Christine Dantz, Author at Safe Food For Thought

May 27, 2019May 8, 2019

Certified Food Managers Guide to Foodborne Illness Statistics

Certified Food Managers Foodborne Illness Statistics

Gathering information on foodborne illness outbreaks gives us a greater insight into how these events start and what measures can be taken to prevent them in the future. The Center for Disease Control recently released a report outlining foodborne illness statistics and discussing testing and observation steps taken during outbreaks in 2018.

CDC Report on Common Pathogens Causing Foodborne Illness

If you’ve taken a quick glance at this report, you may notice some very scientific language and a lot of statistics, so we’ll briefly break down some of the interesting facts in the report in simpler terms.

The bulk of this report discusses enteric infections, or food poisoning cases that affect the intestines. The two largest culprits discussed are campylobacter and salmonella infections. The CDC has confirmed nearly 10,000 infections of each in 2018. Following these two, e.Coli clocks in with nearly 3,000 cases, many of these coming from multiple outbreaks involving tainted romaine lettuce. This registers a 26-percent increase when compared to cases in 2015 to 2017.

Reading some of the discussions in this report indicate that the confirmed numbers are up partly due to improved testing methods. The CDC has increased the use culture-independent diagnostic tests, or CDITs, to diagnose suspected cases of enteric infections. This test is capable of identifying certain pathogens not routinely picked up by previously used testing methods.

While this report does have food-safety implications on a grand scale, what exactly does it mean to certified food managers?

We’ve drawn two conclusions from this report. First, improvements in testing technology show that illness from contaminated food is a larger issue than previous statistics have shown. This means that we should be more diligent then ever in promoting food safety in our establishments.

Finally, these advanced testing techniques have given us the most common pathogens and the food items that most commonly spread the infection. Seeing that there are targets the CDC has identified for improved food safety techniques gives us an insight into what types of ingredients require extra care. Certified food managers can be equipped with the knowledge that certain products are historically more susceptible than others and be diligent in inspecting shipments and following up on recalls and alerts concerning contaminated product.

Do statistics released by the CDC, USDA and other organizations have any effect on you handle food safety for susceptible products?

May 20, 2019May 8, 2019

Safe Food Training for Seafood-Salmonella

Recently a Seafood- Salmonella outbreak has prompted the recall of frozen, raw, canned tuna. At last count, the outbreak has sickened at least 13 people, including one in the state of Minnesota. Raw canned seafood is popular in restaurants that feature raw dishes such as sushi, sashimi and ceviche. Salmonella is usually associated with undercooked eggs, chicken and produce from farms that use chicken manure as fertilizer, but this case shows that the danger of food poisoning from unlikely sources is a real risk and requires some extra food safety training for Seafood-Salmonella.

Seafood-Salmonella from Contaminated Ingredients

The only sure-fire way to eliminate salmonella is through heating proteins to proper cooking temperatures, so what can food safety managers do about salmonella that shows up in raw or undercooked foods?

First, follow news stories such as this and pay attention to the FDA’s recall list. For your convenience, we also have a handy widget posted on the right side of our blog page that you can check out while you read this article. Keeping up to date on these types of news stories and recalls is vital if you serve sensitive products such as sushi, sashimi or other raw and undercooked products.

Once you’ve been alerted to these Seafood-Salmonella stories, check your inventory immediately to determine if your stock contains potentially contaminated product. In the case of canned seafood, these recalls usually include batch numbers which are printed on every can. If you have the same brand of canned seafood or a different product from the same manufacturer, but the batch numbers do not match, don’t just assume your product is safe to serve. Do a little more research into the recall or call your local health inspector to verify the extent of contaminated items.

Since many of these factors are out of the control of food service protection managers and cannot be countered by even the most rigid food safety training, be proactive if one of your guests is sickened by these types of products. Record batch numbers and work with your health inspector to determine whether or not your guest was sickened by tainted product or some other factor. If you do have such an incident, do not attempt to serve the same product to any other guests. It’s never safe to assume a food-poisoning case is an isolated incident.

Do you serve raw seafood in your restaurant? If so, do you prefer fresh fish or canned and frozen product?

May 13, 2019May 7, 2019

ServSafe Food Training and Washing Raw Proteins

In April, the CDC tweeted a warning concerning the dangers of washing or rinsing raw chicken. If you’re active on Twitter, you can probably imagine the storm of retweets, comments and controversy this simple tweet caused. This week, we’ll take a look at what ServSafe food training says about this issue.

Washing Chicken and ServSafe Food Training

Perusing the Minnesota food code and ServSafe food training materials, we find no definitive ruling saying that washing raw chicken is prohibited. However, if you feel the need to wash your raw poultry before production, steps must be taken to prevent the spread of bacteria from cross contamination.

First, never wash your chicken, or any other food product, in sinks that are designated for dishwashing. Washing or rinsing raw chicken near dishes creates the potential for contaminated water to splash onto areas where clean may be. You also run the risk of exposing your chicken to dish-washing chemicals.

If this is a regular occurrence in your facility, mandate a designated sink for this purpose. Having a raw protein area will reduce the risks of salmonella or other pathogens from coming into contact with counters, utensils or other food product that will not be cooked to high enough temperatures to kill bacteria.

Finally, thoroughly sanitize sinks and utensils used to rinse raw chicken as soon as possible. Salmonella bacteria will spread and multiply and there will be an increased risk of cross contamination if the preparation area is not taken care of immediately.

These procedures shouldn’t only apply to rinsing raw product. You should take the same precautions when thawing raw chicken and other items that contain bacteria under running water. Bacteria can spread from thawing food just as fast fresh, raw proteins.

The intent of the CDC’s tweet was probably intended for people cooking at home, but it can be a warning to take care even for food service professionals. What causes an isolated food-borne illness at home has the potential to create an outbreak when food is improperly handled on a greater scale.

May 6, 2019March 12, 2023

Minnesota Certified Food Protection Manager Training Options

The state of Minnesota requires most businesses that handle food to have a certified food protection manager(CFPM) on staff. There is no one-size-fits all solution, so this week, we’d like to take a look at what types of training options are available to become a MN Certified Food Protection Manager.

Qualifying Certified Food Protection Manager Training Programs

There are two ways to gain proper certification to become a certified food protection manager. You can take a course led by an instructor where you have the ability to ask questions, and discuss issues with a leading professional in the industry or you can choose an online version of the course.

There are advantages and disadvantages to either choice. Online food safety training offers convenience taking the training when and where you want, but deprives the student of the ability to participate in discussions with fellow food service professionals and ask questions concerning the material. Instructor led courses as well as all certification testing must be taken at the locations and times scheduled, so there is less flexibility in the timing of the training.

There are also a couple programs that you can choose from. You can take a standard certified food protection manager course which meets the requirements of the state of Minnesota and Wisconsin, or if you wish further education on food safety, you may elect to take the nationally and internationally recognized HAACP training. HAACP provides education targeting the identification and management of food safety risks.

Finally, certification must be renewed every three years. Recertification must occur within six months of the expiration date of your current certification. Recertification requires a minimum of four hours of approved continuing education but does not require you to retake the exam. Most CFPMs retake the standard training once again as a refresher. As with the initial certification training, the recertification can be done either on-line or at one of the scheduled instructor led courses.

Do you or any of your staff need food safety certification? At Safe Food Training, we offer instructor led and online food safety certification classes and exams. We can help with HAACP or even design a specialized class to meet the needs of your business.