Three kinds of hazard, and the standing duty behind all of them

Everything in this area serves one sentence: food shall be safe, unadulterated, and honestly presented. Contamination is how that duty is broken, and it arrives by three routes.

• Biological - bacteria, viruses, parasites and fungi. The route behind almost every outbreak, and the one the temperature and hygiene rules exist to control.
• Chemical - cleaners, sanitizers, pesticides, and metals leaching from the wrong equipment. Controlled by labeling, separation and use limits in Chapter 7.
• Physical - glass, metal shavings, bone, jewelry, bandages, fingernails. Controlled by good repair, the personal hygiene rules, and inspection on receipt.
• Cross contamination - not a fourth hazard but a transfer route, usually biological, carrying contamination from raw food, hands, cloths or a surface onto food that will not be cooked again.

When food is contaminated the answer is not to work around it. It shall be discarded or reconditioned, and no amount of later cooking removes a chemical or physical hazard.

Food Code 3-101.11Food Code 3-701.11Food Code 7-201.11