What does PHF stand for?

Q: When I check the sanitation report cards of restaurants at the Health Departmen's facility rating website, I keep seeing the acronym PHF as one of the listed violations. What does PHF mean?

A: PHF is a term used by food-safety organizations to classify foods that require time-temperature control to keep them safe for human consumption. It stands for potentially hazardous foods.

The FDA has identified the following as PHFs:

* Meat (beef, pork, lamb)
* Poultry (chicken, turkey, duck)
* Fish
* Shellfish and crustaceans
* Eggs
* Milk and dairy products
* Heat-treated plant food (cooked rice, beans or vegetables)
* Baked potatoes
* Certain synthetic ingredients
* Mushrooms
* Raw sprouts
* Tofu and soy-protein foods
* Untreated garlic and oil mixtures

The restaurant or eatery that received a PHF citation probably had at least one of these foods lying around at room temperature when the inspector came by.

Bacteria that grow at room temperature are usually assumed to be killed by high heat. But if the food is not thoroughly cooked or if the dish or end-product is raw-based, then the practice of leaving PHFs out in the air could prove sickening, even lethal.

How to Safely Pick Up Broken Glass

Q: I dropped a glass bowl in the kitchen and there are fragments all over that I can barely see. How can I safely pick up the broken glass?

A: Hmmm...

Use a vacuum and risk ruining the machine?

Use a broom to sweep the dangerous mess up. No broom and dustpan?

Use bread. Just lightly press a few slices over the area where the shards might have scattered.