Chipotle’s series of 2015 pathogen outbreaks has galvanized attention on food safety, but the subject is always important.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, major outbreaks of foodborne diseases including Salmonella, E. coli and Listeria have more than tripled during the last 20 years, and have also become bigger and more deadly. A wide variety of foods were involved, ranging from vegetables and fresh fruits to eggs, beef and chicken.
Contaminated foods sicken an estimated 48 million Americans annually, leading to 128,000 hospitalizations and roughly 3,000 deaths, according to the CDC.
According to Food Safety Training Solutions, the five most common causes of foodborne illness in foodservice establishments are:
- Purchasing food from unsafe sources
- Failing to cook food adequately
- Holding food at incorrect temperatures
- Using contaminated equipment
- Practicing poor personal hygiene
Implementing standard procedures to address all of these weak points, and then training staff to relentlessly follow them is key.
Sourcing Safely
Food safety begins at the back door, with strict attention to product safety and handling.
- Develop relationships with trusted suppliers who demonstrate food safety best practices and can provide traceability. Many operators choose to employ centralized sourcing, rather than leaving it to individual unit personnel, and/or to work with fewer vendors who follow standard safety protocols
- If possible, make site visits to establish and ensure compliance
- Make sure qualified staff is onsite to check in all deliveries, and that food is properly handled at all times
Cook and Hold Properly
Hot food hot, cold food cold. Cook all foods thoroughly and maintain safe temperatures at all times. It should be simple but if it were, there wouldn’t be so many problems—and this is especially true when serving food off-site. It takes diligence and constant monitoring. Particular care should be taken when handling fresh produce.
The National Restaurant Association’s tips for handling TCS food (food that requires time and temperature control) provides guidelines for properly cooking and cooling food.
The Integrated Food Safety Delivery System website provides many useful resources, including a Hot and Cold Holding Temperatures Fact Sheet.
The Clean Fight
Cleanliness and sanitation are vital not only in the fight against foodborne illness, but also for attracting and keeping customers. Implementing Standard Sanitary Operating Procedures is critical, but a foodservice operation is made up of many moving parts, all of which need to be kept scrupulously clean.
Local health departments can help operators keep up with state and municipality requirements, as well as serving as a resource for technical information.
One of the best ways to stay on top of sanitation is a checklist that details procedures for every area of the operation, and provides a means for management to conduct a self-inspection.
Team Hygiene
Food safety is a team effort. This includes not only station cleanliness but also health and personal hygiene, as detailed in this comprehensive FDA handbook.
Handwashing is the single most important step employees can take to avoid contamination. Management should also implement and encourage policies that prevent sick employees from coming to work, particularly if they serve at-risk populations, such as the elderly, or have symptoms of foodborne illness themselves.
This post is sponsored by Minor’s®