Christine Dantz, Author at Safe Food For Thought

March 21, 2017March 9, 2017

Coffee Pot Sanitation and Safe Food Handling Practices

There’s a story floating around the food service community of a thermal coffee pot in which a server one day discovered the badly stained skeleton of a small rodent that had crawled in and died months or even years earlier. While we hope that this story is nothing more than a myth, it does bring to light

Safe Food Handling Practices and Coffee Pot Sanitation

One of the advantages a thermal coffee pot has over the glass variety is that it keeps beverages warm long after they are brewed without the aid of a heat source. The major disadvantage to these convenient containers is that most of them cannot be run through the industrial dishwasher.

We’ve seen firsthand that coffee pots may not be properly cleaned in many outlets. Once the coffee is dumped, an employee will often simply rinse out the vessel and leave to dry. While this makes the pot look clean on the surface, over time coffee deposits can turn rancid and potentially cause an illness.

To keep these pots clean use plenty of hot water when cleaning. Be careful not to use too harsh of a soap or sanitizer, because these can potentially eat away at the interior surface causing pockets where bacteria can thrive. Also be sure to never use a hard brush as this can also scratch the surface.

Over time, it will be necessary to descale your coffee pot to remove the stains of constant use. There are many different products on the market to accomplish this. Just make sure to rinse thoroughly to remove any trace of chemicals from the pot.

We like to cover many different scenarios and items in your kitchen to keep you aware of safe food handling practices when it comes to your utensils and equipment. Are there any items in your facility you’d like us to cover?

March 14, 2017March 9, 2017

Food Safety Training and Raw Chicken Labels

When food service managers order chicken for their facilities, they come across many different labels and distinctions. The labeling of chickens can be confusing with tags such as organic, cage-free and non-GMO floating around. This week, we’d like to briefly discuss the rules behind chicken labels and hopefully clear up some of the confusion.

Food Safety Training Guide to Chicken Labels

Before we begin our discussion, we’d like to mention a few labels that cause the most confusion. From time to time a provider labels their raw chicken as natural, free-range or cage free. Unfortunately, no official inspected or verified class of natural, cage free or free-range chicken actually exists. A free-range or cage-free label simply infers that the farmer raises the chickens outdoor or uncaged. A label of natural gives no guarantee that the product is antibiotic free, organic or GMO free. For all intents and purposes, the natural label is meaningless.

Several chicken labeling standards require inspections and verification that the product meets specific guidelines. The most common include:

Organic
Certified humane
Non-GMO

If your chicken is labeled with one of these designations, you can rest assured that some form of inspection takes place. When you order organic chicken, you should receive raw product that has been fed a vegetarian diet free of antibiotics. However, the egg the chicken hatched from could have been treated with some form of antibiotic before the chick’s first day of life. Live chickens receive some outdoor access, but no minimum requirement is enforced. In order for raw chicken product to gain an organic label, an annual inspection of the facility must take place.

Non-GMO chickens also must pass a verification process in order to achieve permission for the non-GMO label. In order to gain this label, the chickens’ feed must contain less than one-percent GMO ingredients.

Finally, a chicken that has been verified as humanely raised or receives an American Humane Certified label must pass an inspection that stress on the bird’s daily life is minimal.

During food safety training, we occasionally have a question concerning hormones. You can rest assured that hormone use is prohibited in domestically raised chickens.

Decoding labeling standards helps food service managers keep informed about the quality of their product. Are there any confusing labels that you’d like us to look into?

March 7, 2017February 24, 2017

Businesses that Require a Food Manager Certification in MN

According to the Minnesota Food Code, establishments that prepare or process food products must employ one certified food manager. This week, we’d like to explore this rule a little bit and outline which types of businesses require an employee with food manager certification in Minnesota.

How to Know if You Require Food Manager Certification

Nearly every business that prepares and serves food items must employ at least one certified food manager. You need to post your designated food manager’s certificate in a visible location that is readily available should the local health inspector require verification. The Minnesota Food Code allows for exemptions for the following scenarios:

Satellite locations where you only reheat food for service
Off-site catering
Outlets that only serve reheated hot dogs or sausages, pretzels or frozen dinners such as pizza
Facilities that process raw meats that are intended to be cooked after sold
Locations that only serve beverages
Heating bakery items or serving prepackaged products

This list covers the basic types of outlets that may receive an exemption from the rule requiring a certified food manager. For off-site events and satellite locations, the rule requires you to display your certification at the facility where food is initially prepared. We strongly recommend that you contact your local health official for clarification if you are unsure if your business is exempt.

Some types of businesses may or may not earn an exemption depending on what type of food is served. Hotels that serve a continental breakfast fall into this category. If you simply serve pastries and cold cereal, then you probably do not need to employ a full-time certified food manager. However, if you prepare any hot food such as eggs, pancakes or other freshly prepared items, then you need to employ a staff member with the necessary certification.

If none of these exemptions apply to you then you do in fact need a certified food manager on staff. Nearly all restaurants, caterers, institutional food service outlets and businesses that prepare and package food items must ensure that they have an employee that qualifies as a certified food manager in Minnesota. There are some jurisdictions in the state that require a certified food manager present at all times the business is open and running. You should check with your inspector to make sure you are in compliance on this issue.

If you have any questions about food manager certification or any other type of food safety training, feel free to reach out to us for any questions. We offer online and instructor led classes and can tailor sessions to meet your facility’s requirements.

February 27, 2017February 24, 2017

Breaking ServSafe MN News: The Norovirus Strikes Local School

ServSafe MN news- Norovirus outbreak at Minnehaha Academy

ServSafe MN News: According to a report on MPR Radio an outbreak of the Norovirus caused Minnehaha Academy to close its doors for several days after dozens of students and faculty members fell victim to the illness. With such a large outbreak, the facility felt it necessary shut its doors in order to prevent further spread of the virus and ensure the safety of its students.

Cleaning Up After a Norovirus Event

The Norovirus is one of the most contagious food-borne illnesses. We recently covered this topic in a previous article, but, just to review, some of the Norovirus symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration. While rarely life threatening, we cannot ignore the severity of any Norovirus outbreak.

In cases such as the one which occurred at Minnehaha recently, a major outbreak requires major cleanup. The Norovirus spreads from unwashed hands, saliva and contact with other bodily fluids that have been infected. It can live on utensils, hard surfaces and contaminated food for an extended period of time. That means that after an outbreak nearly anything can be affected.

If your facility experiences outbreak of the Norovirus, we urge you to take the following steps:

Clean and sanitize all food preparation surfaces
Dispose of potentially contaminated food product
Wash and sanitize all utensils and serving wear
Work with your local health department to facilitate cleanup

Remember, that the best way to prevent an outbreak of any type of food-borne illness is diligence. Remind your staff not to work while sick, and if they have had Norovirus symptoms to refrain from working for several days after symptoms have disappeared. The Norovirus can still be active after a victim has appeared to have recovered. Use good sense and sanitize preparation surfaces frequently, and review proper hand washing procedures with your team.

If you would like to schedule a ServSafe MN review of how to prevent food-borne illness, we can help with both instructor led and online courses tailored to your specific facility.