
• Knives must be shadowed in the Food Service Class A knife cage. All knives will be issued utilizing the chit system, as well as sign-out sheets. All knives in the Food Service Department must be attached to a metal cable and, when removed from the Class A knife cage, secured to a workstation in a secure area. This cable should be of significant size and strength to not be cut by the attached knife. Intermittent staff supervision must be provided. If a knife is not used in a secure area, it must be under direct staff supervision, even if attached to a cable.

4. STORAGE AND REQUISITION OF SUPPLIES

The FSA is responsible for accountable Food Service stores in areas controlled by Food Service. To ensure safety and security of stores, the FSA:

• Ensures provisions of the Program Statements Food Service Manual, Correctional Services Procedures Manual, Environmental Management Systems, National Occupational Safety and Health, National Environmental Protection, National Fire Protection, and Workers’ Compensation Program are followed.
• Ensures accountable stores are secured to prevent unauthorized access, use, or theft.
• Authorizes or delegates authority to requisition stores from Food Service accountable storage areas. Authorization to remove stores is shown by the signature of the FSA or designee on the requisition. The person filling the order must not routinely be the authorizing official.

No items will be removed from inventory or record balances altered unless the items are properly requisitioned, surveyed, or transferred by the approved food expenditure cost accounting system software or BP-A0100, Stores Requisition, Invoice & Transfer Receipt.

5. ORDERING AND RECEIPT OF CONTROLLED STORES

When ordering controlled items, the FSA or Cost Center Manager will identify on the purchase request that items are controlled to alert warehouse staff to provide special handling (i.e., knives, mace, yeast, nutmeg, cloves) in accordance with the Program Statement Correctional Services Procedures Manual.

6. STOCK ROTATION

Supplies are issued on a first-in, first-out basis. To ensure proper stock rotation, accountable non-perishable food items are marked with a color identifying the quarter received:

• First Quarter = Red
• Second Quarter = Blue
• Third Quarter = Green
• Fourth Quarter = Yellow

7. INVENTORY OF ACCOUNTABLE FOOD SERVICE STORES

The FSA or designee conducts an inventory of Food Service items during each fiscal quarter, with adjustments posted before running the quarterly Budget Projection Report. Inventory balances are adjusted per the Program Statement Property Management Manual. This responsibility will not be delegated below the AFSA level.

8. FILE MANAGEMENT

Food Service files and reports are kept per the Records and Information Disposition Schedules (RIDS: N1-129-01-07 for Central Office, N1-129-00-16 for Regional Offices, and N1-129-00-11 for institution Food Service Departments).

Reports required for Regional and Central Office retention are accessed via the Bureau’s intranet site or transmitted via intra-agency email to the RFSA. To ensure national consistency, report names begin with the three-letter designation for institution, followed by the two-number designation for fiscal year, followed by the two-number designation for month. The RFSA forwards reports submitted by their institutions to Central Office as a complete package.

9. POST ORDERS

The FSA develops and maintains post orders governing the daily routine and assignment of posts in the department. Delegation of authority within Food Service is clearly defined in the post orders. At a minimum, post orders are reviewed annually by the FSA.

10. STAFF MEETINGS

Food Service staff meetings will be held as detailed in the Program Statement Staff Meetings. A Food Service staff meeting will be held at least monthly at each institution. Staff meeting minutes will include:

• Attendance.
• Areas of Interest (i.e., Issues with operational impact to include National Menus).
• Physical Plant and Equipment, to include inoperable equipment.
• Open Discussion.

Minutes of each meeting will be forwarded to Food Service staff within the department, and the RFSA. To assure maximum participation at complexes, staff will be provided the opportunity to teleconference to attend staff meetings.

11. POSTING STAFF WORK SCHEDULES

Staff work schedules are posted in accordance with the law and must be accessible to all Food Service staff.

In institutions having one or more AFSAs, the FSA and/or AFSA(s) should be scheduled to optimize management coverage, to include weekends and holidays.

12. STAFF TRAINING AND REFERENCE MATERIALS

The FSA will ensure all Food Service staff have access to the FDA Food Code, Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site, and all directives and standards referenced in this program statement. The FSA will develop a training program that ensures staff are aware of the policies and procedures required to perform their assigned duties. Equipment training will contain:

• Proper operation, cleaning, and sanitizing.
• Inherent dangers of each piece of equipment.
• Symptoms of malfunction.
• Staffs’ responsibility to report hazards, malfunctions, or unsafe conditions to their supervisors.
• Supervisors’ responsibility to report unsafe and hazardous conditions to their staff once notified and verified.

13. JOB ORIENTATION TRAINING

Each inmate assigned to Food Service receives job orientation training prior to beginning work, as detailed in the Program Statement National Occupational Safety and Health.

14. TEMPERATURE/SANITIZER DOCUMENTATION

Documentation is maintained for acceptable ranges and current readings for:

• Chemical sanitizer concentration (manual or mechanical) and exposure time (pot and pan, dish machine if applicable) – start of each meal.
• Manual warewashing hot water sanitization and immersion time if chemical sanitizer not used (pot and pan) – start of each meal.
• Manual warewashing wash temperature (pot and pan) – start of each meal.
• Mechanical warewashing equipment, wash solution temperature (dish machine, main wash tank, pot and pan machine if applicable) – start of each meal.
• Mechanical warewashing equipment hot water sanitization temperature (dish machine/final rinse tank) – start of each meal.
• Mechanical warewashing equipment sanitization pressure (dish machine) – start of each meal.
• Walk-in refrigeration and freezer units (beginning of the morning shift and end of the evening shift). These temperatures can be verified by electronic, telephonic, or other effective means. Reach in coolers and freezers which are intended for daily use will not require documented readings.

CHAPTER 2 – NATIONAL MENU PLANNING

1. GENERAL POLICY

The National Menu and Central Office approved variations, which includes the approved menu, recipes, and product specifications, will be used for food procurement, preparation, and meal service at all institutions. National Menu data are kept at the national level by the NFSA and made available under the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site. When National Menu data change, the NFSA notifies regional and institutional FSAs via intra-agency email. Institutions must adhere to the approved National Menu, including all authorized substitutions, modifications, and addendums issued by the Food Service Branch.

The National Menu will:

• Provide appropriate and standardized portion sizes to support caloric balance.
• Emphasize nutrient-dense foods, including a variety of whole fruits and vegetables offered in fresh, frozen, dried, or canned forms with no or limited added sugars.
• Include high-quality protein sources from a variety of animal-based options (e.g., eggs, poultry, seafood, and lean meats) as well as plant-based sources.
• Prioritize cooking methods such as baking, roasting, broiling, grilling, and sautéing over deep-frying.
• Emphasize fiber-rich whole grains while limiting refined carbohydrates and highly processed items.
• Maintain saturated fat below 10 percent of total daily calories.

In most circumstances, the National Menu will limit sodium offerings consistent with federal recommendations of less than 2,300 mg.

2. MENU CHANGES

Planned changes or substitutions to the approved National Menu, recipes, or product specifications will not be made at the local or regional level, although an alternate menu may be used for national holidays, ceremonial meals, or other situations authorized by policy (see Chapter 6).

Due to service methods required at detention centers, transportation centers, Communications Management Units (CMU), or other institutions where the majority of inmates are served in their cells or units, Wardens at these institutions may approve service of the heart healthy alternative on the National Menu in place of fried food.

If unplanned menu changes are required due to extenuating circumstances such as late food delivery, temporarily inoperative equipment, etc., Food Service staff, including cook supervisors

preparing the meal, may make necessary substitutions of like items as required and ensure managers are aware an unplanned change was required.

All changes to the planned menu are documented by creating an as-served menu. A dated as-served menu is printed, reviewed to ensure compliance with the basic daily servings, and signed by the FSA or designee. The as-served menu is kept per the Records and Information Disposition Schedules (RIDS).

In cafeteria service scenarios, all inmates must have the opportunity to select fruit regardless of the other items they may select.

In pre-plated or controlled plating serving scenarios, inmates will be served fruit when listed on the National Menu, regardless of other dietary food offerings (e.g., regular, no-flesh, heart healthy), unless clinically contraindicated.

All items listed on the National Menu should be displayed on the serving line, space permitting.

3. MENU ADDITIONS

At the Warden’s discretion items may be added to the National Menu by adding to a salad bar, hot bar, beverage bar (if these are part of the Food Service program). Items added in this manner may also be added to satellite trays. Consideration should be given to the impact on the overall Food Service budget when making additions.

To ensure equity for adding items to the National Menu at detention centers, transportation centers, CMUs, or other institutions where the majority of inmates are served in their cells or units, items may be added to the National Menu at these institutions by adding salad to a tray and serving rice and beans as a variation for potatoes.

4. MENU VARIANCE

If a unique condition at an institution restricts the ability to serve the National Menu as written, the Warden may request a menu variance. A memorandum that states the specific variance requested, the reason for the request, and the suggested menu substitutions is forwarded through the Regional Director to the AD, HSD, for evaluation and approval. A variance does not extend beyond the fiscal year in which it is granted.

5. MENU REVIEW

The National Menu is reviewed at least annually to assess responsiveness to inmate eating preferences, operational impact, product pricing, and nutritional content.

During the second quarter each fiscal year, the NFSA will initiate a survey of inmates to determine eating preferences. At that time the RFSA will also request input from each institution to ensure all Food Service staff have the ability to provide input into the menu update process (see Chapter 1, Section 10, Staff Meetings). The review and update process is a collaborative effort and a National Menu Advisory Group will meet to determine any changes to the National Menu and Specifications. The Advisory Group will involve the National Food Service Branch, RFSAs, and any additional staff at the discretion of the NFSA.

The updated menu data to include the menu, recipes, and product specifications are available under the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site by July 20 each year and go into effect the first full week in October.

The NFSA will maintain a feedback page on the Bureau’s intranet site to collect information from all staff concerning changes to the National Menu.

6. NUTRITIONAL ANALYSIS

Following the annual menu update and before the updated menu is implemented, a nutritional analysis is conducted by a Registered Dietitian to ensure the menus consider the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) developed by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Nutritional analyses are certified in writing by a Registered Dietitian. The NFSA will ensure the nutritional analysis is available under the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site.

Pepper may be offered as a condiment, however, salt or salt containing seasonings may not be offered in inmate dining areas or on satellite feeding trays.

Menu alternatives are reviewed during nutritional analysis to ensure adequate nutritional substitutions are made.

If the National Menu is changed substantially after the initial nutritional analysis is completed, the analysis is verified by a Registered Dietitian.

7. NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION

The FSA will make nutritional information available to inmates to help them establish healthy eating habits. The information summarizes how to read the menu and assists with determining the choices available including: benefits of heart healthy alternatives, controlling portion sizes, and achieving better eating habits.

8. MEAL PLANNING

When planning meals, the following considerations are made:

• Meals contain a variety of nutrient-dense foods among the basic food groups.
• Money, manpower, and materials required to produce the menu.
• Food flavor, texture, temperature, and appearance.
• Eating preferences of the population.

Three meals are served each day, two of which are hot. A sandwich meal may be offered on the same day as a continental breakfast if a hearty hot soup is offered with the sandwich meal. No more than 14 hours may elapse between the evening and breakfast meals. Variations are allowed based on weekend and holiday Food Service demands, provided basic nutritional needs are met.

Pork is not served as the only entree on holiday meals.

Dry milk will not be procured for routine mainline beverage service and will be maintained only for authorized contingency use.

9. MENU REQUIREMENTS

The planned menu will be available for review at least one week in advance, accessible to staff, and posted so inmates can examine it before reaching the serving counter.

Food items, including heart healthy items, no-flesh alternatives, and items prepared or seasoned with pork, will be identified on the National Menu.

CHAPTER 3 – COMPUTERIZED FOOD SERVICE MANAGEMENT

1. GENERAL POLICY

The approved software for computerized Food Service management will be used at all institutions. Program definition, technical information, and operating instructions are available under the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site. This software is a food expenditure cost accounting system designed to determine cost per inmate per meal.

2. RESPONSIBILITY

The FSA ensures the software is operated in accordance with Bureau policies, including maintenance of National Menu data and approved recipes. The FSA delegates authority to perform software functions depending on the expertise and job specialty of the personnel.

All requests to provide training for Cook Supervisors on the Food Service management system must be approved by the NFSA. When training for the Food Service management system is offered to Cook Supervisors an Official Training Announcement will be utilized.

3. OPERATIONAL PROCEDURES

To ensure adequate operational procedures are in place, the FSA:

• Ensures staff who have software access are trained to perform required functions.
• Uses no other system for inventory, menu, recipe, food production, or budget in place of the approved software.
• Ensures all items served appear on a menu as an inventory item or within a recipe.
• Ensures inventory items listed on menus are ready to eat without further processing or cooking and that accurate serving size information is relayed to staff. This does not apply to instances where preparation methods can vary, and manufacturer recipes are available, such as cake or other dry mixes.
• Ensures acceptability information for each menu item is accurate, indicating the actual number of portions to be produced.
• Ensures approved recipes, scaled to produce the actual number of portions to be prepared, are provided to, and followed by staff responsible for production.
• Maintains production data to ensure the approved menu is used as the main planning tool.

Product groups may be developed locally to track costs within groups or categories of products. The FSA may break product groups into smaller groups than listed; however, at a minimum, the following categories are kept within the authorized software:

• Certified Foods
• Dairy
• Fruit
• Meat
• Vegetables
• Other Foods
• Non-edible supplies

4. BUDGET MANAGEMENT

The Budget Projection Report is the primary planning and forecasting tool for Food Service operations and is used to estimate supply requirements in support of the National Menu, including Religious Diet items. The report is prepared and submitted as part of the quarterly food ordering process, or as otherwise directed by the Central Office Food Service Branch, and serves as a statement of known requirements provided to the Contracting Specialist to support procurement at wholesale and other favorable pricing and terms.

The Budget Projection Report will include estimated monetary requirements for all Food Service supplies necessary to support the National Menu. If items are omitted due to undelivered orders, pricing concerns, or other procurement-related issues, the FSA remains responsible for ensuring all items required to support the National Menu are obtained through appropriate purchasing methods. While not required, the FSA may elect to itemize non-edible supplies within the quarterly budget projection.

The Budget Projection Report will be submitted to the Contracting Specialist no later than the 5 th day of August, November, February, and May. The FSA, or acting FSA, will review and initial local bid abstracts prior to award to verify item specifications and pricing accurately reflect National Menu and national contract requirements. In the absence of the FSA or AFSA, the RFSA shall be consulted for guidance.

5. SOFTWARE UPDATES

The NFSA liaisons with company officials relating to software revision requests from the institutions. Regional and institution staff will submit requests for program changes to the NFSA via intra-agency email.

CHAPTER 4 – RELIGIOUS DIET PROGRAM

1. CERTIFIED FOOD

The Certified Food Menu, which includes the approved menu and product specifications, will be used for food procurement and meal service at all institutions. Certified Food Menu data is kept at the national level by the NFSA and available under the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site. When updates are made to Certified Food Menu data, the NFSA notifies the National Chaplaincy Administrator (NCA), RFSAs, and FSAs via intra-agency email. Any changes to the national Certified Food Program, to include operational procedures, are subject to review and approval by the NFSA.

a. Menu Review. The Certified Food Menu is reviewed at least annually to assess

responsiveness to inmate eating preferences, operational impact, product pricing, and nutritional content.

During the second quarter each fiscal year, the NFSA will initiate a survey of inmates to determine eating preferences. At that time the RFSA will also request input from each institution to ensure all Food Service staff have the ability to provide input into the menu update process (see Chapter 1, Section 10, Staff Meetings). The review and update process is a collaborative effort with involvement of the National Food Service Branch, RFSAs, and institutional FSAs.

A National Menu Advisory Group will meet to determine any changes to the Certified Food Menu and Specifications. The Advisory Group will involve the National Food Service Branch, RFSAs, and any additional staff at the discretion of the NFSA.

The updated menu data to include the menu and product specifications are available under the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site by July 20 each year and go into effect the first full week in October.

The NFSA will maintain a feedback page on the Bureau’s intranet site to collect information from all staff concerning changes to the Certified Food Menu.

b. Menu Nutritional Analysis. Following the annual menu update and before the updated

menu is implemented, a nutritional analysis is conducted by a Registered Dietitian to ensure the Menus consider the DRIs developed by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences.

Nutritional analyses are certified in writing by a Registered Dietitian.

Pepper may be offered as a condiment, however, salt or salt containing seasonings may not be offered in inmate dining areas or on satellite feeding trays.

If the Certified Food Menu is changed substantially after the initial nutritional analysis is completed, the analysis is verified by a Registered Dietitian.

c. Menu Changes. Planned changes or substitutions to the approved Certified Food Menu or

product specifications will not be made at the local or regional level, although an alternate menu may be used when authorized by policy (see Chapter 6).

If unplanned menu changes are required due to extenuating circumstances such as late delivery, temporarily inoperative equipment, etc., Food Service staff, including the Cook Supervisor preparing the meal, may make necessary substitutions of nutritionally equivalent Certified Foods and ensure managers are aware an unplanned change was required. In most cases substitutions on the Certified Food Menu will require substituting an entire meal on the menu with another meal, with the exception of bread, fruit, beverages, and condiments. Refer to the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site for additional guidance.

d. Certified Food Procedures. There are two components within the Certified Food Program:

certified kosher and certified halal. Prepared foods purchased for use on the Certified Food Menu will be certified by a nationally accepted Orthodox Kashrut supervision service or World Halal Food Council (WHFC) member. Only items indicated by an “H” on the posted menu require this standard for halal items. Access the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site for Religious Certification reference material. In addition to the Kashrut certification, bread, margarine, potato chips, vegetable juice, salad dressing, ketchup, and mustard used for the Certified Food Menu must be Certified Parve meaning they are certified to contain neither meat nor dairy products.

Prepared foods, except bread and beverages as detailed immediately below, will be procured and served in sealed individual serving packages marked with the appropriate Religious Certification. See religious diet specifications for a list of required items on the Food Service Branch page of the Bureau’s intranet site. Any item to be heated is double-wrapped and sealed in a package that may be heated in a conventional or microwave oven.

Nothing cut, processed, prepared, or served from a container is offered except:

• Loaf bread, which may be served directly from a package that contains the Kosher Parve certification or removed from that same package and packaged by servers in a disposable single-use sealable plastic bag immediately before service.
• Beverages from dedicated sealed dispensing equipment, individually packaged beverage, or instant beverage powder is provided to be reconstituted by the inmate.
• When ordered by the Warden, due to packaging that may be a security concern, food may be removed from an individual container and placed in a covered or wrapped disposable container to serve.

Any time food is removed from the original manufacturer’s packaging as authorized above, care should be given to ensure the religious integrity of the product. Only disposable single-use utensils (serving spoons, plates, cups, etc.) and single-use disposable plastic gloves will come into direct contact with Certified Food when handling is authorized.

e. Participation. The FSA ensures procedures are in place to provide a Religious Diet

participant list and production worksheet to Food Service staff.

Inmates participating in the Certified Food Component are not authorized to consume mainline or hot bar food items; however, they may consume items from a salad bar (where salad bars are part of the Food Service program), knowing that salad bar items may not meet their religious dietary needs. Violations will be reported as required by the Program Statement Religious Beliefs and Practices.

2. NO-FLESH OPTION

A no-flesh protein option will be provided at both noon and evening meals whenever a main entree containing flesh is offered. No-flesh production requirements will be determined by the FSA.

Vegetables and starches seasoned with flesh will have an alternate no-flesh option.

3. ANNUAL CEREMONIAL MEALS

The Religious Ceremonial Menu is derived from the National Menus and constitutes the mainline meal available to all inmates. The Chaplain will consult with the Food Service Administrator to develop the menu for each ceremonial or commemorative meal at least 45 days before the scheduled date of the observance. All ritual/traditional food items will be approved and funded by Chaplaincy Services, procured by the Food Service Department, and served only to ceremonial meal participants. No other foods are authorized for ceremonial meals. Inmates participating in the Certified Food Menu will receive the Certified Food Menu and not participate in the food from mainline for the ceremonial meal.

4. FASTS

The FSA will accommodate meal service and Chaplaincy bag meal requests for inmates participating in public fast days, per the Program Statement Religious Beliefs and Practices. Unless refrigeration is provided, or the period between the time the bag breakfasts are removed from temperature control and consumed is less than four hours, bag breakfasts contain only non-perishable items, such as ultra-high pasteurized milk, fresh fruit, peanut butter, dry cereal, etc.

Inmates being provided bag meals for public fast days will receive these meals during normal meal service either in the Food Service Department or via Satellite Meal Service.

5. RAMADAN

During Ramadan, inmates participating in the Certified Food Component receive the approved lunch and dinner menu after sundown in the Food Service Department or Special Housing Unit (SHU). At high rise institutions, Special Management Units, etc., participants will receive meals by Satellite Meal Service. In the case of an institutional emergency, all participants will be provided meals via Satellite Meal Service.

Inmates who are not participating in the Certified Food Component, but elect to observe Ramadan, may receive a combination of the mainline lunch and dinner menu after sundown in the Food Service Department or SHU. The mainline meal will contain a non-pork entree.

Each institution may provide a bag breakfast or allow inmates to go to Food Service for the breakfast meal before dawn. Unless refrigeration is provided or the period between the time the bag breakfasts are removed from temperature control and consumed is less than four hours, bag breakfasts must contain only non-perishable items, such as ultra-high pasteurized milk, fresh fruit, peanut butter, dry cereal, etc. Inmates being provided bag meals will receive these meals during Ramadan meal service either in the Food Service Department or via Satellite Meal Service.

If sunrise and sunset sequences occur at a time that prevents orderly provision of Ramadan, a variance will be disseminated via memorandum from the AD, HSD and AD, Correctional Programs Division. The variance details procedures required to ensure orderly provision of Ramadan during these solar sequences.

6. PASSOVER

During the eight days of Passover, inmates identified by Religious Services are given the Kosher for Passover menu in place of the Certified Food Menu. Kosher for Passover menu data are kept at the national level by the NFSA under the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site and at the local level by the FSA.

When updates are made to Kosher for Passover menu data, the NFSA coordinates with the NCA and notifies the regional and institutional FSAs via intra-agency email. Each institutional FSA ensures Food Service staff have access to Kosher for Passover menu data.

The list of participants must be received eight weeks before Passover from Religious Services to allow time to procure the required items. Food Service should order an adequate number of

meals to provide Passover meals to new commitments. The FSA will ensure procedures are in place to provide a Passover participant list and production worksheet to Food Service staff.

Jewish inmates participating in the Certified Food Component receive the Kosher for Passover meals in place of the Certified Food Meals for that period.

If Passover meals are not consumed during Passover, those meals that are not consumed may be used as a substitute for the national Certified Food Menu meals. However, these meals will not be utilized during the next year’s Passover observance.

7. RELIGIOUS MEAL ACCOMMODATION

When a religious meal accommodation is requested by the Chaplain and approved by the Warden Chaplaincy Services will provide Food Service staff with a roster of approved participants to ensure proper meal preparation.

CHAPTER 5 – MEDICAL DIETS/SELF-SELECTION ON MAINLINE

1. GENERAL POLICY

The FSA will provide medical diets at all institutions. A Bureau Registered Dietitian should certify the most common medical diet food offerings (i.e., reduced carbohydrate, calorie controlled, sodium controlled, low fat). A copy of the certification memorandum/letter will be maintained on the Bureau’s intranet site or in the FSA office.

Menu item replacements may not always be provided when inmates may have to avoid certain foods in the self-selection process.

If there is concern the medical diet self-selection process is not adequate to meet the nutritional needs, a Bureau Registered Dietitian should be consulted to determine if a special diet is indicated. Special diets are based on the Guidance for Medical Diets which is available on the Food Service Branch page on the Bureau’s intranet site. If separate special diets are prescribed other than those listed in the Guidance for Medical Diets, the FSA should consult with a Bureau Registered Dietitian. If a special diet is determined to be required to ensure adequate nutrition, it will be provided by pre-plating or controlled plating.

2. RESPONSIBILITIES

The FSA ensures heart healthy menu items are prepared according to approved recipes by regularly monitoring recipe use. The FSA will determine the number of heart healthy portions to be prepared.

The FSA will ensure a roster is provided to Food Service staff for all Special Diets.

The FSA will develop procedures to ensure inmates who are unable to self-select due to circumstances such as satellite feeding, a medical treatment/trip, or other reasons beyond their control receive proper food items.

Altered Diet Requirements. The FSA will develop procedures that ensure inmates who have a Medical Diet, Special Diet, or a supplemental feeding order will receive the proper food items, including those they would normally self-select in a cafeteria setting, if the inmates are unable to attend mainline or pick up an ordered tray due to a medical treatment/trips or other reasons beyond their control.

3. SUPPLEMENTAL FEEDINGS

Supplemental feedings (i.e., snacks) are provided when ordered only by authorized Health Services staff as noted in the Program Statement Patient Care. The list of approved supplemental feeding options may be found on the Bureau’s intranet site.

CHAPTER 6 – SPECIALIZED FOOD SERVICE PROGRAMS

1. GENERAL POLICY

All inmates, except those on medical or religious diets, should be served the same meals in a dining room setting when consistent with the security and orderly operation of the institution. The FSA develops specialized Food Service programs to meet routine and emergency Food Service operations beyond the dining room setting, as directed by the Warden. Procedures will be developed by the FSA to ensure food safety is maintained throughout the preparation, delivery and service process for all specialized Food Service programs.

2. FOOD DONATIONS

Refer to the Program Statement Acceptance of Donations and the Technical Guidance for Acceptance and Use of Donated Food Items located on the HSD Technical Guidance page on the Bureau’s intranet site.

3. SATELLITE MEAL SERVICE

Ordinarily, Satellite Meal Service is provided in a SHU, CMU, or similar units within an institution; however, it can include transportation to another institution or work detail. When satellite trays are provided to a work detail on an ongoing basis, a suitable dining room area under the control of the FSA will be provided.

4. SATELLITE MEAL PERIODS

Three meal periods corresponding to the times breakfast, lunch, and dinner are normally served in situations where inmates are secured in their cells or units.

5. SATELLITE MENU SELECTIONS

Inmates receiving Satellite Meal Service are given the opportunity to request a no-pork or no-flesh tray. No-pork trays are provided by replacing a pork entree with a no-flesh protein alternative. Procedures are developed locally to ensure Food Service receives advance notice of the number and types of trays required.

6. ALTERNATE MENU

Food will not be withheld, or the standard menu varied, as a disciplinary measure. The Warden or Acting Warden, may authorize an alternate menu:

• When an inmate uses food products, Food Service items, or the feeding process itself in a manner that poses a threat to the safety, security, or orderly operation of the institution, or to the inmate themself, other inmates, or staff. A written explanation of the reason(s) for alternate meal status must be included in the Warden’s authorization. After seven days, the inmate is removed from the alternative meal service or, if necessary, a new authorization is generated.
• In emergency situations, such as an institution lockdown, when Satellite Meal Service is not practical, and it is authorized by the Warden.
• In routine situations, such as an outside or nighttime work detail, when Satellite Meal Service is not practical, and it is authorized by the Warden.

7. ALTERNATE MENU CONTENTS

The FSA will provide a minimum bag meal consisting of two sandwiches with two ounces of protein each (non-pork), one of which will be a no-flesh sandwich, one portion of fruit, and one beverage. The use of cheese as a no-flesh sandwich is not authorized.

If an inmate is (or inmates in the case of a lockdown are) served a bag meal for more than seven days, the FSA will provide the Bag Lunch Alternate Menu listed under the Food Service Branch of the Bureau’s intranet site until the inmate(s) are returned to regular menu service.

Inmates participating in the Certified Food Component of the Religious Diet Program being served an alternate menu will be served the Bag Lunch Alternative Menu (Certified) listed under the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site until the inmate(s) are returned to regular meal service.

8. TRANSPORTATION MEALS

a. Providing Meals. Meals are provided for inmates being transferred from one institution to

another, as requested by the transporting authority. The Department Head/Supervisor of Correctional Systems will notify the FSA at least 24 hours in advance of the number of meals required.

b. Contents. Meals consist of an institutionally prepared box meal, or a prepackaged box meal

purchased from a vendor. In institutions with a high volume of transportation meals, purchased box meals are the preferred delivery method. When a box meal is provided, minimum contents consist of two sandwiches with two ounces of protein each (non-pork), one of which will be a no-flesh sandwich, one portion of fruit, and one beverage.

c. Preparation. Transportation meals are prepared and assembled by a staff member or come

prepackaged and sealed from a vendor.

CHAPTER 7 – FOOD SAFETY – MANAGEMENT, PERSONNEL, AND RECEIVING

REQUIREMENTS

1. RESPONSIBILITY

The FSA is responsible for food safety within the department. Food Service staff monitor and maintain food safety during all periods the department is in operation.

2. SUPERVISION

Based on the risks of foodborne illness inherent in a Food Service operation, all staff assigned posts monitoring food production and safety, including food/machine temperatures and service of food on serving lines and self-service areas during all hours of operation, must be qualified full-time Food Service staff and have a working knowledge of the Food Service Manual. These staff should possess an active Food Protection Manager certification.

3. VERIFICATION OF COOKING AND COOLING TEMPERATURES

All Food Service staff ensure cooking and cooling temperatures are monitored regularly as work is in progress. Temperature monitoring devices, (e.g., food thermometers) will be readily available to all staff required to monitor food temperatures.

4. INSPECTIONS

Inspections focusing on foodborne illness risk factors will be conducted by the FSA or designee to prevent, eliminate, or reduce the occurrence of foodborne risk factors. Areas under the control of the FSA/AFSA will be included in the formal inspection process at least once per week, with daily follow-up. At a Correctional Complex, the FSA conducts at least one inspection monthly of each Food Service area. Inspections by staff outside Food Service, such as Safety or Health Services, will not be substituted to meet the weekly inspection requirement.

Inspections are not delegated below Acting FSA or AFSA.

Completed inspection reports conducted by Food Service personnel document:

• Staff conducting the inspection.
• Discrepancies noted.

Procedures and reports for inspections conducted by Food Service personnel are developed locally or standardized inspection forms found under the Food Service page of the Bureau’s intranet site can be utilized.

5. HEALTH AND HYGIENE

a. Orientation. The FSA ensures job orientation documentation signed by inmates assigned to

Food Service contains health reporting information required by the Program Statement Patient Care.

b. Health Service Clearance. Inmates not assigned to Food Service are prohibited from

working in Food Service. Institutions that have a “stand-by” work assignment will not be considered assigned, regardless of status in the applicable Bureau inmate management system and will be prohibited from Food Service work until placement into a permanent job. Unit Team staff responsible for assigning inmates to work in Food Service:

• Check the Medical Duty Status (MDS) of any inmate being considered for a Food Service assignment in the applicable Bureau inmate management system.
• Ensure inmates with an MDS “No Food Service Work” are not assigned to a Food Service work detail.
• Ensure only inmates with an MDS acknowledging “Yes Food Service Work” are assigned to a Food Service work detail.

c. Monitoring. The FSA or AFSA monitors staff assigned to Food Service for health and

cleanliness.

All Food Service staff are responsible for observing inmates for obvious health conditions and personal hygiene issues (e.g., open sores, skin irritations, cold or flu symptoms, yellow eyes, or jaundiced skin, etc). Annual physicals are not required.

If inmates report or are observed to have symptoms that may indicate they should be precluded from Food Service work, they will be referred to Health Services for re-examination before being assigned Food Service work.

The FSA ensures any inmate removed from Food Service for medical reasons is cleared to return to Food Service work.

The FSA or designee reviews the applicable Bureau inmate management system roster weekly to verify the MDS status of inmates assigned to Food Service acknowledge “Yes Food Service Work”.

d. Handwashing Procedures. Persons assigned work in Food Service must keep their hands

and arms clean. Proper handwashing procedures are:

• Hands are cleaned by vigorous friction on the surface of the lathered fingers, fingertips, areas between the fingers, hands, and arms using a cleaning compound and warm water.
• Cleaned areas are thoroughly rinsed under clean running warm water.
• Immediately follow with thorough drying using individual disposable towels, a continuous towel system, or a heated-air hand dryer.
• Hands will not be cleaned in any sink used for food preparation, warewashing, or in a service or mop sink area, nor will handwashing supplies be provided in these areas.
• Soap dispensing equipment is used to dispense handwashing soap. Bar soap is not used.
• Approved automatic handwashing devices may substitute for the washing method noted above if procedures are used to ensure chemicals are dispensed properly.

e. Handwashing Requirements. Staff and inmates in Food Service will wash their hands:

• After using the toilet room.
• When returning to work after a break.
• Immediately before engaging in food preparation, including working with exposed food, clean equipment and utensils, and unwrapped single-service and single-use articles.
• After coughing, sneezing, using a handkerchief or disposable tissue, using tobacco, eating, or drinking.
• After touching bare human body parts other than clean hands and clean, exposed portions of the arms.
• After handling soiled equipment or utensils.
• During food preparation, as often as necessary to remove soil and contamination and to prevent cross-contamination when changing tasks.
• When switching between working with raw foods to working with ready-to-eat foods.
• Before donning gloves to initiate a task that involves working with food.
• After engaging in other activities that contaminate the hands.

f. Handwashing Signs. A sign or poster instructing staff and inmates in Food Service to

wash their hands will be provided at handwashing locations and restrooms.

g. Hand Sanitizers. Hand sanitizers may be used only after handwashing. Never use them in

place of handwashing.

h. Fingernails. Persons preparing or serving food or handling clean equipment or utensils must keep their fingernails trimmed and maintained so the edges and surfaces are easily cleanable.

i. Fingernail Polish, Artificial Nails. Unless wearing intact gloves in good repair, persons

handling food, equipment, utensils, and linens may not wear fingernail polish or artificial fingernails.

j. Jewelry. Except for a plain ring such as a wedding band, no jewelry will be worn including

medical information jewelry on the arms and hands when working with food.

k. Outer Clothing. Staff and inmates in Food Service wear clean outer clothing to prevent

contamination of food, equipment, utensils, and linens:

• The inmate uniform is determined locally but will include a complete outer uniform used only for Food Service work, or a smock/apron that covers clothing authorized for wear in other areas of the institution.
• Safety shoes are worn as required in the Program Statement National Occupational Safety and Health.

l. Storage of Clothing and Personal Belongings. The FSA will identify areas for storing

authorized clothing and personal belongings such as jackets and shoes. Designated areas must be away from food preparation, storage, and serving areas, as well as utensil washing and storage areas.

m. Eating or Drinking. Staff and inmates in Food Service may eat or drink only in

designated areas where contamination of exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, linens, or other items needing protection cannot result.

n. Hair Restraints. Food Service staff and all Food Service inmates working directly

with exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, or linens will wear hair restraints such as hats, hair coverings or nets, and beard guards. Hair restraints are designed and worn to effectively keep hair from contacting exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, linens, and unwrapped single-service/single-use articles.

This section does not apply to staff employed in Food Service or Food Service inmates who pose a minimal risk of contaminating exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, or linens. This will include supervising meal service, beverage service, or wiping tables. “Minimal Risk” will be determined by the Food Service Administrator.

6. FOOD RECEIVING REQUIREMENTS

a. Temperature. Temperature of time/temperature control for safety food is checked when it is

received. Items impractical for probe temperature monitoring (eggs, milk, etc.) are determined to be in compliance by monitoring the temperature of the transport container. Immediate notification is made to the FSA, AFSA, or designee to determine disposition of any item not within the limits described below. Due to the immediate notification and disposition requirements, logs documenting receiving temperatures are not required.

• Refrigerated time/temperature control for safety foods will be at a temperature of 41°F or below when received.
• A food that is labeled frozen and shipped frozen by a food processing plant will be received frozen.
• Hot time/temperature control for safety foods delivered from outside sources will be at a temperature of 135°F or above when received.
• Raw eggs will be received and stored in refrigerated equipment that maintains an ambient air temperature of 45°F or less.
• Upon receipt, time/temperature control for safety foods are free of evidence of previous temperature abuse.

b. Eggs and Milk Product Requirements.

• Shell eggs are received clean and sound and may not exceed the restricted egg tolerances for U.S. Consumer Grade B.
• Egg products will be obtained pasteurized.
• Fluid/dry milk and milk products comply with Grade A standards and are pasteurized.
• Frozen milk products, such as ice cream, will be obtained pasteurized per “Frozen Dessert” standards.
• Cheese will be obtained pasteurized.

c. Juice Products. Pre-packaged 100% juice products will be obtained pasteurized.

d. Package Integrity. Packages must be in good condition and protect the integrity of the

contents so contents are not exposed to adulteration. Product specifications are verified upon receipt at the warehouse and against purchasing documents to ensure proper contents and quality assurance. If unable to verify or questions arise, the FSA or AFSA will be contacted for guidance. Updated specifications can be found under the Food Service Branch on the Bureau’s intranet site.

e. Delivery Inspection. To ensure compliance with these receiving requirements, delivery

inspections will be conducted. When receiving delivery of food items, a random sample of no less than 10% of delivered items will be thoroughly searched and inspected for package integrity, evidence of temperature abuse, and adherence to the National Menu Specifications. The most current National Menu Specifications must be used to evaluate acceptability of delivered items.

f. Food Service Delivery Rejection Report. If receiving staff identify a concern with a

delivery, the FSA or designee will be made aware of the concern. When it is determined by the FSA or designee that a consumable item should be rejected, a form BP-A1137, Food Service Delivery Rejection Report, must be completed. The FSA or designee is responsible for ensuring the report is correct and accurate. The completed report will be signed by the FSA or designee and forwarded with any digital photos and/or supporting documentation to the RFSA and institutional contracting staff. The RFSA will review, sign, and forward to the Central Office Food Service Branch. The Food Service Branch will review and determine if further actions are necessary. The Food Service Branch will maintain a link on the Bureau’s intranet site with delivery rejection report information pertaining to rejected items.

g. Food Dating. Received food items bearing manufacturer-assigned date labels, including

“Best if Used By/Before,” “Sell-By,” “Use-By,” and “Freeze-By” will:

• Be received prior to the manufacturer’s printed date.
• Be used within twelve months of receipt, unless spoilage occurs earlier.
• Be used before a manufacturer-assigned use-by date.
• Be discarded if exceeding the manufacturer’s date

CHAPTER 8 – FOOD SAFETY – PROTECTION AFTER RECEIVING

1. PREVENTING CONTAMINATION FROM HANDS

Inmates are prohibited from cleaning rest rooms, garbage cans, sewers, drains, and grease traps if they return to an assignment that involves contact with exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, or linens.

Food Service staff will ensure food handlers effectively clean their hands by routinely monitoring handwashing.

Except when washing fruits and vegetables, staff and inmates in Food Service may not contact exposed ready-to-eat food with their bare hands. Single-use gloves and utensils such as deli tissue, spatulas, tongs, or dispensing equipment are used to avoid contact. Staff and inmates must minimize bare hand contact with exposed food that is not ready to eat. Staff serving covered satellite trays are not required to wear single-use gloves.

2. PREVENTING CONTAMINATION WHEN TASTING

Staff and inmates in Food Service may not use a utensil more than once to taste food.

3. PACKAGED AND UNPACKAGED FOOD – SEPARATION, PACKAGING, AND

SEGREGATION

Food will be protected from cross-contamination by:

• Separating raw animal foods (e.g., beef, fish, lamb, pork, and poultry) during storage, preparation, holding, and display from raw ready-to-eat food (e.g., vegetables) and cooked ready-to-eat food.
• Except when combined as ingredients, separating raw animal foods from each other during storage, preparation, holding, and display by:
  • Using separate equipment for each type or arranging each type in equipment so cross-contamination is prevented.
  • Preparing each type of food at different times or in separate areas.
• Storing food in packages, covered containers, or wrappings, except whole uncut raw fruits and vegetables, and nuts in the shell that require peeling before consumption.
• Cleaning hermetically sealed food containers of visible soil before opening and separating fruits and vegetables from ready-to-eat food before they are washed.

4. FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS IDENTIFIED WITH COMMON NAME OF FOOD

Working containers holding food or food ingredients that are removed from their original packages will be identified with the common name of the food, except containers holding food that can be unmistakably recognized, such as dry pasta, need not be identified.

5. WASHING FRUITS AND VEGETABLES

Raw fruits and vegetables will be thoroughly washed in water to remove soil and other contaminants before being cut, combined with other ingredients, cooked, or served.

6. STORAGE OR DISPLAY OF FOOD IN CONTACT WITH WATER OR ICE

Packaged food may not be stored in direct contact with ice or water if water might enter because of the nature of its packaging, wrapping, or container, or its positioning in the ice or water.

Unpackaged food may not be stored in direct contact with un-drained ice, except:

• Whole, raw fruits or vegetables; cut, raw vegetables (e.g., celery sticks, carrot sticks, or cut potatoes); and tofu may be immersed in ice or water.
• Raw chicken and raw fish received immersed in ice in shipping containers may remain in that condition while in refrigerated storage awaiting preparation.

7. FOOD CONTACT WITH EQUIPMENT AND UTENSILS

Food must only contact surfaces of equipment and utensils that are cleaned and sanitized as specified in Chapter 11, Food Safety – Equipment.

8. IN USE UTENSIL STORAGE

During pauses in food preparation and dispensing, utensils are stored:

• In the food, with their handles above the top of the food and the container.
• In a food that is not time/temperature control for safety with their handles above the food within containers or equipment that can be closed, such as bins of sugar, flour, or cinnamon.
• On a clean part of the food preparation table or cooking equipment, if the utensil and the food contact surface are cleaned and sanitized per Chapter 11, Section 7, Cleaning of Equipment and Utensils.
• In a clean, protected location if the utensils, such as ice scoops, are used only with a food that is not time/temperature control for safety food.

9. LINENS, NAPKINS, WIPING CLOTHS, USE LIMITATION

Linens, napkins, and wiping cloths may not be used in contact with food. Cloths used for wiping are either:

• Dry and used for wiping food spills from tables.
• Wet and stored in a chemical sanitizer at a concentration specified by the manufacturer and used for wiping spills from food contact and non-food contact surfaces.

Dry or wet cloths used with raw animal foods are kept separate from cloths used for other purposes. Wet cloths used with raw animal foods are kept in a separate sanitizing solution.

Steel scrubbers and scouring pads used to remove or completely loosen soils do not require storage in a chemical sanitizer. Steel scrubbers and scouring pads will not be used for sanitizing purposes on any food contact surface.

10. GLOVES, USE LIMITATION

Wash hands prior to putting gloves on. Single-use gloves are used for only one task and discarded when damaged or soiled, or when interruptions occur in the operation. Never blow into gloves or roll gloves to make them easier to put on or wash and reuse.

Cut-resistant gloves used to protect the hands during operations requiring cutting are only used in contact with food that is subsequently cooked and are covered by a single-use glove.

11. USING CLEAN TABLEWARE FOR SECOND PORTIONS AND REFILLS

Except for filling a drinking cup, used tableware is not used to get second portions from self-service areas.

12. FOOD STORAGE

Food will be protected from contamination by storing it:

• In a clean, dry location.
• Where it is not exposed to splash, dust, or other contamination.
• At least six inches above the floor, except:
  • Cased food in waterproof containers such as bottles or cans may be stored less than six inches above the floor on pallets.
  • Dairy containers in plastic crates may be stored in a refrigerator on a floor that is clean and not exposed to moisture.

13. FOOD STORAGE, SHELF STABLE

Shelf-stable foods are stored between 45oF and 80oF when possible. The national health code specifies that dry storage areas are not considered time/temperature control items and therefore would not require temperature monitoring and recording.

14. STORAGE, PROHIBITED AREAS

Food, cleaned and sanitized equipment and utensils, laundered linens, single-service/single-use articles must not be stored:

• In locker rooms.
• In toilet rooms.
• In dressing rooms.
• In garbage rooms.
• In mechanical rooms.
• Under sewer lines that are not shielded to intercept potential drips.
• Under leaking water lines, including leaking automatic fire sprinkler heads, or under lines on which water has condensed.
• Under open stairwells.
• Under other sources of contamination.

15. FOOD DISPLAY

Except for nuts in the shell and whole raw fruit intended for hulling or peeling before consumption, food on display will be protected by the use of packaging, sneeze guards, display cases, or other means.

16. SELF-SERVICE OPERATIONS

Self-service operations such as buffets or salad bars for ready-to-eat foods are provided with sneeze guards, utensils, or dispensing methods that protect food from contamination and are monitored by staff trained in safe operating procedures. Self-serve salad/hot bars may not be used unless food is protected from contamination by being kept in dispensers designed to provide protection, protected displays provided with the proper utensils to prevent the handle from coming into contact with the product, original containers designed for dispensing, or individual packages or portions.

CHAPTER 9 – FOOD SAFETY – DESTRUCTION OF ORGANISMS OF PUBLIC

HEALTH CONCERN

1. RAW ANIMAL FOODS

Raw animal foods such as eggs, fish, meat, poultry, and foods containing these must be cooked to heat all parts of the food to a temperature and for a time that complies with one of the following methods based on the food being cooked. The most current version of the FDA Food Code will supersede the below cooking requirements when applicable and will be updated for consistency in the Bureau curriculum.

• 145°F or above for 15 seconds
  • Shell eggs that will be served immediately.
  • Seafood – including fish, shellfish, and crustaceans.
  • Steaks/chops of pork, beef, veal, and lamb.
• 155°F for 17 seconds
  • Ground meat – including beef, pork, and other meats.
  • Injected meat – including brined ham and flavor-injected roasts.
  • Mechanically tenderized meat.
  • Ratites (mostly flightless birds with flat breastbones) – including ostrich and emu.
  • Ground seafood – including chopped or minced seafood.
  • Shelled eggs that will be held for service.

Minimum Temperature and Time Injected Meats and Ratites Minimum Temperature Minimum Time 145°F 3 minutes 150°F 1 minute 158°F <1 second (instantaneous)

• 165°F for <1 second (instantaneous)
  • Poultry – including whole or ground chicken, turkey, or duck.
  • Stuffing made with fish, meat, or poultry.
  • Stuffed meat, seafood, poultry, or pasta.
  • Dishes that include previously cooked TCS ingredients (raw ingredients should be cooked to their required minimum internal temperatures).
• 145°F for 4 minutes
  • Roasts of pork, beef, veal, and lamb.
  • Roasts may be cooked to the below alternate cooking times and temperatures depending on the type of roast and oven used.

• In an oven preheated to the temperature specified for the roast weight in the following chart and held at that temperature.

Oven Temperature Based on Roast Weight Oven Type Less than 10 lbs More than 10 lbs Still Dry 350oF or more 250oF or more Convection 325oF or more 250oF or more High Humidity* 250oF or less 250oF or less * Relative humidity greater than 90% for at least 1 hour as measured in the cooking chamber or exit of the oven, or in a moisture impermeable bag that provides 100% humidity

• As specified in the following chart, to heat all parts of the food to a temperature and for the holding time that corresponds to that temperature:

Temperature Time in Minutes Temperature Time in Seconds 130°F 112 147°F 134 131°F 89 149°F 85 133°F 56 151°F 54 135°F 36 153°F 34 136°F 28 155°F 22 138°F 18 157°F 14 140°F 12 158°F 0 142°F 8 144°F 5 145°F 4

• Whole-muscle, intact steaks can be cooked on a grill but must meet the same standard in time and temperature as beef roasts.

• 135°F (no minimum time)
  • Food from plants, including fruits, vegetables, grains (e.g., rice, pasta), and legumes (e.g., beans, refried beans) that will be hot held for service.

CHAPTER 10 – FOOD SAFETY – LIMITATION OF GROWTH OF ORGANISMS OF

PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN

1. TEMPERATURE CONTROL

Frozen food will be kept at or below 0°F in storage. Time/temperature control for safety food will be thawed:

• Under refrigeration that maintains the food temperature at 41°F or less.
• As part of the cooking process, if the frozen food is cooked according to this program statement.
• When not possible by either method above, completely submerged under running water either:
  • At a water temperature of 70 °F or below, with sufficient water velocity to agitate and float off loose particles in an overflow, for a period that does not allow thawed portions of ready-to-eat food to rise above 41°F.
  • For a period that does not allow thawed portions of a raw food requiring cooking to be above 41°F for more than four hours, including the time the food is exposed to the running water and the time needed for preparation and cooking, or the time it takes to lower the food to 41°F if it is not being immediately cooked.

2. TIME AS A PUBLIC HEALTH CONTROL

If time without temperature control is used as the public health control for a working supply of time/temperature control for safety food before cooking, or for ready-to-eat time/temperature control for safety food that is displayed or held for service:

• The food will have an initial temperature of 41°F or less when removed from cold holding temperature control, or 135°F or greater when removed from hot holding temperature control.
• The food will be marked or otherwise identified (e.g., verbally by staff) to indicate the time that is four hours past the point in time when it is removed from temperature control.
• The food will be cooked and served. It will be served at any temperature if ready-to-eat, or if not served, it must be discarded within four hours from the point in time when the food is removed from temperature control.
• Food in unmarked containers or packages or marked to exceed the four-hour time limit will be discarded.
• Written procedures are provided to personnel responsible for ensuring proper disposition of food when time is used as a public health control outside of Food Service (SHU, etc.).

3. COOLING

Cooked time/temperature control for safety foods will be cooled within two hours from 135°F to 70°F and within a total of six hours from 135°F to 41°F or less.

Time/temperature control for safety food will be cooled within four hours to 41 °F or less if prepared from ingredients at room temperature, such as reconstituted foods and canned tuna. Ingredients should be pre-chilled in original containers to ensure these requirements are met.

4. COOLING METHODS

Cooling is done per the time and temperature criteria in this program statement by one or more of the following methods based on the type of food:

• Using rapid cooling equipment.
• Placing the food in shallow pans.
• Separating the food into smaller or thinner portions.
• Stirring the food in a container placed in an ice water bath.
• Using containers that facilitate heat transfer.
• Adding ice as an ingredient.
• Other effective methods.

When placed in cooling or cold holding equipment, food containers in which food is being cooled are:

• Arranged in the equipment to provide maximum heat transfer through the container walls.
• Loosely covered or uncovered if protected from overhead contamination during the cooling period to facilitate heat transfer from the surface of the food.

Leftovers which have not been cooled by the time, temperature, and methods listed in this chapter will be disposed of and not served. At no time will leftover TCS foods be used for next day service.

5. TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOOD, HOT AND COLD

HOLDING

Except during preparation, cooking, or cooling, or when time is used as the public health control, time/temperature control for safety food will be kept at 135°F or above, or at 41°F or less.

6. READY-TO-EAT, TIME/TEMPERATURE CONTROL FOR SAFETY FOOD, DATE

MARKING

Refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared and held in a food establishment for more than 24 hours will be clearly marked to indicate the date or day by which the food will be consumed on the premises or discarded when held at a temperature of 41°F or less for a maximum of five days. The day of preparation will be counted as Day One.

Refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food prepared and packaged by a USDA-inspected food processing plant will be clearly marked at the time the original container is opened in a food establishment and if the food is held for more than 24 hours, to indicate the date or day by which the food will be consumed on the premises or discarded when held at a temperature of 41°F or less for a maximum of five days. The day the original container is opened in the food establishment will be counted as Day One and the day or date marked by the food establishment may not exceed a manufacturer’s use-by date if the manufacturer determined the use-by date based on food safety.

A refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food that is frequently rewrapped, such as lunch meat or roast, or an item for which date marking is impractical, such as soft-serve mix or milk in a dispensing machine, may be marked as noted above, or by an alternative method.

A refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food ingredient or a portion of a refrigerated, ready-to-eat, time/temperature control for safety food that is subsequently combined with additional ingredients or portions of food retains the date marking of the earliest-prepared or first-prepared ingredient.

7. FOOD PRESERVATION LIMITATIONS

No Food Service Department will:

• Freeze food prepared in the department for later use.
• Smoke food for preservation rather than for flavor enhancement.
• Use food additives or components such as vinegar for preservation rather than for flavor enhancement, or to render a food not time/temperature control for safety.
• Cure food.

8. SPECIAL FOOD SAFETY REQUIREMENTS

Foods made with uncooked eggs, such as Caesar salad, hollandaise sauce, mayonnaise, or eggnog, will not be prepared.

The FSA at Care Level III and IV facilities ensures raw seed sprouts are not served.

CHAPTER 11 – FOOD SAFETY – EQUIPMENT

1. FOOD EQUIPMENT, CERTIFICATION

Food Service equipment must meet the ANSI standard for sanitation and safety and be certified or listed by a nationally recognized testing agency (e.g., National Science Foundation (NSF), Underwriters Laboratories (UL), etc.). Only a nationally recognized testing agency may be considered an independent outside source to certify equipment. Repairs are authorized when the integrity of the equipment is maintained as described in the FDA Food Code and recertification of equipment is not required.

2. USE LIMITATIONS

The following items will not be used in Food Service:

• Sponges.
• Copper, brass, or pewter in contact with food.
• Equipment, utensils, or cutting implements not specifically manufactured by the Food Service industry under accredited safety standards.
• Wood and wicker, except:
  • Hard maple or an equivalent hard, close-grained wood may be used for cutting boards, cutting blocks, bakers tables, and utensils such as rolling pins and doughnut dowels.
  • Whole, uncut, raw fruits and vegetables or nuts in the shell may be kept in the wood shipping containers they were received in until used.
  • Wood pallets may be used to store canned goods and other non-absorbent containers.

3. BACK-FLOW PREVENTION

A direct connection may not exist between the sewage system and a drain originating from equipment in which food, portable equipment, or utensils are placed.

4. WALK-IN REFRIGERATOR AND FREEZER REQUIREMENTS

Walk-in refrigerator and freezer units will be provided with a plastic strip curtain, air curtain, or other means to reduce cold air loss as a person passes though the doorway. They are not held or propped open at any time. Walk-in refrigerators and freezers must have a device that allows the door to be opened from the inside even if locked from the outside. Mobile refrigerator/freezer trailers which are not permanently fixed or attached to a building are exempt from having a device that allows the door to be opened from the inside.

5. LUBRICANTS

Lubricants will be certified food grade when used on food contact surfaces, on the bearings and gears located on or within food contact surfaces, or in locations where leaks, drips, or other means will contaminate food contact surfaces.

6. WAREWASHING AND SANITIZING

a. Sanitizing Exposure Time. Chemical manual or mechanical operations, including

application of sanitizing chemicals by immersion, manual swabbing, brushing, or pressure spraying, are done using a solution as specified in this program statement by providing an exposure time specified by the manufacturer.

b. Sanitizing Solutions, Testing Devices. A test kit or other device that accurately measures the concentration in mg/L of sanitizing solutions is provided.

c. Warewashing Machines, Internal Baffles. Warewashing machine wash and rinse tanks are

equipped with baffles, curtains, or other means to minimize cross-contamination.

d. Warewashing Machines, Temperature Measuring Devices. A warewashing machine is

equipped with a temperature measuring device that shows water temperature in each wash and rinse tank and as the water enters the hot water sanitizing final rinse manifold or the chemical sanitizing solution tank.

e. Warewashing Machines, Automatic Dispensing of Detergents and Sanitizers. A

warewashing machine is designed and equipped to:

• Automatically dispense detergents and sanitizers.
• Verify by visual means or a visual or audible alarm, that detergents and sanitizers are delivered to the washing and sanitizing cycles.

f. Manual Warewashing, Sink Compartment Requirements. Except as specified below, a

sink with at least three compartments is provided for manually washing, rinsing, and sanitizing equipment and utensils.

Sink compartments are large enough to immerse the largest equipment and utensils. If equipment or utensils are too large, a warewashing machine or alternative equipment is used. Alternative manual warewashing equipment may be used when there are special cleaning needs or constraints, and use is approved by the FSA.

g. Warewashing Sinks, Use Limitation. If a warewashing sink is used to wash produce or

thaw food, it is cleaned and sanitized before and after each use.

h. Warewashing Equipment, Cleaning Agents. When used for warewashing, the wash

compartment of a sink, mechanical warewasher, or wash receptacle of alternative manual warewashing equipment contains a wash solution of one of the following: soap, detergent, acid cleaner, alkaline cleaner, degreaser, abrasive cleaner, or other cleaning agent per the cleaning agent manufacturer’s label instructions.

i. Manual Warewashing Equipment, Wash Solution Temperature. The temperature of the

wash solution is kept at or above that specified on the cleaning agent manufacturer’s label instructions. If none are provided, the FDA Food Code recommends 110°F.

j. Mechanical Warewashing Equipment, Wash Solution Temperature. The temperature of

the wash solution in spray-type warewashers that use hot water to sanitize may not be less than:

• For a stationary-rack, single-temperature machine, 165°F.
• For a stationary-rack, dual-temperature machine, 150°F.
• For a single-tank, conveyor, dual-temperature machine, 160°F.
• For a multi-tank, conveyor, multi-temperature machine, 150°F.

The temperature of the wash solution in spray-type warewashers that use chemicals to sanitize may not be less than 120 °F.

k. Manual Warewashing Equipment, Hot Water Sanitization Temperatures. If immersion

in hot water is used for sanitizing in a manual operation, the temperature is kept at 171 °F or above and the equipment or utensil is immersed for 30 seconds.

l. Mechanical Warewashing Equipment, Hot Water Sanitization Temperatures. Except as

specified below, in a mechanical operation, the temperature of the fresh hot water sanitizing rinse as it enters the manifold may not be more than 194 °F or less than:

• 165°F for a stationary-rack, single-temperature machine.
• For all other machines, 180°F.

The maximum temperature above does not apply to high pressure and temperature systems with wand-type or hand-held spraying devices used for in-place cleaning and sanitizing.

m. Mechanical Warewashing Equipment, Sanitization Pressure. The flow pressure of the

fresh hot water sanitizing rinse in a warewashing machine may not be less than 15 pounds or more than 25 pounds per square inch, as measured in the water line immediately downstream or upstream from the fresh hot water sanitizing rinse control valve.

n. Manual and Mechanical Warewashing Equipment, Chemical Sanitization Temperature,

pH, Concentration, and Hardness. An iodine solution has a minimum temperature of 75°F, a pH of 5.0 or less (or no higher than the level for which the manufacturer specifies the solution is effective), and a concentration between 12.5 mg/L and 25 mg/L.

A quaternary ammonium compound solution has a minimum temperature of 75°F, a concentration as required by the manufacturer’s directions on the label, and is used only in water with a hardness no greater than specified by the label.

Concentration of the sanitizing solution is determined using a test kit or other device.

7. CLEANING OF EQUIPMENT AND UTENSILS

a. Equipment, Food-Contact Surfaces, Non-Food-Contact Surfaces, and Utensils.

Equipment food-contact surfaces and utensils not in use will be clean to sight and touch. Food-contact surfaces of cooking equipment and pans are kept free of grease deposits and soil accumulations. Non-food-contact surfaces are kept free of dust, dirt, food residue, and other debris.

b. Equipment Food-Contact Surfaces and Utensils. Equipment food-contact surfaces and

utensils will be cleaned:

• Before each use with a different raw animal food such as beef, fish, lamb, pork, or poultry.
• Each time there is a change from working with raw foods to working with ready-to-eat foods.
• Between uses with raw fruits and vegetables and with time/temperature control for safety food.
• Before using or storing a food temperature measuring device.
• At any time during operation when contamination may have occurred.

If used continuously with time/temperature control for safety food, food-contact surfaces and utensils are cleaned throughout the day at least every four hours, except:

• In storage, containers of time/temperature control for safety food and their contents are maintained at safe temperatures specified in this program statement and containers are cleaned when they are empty.
• Utensils and equipment are used to prepare time/temperature control for safety food in a refrigerated room and the four-hour time limit is exceeded.
• Utensils and equipment are cleaned at the frequency in the following chart that corresponds to the temperature and the cleaning frequency based on the ambient

temperature of the refrigerated room, and the temperature is checked regularly and documented:

Temperature Cleaning Frequency 41°F or less 24 Hours

• Containers in serving situations, such as salad bars and cafeteria lines holding ready-to-eat time/temperature control for safety food maintained at safe storage temperatures, are intermittently combined with additional supplies of the same food that are at the required temperature, and the containers are cleaned after the completion of each meal.
• Temperature-measuring devices are maintained in contact with food, such as a container of deli food or in a roast, held at safe storage temperatures.
• Equipment is used for storage of food such as a reach-in refrigerator and is cleaned as necessary to prevent soil accumulation.

Surfaces of utensils and equipment contacting food that is not time/temperature control for safety are cleaned any time when contamination may have occurred, and:

• At least every 24 hours for iced tea dispensers.
• After each meal for self-service utensils such as tongs, scoops, or ladles.
• In equipment such as beverage/condiment dispensing nozzles and enclosed components of equipment such as cooking oil storage tanks and distribution lines, beverage and syrup dispensing lines or tubes, and water vending equipment, at a frequency specified by the manufacturer.
• Ice machine storage bins that continually store ice are emptied, cleaned, and sanitized per the manufacturer’s recommendation. This should be accomplished at least quarterly when there is no manufacturer’s recommendation.

Non-food contact surfaces of equipment are cleaned as necessary to prevent soil accumulation.

c. Wet Cleaning. Equipment food contact surfaces will be effectively washed to remove or

completely loosen soils by using the manual or mechanical means necessary such as the application of detergents containing wetting agents and emulsifiers; abrasive cleaners; hot water; brushes; scouring pads; high-pressure sprays; or ultrasonic devices.

d. Washing, Procedures for Alternative Manual Warewashing Equipment. If washing in

sink compartments or a warewashing machine is impractical, such as when the equipment is fixed or the utensils are too large, washing is done using alternative equipment such as:

• Brushes, steel scrubbers, or other implements.
• High-pressure detergent sprayers, low- or line-pressure spray detergent foamers, or detergent-supplied hoses (only if the equipment does not have electrical or gas components).
• Other task-specific cleaning equipment that does not harm gas or electric components.

And in accordance with the following procedures:

• Equipment is disassembled as necessary to allow detergent access to all parts.
• Components and utensils are scraped or rough-cleaned to remove food particles.
• Equipment and utensils are washed as specified in this Chapter, Section 7c, Wet Cleaning procedures.

e. Rinsing Procedures. Washed utensils and equipment are rinsed before sanitizing so

abrasives are removed and cleaning chemicals are removed or diluted by:

• Using a freshwater spray with a control nozzle which only sprays rinse water when physically activated, is only used when equipment or utensils have no electrical or gas components, in three-compartment sink operations with the rinse sink left empty.
• Other effective means when rinsing equipment or utensils with utility connections, ensuring the process does not harm electrical or gas components.
• Handheld sprayers used for rinsing will not be installed with a metal ring that is designed to keep the dispensing action constantly opened.

8. PROTECTION OF CLEAN ITEMS

a. Equipment and Utensils, Air-Drying Required. After cleaning and sanitizing, staff will

ensure equipment and utensils are:

• Adequately drained before contact with food.
• Air-dried before storage, which may restrict air drying – racks designed for specific pans, trays and utensils will be used when possible.
• Not cloth dried.

b. Equipment and Utensils, Storage. Clean, air-dried equipment and utensils are stored

covered or inverted. Single-service and single-use articles are stored in a clean, dry location and kept in the original package or stored using other means which protect from contamination until used.

c. Kitchenware and Tableware. Single-use, single-service, and properly sanitized utensils are

handled, displayed, and dispensed preventing food contamination and contamination of contact surfaces.

Knives, forks, and spoons that are not pre-wrapped are presented so that only the handles are touched by staff and inmates employed in Food Service if self-service is provided.

Knives, forks, and spoons that are pre-wrapped, such as in a napkin, and not individually sealed in plastic, are stored in a way that prevents contamination.

9. UTENSILS, CONSUMER SELF-SERVICE

A food-dispensing utensil is available for each container dispensed at a self-service unit such as a buffet or salad bar.

10. CAN OPENERS

Cutting or piercing parts of can openers are kept sharp to minimize creation of metal fragments that can contaminate food when the container is opened. Mounting to tables must be done according to manufacturer’s recommendation.

11. CUTTING SURFACES

Surfaces such as cutting blocks and boards which are subject to scratching and scoring are resurfaced if they can no longer be effectively cleaned and sanitized or discarded if not capable of being resurfaced.

12. BULK MILK DISPENSERS

The bulk milk container dispensing tube is cut on the diagonal, leaving no more than one inch protruding from the chilled dispensing head. The plastic protective covering over the dispensing tube will be removed prior to service.

13. TEMPERATURE MEASURING DEVICES

a. Food Temperature Measuring Devices. Food temperature measuring devices are readily

accessible to attain and maintain specified temperatures. A device with a small-diameter probe designed to measure the temperature of thin masses is used to accurately measure temperature in foods such as meat patties and fish filets.

b. Temperature Measuring Devices, Manual Warewashing. In manual warewashing

operations, a temperature measuring device is readily accessible for frequently measuring washing and sanitizing temperatures.

c. Temperature Measuring Devices, Food Storage. In a mechanically refrigerated or hot food

storage unit, the sensor of a temperature measuring device is located to measure the air temperature or a simulated product temperature in the warmest part of a mechanically refrigerated unit and the coolest part of a hot food storage unit.

Except as specified below, cold or hot holding equipment used for time/temperature control for safety food is equipped with at least one integral or permanent temperature measuring device located to allow easy viewing.

This section does not apply to equipment for which a temperature measuring device is not practical for measuring ambient air because of the design, type, and use of the equipment, such as heat lamps, cold plates, steam tables, insulated food transport containers, and salad bars.

• Thermometers designed to be accurate to a specific +/- °F will be taken into consideration when monitoring temperatures. Cook Supervisors monitoring food preparation and storage areas will always have access to internal probe thermometers to ensure food safety compliance.

Thermometers will be purchased by the FSA or designee via the Food Service Cost Center.

14. EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE AND SECURITY

Only Facilities Department staff or qualified non-Bureau personnel perform or supervise maintenance and repairs to Food Service equipment.

Access to Food Service equipment is controlled as follows:

• Padlocks will be present on all dish machines and revolving oven main access power panels where padlock compatible locking mechanisms are already present as part of the certified equipment purchased from the manufacturer.
• All equipment will be maintained according to manufacturer’s specifications. Generally, manufacturer’s screws will not be replaced with tamper resistant screws as this may void the outside independent source certification. However, security screws may be used as a security enhancement when authorized by the Warden. All staff and inmates receive documented training that access to energized circuits is not authorized, even when screws are missing, and may cause serious injury.

All staff and inmates will adhere to equipment labels and operating instructions that state the power source must be de-energized prior to access and local lockout/tag-out procedures will be followed.

Revolving tray ovens are evaluated by the Safety Administrator to determine if cavities within the oven constitute confined space. If so, the FSA ensures provisions for confined space entry are adhered to. See the Program Statement National Occupational Safety and Health. Revolving tray ovens will be inspected regularly and cleaned to ensure grease does not build up.

15. EQUIPMENT SAFETY

Machine guarding is in place during operation. Equipment (e.g., vegetable slicer attachments) not equipped with automatic shutoff capabilities, will be operated in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendations. No equipment will be altered to bypass machine guarding safety mechanisms.

16. DEEP FAT FRYING

Deep fat frying is only done in equipment specifically designed for it. Tilting skillets or other deep-sided equipment are only used for pan-frying and contain no more grease than required to keep the cooking surface coated.

17. WASTE HANDLING

a. Receptacles. Receptacles for refuse, recyclables, and returnables and for use with materials containing food residue are durable, cleanable, insect- and rodent-resistant, leakproof, and non-absorbent.

b. Covering Receptacles. Receptacles and waste handling units for refuse and uncleaned

recyclables are kept covered:

• Inside Food Service if they contain food residue and are not in continuous use.
• With tight-fitting lids or doors if kept outside Food Service.

c. Cleaning Receptacles. Soiled receptacles and waste handling units for refuse, recyclables,

and returnables are cleaned as often as necessary to prevent them from developing soil buildup or attracting insects and rodents.

d. Fats, Oils, and Grease. When using deep fat fryers, or processes that produce large amounts of fats, oils, and grease, recycle these through a local grease rendering or food recycling company. If this is not an option, the fats, oils, and grease are stored in sealed containers and

properly disposed of as solid waste. Never dump them down drains. Following are specific practices to help reduce fats, oils, and grease entering the sanitary system:

• Put waste oil from deep fat fryers in a sealed container for recycling. Wipe the fryer with towels and dispose of the towels as solid waste. Ensure any spills outside the container are cleaned up.
• Empty drip pan contents of grills, roasters, and broilers into a sealed container for recycling. Wipe grease-laden pots and pans with towels and dispose of the towels as solid waste.
• Excess liquid food products such as syrup, batter, gravy, sauce, and dairy items are handled as solid waste. Never dump these down drains.
• Butter and butter byproducts: pre-scrape utensils and containers before washing and dispose of non-recyclable materials as solid waste.
• Dispose of meat scraps and trimmings as solid waste.
• Pulpers and garbage disposals send unwanted food byproducts into the sewer and should not be used.
• Frequently clean sink strainers and dispose of contents as solid waste. Sinks are not used if strainers are removed. This applies to both basin and floor-type sinks.
• Regularly inspect containers used to store recyclable liquids. Store containers in locations where sanitary and storm drains are not located. Follow the Spill Prevention and Cleanup Plan developed by the Safety Administrator.

18. PHYSICAL FACILITIES

a. Rodent and Insect Control. Insects, rodents, and other pests are controlled by:

• Routinely inspecting incoming shipments of food and supplies.
• Routinely inspecting the department for evidence of pests and reporting findings to the Safety Department.
• If pests are found, using methods such as trapping devices or other controls.
• Eliminating harborage conditions.
• For additional information, refer to the Program Statement National Occupational Safety and Health and/or institutional written plan for pest control.

b. Insect Control Devices, Design, and Installation. Insect control devices used to

electrocute or stun flying insects are designed to keep the insect within the device. They are never installed over a food preparation area or so that dead insects and insect fragments fall on food, equipment, utensils, and linens.

c. Outer Openings, Protected. Outer openings of Food Service are protected against insects

and rodents by:

• Filling or closing holes and other gaps along floors, walls, and ceilings.
• Closed, tight-fitting windows, or if the windows are kept open, they are screened.
• Solid, self-closing, tight-fitting doors, except:
  • Exterior doors need not be self-closing if they are limited use, i.e., not used except for a designated emergency exit.
  • If the doors are kept open for deliveries, the openings are protected by air curtains to control flying insects.

d. Drying Mops. After use, mops are placed where they can air-dry without soiling walls,

equipment, or supplies.

e. Storing Maintenance Tools. Brooms, mops, vacuum cleaners, and similar items are stored

so they do not contaminate food, equipment, utensils, and linens and in a way that facilitates cleaning the storage area.

f. Maintaining Premises, Unnecessary Items, and Litter. Food Service is free of unnecessary

items, such as equipment that is nonfunctional or no longer used, and litter.

g. Laundering.

• Wiping cloths are replaced with clean cloths daily.
• Soiled linens are kept in clean, nonabsorbent receptacles or clean, washable laundry bags and stored and transported to prevent contamination of food, equipment, utensils, and single-service and single-use articles.
• Linens are mechanically washed and dried.
• Laundry facilities in Food Service are used only for items used in Food Service operations.
• If a mechanical clothes washer or dryer is provided in Food Service, it is located so that it is protected from contamination and where there is no exposed food, clean equipment, utensils, and linens, or unwrapped single-use or single-service articles.

h. Dining space. Dining Space is adequate to allow for meals to be served, affording each

inmate the opportunity to have at least 20 minutes of dining time for each meal.

i. Food Preparation Area. The food preparation area includes a space for food preparation

based on population size, type of food preparation, and methods of meal service.

j. Toilet Rooms. Toilet rooms will be conveniently located and accessible to Food Service

staff and inmates during all hours of operation.

k. Handwashing Sinks. A handwashing sink will be located to allow convenient use by

staff and inmates in food preparation, food dispensing, and warewashing areas and in, or immediately adjacent to, toilet rooms.

CHAPTER 12 – INSTITUTION GARDEN OPERATIONS

An institution garden is any operation which produces food to be consumed in Food Service and is supervised by a Vocational Training Instructor with specialized training in horticulture.

An approved horticulture program will be responsible for ensuring garden operations are consistent with federal, state, and local laws, regulations, policies, and permit requirements for agricultural production, environmental protection, and resource conservation. Institution Food Service Departments are authorized to accept produce from Bureau garden programs (e.g. Federal Prison Industries (FPI) and institution horticulture programs) for the incorporation into meal production.

Food produced in a garden and received in Food Service is entered into inventory using the BP-A0100, Stores Requisition, Invoice & Transfer Receipt.

REFERENCES

Program Statements Acceptance of Donations Correctional Services Procedures Manual Environmental Management Systems National Environmental Protection National Fire Protection National Occupational Safety and Health Patient Care Property Management Manual Religious Beliefs and Practices Staff Meetings Workers’ Compensation Program

Other Bureau Forms BP-A0100 Stores Requisition, Invoice & Transfer Receipt BP-A1137 Food Service Delivery Rejection Report

Federal Regulations Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 5 – Administrative Personnel

Other References U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Food Code (most current version applies) U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (most current version applies). Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

ACA Standards Performance-Based Standards and Expected Practices for Adult Correctional Institutions (5 th Edition): 5-ACI-4A-18

Performance-Based Standards and Expected Practices for Adult Detention Facilities (5th Edition): 5-ALDF-2E-17, 5-ALDF-4A-01, 5-ALDF-4A-02, 5-ALDF-4A-03, 5-ALDF-4A-04, 5-

ALDF-4A-05, 5-ALDF-4A-06, 5-ALDF-4A-07M, 5-ALDF-4A-08, 5-ALDF-4A-09, 5-ALDF-

4A-10, 5-ALDF-4A-11M, 5-ALDF-4A-12, 5-ALDF-4A-13M, 5-ALDF-4A-14, 5-ALDF-4A- 15M, 5-ALDF-4A-16, 5-ALDF-4A-17, and 5-ALDF-4A-18

Records Retention Requirements Requirements and retention guidance for records and information applicable to this program are available in the Records and Information Disposition Schedule (RIDS) on the Bureau’s intranet site.

Reviewed for legal accuracy by Elizabeth Franklin-Best, Esq., Principal Attorney·September 2026