1. Food Safety
101
Food Pantries

3. Safe food handling
protects the health
of people seeking
food assistance.

4. Course Objectives:
• Identify safe & unsafe food products
• Assess food packaging
• Identify & decipher package codes

5. Food Sources
• Direct from the Great Plains Food Bank
• Collected through local food drives
• Donations from individuals and businesses

6. Food Categories
• Non-perishable
• Perishable
• Fresh

7. Assessing Food Safety
Step 1: Do a visual inspection.

8. Discard products that have:
Damaged Broken Signs of
Packaging Seals Tampering

9. Discard cans that are:
Bulging Have rust Have sharp
spots dents
(smooth dents are OK)

10. Discard products that have:
A foul odor or
visible signs of
spoilage.

11. Discard products
that have:
Labels that are torn,
stained or unreadable.
All products must have
a readable ingredient
list on their label.

12. When in doubt…
…throw it out.

13. Assessing Food Safety
Step 1: Do a visual inspection.
Step 2: Check Product Codes

14. Codes indicate quality & freshness
They do not indicate food safety.
Food is still safe to eat for a specified range
of time after the date code.

15. Manufacturer Codes:
These may or may not
include a mm/dd/yy.
All or part of the code may
be decipherable only by the
manufacturer.
If a date is included, it is a
pack date that indicates
when the package was
sealed at the factory.

16. Freshness / Quality Codes:

17. Date Ranges
of Safe Food
Baby food and
formula should
not be used
beyond package
date code.
Download Chart >>

18. When in doubt…
…throw it out.

19. You are an
important partner in
our mission to
create hunger-free
communities.
.
Please contact us if you
have any questions.
(701) 232-6219
greatplainsfoodbank.org