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...]
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...]
How Employee Illness Can Affect Restaurants
These days more and more outbreaks are associated with sick employees passing their illnesses to other people while at work. Having employees working while sick is one of the most reckless things any manager or owner of a food establishment can do. Sick employees can transmit illnesses to other employees or, even worse, pass them to customers. Check out what happened at an Illinois McDonald's that led to 34 cases of hepatitis A: Illinois Department of Health Links Hepatitis A Outbreak to Employee Handwashing Sick Employee Policy It is crucial that all restaurants have a solid sick employee policy. Many restaurant managers give employees two options for when employees are sick: 1) … [Read more...]
Tips to Avoid Bare Hand Contact with Food
You won't find a more debated or controversial topic between food safety inspectors and the restaurant industry than bare hand contact with ready-to-eat foods. According to the FDA, you can't do it. This results in many chefs having to wear gloves. As an inspector myself, I've heard all the arguments: "I don't have to wear gloves because I wash my hands so often. "I can't prepare the food properly with gloves on." "If I can't feel the fish while cutting it, then I'll cut my hand!" "The plastic in the gloves changes the taste of the food." For the most part, none of these arguments get very far during an inspection. The food industry either needs to provide better ways to prevent … [Read more...]
Hand Washing 101
Proper hand washing is the best defense against foodborne illness and spreading disease. There are many opportunities in a full-service restaurant for the transmission of disease when good hand washing practices are not implemented. Proper Hand Washing Procedure Food employees should wash their hands for 20 seconds using a cleaning compound in a hand wash sink in the following order: Rinse hands under clean, running warm water. Apply cleaning compound. Rub hands together vigorously for at least 10–15 seconds. Remove soil from underneath fingernails. Thoroughly rinse hands under clean, running warm water. Dry hands with a disposable drying towel or hot air. For more on … [Read more...]
Good Food Storage Practices
Food storage can be very complicated in a busy and most likely small kitchen. Chefs and managers often have a daily struggle in trying to properly store food. The ultimate goal is to protect the food from contamination that may come in many forms. Sometimes, a restaurant becoming busier, increasing its volume, and exceeding its storage capacity can put safe food storage at risk. In this post, the challenges and hazards associated with different food storage areas are outlined. Restaurant Food Storage Areas Food in a restaurant is typically stored in the following areas: Walk-in coolers Make table coolers Dry storage Freezers The Let's look at each of these in more … [Read more...]
Dennis Keith has been working as a restaurant and food safety professional for more than 20 years.