An internal audit is necessary to ensure effective food safety plans. Many food operations are inspected by regulatory agencies yearly or quarterly to check to see that they are following proper food safety procedures. The frequencies that these establishments are inspected are essentially inadequate to preventing foodborne illness. If they were as effective as we hoped, then there wouldn't be any outbreaks, but foodborne illness outbreaks are part of our common food environment. This is a big reason driving the new FSMA regulations. Food processor businesses and retail outlets, such as restaurants, should incorporate their own internal audits or inspections to verify their food safety … [Read more...]
Tales of Food Illness: E. Coli & Tuna Scrape
Last June, there were 2 food illness outbreaks that highlighted the complex nature of identifying and tracking food illness outbreaks nationwide. An outbreak relies heavily on each state's foodborne illness surveillance program. Some states are better than others, but as cases grow, it's important to understand there are probably many other unidentified cases not making it on the list, and food safety is at risk with contaminated product still being served. E. Coli O145 Food Illness Outbreak Now at 15 Cases Even though the number of cases is relatively low, what's concerning is that the CDC and state epidemiologists have yet to identify the cause. The cases are spread across 6 states … [Read more...]
Dennis Keith has been working as a restaurant and food safety professional for more than 20 years.