Christine Dantz, Author at Safe Food For Thought

October 14, 2019October 10, 2019

FDA Requesting ServSafe Managers Input For Food Safety Changes

FDA Requesting ServSafe Managers Input For Food Safety Blue Print

The FDA recently issued a public statement offering ServSafe food managers and other professionals in the food industry the chance to participate and comment on a meeting titled “A New Era of Smarter Food Safety.” We think this is an incredible opportunity to learn about the FDA’s blueprint for the future of food safety.

FDA Smarter Food Safety Forum and ServSafe Manager Input

The FDA’s public meeting is scheduled to take place in Maryland on October 21st. If you’re interested in attending but unable to travel to MD with only a week’s notice, the FDA has set up a method for the public to attend via online webcast. This webcast will be free to view, all you have to do is submit your registration via an online form.

According to the release, the FDA plans on discussing:

The role of digital technology in tracing the origin of contamination
Making preventative controls more effective and efficient
Food safety challenges of evolving business models
Leveraging proven organizational models to enhance compliance with food safety practices

While a lot of the issues that are being discussed appear to be with what happens with food before it reaches the restaurant and food production sector, it’s quite interesting to see where the FDA plans on taking food safety in the future. All four of these major topics could change inspection procedures and stop outbreaks before they start by quickly finding the source of contamination and preventing it from even happening in the first place.

Once the seminar has been completed, a full transcript of the event will be made available on an updated events page. After the transcripts have been released, ServSafe food managers and the public will have a month to comment electronically or by mail. For more information on agendas for these events and how to provide comments and feedback once the meeting has concluded, check out the FDA’s official request for public comment.

We’ll provide an update on topics covered and explore the commenting process once more information is available.

For quick reference, here are links to important information:

Do you like the idea of the FDA being more open and allowing the ServSafe managers and the public to view and comment on these food safety related sessions?

October 7, 2019October 4, 2019

Certified Food Manager’s Guide to Safely Serving Shellfish

The waters in the Atlantic and Pacific are getting colder, and that makes it the prime time to eat and serve shellfish. Before the shellfish season begins, let’s take a moment to review food procedures for safely serving shellfish.

FDA testing shellfish is the first step in safely serving shellfish — Image credit: US Food and Drug Administration

Serving Shellfish Safety

There are a few types of potentially hazardous foods that certified food managers need to take extra care with when processing, molluscan shellfish is one of them. If handled improperly, they can cause catastrophic foodborne illness and pose a life-threatening situation to any guest who may be allergic. Food safety procedures for safely serving shellfish should begin the second they are received at your facility.

All shellfish must come from an approved source. Your local seafood provider should have more information on where your shellfish come from, and chances are most shellfish shipped to Minnesota come from approved waters. You shouldn’t simply accept this, however. All shipments of shellfish must include a tag or label that signifies where it came from and when they were harvested. Each batch must also be stored on its own. Shellfish from one container cannot co-mingle with shellfish from another batch until it’s time to prepare and serve. This helps to keep any bacteria from spreading from one batch to another and also helps identify the source of any batch that may have caused illness. Once these containers are empty, their labels must be stored for 90 days.

To prevent the growth of bacteria and safely serve shellfish, certified food managers should be very careful to keep all raw shellfish stored at 41 degrees or below. Shellfish are sensitive to bacteria growth, so extended times over 41 degrees greatly increase foodborne illness risk.

Shellfish allergies can be severe. We recommend that you designate a specific station in your facility for shellfish preparation. This will greatly reduce the risk that cross-contamination occurs. It’s also important to store shellfish as far away from other product as possible. Another key to safely serving shellfish is never store raw shellfish over ready-to-eat foods or other items in your refrigerated storage.

Finally, it’s important to warn your guests who may be allergic that shellfish are processed in your kitchen. Some allergy sufferers can’t take any chances. A simple disclaimer on your menu should suffice.

Do you serve or prepare shellfish? If so, what steps do you take to serve them safely?

September 30, 2019September 4, 2019

Minnesota Football Season and Certified Food Managers

It’s football time, and that means it’s time to pull the jerseys out of the closet, cook up some tailgating cuisine and root on our favorite teams. Many local restaurants will offer game day specials, buffets on weekends and pull out all the stops while their guests enjoy some pigskin action. Whether you bleed maroon and gold or purple and gold, we have some tips for certified food managers to draw in additional Minnesota football season fans and provide exciting service that will keep customers coming back week after week.

Certified Food Managers and Football Specials

Sports fans look for two things when considering places to enjoy games: excitement and value. No true football fan wants to sit in an empty lounge and pay regular price for nachos and beer, so we have some tips to help you attract guests looking to get the most out of their pigskin viewing experience.

Value-priced food specials
All-you-can-eat menu items
Contests, games and prizes
A lively environment

Football fans are looking for a deal, and a certified food manager can provide it without taking a hit in profit margins. Ingredients for menu items such as nachos or chips and dip don’t take a huge food cost hit, and can even be offered as an all-you-can-eat item without killing profit margin. You may even want to consider affordable and refillable items like French fries, and discounted menu items whenever the home team is on top. Remember, the goal is to get people in the door. Offer upgrades such as handmade guacamole, meat, dips or other toppings at an additional cost. Be creative, you know what your food costs look like, and certified food managers can use their intimate knowledge of their menu to find value items that customers will enjoy and lead them to make additional purchases.

This may be an idea more suited for the front of the house managers, but if you’re a certified food manager than runs both front and back of the house operations, consider running contests and games rewarding patrons for various activities. Consider some sort of football bingo for a free appetizer, reward the best-dressed fan with a two-for-one special or create a random fantasy or knockout pool that runs the entire season. This will keep guests coming back to see their fellow contestants week after week.

Finally, football fans want an environment where they can be loud and have fun. Having several televisions playing various games is a plus and will draw out of town guests.

Do you use football season to market your restaurant? What’s the best promotion you’ve seen a certified food manager use during football season?

September 23, 2019September 3, 2019

Certified Food Protection Managers and Foodborne Illness Incubation

Certified food protection manager training teaches food management professionals the causes and prevention of foodborne illness, but sometimes the tracing of foodborne illness sources doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves. Foodborne illness incubation refers to the time that lapses between when contaminates are ingested and an infected consumer begins showing symptoms. We find foodborne illness incubation useful when trying to identify the type of illness and the product that caused outbreaks.

Using Foodborne Illness Incubation As A Forensic Tool

When people get sick from eating contaminated food, they’ll either call the local health department or the eating establishment they feel sickened them. When they do, there are three important questions that need to be asked:

What did you eat?
When did you begin feeling symptoms
How long did your symptoms last?

The what is important, but you’ll need more information besides what the guest thought sickened them. They could experience salmonella symptoms and assume chicken or eggs, but in reality, a shipment of tomatoes that had been recalled after they were served could have been the culprit. It’s vital to get as much information as possible, not just ask what they assume caused their illness.

Incubation times can also be an indicator. Here are some common times for frequent illness offenders:

E.coli: 1 – 10 days; most commonly 3 – 4
Salmonella: 3 – 60 days; most frequently 7 – 10
Norovirus: 12 – 24 hours
Marine toxins: 1 minute – 48 hours

As you can see, many common culprits have very different incubation times, so if you work with the health department you should be able to determine if the illness actually came from your establishment, or if the guest consumed tainted product at home or elsewhere. This is just a partial list, but the CDC has compiled an extensive table exploring incubation times for many foodborne illnesses.

You should remember that as a certified food manager, you may not be able to diagnose the source of foodborne illness from your restaurant or elsewhere. If you have guests call, especially if it’s several with similar symptoms, we strongly urge you to contact your local health department for help with the situation. They’re there to help protect the public from illness and help foodservice operators keep their food safe.