Author: Christine Dantz

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The Problem with the Hard-Boiled Egg Recall for ServSafe Managers

Hard-Boiled-Egg-Recall

Recently, a listeria outbreak lead to a major recall of hard-boiled eggs produced by a company that supplies their product to restaurants, food processors and retailers. We’ve looked into this recall, and it appears that while some of these precooked hard-boiled eggs did make their way to grocery store shelves, most of them were shipped to food service establishments, and in some cases food preparers that have used these eggs as ingredients in other prepackaged ready-to-eat products. These kinds of recalls send up a red flag for us since ready-to-eat food recalls tend to escape the notice of ServSafe managers.

Hard-Boiled Egg Recall

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ServSafe Managers and the Hard-Boiled Egg Recall

One of the biggest issues with the recall of a product such as pre-cooked hard-boiled eggs is awareness. Most of the recalls that draw the attention of ServSafe food managers involve raw product such as romaine lettuce, ground meats and other items used as ingredients. These outbreaks are usually wider spread and grab national headlines.

As stated in the FDA report, one major component of this recall included eggs shipped in five-pound containers for use in foodservice. Many operations bring in already cooked hard-boiled eggs as a time saver if they include whole eggs as part of breakfast service or prepare menu items made from hard-boiled eggs. The extent of this recall should be a wakeup call that foodservice professionals must be more vigilant with all ready-to-eat product they bring in to serve to guests and use as ingredients for certain recipes.

If you use precooked product in your establishment, you should frequently take a look at the FDA’s recall list. While many recalls of ready-to-eat food involve products shipped directly to grocery stores and consumers rather than food service businesses, there are times when contaminated prepared product ends up in industrial kitchens. Awareness and keeping alert for any recall will help prevent the spread of foodborne illness outbreaks.

Do you use already prepared product in your business?

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Healthy Menu Trends for 2020 and Certified Food Managers

2020 is upon us, and the time has come for MN certified food managers to consider menu trends, assess their menus and evaluate if they’ve designed a menu that’s going to bring in new customers and keep their regular clientele happy. We’ve talked with industry professionals and taken a close look at forecasted trends, and we’ve discovered that many insiders believe that many restaurant menus will become healthier and simpler in the coming year.

2020 Menu Trends and Certified Food Managers

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Forecasted Restaurant Menu Trends for 2020 Impact Certified Food Managers

While there will always be a niche for nearly any menu strategy, we’ve heard a few professionals speculate five things will be key to keeping a loyal clientele in 2020.

  • Fewer Menu Choices
  • Simpler Dishes with Small Portion Sizes
  • More Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten-Free Dishes
  • Clear Menu Labeling
  • Seasonal Menu Rotation

The concept of smaller menus has been growing in popularity for several years. A streamlined menu not only helps guests make easy decisions but also helps your bottom line. With limited dishes, MN certified food managers have the opportunity to reduce waste by keeping a limited selection of product on hand rather than gambling on keeping an inventory full of ingredients for dishes that guests may never order.

Guests are more and more frequently searching for meals that help contribute to a healthy lifestyle. Smaller portions, simpler recipes and meals that fit certain dietary needs are increasingly in demand. You may want to consider creating a portion of your menu with dishes on the lighter side, this will attract guests who are looking to save on calories when dining out.

Diners are increasingly searching for establishments that serve vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free and keto-friendly menu items, and including these types of dishes on your menus can attract repeat customers. But is simply having these types of menu items available enough? We suggest clearly labeling these items so guests don’t have to make their best guess or take the time to ask their servers a myriad of questions about every dish that could possibly fit their dietary preferences.

Finally, many potential patrons seek restaurants that use local and fresh ingredients. Rotating your menu to fit what local and sustainable ingredients are currently available will heighten your appeal to customers who value fresh and locally sourced ingredients. It may even benefit you to mention food sourced from local farms directly on your menu.

As a certified food manager will 2020 menu trends affect your menu designs?

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Certified Food Protection Managers and Efficient Inventory Control

January is upon us and for many foodservice operations that means a predictable lull in business after the hectic holiday months. If you’re one of those operations that experiences a post-holiday slow down, you may want to focus on projects that will contribute to how efficient the business side of your operation works. We recommended certified food managers assess and streamline your inventory control system during the offseason. It can go a long way towards helping your foodservice facility run more safely, efficiently and achieve a profit margin well into the new year.

Certified Food Protection Managers and Efficient Inventory Control

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Inventory Control Assessment Tips for Certified Food Managers

There are many benefits to periodically assessing your inventory control system to make sure it’s effective. Two of the most important are waste reduction and cost control.

Having your inventory information at your fingertips gives you the knowledge to both reduce waste and control food costs. Knowing how long product sits in your storeroom or under refrigeration will help you control ordering and prevent spoilage by giving you a better idea of how much of any given ingredient you use over certain periods of time. You’ll find that simply knowing what’s on hand will have you throwing out less outdated product and also prevent running out of key ingredients between orders.

How can certified food protection managers create an efficient inventory system? While there is no one-size-fits-all solution for every business, here are a few ideas to help you get started.

  • Create daily usage and waste logs
  • Find an easy to use a mobile app to track inventory
  • Upgrade your point-of-sale system to track product used

Most certified food protection managers only take a full inventory once a month on average. While this is great for assessing monthly food costs, it has the potential for giving you an incomplete picture of how your inventory works. Creating a daily log of what product is used or wasted can give you a much clearer picture of where you need to trim inventory or increase ordering pars.

Finally, there are many software solutions to help you keep track of your inventory. Apps are available for mobile devices and modern POS systems allow users to enter recipes and ingredients for menu items. Talk with a representative from the company that provides your point-of-sale software to see if there is an upgrade available to help track your inventory. It may cost more, but you may find you’ll save money in the long run with a more efficient inventory process.

Is it time for your certified food protection manager to take a closer look at your inventory systems?

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Food Safety Training for Common 2019 Foodborne Illness Outbreaks

At the end of every year, we like to take a look back at the previous year’s foodborne illness outbreaks to assess what food safety training measures need to be emphasized in the New Year to help prevent these outbreaks from spreading in Minnesota. While it’s not 100-percent complete, the CDC has compiled a list of outbreaks over the past several years, and this week we’ll take a look at some of the trends we see on this 2019 Foodborne Illness list.

2019 Outbreak Foodborne Illness Outbreak Report

2019 Outbreak Foodborne Illness Statistics and Food Safety Training

The Foodborne Illness outbreak news of 2019 was dominated by E.coli contaminated romaine and listeria in hard-boiled eggs, and the jury is still out as to the cause of these two contaminates entering the supply chain.

E.coli also reared its ugly head on several different occasions besides romaine lettuce including infected flour, ground beef and bison meat from a specialty supplier. Salmonella was also a frequent offender contaminating fresh fruit on multiple occasions as well as frozen tuna and ground meats.

So what do we do with these reports? Surely the food safety training community can’t prevent all of these outbreaks, can they?

While it may be impossible to stop every foodborne illness case, we feel that vigilant food safety training can go a long way towards reducing the risk to the public. A majority of these outbreaks happen at the packaging and harvesting level of the supply chain, so if your food business involves harvesting, processing or packaging ingredients to be shipped to food preparation outlets, here are a few steps we feel need to take place to help reduce these outbreak events.

  • Frequent food safety training
  • Properly outlined sanitation procedures
  • Inspection of equipment
  • Periodic review of food safety procedures

Food safety training isn’t meant to be a onetime thing. It’s important to provide regularly scheduled training sessions and reinforce safe protocols through periodic reviews with your entire staff.

When tracing the source of contaminates that spread an illness outbreak, investigators usually uncover contaminated equipment that hasn’t been properly maintained or sanitized. Inspect your equipment often and constantly review sanitation procedures. If you need help formulating a sanitation plan, your local health inspector will often be more than happy to help.

Does your facility produce raw ingredients for the use of food service businesses? If so, what steps do you take to keep your product safe?