Christine Dantz, Author at Safe Food For Thought

February 8, 2021February 8, 2021

New Changes To Scheduling MN Certified Food Protection Manager Training

After a long hiatus from in-person Minnesota certified food protection manager training, we at Safe Food Training are excited to return to the classroom and once again offer our top-rated in-person classes. Where you can participate in discussions with an industry expert and your fellow food-industry professionals. Unfortunately, classes won’t look the same as they have in the past, so prospective students need to be aware of some changes and precautions that we’re currently taking.

MN Certified Food Protection Manager Training During COVID-19 Restrictions — Image credit: Street Level Solutions

In-Person MN CFPM Training Protocols

Thanks to the gradual turning of the dials in the StaySafeMN guidance, we can now welcome food safety managers back into the classroom, but with certain restrictions. Classroom training sessions must:

Reduce seating capacity
Enforce mask-wearing
Operate with social distancing protocols

Due to reduced seating and social distancing protocols, we cannot train as many certified food managers per session as we once were allowed. This means that students seeking in-person training need to be proactive when it comes to registering for a class. Delaying your registration may force you to push training to a later date or utilize online food protection manager training in order to meet certification deadlines.

Reduced class sizes and limited registration can quickly become an issue for larger food businesses or restaurants with multiple locations that need to train more than one certified food protection manager for better food safety coverage. Even if your food service business doesn’t require multiple CFPMs, you may have a stellar staff member with management potential that you’d like to develop. With so much competition for limited seats, a delay could result in a lack of training for these types of key individuals.

Many students also thrive in a classroom environment but struggle with online sessions. With the nearly yearlong absence of instructor lead classes, some of these students may be long overdue for training or a refresher course.

If you’re ready for a return to the classroom for Minnesota certified food protection manager training, make sure you schedule your training soon to guarantee you a seat that best fits your availability.

February 1, 2021February 1, 2021

Foolproof Tasks For ServSafe Food Managers That Will Prevent Pests

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

Pests should be a concern of ServSafe food managers all year round, but we’re in unique times that may draw more pests to your food establishment than normal. Pests like raccoons, rats, mice and even black bears are seeking out new sources of food during cold weather. If you factor in reduced operations at many businesses due to COVID-19 restrictions, retail outlets, food businesses and other industries are producing less waste and less garbage forcing pests to range further and even move indoors to search for food. With the possibility of these pests becoming more aggressive in their quest for a free meal, what should ServSafe food managers do to prevent winter pests out of their establishments?

Tasks For ServSafe Food Managers That Will Prevent Pests — Image credit: Wavebreak Media Ltd via 123rf

ServSafe Food manager’s Guide to Preventing Pest Infiltration

When taking preventative measures against pests entering your food preparation facility, evaluate your entrances, dumpsters and outdoor dining areas. If animals are attracted to the exterior of your building, there’s a good chance they’ll be able to find a way inside.

ServSafe food managers should get into the habit of regularly scheduling staff to inspect and clean outside areas to prevent pests. With more outdoor dining due to limited indoor seating capacity, there’s more potential for food to be dropped or spilled. A messy outdoor dining patio will attract pests.

It’s also important to make sure dumpsters and garbage areas are also free from debris. You can also lock your dumpsters after hours to prevent larger urban mammals from rummaging through your trash. If they are unable to find sustenance in your trash, they’ll likely move on.

If you’ve taken care to keep your outside areas clean, it’ll be a helpful deterrent but may not give you total protection against pests entering your facility. ServSafe food managers should design pest prevention procedures to ensure the following happens every day:

All interior garbage cans are empty
Counters and floors are cleaned and sanitized
All unpackaged inventory is stored off of the ground

Even if it’s just inside the kitchen, a full garbage can attract pests such as rodents and insects. Dirty floors and countertops release odors that attract unwanted visitors and become a breeding ground for fruit flies, gnats and other bugs.

Finally, make sure inventory such as produce is stored as far off the ground as possible. Ground level fruits and vegetables can be an open invitation.

Have you taken extra precautions to keep pests out of your food preparation areas?

January 25, 2021January 25, 2021

Helpful New FDA Tool for CFPMs to Track Outbreaks

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Sometimes, major foodborne illness outbreaks, like those involving romaine lettuce over the past few years, grab national attention, but more often than not these outbreaks fly under the radar of the average certified food protection manager. Unwittingly serving ingredients that have been tainted is a real danger in the food industry, so is there any way that CFPMs can keep track of widespread foodborne illness risk?

FDA Tool for CFPMs to Track Outbreaks

Thanks to a recently developed FDA tool, certified food protection managers (CFPMs) can periodically check the latest news regarding widespread outbreaks. This tool makes it easy to find the information you need to know about tainted product that may have been widely distributed. From this chart, you can find:

Item contaminated
Investigation status
Links to advisories
Whether a recall has been initiated

Just one quick look will tell certified food protection managers if ingredients in their inventory have been subject of an outbreak investigation, and with a few clicks you can even see where the actual product came from and if it’s been recalled.

Besides FDA outbreak and investigation information, you can easily access CDC and FSIS outbreak incidence reports. Before the FDA developed this resource, you’d have to search all three agencies’ sites for all the intel concerning large outbreaks in the United States. Multi-agency information is now conveniently available at certified food protection managers’ fingertips.

Is having easy access to foodborne illness outbreak information something you find helpful in keeping the food you serve safe?

January 18, 2021January 25, 2021

How To Focus On Food Safety Management Training During COVID-19 Restriction

Estimated reading time: 3 minutes

COVID-19 has dominated the news since the beginning of 2020, and many food businesses have struggled to find a way to keep their businesses open and continue serving their guests. While much of the food industry has focused on the balance between keeping their guests safe from the coronavirus and making a profit, it’s important not to let food safety management training take a back seat. Relaxing food safety management during these times can result in overlooking risks that could result in foodborne illness.

Keeping Food Safety Management Training a Priority

We understand that it takes a lot of effort to abide by StaySafeMN guidance for restaurants, and it should be a priority, but that can’t be an excuse to relax on other food safety management procedures.

Food safety managers are responsible for making sure staff understand and follow proper food handling procedures and times of reduced service are a great opportunity to monitor and provide a little extra on-the-job training. Since you’re taking the time to make sure employees understand mask rules, social distancing in dining areas and enforcing COVID-19 reservation-only regulations, you should also incorporate food safety training as well.

It’s quite easy to monitor and guide your staff on a few key issues as you go about monitoring coronavirus prevention protocols. Here’s a brief list of items that can be observed at the same time as StaySafeMN procedures:

Proper sanitation
Handwashing between tasks
Employee health
Hair coverings

Some of these things may look like items your staff should already understand, but during the course of your day, it’s easy to make sure. Food safety managers can enforce and provide training for sanitation procedures since it’s necessary for both coronavirus prevention and food safety. Handwashing can also be reviewed as it can be brought up easily given current circumstances.

When it comes to employee health, sick is sick regardless of whether it’s COVID or not. Daily employee health screenings implant the idea that fever, cough, runny nose, nausea and other symptoms disqualify a food worker from taking their shift. Train your employees to take their temperature before work if not done on-site, be aware of symptoms and call out sick if necessary.

Now that masks are required, kitchen workers must wear two important pieces of protection: a head covering and a mask. When training employees on how to properly wear a mask, you can also teach them the importance of wearing a proper head covering when working with food.