Christine Dantz, Author at Safe Food For Thought

October 24, 2017October 5, 2017

The Horrors of Allergens and the MN Certified Food Manager

The MN certified food manager’s biggest Halloween nightmare isn’t the monster under the bed or the boogieman hiding in the closet, it’s seeing a young guest sickened by contact with an allergen such as peanuts. On Halloween, many food-service outlets pass out treats to costumed children as trick-or-treating moves to popular business centers and local shops.

Preventing Allergic Reaction to Peanuts During Halloween Events

If you plan on handing out candy, a couple of steps will prevent any possibility of serving peanuts to children with allergies. Do some research and find candies that come from facilities where no peanuts are processed. This may take a little time, but it will be worth it to prevent even one accidental allergy attack.

Peanuts are not the only issue to worry about. Many children cannot consume wheat, dairy or soy. Numerous candy manufacturers produce products without these ingredients. Having an alternate supply of candy for these children will result in happy super heroes, ghosts and princesses this October 31st.

Finally, make sure that all candy you pass out is factory sealed. We know you love the opportunity to show off what your restaurant can do, but many families will only take factory sealed candies and treats. Serving factory sealed treats prevents any possible cross contamination that can occur after costumed guests have collected their bounty from your establishment. If you’re looking for an opportunity to gain guests from this event, consider handing out coupons or menus with candy rather than attempt to entice families in with freshly prepared treats.

Do you do anything special for your guests and trick-or-treaters to celebrate the fall holidays?

October 17, 2017October 5, 2017

Minnesota Food Training and Hepatitis A

Late in the month of September, customers of a grocery store in Michigan were warned about the potential of consuming food that had been handled by an employee who tested positive for Hepatitis A. Hepatitis A isn’t one of the most discussed pathogens, but the subject occasionally comes up in product recall notices and articles such as this one, so we think it prudent to discuss its causes and symptoms.

Minnesota Food Training Guide to Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A can be spread when an infected person handles prepared food. Hepatitis A outbreaks also come from shellfish harvested in infected waters. Some of the symptoms of Hepatitis A include:

Diarrhea
Jaundice
Fever
Abdominal pain
Loss of appetite

Our Minnesota food training courses tell us that the best way to prevent the spread of food-borne illness is to properly wash our hands and to never handle prepared food with bare hands. This rule applies to preventing the spread of Hepatitis A as well.

Hepatitis A is one of the few food-borne illness culprits that can be prevented via vaccination. If you plan to travel to exotic locations or you routinely care for the sick or potentially infected, you should ask your doctor about being vaccinated. If you come into contact with the bacteria or become exposed to someone who has it, seek out vaccination as soon as possible.

Finally, know where your shellfish comes from and keep an eye out for contamination information if you serve it in your restaurant. If you have a potentially infected batch, contact your local health department to request information as to what steps must be taken next.

Are there any other pathogens that aren’t discussed regularly in food training classes that you’d like us to cover in an upcoming blog entry?

October 10, 2017October 5, 2017

The ServSafe Food Manager and Fall Pests

Fall brings the changing colors of the leaves to the great outdoors and the aroma of pumpkin spice food products to local restaurants and cafes. The colder temperatures and dying vegetation also brings an increased risk of certain types of pests that may pose a threat to the food prepared in local establishments.

ServSafe Food Manger’s Guide to Fall Pest Control

During the fall season, certain rodents move to warmer habitats, and places where food is cooked can seem warm and inviting. To prevent rodents from seeking out your facility as a fall home, keep your dumpster and garbage areas clean. Rodents may be attracted to the smells outside of your building before making the attempt to move inside. It’s also a good time to take a close look at your dry storage inventory. ServSafe food managers should have a system in place to keep storage areas clean and product off of the floor to prevent rodents from gaining access to your food supply.

Fall also brings an increase in the beetle population. These insects can not only gain access to you facility from nearby areas, they can also be brought in with fresh produce deliveries. Keeping your property free of dying tree leaves and other natural matter will remove some of these insect’s available breeding grounds, and inspecting all fresh produce on arrival will stop them from infiltrating the rest of your fruits and vegetables.

Finally, if you do encounter rat droppings or notice an increase in insects inside your facility, your ServSafe food manager should consider consulting a pest expert that has experience in dealing with food production facilities. The unique nature of our business requires us to be careful to keep our product safe, and pest control can often involve substances that should never come into contact with food. While pests can cause problems, we want to be very careful not to compromise food safety while solving these kinds of dilemmas.

Now that we’ve discussed keeping fall pests away, we’d like to hear about the challenges your facility faces with the turning of the seasons. Leave your comments in the section below.

October 3, 2017September 7, 2017

Food Safety Certification Minnesota and Receiving Procedures

In the food service industry, inventory control is a vital tool to keep waste down and control food costs. One of the key elements to proper inventory control occurs before you properly store items. Implementing effective receiving procedures ensures that you can use your product and reduce waste. It also keeps your product safe according to food safety certification regulations in Minnesota.

How to Properly Receive Food Shipments

Don’t delay shipment inspection. Always check goods immediately on delivery. In fact, we suggest that you wait to sign for your deliveries until you have inspected the entire shipment. We know that this can be a hassle as deliveries can arrive at inconvenient times and drivers may be in a hurry to move on, but spotting damaged or contaminated goods right away reduces your risk of losing money by signing for unusable product.

Some signs that your food might be contaminated or damaged include:

Wet or torn boxes
Dented, rusty or bulging cans
Raw animal product stacked on top of ready to eat foods or produce
Chilled foods at improper temperature

Most indications of unusable product will be obvious. Cardboard boxes that are torn or soiled or sealed packages that have been opened obviously should not be accepted. Other signs may be harder to find and require detailed examination.

If your shipment contains products that require refrigeration such as dairy, proteins and frozen items, check the temperature of each product to ensure that it has remained out of the danger zone during delivery. Shipped product must follow food safety certification regulations, even during transport from a warehouse to your facility. Product shipped in the danger zone grows bacteria that can sicken your customers.

Canned goods often go unchecked, because many assume that canned goods are safe, no matter what the outside of the can looks like. A rusty can may indicate that it was stored under wet conditions. This can compromise the integrity of the metal and allow bacteria to grow on the surface of the can or potentially make its way inside. A bulging can indicates that the contents are contaminated, especially if you order canned meat products or ready to eat foods. To ensure the safety of your guests, you should never accept canned goods that are questionable.

Do you have receiving procedure in place for quality control purposes?