Christine Dantz, Author at Safe Food For Thought

May 7, 2018May 2, 2018

The Certified Food Managers and Major Recalls

Certified Food Manager and Major Recalls

Last month, an outbreak of E.coli linked to romaine lettuce from Arizona left grocery store produce sections bare and certified food managers scrambling to find replacement ingredients for salads after a large amount of available product was pulled from the supply chain. When such an important ingredient suddenly becomes a potential food-borne illness risk, several steps must be taken.

Romaine Contamination and Certified Food Managers Reaction

The first step when news of a recall like this breaks must be to stop serving any potentially contaminated product. In this case, most romaine in restaurants and other food preparation outlets had to be thrown away. We must urge that you always take immediate and extreme action when something of this nature occurs. It would be better to err on the side of caution rather than contribute to an E.coli outbreak.

Due to the time of year, this recall affected much of the country. Cold spring weather in many states means suppliers need to rely on farmers in states such as Arizona where the weather is warm enough for this type of produce. Drastic action to recall lettuce was taken due to 98 potential cases in 22 states.

Once certified food managers remove product, they are left with a situation that compromises the availability of many items on their menu. So how does a kitchen manager adjust?

First, certified food managers should be up front and open with their guests. Placing a notice in the menu or in a visible location at a service counter, hostess station or cashier stand should be the first step. Your customers will understand if you let them know there has been a recall and, in the best interests of their health, you are unable to serve certain menu items for a short period of time.

Fortunately, with something such as romaine lettuce there are alternative ingredients. Green leaf or iceberg can serve as a temporary replacement if that is something that would be acceptable to your customers.

With the advances in technology and communication, many of these outbreaks have been contained before they become major disasters. How do you react when you have to pull product off of your shelves due to a recall?

April 29, 2018April 29, 2018

Certified Food Managers and Touch Screen Devices

With modern advances in technology, certified food managers and touch screen devices are becoming inseparable.Managers rely more and more on handheld and mobile devices for everything from scanning and checking in deliveries to giving servers the ability to place an order directly from a guest’s table. These devices make our jobs easier, but are they creating a new risk that could possibly spread food-borne illnesses?

Sanitation, Certified Food Managers and Touch Screen Devices

While these touch screens may look clean, over the course of a workday, or even with one use, bacteria and other potential contaminates will transfer from the user’s fingers onto the surface. These contaminates can then be transferred to the hands of anyone else handling the device and make their way onto plates, serving utensils and prepared food.

Current trends show that these touch screens are not only utilized by front-of-the-house staff, they are becoming more popular in the back of the house as well. Some kitchens have replaced the receipt ticker with a screen where filled orders can be swiped away with the flick of the finger and tablets are being used for everything from inventory control to time clocks. The back of the house presents the greatest risk of cross contamination, so extra care must be taken when handling these devices in food preparation areas.

Handwashing and training will be key to keeping your food safe. Certified food managers need to remind every member of their staff that they must wash their hands after using one of these devices for any reason. It may not occur to them that a simple swipe with one finger could result in a contaminated product. It may also be wise to ask your janitorial or food service provider if they have a product that will safely sanitize your touch screens without damaging them.

Do you utilize touch screens in your operation? If so, let us know how in the comments section below.

April 23, 2018April 11, 2018

Online Food Safety Training Guide to Probe Thermometers

Online food safety training teaches us that cooking proteins to the proper temperature reduces the risk of food-borne illnesses, but we need to use the right tools to make sure that we are getting accurate results. This week, we’d like to explore the different types of probe thermometers and how to make sure that your product is properly cooked before serving.

Types of Meat Probe Thermometers

Every commercial kitchen is required to have a thermometer to ensure proper temperature control, but there are several different types to choose from:

Instant-read dial probe thermometers
Digital instant-read probe thermometers
Digital forked thermometers
Thermocouple
Oven-safe probe thermometer

Due to their affordability, certified kitchen managers often choose to provide their staff with instant-read dial thermometers. While they are designated as “instant-read,” many dial thermometers take up to a full minute to produce an accurate reading. We don’t recommend this style of thermometer for checking the internal temperature of thin proteins such as burgers as the metal stem can pick up heat from cooking equipment or provide a lower reading when exposed. This style of thermometer must be calibrated and checked for accuracy fairly often as the dial can be off by a few degrees with constant use.

Digital thermometers cost a little more than dial thermometers but provide an easy-to-read interface to check the temperature of your cooked product. Depending on the brand, these thermometers can calibrate themselves when placed in ice water, allowing you to be confident with their results. Some of these have a forked prong which will give an accurate reading when checking roasts and larger cooked meat products.

The thermocouple is the most versatile probe thermometer. These work well for checking the internal temperature of both thin and thick products and produce a reading in seconds. These are rather costly, so many outlets prefer to keep a few on hand rather than purchase one for every staff member.

Oven-safe thermometers are a handy tool if you are slow cooking or smoking your product. These can remain in your roasts or large pans of food to monitor the internal temperature throughout the process. These come in two distinct styles, one has a dial at the end of a probe while the other has a probe attached to an oven safe cord which leads to a digital readout outside of the oven. This feature allows you to easily view internal temperatures without opening your oven.

What types of thermometers do you utilize in your facility?

April 16, 2018April 11, 2018

What does HACCP mean for ServSafe Food Managers?

Every so often, ServSafe food managers will come across literature from the FDA or other sources that refer to HACCP procedures. HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) is a common system for reducing the risk of spreading food-borne illness and keeping the food supply safe. While HACCP standards and action plans are not commonly required in restaurants, many food-producing outlets and raw ingredient suppliers must follow these guidelines.

What is HACCP?

HACCP is not quite as complicated as it may sound. The intent of this system is to identify potential food-safety hazards and then take steps to keep food production safe. The basic outline of a Hazard Analysis Critical Contol Point plan looks something like the following:

Evaluate and identify potential hazards in production
Identify critical points and establish controls to prevent hazards
Establish procedures to monitor and measure
Correct hazards
Keep records of hazards and correction procedures

Whether your facility follows the FDA’s HACCP system or not, these are still steps ServSafe food managers should take. Every facility has its potential hazards whether they come from hot holding, chilling of cooked product or the risks of cross-contamination in storage or prep stations. Once these potential risks are identified and assessed, it is important to monitor them to ensure food safety. This monitoring can come in the form of routine measurement of temperatures, verifying that proper storage and sanitation procedures are followed or any other step that helps keep food safe at these critical points of production.