All over the country, health districts and food industry representatives are debating the best way to train food service workers in critical food safety areas. Some districts have only recently required training, such as California, while others have been providing it for decades. Ensuring all food service employees have proper and effective food safety training is an extremely important factor in reducing foodborne illness and both local health departments and the food industry have a vested interest to ensure it continues to improve. In the past, many health departments had direct control over food safety training in their areas, but many of these programs haven't been updated since … [Read more...]
Stay on Top of Food Safety with Health Inspection Checklists
A health inspection can be a very frustrating experience in a restaurant. Someone you don't know is telling you what is wrong with your business. Oftentimes, things are pointed out that you had no idea were problems. If you had known it was a problem, then it would have already been addressed, but it took a health inspector to point it out. These inspections would go much easier if a process was in place to identify these problem areas. This process can be developed by doing your own health inspection. In-house inspections can be very beneficial to not only find and correct problems before the health inspector finds them, but it will also greatly improve the food safety program of the … [Read more...]
Anatomy of a Foodborne Illness Complaint, Part 3: Confirmed Cases
If you have a customer with a confirmed foodborne illness, the local health department will probably visit you. A case is confirmed when a stool sample from an infected person is cultured and the harmful bacteria is found. This process can take a few days. When there is a confirmed case, the health department is contacted and they begin an investigation to try and determine the source of the infection. Many questions are asked of the infected person, including about where they ate. If there are restaurants involved, they will look at the timeline and try and guess which ones could be the source. Some can be ruled out, and others may need further investigation. This may lead them to your … [Read more...]
Anatomy of a Foodborne Illness Complaint, Part 2: False Accusations
How do you spot a false foodborne illness complaint? Oftentimes, this can be very difficult to see. There are generally two main types of false complaints—one from someone who is really ill but didn't get sick from your restaurant and one that comes from a dishonest customer who just wants to extort money. Make sure you ask the right questions. Use the Foodborne Illness Report (also found in the Manager's Toolbox) to help you, and look for the signs. There are some common signs, and a fair amount of research may need to be done before you can make the determination that a claim is false. Common Signs of a False Foodborne Illness Complaint The signs listed here aren't true in every … [Read more...]
Anatomy of a Foodborne Illness Complaint, Part 1: Planning
Every restaurant should have a plan for handling complaints. Most of these plans lay out what the manager needs to do in the name of customer service. This usually consists of having a game plan for retaining the complainant as a customer. The end result might be comping a meal, sending out coupons, or inviting the customer back to prove that you can give them a good experience in your establishment. Most establishments train their employees on this all the time. Foodborne illness complaints are completely different. There still is the element of customer service, but dealing with an angry sick person has its own set of rules. A simple coupon for a free dessert probably won't cut it. … [Read more...]
Start a Chemical Management Plan
Chemicals are used to clean and sanitize your kitchen, but when mismanaged, they can lead to increased costs, health code violations, and significant personal injury. A management plan for controlling chemicals needs to be implemented. Each plan must address labeling, storage, proper chemical concentrations, and retaining manufacturers' labels and instructions. Here are some helpful tips: Labeling: All containers, spray bottles, and buckets need to be labeled with the common name of the contents. Using pre-labeled bottles and buckets can be very helpful. If using generic containers, labeling can be accomplished with a permanent marker. It's important to remember that the contents … [Read more...]
Clean and Sanitize to Stop Foodborne Illness
Cleaning a restaurant kitchen and its equipment can be a very time-consuming and difficult job. There are so many areas of a kitchen that need cleaning and at different frequencies. An ice machine, for example, won't need to be cleaned as often as a deli slicer. Cleaning and sanitizing are necessary for preventing the growth of harmful pathogens that can lead to foodborne illness. There are many outbreaks large and small tracked back to dirty equipment. Here are a few: Meat Slicer Strikes Again—Maple Leaf Slicer Implicated in Listeria Outbreak Arby's Implicated in Salmonella Outbreak in Georgia FDA Cites Dirty Equipment in Cantaloupe Outbreak Cleaning Schedules It's … [Read more...]
Dennis Keith has been working as a restaurant and food safety professional for more than 20 years.