SO, how often does the deli change meats? Like those big things of fried chicken, or those sandwiches. Do they throw them out every day? How long do they keep them on display?
-- Edited by whattheAR on Saturday 2nd of November 2013 12:12:46 PM
All rotisserie chicken and turkey breasts: 4 hours
Steam table or Bistro food is supposed to be 2 hours, but is stretched to 3.
All other hot food, such as sandwiches, popcorn chicken etc.: 2 hours
As best I know, cold sandwiches and other deli prepared items get 3 days.
Thank you - I'm not a scheduled cook, I just help out if the cook is busy and they keep track of all of that, so I didn't know what the actual times were (was actually told by a couple of people that the time for fried, baked, BBQ and rotisserie chickens was 4 to 6 hours, and that sandwiches and popcorn chicken was "up to" 4. Obviously, someone at our store is playing games with the times to reduce shrink.)
-- Edited by wageslave on Saturday 2nd of November 2013 02:02:38 PM
Part of that depends on the department manager at that store (some will push the limits and leave stuff out longer than they're supposed to.) Everything left over at closing is weighed, scanned out, and thrown away. During the day, everything has a maximum time we're allowed to sell it for. Hot sandwiches are supposed to be thrown away after 4 hours; items in the hot bar can't be sold if they've been out for more than a certain length of time, depending on what it is. (Every time something is cooked, we log the time it went into the hot bar. When it gets close to the time limit, replacements are cooked, and the old stuff is scanned out and thrown away.)
Any bagged item in the "henhouse" (that case that holds the hot food you can get yourself like bagged chickens or hot sandwiches) is supposed to have the time it was put out there on the package. Look for a round clock face, with a number written on it, or two hands drawn on showing a time. The number is what time it was put out, and you can judge from that if it's something you're willing to buy. Be aware that we're not allowed to actually tell you when something was cooked, we're only supposed to say, "yes, it's fresh," "it hasn't been out long," or "we just replaced that."
Part of that depends on the department manager at that store (some will push the limits and leave stuff out longer than they're supposed to.) Everything left over at closing is weighed, scanned out, and thrown away. During the day, everything has a maximum time we're allowed to sell it for. Hot sandwiches are supposed to be thrown away after 4 hours; items in the hot bar can't be sold if they've been out for more than a certain length of time, depending on what it is. (Every time something is cooked, we log the time it went into the hot bar. When it gets close to the time limit, replacements are cooked, and the old stuff is scanned out and thrown away.)
Any bagged item in the "henhouse" (that case that holds the hot food you can get yourself like bagged chickens or hot sandwiches) is supposed to have the time it was put out there on the package. Look for a round clock face, with a number written on it, or two hands drawn on showing a time. The number is what time it was put out, and you can judge from that if it's something you're willing to buy. Be aware that we're not allowed to actually tell you when something was cooked, we're only supposed to say, "yes, it's fresh," "it hasn't been out long," or "we just replaced that."
how often do they replace those cold sandwiches in plastic that look like gas stations sandwiches?
Part of that depends on the department manager at that store (some will push the limits and leave stuff out longer than they're supposed to.) Everything left over at closing is weighed, scanned out, and thrown away. During the day, everything has a maximum time we're allowed to sell it for. Hot sandwiches are supposed to be thrown away after 4 hours; items in the hot bar can't be sold if they've been out for more than a certain length of time, depending on what it is. (Every time something is cooked, we log the time it went into the hot bar. When it gets close to the time limit, replacements are cooked, and the old stuff is scanned out and thrown away.)
Any bagged item in the "henhouse" (that case that holds the hot food you can get yourself like bagged chickens or hot sandwiches) is supposed to have the time it was put out there on the package. Look for a round clock face, with a number written on it, or two hands drawn on showing a time. The number is what time it was put out, and you can judge from that if it's something you're willing to buy. Be aware that we're not allowed to actually tell you when something was cooked, we're only supposed to say, "yes, it's fresh," "it hasn't been out long," or "we just replaced that."
how often do they replace those cold sandwiches in plastic that look like gas stations sandwiches?
We make new ones every day, but they're allowed to stay out for a couple of days. There will be a "sell by" date on the label, and the closer you are to that date, the longer the sandwich has been there. At our store, it's unusual for a sandwich to be out longer than the day after we made it, but if you're really worried about how long it's been out, check the date. For example, if you wanted one today, Nov. 2, you'd look at the date on the label. If it says Nov. 2, you know it was made at least yesterday, and maybe Thursday. (I'm not sure if the limit is 2 days or 3 days.)
All rotisserie chicken and turkey breasts: 4 hours
Steam table or Bistro food is supposed to be 2 hours, but is stretched to 3.
All other hot food, such as sandwiches, popcorn chicken etc.: 2 hours
As best I know, cold sandwiches and other deli prepared items get 3 days.
Thank you - I'm not a scheduled cook, I just help out if the cook is busy and they keep track of all of that, so I didn't know what the actual times were (was actually told by a couple of people that the time for fried, baked, BBQ and rotisserie chickens was 4 to 6 hours, and that sandwiches and popcorn chicken was "up to" 4. Obviously, someone at our store is playing games with the times to reduce shrink.)
-- Edited by wageslave on Saturday 2nd of November 2013 02:02:38 PM
No problem... let me say "thank you" for helping out your cook. It's not an awful job, but it's a lot of work, so any help is appreciated when you can get it.
Every deli should be following what is called a "PPST" sheet daily, which dictates how much chicken is produced and when it is set out. You can fudge it all you want, right or wrong, but it can come back to bite you if you do.
Really.. other than the rotisserie chickens, you're gonna wanna pull your 8pc chickens, sandwiches, popcorn etc every two hours... It just looks gross after too long.
All rotisserie chicken and turkey breasts: 4 hours
Steam table or Bistro food is supposed to be 2 hours, but is stretched to 3.
All other hot food, such as sandwiches, popcorn chicken etc.: 2 hours
As best I know, cold sandwiches and other deli prepared items get 3 days.
Thank you - I'm not a scheduled cook, I just help out if the cook is busy and they keep track of all of that, so I didn't know what the actual times were (was actually told by a couple of people that the time for fried, baked, BBQ and rotisserie chickens was 4 to 6 hours, and that sandwiches and popcorn chicken was "up to" 4. Obviously, someone at our store is playing games with the times to reduce shrink.)
-- Edited by wageslave on Saturday 2nd of November 2013 02:02:38 PM
No problem... let me say "thank you" for helping out your cook. It's not an awful job, but it's a lot of work, so any help is appreciated when you can get it.
Every deli should be following what is called a "PPST" sheet daily, which dictates how much chicken is produced and when it is set out. You can fudge it all you want, right or wrong, but it can come back to bite you if you do.
Really.. other than the rotisserie chickens, you're gonna wanna pull your 8pc chickens, sandwiches, popcorn etc every two hours... It just looks gross after too long.
You're welcome. I've actually pulled a couple of "cook" shifts when the cook that was scheduled either called out or got suspended, but I just had to do the best I could because I've never been "officially" trained on the position. I've just picked up most of the cook times, etc by watching and asking questions, and using my common sense for stuff. (It's fairly obvious that we need more of something when the container is almost empty.)
We have a PPST sheet, and I'm usually responsible for the final entry because our cook leaves an hour before I do, so I normally clear the henhouse and do the last temp, but that's the only thing I know about it. I know how gross the food is if it sits too long, but some managers are more worried about minimizing shrink than they are about providing decent quality for the customers, or even protecting them from getting sick. I've seen managers change the "sell by" dates on things, adding days so they don't have to mark them down as soon, and even re-dating or repackaging food that's expired. I've even seen a manger slice and sell meat up to 5 days past the day it was supposed to be thrown away. One store actually had an unofficial policy of selling all the meat for up to two days past expiration until they got caught. (Disgusting, isn't it?)
wageslave wrote: I've seen managers change the "sell by" dates on things, adding days so they don't have to mark them down as soon, and even re-dating or repackaging food that's expired. I've even seen a manger slice and sell meat up to 5 days past the day it was supposed to be thrown away. One store actually had an unofficial policy of selling all the meat for up to two days past expiration until they got caught. (Disgusting, isn't it?)
I don't know where you live but the deli manager who worked in my store a couple years ago did this. She would change dates, and told her staff to do so as well. They did it because they had to.
Until one of them went to a town hall meeting and said, "hey are we supposed to be doing this?" knowing full well they weren't.
That manager got fired soon after. She went to the union. She somehow won, they offered her a job back but as a cashier instead of a deli manager. She got pissed when she found out her new position, flipped out, and walked out on them, screwing over the whole front end for the day.
wageslave wrote: I've seen managers change the "sell by" dates on things, adding days so they don't have to mark them down as soon, and even re-dating or repackaging food that's expired. I've even seen a manger slice and sell meat up to 5 days past the day it was supposed to be thrown away. One store actually had an unofficial policy of selling all the meat for up to two days past expiration until they got caught. (Disgusting, isn't it?)
I don't know where you live but the deli manager who worked in my store a couple years ago did this. She would change dates, and told her staff to do so as well. They did it because they had to.
Until one of them went to a town hall meeting and said, "hey are we supposed to be doing this?" knowing full well they weren't.
That manager got fired soon after. She went to the union. She somehow won, they offered her a job back but as a cashier instead of a deli manager. She got pissed when she found out her new position, flipped out, and walked out on them, screwing over the whole front end for the day.
Yeah, the only thing that happened to this particular manager was that she got told to stop because it was the Boar's Head folks that caught her. They'd been trying since someone who shall remain nameless asked the Boar's Head guy if we were supposed to do it (also knowing that it was not acceptable.) Several of us had also been throwing away the outdated meats whenever it was possible to do so without getting caught, trying to keep our customers from getting sick.
No, hot sandwiches only get 2 hours. Hot dogs 90 minutes. Rotisserie chicken 4 hours. Fried chicken 2 hours. Hot bar food two hours. We are free to tell customers when food was cooked! If you are leaving hot sandwiches out for 4 hours, I can believe it if you never have repeat customers!
No, hot sandwiches only get 2 hours. Hot dogs 90 minutes. Rotisserie chicken 4 hours. Fried chicken 2 hours. Hot bar food two hours. We are free to tell customers when food was cooked! If you are leaving hot sandwiches out for 4 hours, I can believe it if you never have repeat customers!
Yeah - there have been a few times that I've cleared the henhouse when I closed at 9pm, and found chicken sandwiches that had been out since noon. . . I've also seen food sit on the hot bar from the time I come in at 2pm until it's cleared right before the evening cook leaves at 8pm (and it was out when I got there, so I have no idea how much longer than 6 hours it sat. . . . It drives me CRAZY!
