Food Safety Solutions Magazine by Matt Shannon

Summer 2009 $3.95

solutions Food Safety

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Sodexo and TCU Partners in Food Safety

A Fresh Look at Food Safety Submarina Guests Have a Head Start for Wholesome Food

Say Goodbye to Kitchen Chaos Getting Your Foodservice Operation Organized

The FDA Food Code A Helpful Tool For Foodservice Operations

FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS

DAYDOTS IS CHANGING TO ECOLAB FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS SAME GREAT PRODUCTS

SAME GREAT SERVICE

NEW NAME

Daydots, a division of Ecolab since 2004, will be transitioning to Ecolab Food Safety Solutions. Ecolab is the global leader in cleaning, food safety and health protection products and services, and the change reflects Daydots full integration into the Ecolab family of companies. The name "Daydots" will remain as the brand name of our industry-leading food rotation products, including labels and portion bags.

Visit us at foodsafetysolutions.com or call 800-321-3687

Contents Features 10 Are Accidents Eating Your Profits? Surf Your Way to a Safer Kitchen.

26 Sodexo and TCU: Partners in Food Safety

38 A Fresh Look at Food Safety Guests at Submarina Have a Head Start When it Comes to Knowing Their Food is Prepared in a Wholesome Manner

48 Say Goodbye to Kitchen Chaos Getting Your Foodservice Operation Organized

Departments 6 Ask the Expert:

A Day at the Beach

What’s in the Bucket?

18 Test Your Knowledge: I don’t know many restaurant managers that would describe their job as “a day at the beach.” That phrase is saved for the jobs or tasks we tackle throughout life that prove to be fairly easy with little complication. And, of course, the words “easy” and “little complication” have rarely been uttered by a restaurant manager. In fact when it comes to kitchen safety, we can make things very complicated if we are not prepared. How many times have you had an accident in your kitchen in which you frantically searched for bandages or first aid items? What about the last slip and fall you had? Was it because your employee didn’t follow proper procedures or you lacked a system to prevent a costly accident? In this issue of Food Safety Solutions we take you on a journey to the beach and explore the dangers of both the beach and a kitchen and most importantly, how to be prepared when danger strikes. Also, we want your feedback on our magazine. We’ve even given you a great incentive to hop online and take a quick survey so we can make sure our magazine continues to improve and meets your needs when it comes to food safety information.

Life’s A Beach!

Good Habits: 20 Food Safety Education - What Wood You Do? 34 Cross-Contamination Prevention - Breaking Down Barriers 42 Sanitation & Cleaning - Midnight Calamity 46 Personal Hygiene - It Can Be a Crummy Situation 58 Trans•la•tion - Overcoming Multi-cultural Language Barriers 22 The Pest Profile: The Cockroach: A Tough But Conquerable Adversary

32 The Unwanted Patron: Salmonella

54 Food Safety and the Law: The FDA Food Code: A Helpful Tool For Foodservice Operators

60 Hit the Books: Burning Issues in Fast Food

62 Protect Your Investment: Saving Energy, Good for the Planet, Good for Business Here’s to food safety,

66 Food for Thought Mastering Change

Editor and Chief

Food Safety Solutions

Summer 2009

solutions Food Safety

SUMMER 2009 Paul McGinnis Shane Harwell ASSISTANT EDITOR Kristy Rogers ART DIRECTOR Matt Shannon DESIGNERS Todd Carver Jennifer Johnson MARKETING CONSULTANTS Mark Ludwig Shawn McElyea EDITOR IN CHIEF

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHERS

Matt Shannon

Brandon Alms

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Cindy Alemian Rice Karen Voracek Lara Carls-Lissick Pat Luebke Steve Marshall Ruth Petran George Weed Elizabeth DeConti Jennifer Simek Kristy Rogers Andre Hinton Crew Reynolds Arfeen Siddiqui Mike Pryor

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FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS (FORMERLY DAYDOTS) 1801 RIVERBEND WEST DRIVE FORT WORTH, TX 76118 800.321.3687 foodsafetysolutions.com ÂŠ 2009 Ecolab USA Inc. All rights reserved Prices are subject to change without notice. Food Safety Solutions is a registered trademark of Ecolab. Food Safety Solutions is published and circulated to foodservice establishments and individuals around the world. Subscription is free of charge. For additional copies contact Ecolab at marketing@foodsafetysolutions.com. Reproduction in whole or part is prohibited without prior written permission from the publisher. Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

Ask the Expert

What’s in the Bucket? RESPONSES BY CINDY ALEMIAN RICE, RS, CFSP, MSPH

What is the purpose of the sanitizer buckets? Is it to sanitize utensils and other food contact surfaces? Not exactly. The purpose of the sanitizer buckets is primarily to help keep your wiping cloths from spreading bacteria all over your kitchen. After using to wipe drips, spills, or crumbs from a surface, these cloths should be placed in a EPA registered food contact sanitizer solution in-between uses to keep them fresh and clean. Changing the solution when dirty or cloudy will help keep it working at proper concentration, and rinsing a cloth before putting it back in the bucket solution will keep the solution fresh longer. Test the solution periodically using paper or plastic test strips to be sure. I am worried about customers having an allergic reaction in my restaurant. Can I keep an epinephrine pen or other drugs on the premises, especially for these emergencies? While it seems like a good idea, epinephrine pens are prescription medications and must be prescribed by a doctor for a particular individual.

What is the safest way to make Caesar dressing, since raw eggs have Salmonella in them? Should I leave out the eggs? You can either omit the raw eggs from the dressing, or use pasteurized eggs instead. They are available in shell form or liquid beaten variety, and in either case the bacteria has been reduced to safe levels through the pasteurization process.

Do you want to “ask the expert” a question about food safety? Email asktheexpert@daydots.com

CINDY ALEMIAN RICE, RS, CFSP, MSPH Cindy Alemian Rice, president of Eastern Mass Food Safety, is an international food safety consultant to foodservice professionals and regulators alike. She is a Registered Sanitarian, Certified Food Safety Professional, and Certified HACCP Manager, earning her Master’s Degree in Public Health from the University of Massachusetts and a B.S. in Biology from Bates College, Lewiston, ME. In addition to working as an epidemiologist and published researcher at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, Cindy owned and operated International Brownie and Dining in the Light Café & Catering. She is an approved ServSafe trainer, writer and

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Summer 2009

noted speaker, educating both the foodservice industry and consumers, and created and published a Pocket Guide to Food Safety which is distributed internationally. Cindy serves on the Lifeskills Advisory Council for the Massachusetts Dept of Education, Advisory Boards of several Massachusetts business organizations, and is a USDA Partner organizing regional food safety educational programs.

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FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS DAYDOTS IS CHANGING TO ECOLAB FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS Patent pending.

safety in

1out of every6

1 out of every 6 violent crimes occur in the workplace.1

3 Foot

According to a past Safeway Stores accident prevention study, facilities using safety cones saw a 68% reduction in slip-and-fall accidents.2

$3000 Over $3,000 worth of medical care, worker compensation and loss in productivity can be attributed to just one hand cut.4

00:17 Every 17 seconds someone is burned.6

In areas where there is a good deal of traffic, the 3 foot high cones are more noticeble because people need to walk around them.2

OSHA requires that every employer implement an employee safety plan. A written plan is required for restaurants that have more than 10 employees and verbally if under ten employees.3

1970

In 1970 the Department of Labor created OSHA to carry out safety procedures in the United States, ranging from developing standards to implementing and enforcing safety in the workplace.5

$100,000 32% of all worker lost time accidents in restaurants are caused by slip-and-fall accidents.9

$ 32%

From 2001-2005, 23% of all time-loss claims to young workers in the restaurant industry involved knives and food slicers.8

65%

Every year slip, trip and fall accidents cost U.S. businesses over $100,000 per lawsuit.7

1 OSHA-safety-training.net; 2 QSRweb.com, 2005; 3 OSHAgov.com; 4 OSHA; 5 Department of Labor; 6 Tucker Burnguard; 7 NFSI; 8 2.worksafebc.com; 9 BLS

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65% of fall related injuries result from slips and trips on a same level surface.9

MSPH N RICE, RS, CFSP, BY CINDY ALEMIA

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Surf your way to a safer kitchen! Ahhhhhh! Summer is here and the afternoon sun is shining brightly through my window. I really wanted to sleep in on my day off. I worked the late shift last night but I now can feel the ocean calling me. I'm stoked to catch some waves and hang out with the crew... think I'll head over to Huntington today. I hop into my jeep, throw my surfboard into the back and head on to the beach. As I drive up to the sandy parking lot, I hear seagulls overhead, smell the salty air and smile.

Man, I can’t wait to feel the sand between my toes. I kick off my shoes, sling a towel over my shoulder, grab my board and run onto the beach. The waves are sweeeettt today! I paddle out a ways to catch a left-hander - I'm gonna lacerate it - but don’t get more than 10 feet when I slip off my board, totally wiping out and banging and scraping my leg hard. I look around to see if anyone saw me fall (how lame would that be). A lifeguard is perched atop his station, on guard for emergencies. He shouts down for me to be careful, “You should have used a little more wax on

your board!” I float back to the shore and try to catch my breath. It reminded me of the greasy wet floors in our restaurant kitchen and the day Frances Lawrence (or Gidget as we used to call her) fell on the slippery floors. She should have worn sturdier shoes with non-slip soles like the rest of us and taken advantage of the floor mats that are in place to protect against slips and falls. And my cleaning crew always puts “Wet Floor” signs in the kitchen and restrooms after floors have been washed. She should have been more careful and she wouldn't have looked like such a hucker. I guess I should have waxed my board better too.

Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

I pick up my stick and keep on walking, limping a little from my bruised hip but still happy to have a day off. I'm scoping out the surf for more breakers, when I see something up ahead, something shiny sticking out of the sand, glistening in the sun! A piece of jewelry or coins… Ka-ching! I reach down to pick it up, and grab it without thinking. Ouch! A metal can with sharp edges pierces my fingers and blood oozes from the cuts… and then something sharp pricks the bottom of my foot. Bummer! A broken bottle… can’t people pick up their own trash? Back to the lifeguard station I go. The guard goes into his first aid kit, pulls out some bandages, cleans off the cuts,

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secures the bandages onto my fingers and foot. He has a pair of cloth gloves for me to put on to keep the bandages from falling off. “We had a really busy Sunday afternoon and the crew hasn’t come through to pick up trash yet. There are all kinds of dangers here,” he says. (I know). Just like at work, I think, and I remember the time Joe Spicoli cut his finger on a knife blade that was stored improperly. My restaurant is prepared for any emergency- with bandages and first aid supplies for knife cuts, burns and the minor accidents that can happen in a restaurant environment. Material Safety Data Sheets are hanging on our kitchen wall in a cool mounted holder

to keep chemical information handy in case of a chemical emergency. We also have eyewash stations conveniently located in the workplace in case of chemicals accidentally splashing onto employees’ eyes or skin. Last year Marcia Nudnik splashed some degreaser in her eyes as she was cleaning the grill at work, and the eyewash station saved her. Totally sick! Is that an eyewash kit in the lifeguard’s station? What could happen here at the beach... a suntan oil spray emergency? Ha ha!

Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

I'm really starting to appreciate how prepared my workplace is in the area of employee safety. Just then a small child is brought over to the lifeguard station with severe sunburn on his back and arms. Whoaâ&#x20AC;Ś there is a lot happening here today at the beach in the accident department. The lifeguard carefully applies a burn spray onto the childâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s skin and advises him to cover up with a shirt and hat and apply sunblock to protect from further burns. My employee training sessions at work also included safeguarding against burns and scalds in the kitchen. Chefs use burnproof potholders and mitts when using ovens and stoves, and cover exposed skin on hands and arms to help prevent burns and scalds. Special gloves are also available for cold environments and wire mesh gloves are used by kitchen staff to protect against knife cuts. My manager even provides Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) if needed for special situations, including vinyl aprons, splash resistant goggles, elbow length PVC coated gloves, disposable masks and hella cool rubber boots!

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Just like learning to swim, each employee should be trained before going into the “deep waters” of the back-of-the-house: Burns, scalds and cuts (Would you go out into the hot sun without sunblock?) • Provide training in high risk tasks- fryers, ovens, steam equipment • Use burn resistant mitts, handle covers

Chemical usage and first aid (Be prepared like the lifeguard on the beach) • Use personal protective equipment- masks, goggles, gloves • Utilize MSDS stations • Keep first aid items readily available

Slips, trips and falls (Wet, greasy floors are treacherous like slippery rocks) • Clean up spills immediately • Keep passageways clear • Use wet floor signs after mopping • Place floor mats in kitchen to help prevent slipping • Wear sturdy footwear • Remember ladder safety

Knife safety (Blades are like the jaws of a shark) • Sharpen blades regularly • Utilize a cutting board to prevent slipping • Use knife resistant or mesh gloves • Cut away from your body • Let a falling knife fall • Clean immediately and keep handles free of grease and other slippery substances • Store safely in knife rack Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

en a as be and h s i Th ady rink. dled alre d l o o noo ty! nd rac in fo l day- I'm bout safe tice behi e s e n o h u a y j al stressf hinking ink, I no ent at t t m r e. M h e t z r p d i i i p l l u a o y e , st of g eq t, I r after all anâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sip on m f safety atterpro er, all n c a t r staff seen As I n array o isher, sh nife hold es at impo g is g of the r unfore k gu n ye i ar a n i he b fire extin er, and a of emplo tra kin ees fo t n d i o h d d Go ger is t loy catch eady ction ep la emp a r to day), r lbs, a st er prote ellent. e man eparing t a bu to ett exc r e w in p encies. n to th ice one to get for the b n. Most o r g o o i t stat ck. emer ntinue I need bette t be nack sha gs this h I co wave ( g i s ot do rby t it m her 'm anot cide tha at a nea er with h e d I g but d grindage arly bur rad!) an ( n some have a g ee fries r f y e nd Th op a on t

Don’t let accidents eat your profits • According to the U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration, food operations report nearly 13,000 injuries resulting in at least one missed day of work each year. • The food industry spends more than $2 billion each year for slip, trip and fall injuries (National Floor Safety Institute) and these injuries are the greatest source of general liability claims in this industry (National Restaurant Association). • Hand injuries among kitchen workers (on-the-job cuts and burns) cost the industry an estimated $300 million each year in medical fees, lost labor (Nation’s Restaurant News, 2005) • The foodservice industry experiences the highest number of burns of any employment sector. Cooks, food handlers, kitchen workers, and wait staff are all listed among the top 50 occupations at risk for on-the-job burn injury. • Lack of training and poor risk management can cause your employees needless injury and cost your establishment money in sick days, workers compensation claims, increased insurance premiums, lawsuits, bad publicity and loss of reputation, which you’ve worked hard to build up over the years.

This trip to the beach has really got me thinking now about how important it is to be trained and prepared for any situation- and I'm surrounded by demonstrations of safety, even at the beach. Screams from the ocean disrupt my thoughts, as a person is dragged from the water onto the lifeguard deck, a bite taken out of her surfboard, blood dripping onto surrounding items- towels, coolers, beach bags, umbrella. She must be a squid... I saw her earlier floating way out there, thinking she was sharkbait. “We got a bleeder here!” The lifeguard, clearly the first responder at the beach today, rushes out to help cleanup the hazardous materials, dressed in full hazmat garb- rubber gloves, coat, boots and mask, and carries an automatic defribrillator and sharps kit, just in case. Whoaa! He’s the dude... prepared and trained for any emergency! Who knew a day at the beach could be so dangerous?

equipped with necessary safety supplies is a worthwhile investment after all. This day off has been a little intense, but I guess it has opened my eyes to the importance of being prepared and protecting employees from any hazardous situations. On my next day off, though, I think I’ll go camping.

And after the experiences I’ve witnessed today, I can’t wait to be safely back at work, where I know we are equally prepared for calamities in the kitchen. We’ve been trained in using kitchen equipment safely and accident prevention. Our first aid kits and emergency equipment are well stocked for the hazards we might encounter in our own operation. We’re prepared to react in any circumstanceburns, falls, fires, chemical contaminations or bodily fluid accidents. My manager takes seriously the value of keeping his employees safe and his business protected. Continually training his staff and being Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

Test Your Knowledge

Life’s a Beach! BY MARK LUDWIG

Read the “Are Accidents Eating Your Profits?” article starting on page 10 before attempting this test. 1. When cleaning floors in the kitchen and restrooms what product is used to warn customers of potential slips & falls? __________________ 2. Other than wearing shoes with non-slip soles what else can be used to help prevent slips & trips? ___________________ 3. In a restaurant environment cuts, burns and minor accidents occur quite often. What should be available for emergencies? ___________________ 4. In case of a chemical emergency what is your best bet in finding out how to properly administer aid? ___________________ 5. At the beginning of the article when Dog walked into the kitchen area with Mickey, what 2 things did he immediately notice? ___________________ & ___________________ 6. What type of gloves can you use to help prevent knife cuts? ___________________ 7. Sometimes in restaurants there is a need for particular equipment to handle special situations. What is this equipment called? ___________________ 8. When cleaning up blood spills where someone has cut themselves, what item should be used? ___________________ 9. Should there be a burn or scald in the kitchen, what can be used to help prevent infection and ease the pain? ___________________ 10. Above all else, what should be an ongoing task so that all employees are up to speed on how to handle any emergency in a restaurant? ___________________

ANSWERS ON PAGE 65

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Good Habits - Food Safety Education

Most are familiar with the phrase “Don’t sweat the small stuff,” i.e., trying to let go of little annoyances in our daily lives that may not matter in the long run. Recently a frustrated operator was asking a national Listserv group if wooden shelves in a beer cooler were really risky, as his local inspector cited it as a “critical” violation that needed correction. He disagreed. His options seemed to be either replacing the shelving (costly) or painting the shelving (potentially releasing toxic fumes to the product inside the cooler.) Responses from the group of food safety professionals were overwhelmingly supportive of his plight and seemed to concur that wooden shelving in a cooler may not present a significant health risk, when compared with foods improperly handled according to FDA guidelines. “Why can’t they just forget the small stuff and focus on the most serious food safety risks?” was the battle cry! Sometimes we need to focus on the small stuff in order to get the ball rolling, to make the changes that need to be made. Not to say that wooden shelving in a cooler is a severe risk that warrants a critical violation, but it’s the small stuff that we do every day in our operations that add up and ultimately contribute to a greater level of food safety. Look around your workplace today… • • • •

Could your staff be better at handwashing? Changing gloves more often? Testing the chemicals in the 3-bay sink? Are your sanitizer buckets filled with fresh sanitizing solutions?

These seemingly small changes in your operation can be baby steps toward a safer food environment, and get people to be more conscious about safe foodhandling overall. It might be the "small stuff" that counts after all.

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Food Safety Solutions

Pest Profile

The Cockroach: A Tough But Conquerable Adversary BY KAREN VORACEK, ECOLAB PEST ELIMINATION

Juggling your coffee cup and keys, you enter the back door of your restaurant and flip the light switch. But today, as the lights flicker on, you’d swear you saw a light brown bug scuttle across the bags of onions that were delivered yesterday. The Problem What you saw was most likely a German cockroach. A small but resilient creature, the cockroach can enter your foodservice facility in any number of ways: with delivery of food or supplies, in an employee’s purse or backpack, through a structural crack or crevice or carried in by a customer. While a single cockroach does not necessarily mean that you have a problem, the sighting of a single cockroach—particularly during daytime hours—might mean that hundreds, or even thousands, are hiding in the walls. Cockroaches are known to carry bacteria and other diseases. “Cockroaches—particularly German cockroaches—pose one of the most significant health threats in the food industry,” says John Barcay, PhD, Ecolab Pest Elimination Senior Scientist. “This is primarily due to their high reproductive capabilities and propensity to feed in unsanitary areas and then transport and transfer the bacteria to food and food-handling surfaces.” The Solution The good news is that there is a solution for cockroach issues. Incorporating these preventive measures will help to keep cockroaches from entering and surviving in your establishment.

Sanitation Cockroaches seek out food and water, so it is important to eliminate any potential source of nutrition. To ensure your sanitation efforts: • Keep all surfaces clean and equipment free of grease and food debris • Sweep under equipment and in hard-to-reach areas • Clean sink and floor drains regularly • Keep exterior areas free of litter, weeds and standing water • Ensure garbage area is clean and free of debris and containers have tight-fitting lids Exclusion Cockroaches and other pests can enter your facility through cracks which you may not even realize exist. Thus, exclusion measures begin with a thorough inspection, followed by steps to: • Seal exterior-opening cracks and crevices and repair structural defects • Seal all cracks and crevices in food-prep and foodservice areas • Securely seal plumbing chases to limit pest travel around the facility • Install door sweeps to keep pests from slipping in under doors Operational Practices Implementation of operational practices will assist efforts to keep infestations from building in your establishment. Incorporate standards so that employees: • Inspect all deliveries upon arrival • Cover and store all foods properly • Rotate stored goods on a first-in, first-out basis and store at least six inches off the floor While sanitation, exclusion and preventive operational practices will help make your establishment unattractive to cockroach populations, there is no feasible way to ensure that a cockroach will never enter your establishment. Thus professional suppression by a certified pest management professional on a regular, maintenance basis is necessary to ensure that any cockroaches that do get in don’t stay to live and breed.

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FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS

Sodexo and TCU: Partners in Food Safety Texas Christian University, located in suburban Fort Worth, is known for its rigorous academics, accomplished faculty, high-tech facilities, and one of the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading business schools. With a regular presence in the top five percent of Americaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Best Colleges, the school maintains an enrollment of about 8,700 students, most of whom live on campus.

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Food Safety Solutions

number of students with food allergies and other special needs,” he noted. “So in addition to food safety standards, we’re committed to serving food that tastes good, and preparing and serving it in a manner consistent with the needs of our students.”

And in football, TCU means defense. When it comes to protecting their goal line from opposing teams, the Horned Frogs are among the fiercest defenders in the NCAA. TCU Dining Services brings an equal intensity to its defensive game. Operated by industry leader Sodexo, the school’s foodservice is organized, trained, equipped, and drilled to protect the community against foodborne illnesses of every kind. Food Safety Solutions recently caught up with Stan Rush, who serves as TCU Dining Services’ human resource manager and safety coordinator, and asked him how it works. SIX OUTLETS AND CATERING He explained that Sodexo is the school’s sole foodservice provider, and it operates six locations and a catering department.

RIGHT TOOLS + ROOM TO MOVE TCU Dining Services — like Sodexo operations worldwide — relies on certain key products to support food safety. Rush singled out such tools as thermometers, EPA registered sanitizers, gloves, and color-coded cutting boards. HACCP log sheets, he noted, suggest a variety of Union, part of the school’s new $100million Campus Commons. It’s the main dining location for students with meal plans, who enjoy unlimited access with one swipe of a card. Rush said TCU Dining Services’ main

We have a large prep area, and that lets us consciously separate our work areas to reduce the risks of cross-contamination. We can dedicate specific areas in our kitchen to certain tasks — vegetables are prepped in one corner, proteins in an opposite corner “Our largest location is Market Square,” he said, where seven stations serve a variety of food — comfort food or all-day breakfast to salad bars, a deli, pizza, and international offerings. Market Square anchors the University

food safety challenges are the universal ones: reliable supplier quality, crosscontamination, proper time and temperature controls, sanitation, and personal hygiene. Rush also includes individualized dietary requirements. “We have a significant

product options. And especially now in its new facility, the operation enjoys the advantage of space. “We have a large prep area,” said Rush, “and that lets us consciously |separate our work areas to reduce the risks of cross-contamination. We can dedicate specific areas in our kitchen to certain tasks — vegetables are prepped in one corner, proteins in an opposite corner.” This space advantage extends to storage as well. “We have enough cooler space to devote each one to a product, minimizing the danger from drips and intermingling.” TRAINING, FORMAL AND ONGOING Because HACCP covers the critical aspects of food safety, formal training at TCU begins with HACCP fundamentals. Employees proceed through Sodexo’s comprehensive seven-module program, consisting of videos, classroom instruction and self-learning exercises.

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New employees complete a two-step food safety training program, and each year, all employees receive additional food safety and sanitation training. This “continuing education” is complemented with bilingual color posters throughout foodservice areas. WHISTLE STOP! The TCU kitchens rely on both handwashing and disposable gloves. To promote effective use of these, Rush said, one of his favorite tools is a whistle. When he blows his whistle in a particular area, it’s a signal for everyone present to change their gloves and wash their hands. “Pretty soon just seeing the whistle is enough,” he said. The idea, of course, is to instill these routines as a habit.

Sometimes we’ll randomly select thermometer, or clean a prep area, or an employee to demonstrate how wash hands effectively,” said Rush. to properly calibrate a thermometer, or clean a prep area, or wash TOP-LEVEL SUPPORT hands effectively. The level of support Sodexo provides, Employees also participate in a pre-service huddle before each mealtime. At this meeting, among other issues, supervisors review a food safety topic of the day. “Sometimes we’ll randomly select an employee to demonstrate how to properly calibrate a

Rush said, is a great advantage. “We don’t have to reinvent everything,” he said. “These standards and practices have all been tested many times and they’re fine-tuned to be the best.” All Sodexo foodservice managers and supervisors are trained and certified in safe food handling, via the National

Restaurant Association Solution's ServSafe® program — the recognized industry standard, which consists of eight or sixteen hours of classroom training. Topics include basic microbiology, food safety management systems, personal hygiene, sanitation, and pest control. Sodexo requires recertification every three years, which exceeds many health department requirements. Sodexo operations are also required to conduct a thorough monthly food safety and sanitation

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Food Safety Solutions

|self-inspection of all foodservice |facilities, using the Sodexo Food Safety Audit form. In addition, a comprehensive self-inspection is conducted on an annual basis. TCU is supported by Sodexo’s corporate food safety team, as well. The Sodexo Quality Assurance & Food Safety Department is staffed with a team of food safety experts who provide to all 6,000 foodservice operations in North America. The department’s resources include training materials, on-site technical support and training recommendations, investigations of food-related complaints, updates on current food safety issues such as national product recalls, and facility evaluations designed to

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enhance existing food safety programs. And its Product Quality Assurance staff goes beyond legal requirements, sending food safety alerts for voluntary recalls. CORE TEAM: EACH ONE TEACH ONE What about the problem of turnover, so widespread in foodservice? “We have a strong core of employees who have been with us for several years — and some for more than 20,” said Rush. “They assume a mentoring role for new employees. That process, along with our intense training, helps keeps our entire staff aware of the importance of quality and safety.” Over his dozen years in foodservice, Rush has been witness to the sharp

increase in awareness of both food quality and food safety. “There’s a lot more information out there today,” he said, “and that helps us stay current with industry standards.”

The Unwanted Patron

Salmonella BY RUTH L. PETRAN

Photo by Linde Stewart

It used to be that we mainly heard about Salmonella associated with animal products, like eggs, raw milk and meat. More recently, the organism has been found in other products, such as peanut butter and tomatoes, causing concern and illness. The reality is that most cases of Salmonella are still attributed to animal products. However, these outbreaks present evidence that non-animal products can also be affected and attention to supply chain food safety, basic food prep and hygiene is fundamental. WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT SALMONELLA? Salmonella can be a major public health burden and represents a significant cost to society in many countries. Although there are thousands of different types of Salmonella, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that in 2007, only seven distinct types accounted for over 60 percent of illnesses. It is estimated by CDC that 1.4 million cases of salmonellosis occur each year in the United States. WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF SALMONELLOSIS? The disease caused by Salmonella is generally called salmonellosis. Symptoms typically appear 12 to 36 hours after eating a contaminated food, and last for one to four days. Symptoms include diarrhea, abdominal pain, chills, fever, vomiting, dehydration and headache. Some individuals recovering from salmonellosis may continue to shed Salmonella in their feces for weeks to months after symptoms have disappeared. WHAT ARE COMMON SOURCES OF SALMONELLA? Because Salmonella is commonly found in the intestinal tracts of infected domestic and wild animals, foods of animal origin — such as poultry, eggs, beef and pork — are often sources. Salmonella is passed in the feces and can remain alive outside of the animal for possibly years. Many foods, including produce, can become contaminated by the unclean hands of a food handler, by cross-contamination during preparation, or by irrigation or preparation of foods

with contaminated water or ice. Other foods that have been contaminated with Salmonella and caused outbreaks include coconut, chocolate, peanut butter, yeast and soy. Flour may be contaminated with Salmonella; however, proper cooking inactivates the organism. It doesn’t always take high levels of contaminating Salmonella to cause illness. Outbreaks have occurred from foods contaminated with just a few Salmonella organisms. The infectious dose, or amount required to make someone sick, varies by the age and health conditions of the person infected, which Salmonella strain is involved, and protective effects of the food. Often, the elderly or very young are more seriously affected. A large Salmonella outbreak occurred in 2008, affecting 1,442 patients. It was epidemiologically associated with raw produce, including tomatoes and Serrano and jalapeño peppers. Tracing the source of the produce connected this outbreak to a distributor and two farms. However, the actual contamination mechanism was not determined. HOW TO CONTROL SALMONELLA Control of Salmonella focuses on adequate cooking of potentially contaminated foods. Cross-contamination control is also essential for cooked and ready-to-eat foods. Sanitization practices and adequate hand washing are critical in this area. Starting with the farm, it is essential to ensure that good agricultural practices are in place. Sanitization programs and sound food safety programs must be strictly implemented across the entire food supply chain, from processing to commercial food preparation — and in the consumer’s hands — to best control Salmonella. REFERENCES Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 2008. Preliminary FoodNet data on the incidence of infection with pathogens transmitted commonly through food--10 states, 2007. MMWR - Morbidity & Mortality Weekly Report 57:366-370. http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5714a2.htm Mead, P.S., Slutsker, L., Dietz, V., McCaig, L.F., Bresee, J.S., Shapiro, C., Griffin, P.M., Tauxe., R.V. 1999. Food-Related Illness and Death in the United States. Emerg, Inf. Dis.5(5):607-25. http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol5no5/mead.htm Salmonella outbreak attributed to multiple raw produce items http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5734a1.htm?s_cid=mm5734a1_e

RUTH L. PETRAN is Corporate Scientist in Food Safety at Ecolab, a global developer and marketer of premium cleaning, sanitizing, pest elimination, and maintenance products and services for hospitality, food service, food manufacturing and health care markets. She provides technical expertise and consultation to internal and external customers on food safety and public health concerns. Prior to joining Ecolab, Ruth was a Research Microbiologist and Supplier Quality Manager at Pillsbury, and Specifications Manager and Quality Regulations Operations Product Manager at General Mills, focused on managing safety and quality concerns of microbiologically sensitive products & ingredients. She has lead food safety assessments at facilities world wide, focused

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on application of HACCP systems and regulatory compliance. She also served as Quality Regulatory Operations Manager at the Lloyd’s Barbecue plant in Mendota Heights, MN, a producer of ready-to-eat meat items. Ruth is a professional member of IFT, serving as Chair of the New Products & Technologies committee and has been active in the IFT-Food Microbiology Division. She is also a member of IAFP, and is on the editorial board of Food Protection Trends. She has worked with the Food Products Association (FPA), advising on development of the SAFE Supplier Auditing program. She has a B.S. in Consumer Food Science from Cornell University, an M.S. in Food Science from the University of Minnesota, and was recently accepted into the Ph.D. program at the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota.

FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS DAYDOTS IS CHANGING TO ECOLAB FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS. SEE PAGE TWO FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Good Habits -Cross-Contamintaion Prevention

Food Safety Solutions

Summer 2009

Breaking Down Barriers as this ever happened to you? You’re engaging in a conversation with a staff person, dicussing an important facet of your operation, asking questions, getting a nod or a smile in return. You may be thinking “this is going well,” but you finally realize in spite of the positive responses they didn’t understand a word you were saying. Language barriers have been reported by restaurant owners as a major challenge in running their operations, sometimes having multiple languages spoken in one establishment. Because lack of communication can certainly affect food safety, we must use whatever tools we have at our disposal to take out the guesswork during critical stages of preparation, regardless of language spoken. A great help in communicating safe procedures without words is color-coded equipment. Their color is a visual cue for a particular food type, a constant reminder of the right one to use in that instance to prevent

cross-contamination. For example, a yellow cutting board would warn someone not to cut lettuce on that board which may have been just used to cut raw chicken. An effective use of color-coding was recently observed at Willow Tree Farm in Attleboro, MA, which produces thousands of pounds of chicken pies and chicken salad every day. To protect the foods being handled, the staff wear different colored aprons for each zone of their operation - blue in raw product areas, white for cooked food areas, and yellow aprons are designated for cleaning. Before leaving an area, aprons are removed and hung on hooks before moving into the next zone. Once employees are initially trained, color-coded tools can help bridge language gaps no matter how diverse the population. So let the colors do the talking, and help reinforce proper procedures and help prevent contamination without words.

Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

Throw in the Towel!

The HowiGripp™ • Reduces risks of dirty towels & mitts contaminating food • Replaces use of spoons, knives and tongs to pry up pans • Removes pans more easily and safely than other methods • Decreases cuts, burns and mangled fingertips • Impresses customers & outclasses your competition Order online at foodsafetysolutions.com or call us at 1.800.321.3687

FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS DAYDOTS IS CHANGING TO ECOLAB FOOD SAFETY SOLUTIONS. SEE PAGE TWO FOR MORE INFORMATION.

Food Safety Solutions

Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

Kusher actually welcomes franchisees with no restaurant experience. “Of course, they are all trainable, and having experience is great, but when we get someone from another industry, that new franchisee has no bad habits we have to break so we can train them in our systems.” When a new location opens, a Submarina corporate trainer is on site for the first few weeks to make sure all systems and checklists are performed to standards. In fact, Submarina’s systems and checklists are the backbone of store operations. Two main documents – the daily task list and the weekly chore list – provide detailed guidance. Watts says, “From the time an owner walks into the store, he has

We talk about food safety every day. It's incorporated into every aspect of store operations.

Launched in 1977 and based in San Diego, California, this 75-location franchise offers submarine sandwiches with a California twist – avocados, sprouts and other fresh produce complement the all-fresh (never frozen) meats and cheeses on bread which is baked fresh daily. Neither the meats or the cheeses are sliced in advance – it’s all sliced to order, ensuring Submarina’s customers the highest quality sandwich. “We set the bar for sandwiches,” says Submarina CEO Jeff Warfield. He is not just talking about taste, but food safety as well; of course, the two go hand in hand. Submarina has not just sourced the best tasting meat, cheeses and produce for their sandwiches, but has researched, toured, inspected and remained in steady contact with its vendors as well. Warfield cites the example of Submarina’s lettuce vendor that barcodes the product so that, if a problem arose, that lettuce would be traceable right back to the spot where it was grown in the field. And talk about fresh: lettuce travels from the field to the supplier in under 72 hours. He talks with pride of his other vendors – particularly Zacky Farms and Hormel. He’s visited both plants personally 40

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and has been impressed with their pristine conditions and food safety systems in place. But choosing and retaining exceptional vendors is only the beginning. Good wholesome food has to be stored and served with care. And here, Submarina also has an advantage as its executive staff are not simply executives, but have years of real-world kitchen and in-store experience. Along with CEO Jeff Warfield, Watts is a former Submarina franchisee and Jerrold Kusher, Submarina's Executive Vice President, Procurement, is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and worked many years as a chef and in the food industry. Brian Kennedy, Submarina's Vice President, Operations, is a previous Submarina franchisee as well. New franchisees attend two weeks of training. Food safety isn’t just covered in one section of the training period. “We talk about food safety every day. It’s incorporated into every aspect of store operations,” says Watts. As with any restaurant franchise, some new store owners have restaurant experience while others have none. It may be surprising to some that

a checklist of what must be done daily.” This list starts and stops with turning on (and off) the lights and the music system. Frequent hand washings are inserted between tasks. The weekly chore list involves such tasks as moving all the racks, emptying and cleaning the container with condiment packets, pulling down all the utensils, and cleaning the shelves. “It’s the

nitty-gritty tasks that keep a store clean,” says Watts, who adds that just like food, pans and utensils are rotated so that equipment doesn’t simply sit on a shelf collecting dust. Of course, all the tools are in place to keep Submarinas safe. From a sophisticated sneeze guard for the food line to test strips for the EPA registered sanitizing solutions, Submarina makes food safety a priority. Submarina Field Consultants visit each store on a regular basis for a thorough inspection and evaluation. The Field Consultants make sure all Submarina guidelines are followed and spend several hours in a store. Kusher says, “Our store evaluations are a complement to the health department inspections.” Watts says, “The Field Consultants look at food product, food handling – they’ll take all temperatures, check on the dates of meats, cheese and produce, and report their findings to the store and Submarina headquarters.” These field inspections, partnered with regular health department inspections, add an extra measure of safety. Despite this, Kusher is looking to add a third inspection process, using an outside company. He says, “We want someone else’s eyes who may see things before they happen rather than when they happen.” Watts brings his own frontline

experience to food safety policies. “We have zero tolerance for employees coming in sick. When I was a store owner and an employee came in coughing, I’d send them home. We will reschedule their hours so the employee doesn’t lose income, but they can’t work that day.” Food safety practices also extend to customer service. For example, Submarina has a policy that when a customer identifies themselves as a vegetarian, wax paper is used on the slicer and the employee will wash his hands and wear new gloves so there is no chance that anything that has touched meat will touch a vegetarian sandwich. Submarina also puts food allergies above revenue. “We cannot control everything – there may be nut meats in our breads, for example, so we tell the customer that we’d rather have them be safe, even if it means losing them as a customer that day,” says Watts. And part of customer service is providing immaculate restrooms. “We’re proud of our restrooms,” says Kusher. “We keep them very clean and very detailed. You can tell how clean a restaurant is by how clean its restrooms are.” When a new menu item is introduced,

each franchise is provided with a data sheet on how to handle the item, storage temperatures, storage guidelines and other data. It may seem every food safety best practice is already in place – only food industry towels are used which are changed each hour; each station has its own sanitizing towels; a backup sanitizer bucket stands at the ready. What’s more, when an employee moves from one work station to another, that employee must wash their hands and change their gloves. “We always proceed on the side of caution. We were the first chain to pull tomatoes, for example, and the last chain to bring them back,” adds Watts. “You can never be too safe.” In sum, Kusher says, “We hold near and dear to the food that goes into our customers’ stomachs. Our food is of the highest quality and wholesomeness.” And all this effort has paid off. Says Submarina CEO Jeff Warfield with pride, “We have an impeccable record when it comes to food safety. In the history of Submarina, we’ve never had one incident.”

Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

Good Habits - Sanitation & Cleaning

Food Safety Solutions

Summer 2009

Recently I was in a hotel kitchen preparing to do a staff training of their 3 bay sink station the next morning. I filled the sinks with hot soapy water, clear rinse water, measured the sanitizer solution and generally planned how my training would take place. As I unplugged the sinks to drain them, there was a gushing sound coming from under the first sink. To my dismay, the water pressure from the draining sinks was too much for the grease trap piping – it sprang a major leak and began flooding the kitchen. It was late at night with no staff around to help, so I threw some nearby towels onto the floor and looked frantically around this unfamiliar kitchen for tools that could help mop up this mess. On the other end of the kitchen was a small utility room, containing all of the equipment I needed. This was a lifesaver! Mops were hung neatly on holders, 2 big yellow mop buckets smiled at me, even a giant squeegee to push water into the floor drains, and the floor was cleaned in no time. A major disaster averted, I had a new appreciation of having proper cleaning tools handy when you need them, not only in an emergency situation such as this but for everyday use. Do you have a designated area away from food preparation/storage areas for storing all: • Cleaning supplies, mops, brooms, buckets, floor signs • Chemicals, MSDS station • Detergents, degreasers • Sanitizer buckets, cloths, test strips That old adage “a place for everything, and everything in its place” rings true and helps ensure that you are fully stocked for any cleaning situation or calamity.

Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

Ecolab filters withdraw the excess moisture and odors from the air and maintain humidity levels of approximately 80%. Compressors and fans run two to three hours less each day, saving energy and costly repairs as well as money lost from down time. Using these filters can help retard spoilage and shrinkage due to dehydration and can extend the shelf life of your fruits, vegetables & pastas.

Phone: 800.321.3687

foodsafetysolutions.com

Good Habits - Personal Hygiene

Food Safety Solutions

Summer 2009

What is the most powerful sales tool that you have for your products or services? It might not be your food quality, pricing, gorilla marketing, or even the acumen of your sales staff. At a recent foodservice and lodging show, hundreds of exhibitors displayed products and services with promises of increased profits, cleaner establishments and satisfied customers. However, a number of vendors sabotaged themselves unwittingly displaying, for all potential customers to see, their poor hygienic habits side by side with the products and services they were selling. We observed: • Bare hands cutting pastries. • A seafood salesman wearing gloves to toss cooked salmon with salads - commendable - until we observed him handling extension cords and table skirting with the same gloves in between tosses. • When one person was asked “Where are your gloves?” she joked back, “We forgot them…good thing we have wet wipes under the table because our hands get so sticky!” A little later the owner of that company was

seen eating a sandwich in big bites directly over the product that he was cutting with bare hands for sampling. • A few aisles away, a service dog expert at detecting bed bugs was observed repeatedly peeing on the carpet inside the company’s booth. The spokesman sopped up the carpet with cloths, but did not wash his hands in the handsink next to his booth, nor did he make attempts to walk the dog outside the exhibition. How many passersby were turned off by the behaviors of these vendors, and did they translate into a negative impression of their goods and services? The most powerful tool in our sales kit may be the easiest - the hygienic image we present to our customers every day. Don’t underestimate its importance to an impressionable prospect.

Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

Say Goodbye to Kitchen Chaos

Food Safety Solutions

Summer 2009

Getting your foodservice operation organized can protect your employees, your guests, your pocketbook – and your reputation. Best of all, it’s easy thanks to tried-and-true strategies such as zone isolation and color-coding. It sounds like a great idea on paper, but where do you start? Read on for tips that will help prevent cross-contamination, reduce employee injuries and keep foodborne illness at bay. SAFETY IN SIMPLICITY It’s the dinner rush. Cups are clattering, pots are boiling, guests are waiting. Busy employees are everywhere in the kitchen, cutting and cooking, prepping and plating. But are they doing it safely? The answer may depend in part on whether a kitchen is properly organized. Space is at a premium in many operations. Add to that the sheer number of employees required to get food out to customers in a timely manner, and it’s easy to imagine how accidents can happen. In fact, a whopping 245,500 injuries were sustained by employees of food service and drinking places in 2007, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics. Of those, nearly 58,000 incidents caused employees to miss time at work. That number includes more than 5,600 heat burns and nearly 22,000 sprains, strains and tears – injuries that are often avoidable. Kitchens that are well-organized can help dramatically lower accident rates. Make sure nothing is blocking doorways so the flow of traffic is unobstructed. Keep floors free of clutter, and immediately clean up any spills to reduce the risk of slips and falls. Potentially dangerous equipment, such as sharp knives, should be stored in specific areas between uses. Establish designated homes for everything in the kitchen, from cutting boards to can openers and knives to napkins. Employees will notice when something is out of place and can quickly correct any problems. Organized equipment and workspaces help streamline the work flow of busy kitchens and increase employee efficiency. The bottom line: An organized kitchen is a safer kitchen.

Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

Summer 2009

“Don’t agonize. Organize.” – Florence Kennedy

COLOR-CODING IS KEY For restaurants, one of the biggest opportunities to reduce foodborne illness lies in preventing cross-contamination – and color-coding in the kitchen is a key strategy. Preventing outbreaks is one of the top concerns of every restaurant manager, and for good reason. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there were 87 million cases of food-related illnesses in 2008, including 371,000 hospitalizations and 5,700 deaths. Beyond the human toll, such outbreaks cost individuals and restaurant owners upwards of $35 billion each year according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. “We need greater effort at all stages of movement of food in the food chain from farm to table,” said Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the CDC’s Division of Foodborne, Bacterial and Mycotic Diseases, at an April 2009 briefing. While color-coding is one of the most effective strategies for protecting consumers, a 2002 Purdue University study

found that only 50 percent of restaurants surveyed had a recommendation or requirement for the use of color-coded cutting boards, and only half of those recommended the use of matching color-coded utensils. Color-coded cutting boards and utensils should be designated for specific foods or work areas. This system helps ensure dedicated food contact surfaces, a

standard HAACP guideline to prevent cross-contamination. That’s important for multiple reasons. Vegetables, for example, shouldn’t be chopped on the same surface that previously held raw chicken. Although cooking kills germs in meat, vegetables are often served raw and can be contaminated from meat juices if the same board is used for both. Limiting different types of food to specific surfaces also helps protect consumers who have allergies to items such as shellfish. Color-coded utensils, peg boards and food storage boxes further enhance safety, and make it easy for managers to see at a glance which items should be used for a particular food. Vendors offer a wide variety of color-coded equipment for use throughout the food prep cycle, including knives, knife racks, tongs, forks, storage boxes and pan covers. Best of all, this simple strategy can pay off big by protecting customers – and your reputation – from foodborne illness.

The Key to a Color-Coded Kitchen Industry standards include the following colorcoded designations, although restaurants can easily create their own unique system to meet specific needs: Red = Raw Meat Yellow = Raw Poultry Blue = Fish & Seafood Brown = Cooked Foods Green = Fruits & Vegetables White = Dairy Products Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

Summer 2009

“Out of clutter, find simplicity.” – Albert Einstein

KNOW YOUR ZONES “Zone defense” is a familiar sports term, but it can just as easily be applied to the kitchen. Restaurant managers know that having “zones” is another crucial strategy in the fight against crosscontamination, illness and injury. Take a simple example: An employee uses a mop to clean up grease spilled in the kitchen. An hour later, the same mop is used in a restroom after a toilet overflows. The thought of that mop being used again in the kitchen is cringe-worthy – and illustrates perfectly the need for a zone isolation system. Essentially, zone isolation helps stop the spread of contaminants by creating boundaries or zones where dedicated equipment is always used. This approach confines bacteria and viruses to one zone, thereby protecting guests and employees. The above example of a common mop is unsettling, but unfortunately is a common practice that creates numerous problems. Grease from the kitchen can be exposed to the bathroom floor, creating the possibility of a slippery surface that could cause guests to fall. If the same mop is used again in the kitchen, potentially dangerous germs and bacteria from the restroom could invade the kitchen – causing illness if they come into contact with any food or equipment. Zones can easily be established based on a foodservice operation’s visible boundaries, such as walls and doors that separate the kitchen, restrooms, dining area, bar and entryway. Each zone should be assigned a color, with corresponding cleaning equipment including mops, brooms, buckets and dust pans.

Green, for example, might be used for a bathroom, red for the kitchen, and blue for the bar area. The success of zone isolation depends

contamination, the system can still fail. Managers should offer initial and ongoing training to ensure that procedures are being followed. Frequent manager audits and spot checks can help correct small problems before they become large. Wall posters and other signage can provide instant visual reminders to busy employees. Organized zone isolation and colorcoded systems offer a final benefit – smoother, quicker visits from health inspectors, who are impressed with kitchens that are organized, clean and orderly. Take control of your kitchen – and your reputation – by implementing these easy and effective strategies today.

on organization. Tools should be neatly stored in the same zone in which they are used, to prevent contamination during storage and so employees can easily identify which equipment to use in each zone. Zoning within the kitchen is also recommended. Areas should be established for various types of food preparation such as meat, vegetables and seafood. Color-coded tools should be used and stored within each individual zone. THE LAST PIECE OF THE PUZZLE A kitchen might look perfect, with color-coded tools hanging neatly on coordinating peg boards above separate work zones. Yet if employees aren’t trained on the importance of these systems in the fight against crossSummer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

Food Safety and the Law

The FDA Food Code: A Helpful Tool For Foodservice Operators BY ELIZABETH A. DECONTI, ESQ.

As a matter of best practices, restaurants and other foodservice businesses should continually look for resources to provide education and training for food safety. One such resource which is free and readily available is the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) 2005 Food Code. The Food Code is easily accessible at the FDA’s website www.fda.gov. The Food Code is part of the FDA’s Healthy People 2010 initiative, a ten year multi-faceted strategy for improving health in the United States. As articulated by the FDA, the goals of the Food Code are reducing infections from foodborne pathogens, reducing outbreaks, and improving food employee behaviors and food preparation practices with the result being to reduce the incidence of foodborne illnesses from restaurants and other foodservice establishments.

It provides useful standards for operators and managers with regard to employee hygiene and cleanliness Although the Food Code is neither a federal law nor a federal regulation in of itself, portions of it have been adopted by the majority of U.S. states as a law or regulation. In some cases, municipalities have drawn from the Food Code in drafting ordinances. Restaurant owners and operators of other establishments selling any unpackaged food to the public should make themselves aware of whether their home state has adopted any or all of the Food Code. Regardless, the Food Code is an excellent compliance tool to use as part of any best practices regimen.

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Summer 2009

The Food Code addresses many subjects of interest to restaurants and other foodservice establishments. The Food Code’s provisions address food safety, premises maintenance, and employment issues. For example, in the food prep area, it provides guidance on avoiding crosscontamination and foodborne illnesses. The Food Code also provides information on how to manage the establishment and contains chapters on proper handling of equipment, utensils, and linens, and sanitary guidelines for water, plumbing and waste. Finally, it provides useful standards for operators and managers with regard to employee hygiene and cleanliness, as well as managerial procedures for evaluating employees to determine whether they are carriers of pathogens which may cause foodborne illnesses. Compliance with the provisions of the Food Code, whether legally required in your jurisdiction or not, will help your establishment avoid the conditions which give rise to foodborne illness, which in turn give rise to liability from consumers or state agencies conducting inspections.

Elizabeth A. DeConti is a Shareholder in the Tampa office of GrayRobinson, P.A. She devotes a substantial portion of her practice to food liability issues. She may be reached at (813) 2735159 or at edeconti@gray-robinson.com. This information provided is general and educational and not legal advice. For additional information, please visit www.hospitalitylawyer.com.

The Food Code is readily available at the FDAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s website www.fda.gov.

Summer 2009

Food Safety Solutions

Good Habits - Food Rotation

trans •la•tion noun |trans’lã en; tranz-| SH

ne of the biggest challenges to the food industry today is our multicultural workforce, with language barriers and frequent lack of training that can impact food safety and operational efficiency. It goes beyond knowing if “baluts” must be refrigerated or cooked to be safe (let alone what are baluts?) but understanding the basic principles of preventing contamination and temperature abuse that can cause illness. Communication between workers, owners, managers and health inspectors is often strained, and one owner said language barriers are like a “fire under his butt” making his job more difficult every day. We must attack this issue on all fronts and use whatever tools we can muster. But short of learning multiple languages, how can we quickly overcome language barriers throughout the kitchen and keep foods safe? Many tools help reinforce proper procedures with use of color, pictures and diagrams and are effective visual aids:

Signage • Handwashing pictures • Glove use • Cooking temperature charts • Storage order of refrigerated products • Proper ice handling • Color codes for equipment and food type

Labels • Day of the week labels help communicate use-by dates, color-coded by day • Portion bags- labeled with day of week, to aid in food rotation • Use First labels help reduce waste by encouraging FIFO of duplicate products

These are just some of the simple but invaluable tools which transcend language, and can help a food operation flow much more smoothly. They can make a world of difference in all areas of your operation once your system is in place. And with a small investment and minimum of effort your foods can be handled more safely and efficiently by everyone, with team spirits and morale high.

Hit the Books

Burning Issues in Fast Food BY GEORGE D. WEED, R.S. ECOSURE FIELD SPECIALIST

Teenagers working in the fast food industry may be unprepared for the risks associated with their jobs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, each year over 210,000 teenagers are injured in the workplace, 70,000 are hospitalized, and more than 60 are killed. A large number of these injuries occur in the fast food industry. Of course, there are a number of factors behind the injury statistics. Often, the teenage worker has no previous job experience. If the inexperienced employee is not provided with adequate training, supervision, and personal protection equipment, there is an increased risk of a serious or even fatal accident. Some jobs considered hazardous may not legally be assigned to young workers. For example, the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) forbids workers younger than 18 years old from operating, setting up, adjusting, cleaning, oiling, or repairing power-driven food slicers, grinders, choppers, cutters, and bakery mixers and other power-driven bakery machines. In a fast food kitchen, the most common injuries are burns and falls. According to the Burn Foundation, a Philadelphiabased nonprofit, teens working as fry cooks in fast food restaurants are at special risk for burn injuries. Those

“

Those teens were found to have over six times the number of serious burn injuries as teens working in other industries.

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teens were found to have over six times the number of serious burn injuries as teens working in other industries. Sources of burns can be hot oil, cooking surfaces, and heat lamps and heating elements of warming units. A third degree burn can result from contact with a hot surface (above 160˚ F.) for only a few seconds. Compare that temperature with the 350˚ F. temperature of the typical deep-fryer oil. Lack of proper tools and protective clothing increases the chances of burns significantly. The Burn Foundation also found that burns are more likely to occur when workers ignore safety rules, are

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Summer 2009

pressed for time and take shortcuts, or when they become too familiar with their jobs and take unnecessary risks. By law, all employees have the right to a safe and healthful workplace and safety and health training. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) gives these guidelines for reducing the risk of serious burns in the fast food workplace: • Provide employees with appropriate gloves, oven mitts, hot pads, aprons, scrapers, and other cleaning tools with handles; • Insist that employees allow hot grease to cool before moving it; • Encourage the use of slip-resistant flooring or greaseproof or grease-resistant floor mats; • Discuss the need of wearing slip-resistant shoes; • Educate employees on the risks and injuries that can occur in a kitchen, such as avoiding reaching over or across hot surfaces. An effective burn prevention program must include training, supervision, and active participation by employees and management.

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Call to learn more about EcoSureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s range of quality assurance capabilities, including on-site evaluations, consultation, training and customized services. 1-866-ECOSUR1 (866-326-7871) option 3 www.foodsafety@ecolab.com

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Protect Your Investment

Saving Energy… Good for the Planet… Good for Business JENNIFER SIMEK, ECOLAB EQUIPMENT CARE (GCS SERVICE, INC.)

These days, “Going Green” is more than a bumper sticker slogan. It’s a smart business decision. Especially when the cost of utilities, such as gas, electricity and water, start to eat into your profits. Consider these statistics: • Restaurants use more energy in the kitchen than in the rest of the building. • Energystar.gov estimates that more energy-efficient kitchen equipment can save as much as $500 a year. • U.S. Environmental Protection Agency experts estimate that if a food service operation cuts its energy costs by just 20 percent, profits could increase by 30 percent or more.

When choosing a preventive maintenance program, it’s critical to ensure that your service provider has experienced technicians. If a service technician forgets something simple like an “O” ring, for example, energy efficiency is compromised and food can infiltrate and contaminate equipment. Make sure your technician keeps hot-side and cold-side equipment in spec, keeping you in the food safety zone. In the end, you help both your business and the environment. Preventative maintenance helps you reduce your energy costs by making your equipment operate more efficiently. That's good business. Equipment that operates more efficiently requires less energy. That's good for the environment.

The first step towards a greener kitchen? Making sure your kitchen equipment gets the preventive maintenance it needs to operate at peak efficiency — and lowest cost.

Start saving money on your energy costs 5 simple steps you can take today Save up to $300 per broiler/year

Replace 4 standard incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents

Save up to $220/year

Calibrate fryer thermostat for maximum efficiency

Save up to $100 per fryer/year

Repair or replace cracked, warped refrigerator/freezer seals or defective door hinges

Save up to $50 per unit/year

Clean refrigerator coils every month

Save up to $20 per refrigerator/ year

Food Safety Solutions

Summer 2009

Illustration by Brandon Alms

Replace broken grates on broiler/restore efficient burner pattern