The Food Safety Modernization Act and Food Manager Certification MN

The Food Safety Modernization Act and Food Manager Certification MN

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The Food Safety Modernization Act and Food Manager Certification MN

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Over the past few years of providing MN food manager certification training courses, we’ve received numerous questions about how the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) affects certain local businesses. While the rules tend to be a bit murky and may require some sifting through legal jargon, we’ve decided to take a closer look at who is affected by the FSMA.

Food Manager Certification MN and the Food Safety Modernization Act

In 2010 the US Congress enacted the FSMA to help prevent major food poisoning outbreaks from occurring. The act targets major produce growers, food processors and pet-food manufacturers. It is our understanding that most retail businesses such as restaurants, grocery stores or other outlets that do not process or supply large quantities of product to consumers are not subject to these regulations.

The FSMA’s major concern is with the food supply in our country rather than with the retail sale of prepared goods. The target businesses of the FSMA include major produce growers who average over 25,000 dollars in sales per year, large processing plants of food for human and pet consumption and the importers of raw foods. To put it simply, most of the food service professionals who come to us for training need not worry about the FSMA. If you’re a supervisor at a restaurant, owner of retail store or manager at the cafeteria at an assisted living facility, the FSMA regulations have little to no effect on your operation.

If you’re a farmer, producer of large quantities of food product or a supplier of raw food product to restaurants or processing facilities, then the rules become a little more complex. In the act, congress decided to exempt certain types of small-scale farms and raw food suppliers. Your farm or operation may be exempt if you:

  • Sell less than 25,000 dollars’ worth of product per year
  • Specialize in produce that is rarely served raw
  • Only produce goods for personal or farm consumption
  • Only grow food grains

If you are a farmer or produce grower, we suggest you browse Oregon State University’s detailed synopsis on how the FSMA applies to the farming industry.

If you produce large quantities of raw food for human or pet consumption, we strongly urge you to contact your local health department or the FDA to confirm if your business needs to be compliant with FSMA regulations. There are too many qualifying factors and exemptions for us to make a qualified analysis as to which businesses must follow FSMA regulations.

With legislation like the FSMA granting the FDA more authority over our food supply, we’d like to know how you feel about government’s role in overseeing food production. Do you think that we need more or less regulation at the local, state or federal levels?

Alfalfa Sprouts and the MN Certified Food Manager

Alfalfa Sprouts and the MN Certified Food Manager

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Alfalfa Sprouts and the MN Certified Food Manager

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In the month of February, an E. coli outbreak linked to fresh sprouts struck the states of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Fresh alfalfa sprouts have been linked to several food-borne illness cases over the past several years, so we’d like to take the time to review how MN certified food managers can keep their customers from consuming tainted sprouts and other sensitive raw produce items.

Sensitive Produce Items and the MN Certified Food Manager

The recent E. coli outbreak in our state wasn’t merely an isolated incident. In a completely unrelated outbreak this year, sprouts grown in Kansas have been found to be the cause of illnesses as far away as Pennsylvania. When something like this happens, we like to take the time to have a discussion on how food service professionals can prevent these types of incidents from affecting their guests.

It is never safe to assume that raw sprouts, or any other raw produce items, are safe to consume right out of its packaging. All produce should be thoroughly rinsed and dried before it is made available to your customers.

Secondly, you should always throw away or return recalled produce items to your supplier. In this most recent case, the health department has warned that there may still be recalled alfalfa sprouts on retail store shelves or in food preparation facilities. On our blog page, we’ve incorporated a widget that will help you stay current on any recall information, and we suggest you check it regularly to make sure that you do not have recalled items in your inventory.

Finally, you should never serve raw sprouts of any kind if your regular customer base includes individuals that are susceptible to food-borne illness. The FDA recommends that alfalfa sprouts never be served to the elderly, children or those who have depleted immune systems. If you are in charge of food service for a school, assisted living home or medical facility, we strongly urge you to keep raw sprouts off of the menu.

At Safe Food Training, we like to hear how our readers deal with these types of situations. Do you serve raw alfalfa sprouts in your facility, or would you rather not take the risk and keep them off of your menu entirely?