Safely using an outdoor grill in school food service

Preparing foods for school meals in an outdoor space can increase certain food safety risks. But with proper planning and the right equipment, outdoor grilling can be done safely. 

Before you begin planning and purchasing equipment

1. Communicate your idea to the school facilities maintenance department. The facilities maintenance department, along with the fire marshal and building inspector, will be able to assist you with identifying an outdoor space that does not pose physical safety concerns to the students, staff or building.
2. Research local ordinances. Depending on the location of your school, there may be local ordinances that limit or restrict outdoor cooking.
3. Contact your local health inspector. Your health inspector will assist with questions about your plan. They will provide you with the plan review application. Depending on your local health department, the type of application may be for a remodel or additional food service request.
4. Write your plan review application. Your plan will be unique to your food service department. Read the section below to learn more about what you may need to include in your plan review application.
5. Submit your plan review application. Throughout the entire process, keep notes on your conversations with your local health inspector and others assisting you. Detailed note-taking can help resolve questions that arise. Be sure to ask for a review timeline and follow up periodically if you do not receive an update. Wait to begin using the outdoor grilling space until you have received approval from your local health inspector.
6. Train your staff and implement. Once you have received approval, you can begin to train staff on the policies and procedures specific to the use of the outdoor grilling space. Include these procedures in your new hire and annual training plans. Your local health inspector will verify compliance during future routine inspections. 

What to include in your plan review application

In addition to completing the plan review application in which you will describe the outdoor space and its materials/surfaces, you will likely need to include the following details with your application:

• Equipment specifications: including the quantity, purpose or function, manufacturer, model number and pictures (recommended). This information is required to verify that the equipment meets the requirements of the Minnesota Food Code.
• Layout of the outdoor space: including the necessary food production and sanitation equipment, and the path food will take from and to the main kitchen.
• List of foods intended to be prepared in the outdoor grilling space. 

Safe food handling practices

To ensure the food service department safely prepares foods in the outdoor grilling space, a best practice is to write a supplement plan for your Food Safety Plan.

While many of your sanitation standard operating procedures (SSOPs) will apply to this food preparation process, some SSOPs may need to be modified to address the unique food safety risks that outdoor grilling can present. Your local health inspector may request to review these SSOPs. 

Having a supplement plan will also benefit staff training. You can easily review the outdoor grilling plan before the start of each grilling season.

Outdoor grilling equipment

Develop a procedure to store and maintain outdoor grilling equipment that includes:

• Process for covering or storing the equipment to protect it from pests and the weather.
• Sanitation routine of the equipment and outdoor space before and after each use.
  • Indicate what equipment needs to be cleaned in place and which will be cleaned in the main kitchen space.
  • Identify any special sanitation chemicals that are needed. Remember to update the Safety Data Sheets (SDS) in the department’s hazard communication station.
• Preventative maintenance tasks to keep the equipment in safe working order.

Hand washing

When identifying a possible location for the outdoor grilling space, you must have access to an appropriate hand-washing sink. Food service staff must have unobstructed and convenient access to a hand-washing sink. Consult with your facilities maintenance department to identify which doors can and cannot be propped open for access.

If staff will be touching door handles or other surfaces while transporting food to the outdoor grilling space, they must wash their hands before unloading and cooking the food.

Staff must be able to wash their hands when switching between working with raw and cooked food. 

Transporting food

Both raw and cooked food must be covered to minimize the risk of contamination during transportation. Sources of contamination can include physical hazards, like dirt or plant material blowing around outside, or biological hazards from coughing or sneezing. 

• Ensure your transportation procedure includes steps for cleaning and sanitizing any carts and other equipment after holding raw food. 

• Consider using a portable, insulated hot box to hold and transport the grilled food from the outdoor space to the main kitchen or service area.

Preventing bare-hand contact with ready-to-eat foods

Human error is a leading cause of cross-contamination. Consider developing a checklist of supplies and equipment for outdoor grilling that staff can use when getting ready for this food preparation process. This can help minimize the risk of mistakes due to a lack of equipment.

Remind staff that single-use disposable gloves are not a replacement for handwashing. They can become contaminated by the same activities that cause hands to become dirty. 

Minimizing the risk of cross-contamination

During grilling, unique potential causes of cross-contamination are: 

• Using the same tongs or utensils for placing and turning raw food on the grill and then removing the cooked food from the grill.
• Juices from meat, fish or poultry coming in contact with vegetables that are cooked to a lower minimum internal temperature.

Always use clean and sanitized tongs or utensils when removing cooked food from the grill. Staff should bring multiple sets of tongs or utensils to the outdoor grill space. Place a bin for soiled utensils and equipment on the bottom shelf of the transportation cart. 

Food may be placed on foil sheets or grilling trays to prevent small pieces from falling between the grill grates.

Be mindful about what foods are placed on the same sheet or tray.

• For example, if grilling both chicken thighs and asparagus spears, keep these foods separate, as the juice from the chicken thighs can contaminate the asparagus spears that are cooked to a lower minimum internal temperature.
• If grilling onions and peppers, these can be cooked together on the same sheet or tray because they are cooked to the same minimum internal temperature.

Monitoring safe food temperatures

The safe minimum internal cooking temperatures, and the procedures for taking temperatures of and holding grilled food for service are the same for food prepared in the main kitchen space. Consider how staff will adjust their actions while outdoors.

• Will thermometer probe wipes be stocked on the transportation cart?
  • Staff must clean and sanitize thermometer probes between uses to minimize the risk of cross-contamination.
• Will a food production log be stocked on the transportation cart?
  • Document the final cooking temperatures directly on the food production log.
  • Don’t write temperatures on scrap paper, as this reduces record-keeping accuracy. Small pieces of paper are often misplaced, or the temperatures are never copied to the production log.
• How will foods be held before and after cooking?
  • The size of the grill's cooking area may be different from that of the flat top, char grill or other cooking surfaces in the main kitchen.
  • The number of batches may be different, which can impact how long foods need to be safely held. 

Get help

Need help reviewing food safety policies and procedures? Contact the University of Minnesota Extension food safety team at [email protected].

Find your local health inspector by searching the Minnesota State and Local Food, Pools, and Lodging Contacts.