Christine Dantz, Author at Safe Food For Thought

September 3, 2018August 15, 2018

The Minnesota Food Managers and Sourcing Wild Mushrooms

The Minnesota Food Code is changing, and it’s not only going to affect the day-to-day duties of Minnesota food managers, but also change how they source and serve certain ingredients. One ingredient that is specifically targeted by upcoming regulation changes are wild mushrooms.

Minnesota Food Manager and Sourcing Wild Mushrooms — Image credit: maxpixel.net-CC0 Public Domain

Wild Mushrooms and Minnesota Food Managers

Before we begin our discussion, it’s important to understand the difference between wild mushrooms and other mushrooms. Most food managers source their mushrooms from major food service suppliers. These mushrooms are cultivated in facilities that fall under the jurisdiction of the appropriate local food regulatory agency. Some of these mushrooms can be the same species as those harvested in the wild, but are produced by food processing facilities. True wild mushrooms, however, come from the great outdoors and must be individually inspected by a verified expert in the field of mushroom identification.

Under proposed rule changes, food managers must keep a closer eye on where their mushrooms are coming from. Once these regulations go into effect, mushrooms must come from “registered harvesters or inspected food processing plants.” These new restrictions add an extra layer of food-safety by requiring licensed harvesters to take added responsibility for their product.

If your menu includes ingredients sourced from wild mushroom harvesters, make sure that your supplier is properly registered. This may help ensure that your product is safe and provide the health department more information in the event of food-borne illness as a result of tainted mushrooms.

Also included in this proposal is the requirement that facilities serving wild harvested mushrooms place a notice on their menus that mushrooms served were harvested at a site that has not been inspected. While your harvester may be fully registered, this notice is required to make consumers aware that their food has not passed the official inspections required for mushrooms produced in other facilities.

Do you serve wild mushrooms in your restaurant? If so, how do you feel about these new rule changes?

August 27, 2018August 13, 2018

ServSafe Food Managers and Proposed Changes to Handwashing Stations

As we covered in a previous article, the Department of Health has proposed a few changes to the current health code to take effect sometime in the near future. Quite a few of these changes require ServSafe food managers to make changes to how they operate their kitchens and train their employees. This week, we’d like to take a look at the proposal to alter some of the requirements for employee handwashing stations.

Preparing for Changes to Regulations for Handwashing Stations

From a quick glance, we notice a few things in this proposal that ServSafe food managers should note:

Fingernail brushes will no longer be required
Heated-air or air-knife hand dryers will be allows at handwashing stations in kitchen areas
Handwashing signage at employee handwashing stations will be required rather than voluntary

Of these three changes, we note that only one of them involves taking away the requirement of a convenient handwashing tool. Once these changes go into effect, a nailbrush will no longer be required at your handwashing station. The reason behind this decision comes from the fact that while a clean nailbrush can be a great tool in sanitation, one that is not cleaned regularly can actually spread bacteria from one hand to another. If your nailbrush receives constant use without proper cleaning and replacement, you may be promoting a health hazard rather than preventing one.

While fairly common in restrooms, forced-air hand dryers rarely are seen in the kitchen. These new handwashing stations guidelines will allow for air-knife and heated-air hand dryers in kitchen areas. These hand dryers provide an economical solution over single-use paper towels, but they should be sanitized periodically to maintain a germ free drying solution. If your forced-air hand dryer contains an air filter, make sure to replace it regularly.

Finally, up until now handwashing signage at employee handwashing stations has been voluntary. The new rules require a handwashing procedure poster at each handwashing sink. This offers a visual reminder to your staff to wash regularly and properly.

Over the coming months, we will be diving into many of the new proposed rule changes. How do you feel about the proposed regulations concerning handwashing stations?

August 20, 2018August 13, 2018

Taking a Break from Online Food Safe Training to Enjoy the Minnesota State Fair

August is upon us, and that means it is time for our yearly tradition of sneaking out of the classroom and checking out the sights, sounds and smells of the Minnesota State Fair. Every year at the fair seems to get bigger and better, whether you’re there to take in your favorite bands on the Grandstand Stage, view blue-ribbon winning livestock or find out which unique food items will be served deep fried from local vendors. In order to take a brief break from online food safe training, we’d like to share what we’re looking forward to this year.

food on a stick minnesota state fair — Image credit: Wikimedia Commons

What We’re Looking Forward to at this Year’s Minnesota State Fair

Minnesota has a rich and storied agricultural tradition, and this should be on display in force at this year’s state fair. Local ranchers will display their best beef and dairy cattle, while horse clubs will display their riding prowess during several events. Smaller barnyard creatures are always a favorite of young and old alike, and this year should be no exception as there is bound to be award winning animals of every kind.

We’d of course be lying if we weren’t looking forward to new offerings from local food and beverage vendors. This year, the fair is promoting many new food vendors serving their unique cuisine. While there are way too many new foods advertised for us to mention here, some items we look forward to sampling include:

General Tso Chicken Tacos
Deep Fried Irish Tater Kegs
Nordic Waffles
Just about anything served on a stick

Of course, no trip through food vendor row would be complete without a cold, frosty beverage, and this year’s options look promising with 27 new beer and specialty beverages debuting at this year’s Minnesota State Fair. With so many tempting food and beverage items, we’ll have to make sure not to fill up too much before hitting the thrill rides in Adventure Park.

We love our annual trip to the fair. What’s your favorite attraction?

August 6, 2018July 9, 2018

MN Food Safety and National Regulatory Agency Consolidation

At Safe Food Training, we usually avoid commenting on the political landscape unless it directly relates to MN food safety and certified food managers. However, as part of the current administration’s effort to consolidate select federal agencies, a proposal has been put forth to form a single federal food safety agency under the umbrella of the USDA.

How Proposed Federal Agency Reorganization Might Affect MN Food Safety

As things currently stand, two agencies, the Food and Drug Administration and a branch of the USDA known as the Food Safety and Inspection Service, have different levels of regulatory power when it comes to food safety in our country. Since there are two agencies, we have to ask what is the difference between the two?

After some research, we’ve discovered that one of the major differences between the two agencies involves what types of products they inspect. For example, the USDA and the FSIS may be responsible for the inspection of poultry, meats and eggs while fruits and vegetables fall under FDA jurisdiction. Meats and canned products containing meat receive quite a bit of scrutiny during inspections by the USDA, but many times large quantities of non-meat canned products, such as applesauce or tomato soup, go uninspected before shipped to consumers. Some seafood and fish products belong under the jurisdiction of one agency or the other. Catfish, for example, is regulated by the USDA while other fresh-water fish are inspected by the FDA.

The line becomes more and more blurred as we delve into pre-made products. The FDA is in charge of closed-faced meat sandwiches, while FSIS regulates open-faced meat sandwiches. This means that one agency regulates frozen pizzas and the other mass-produced pre-packaged breakfast sandwiches. These varied regulations make us wonder if any products slip through this confusing inspection process and pose potential health risks to consumers.

The consolidation of federal food safety agencies is not a partisan issue, or even a new one. The Obama administration put forth a similar proposal during their tenure in the White House.

There may be pros and cons of creating one agency that encompasses all of national food safety regulations and inspection. As a certified food manager with a professional interest in MN food safety, do you feel that a single regulatory agency will help keep the raw ingredients you use safer, or do you think multiple, clearly defined agencies are necessary for extended oversight of national food safety.