Our Food Safety Commitment to Our Customers

Food Safety Practices

Sanitation and food safety are the first order of business for DHS. We believe that a customer’s health and well-being come first. We follow strict practices to help prevent foodborne illnesses.

We work closely with the El Paso County Department of Public Health to safeguard and review all our department practices.  All full-time staff must take and pass the National Restaurant Association’s ServSafe certification training. Our student managers are required to take and pass the ServSafe Food Handlers course. Our Executive Chef Russ Saunkeah is a certified ServSafe trainer and supervises all food safety aspects of our dining program.

Safe Handling of Take-out Meals

We want you to be safe whether dining in or taking your food ‘to-go’ but when you take food out of a dining center it becomes your responsibility to keep it safe. It is best to consume this food as soon as possible after preparation. Please note:

Keep HOT foods HOT (above 140 degrees F)

Keep COLD foods COLD (below 40 degrees F)

The Two Hour Rule

Do not leave any hot or cold food at room temperature for longer than two hours. If food has been left out longer than two hours you should immediately dispose all of it. DO NOT CONSUME!

Not Eating Within Two Hours?

You should refrigerate foods in the proper manner so they cool down quickly – open the lid, do not stack containers, etc. Food should not be stored for more than two days. You should reheat hot food to 165 degrees F until it is heated fully throughout and steaming. You may need to stir and rotate the container in a microwave. If there is food left over following consumption, the leftovers should be thrown out.