Allergy Action Plans and the ServSafe Food Manager

ServSafe Food Manager and Allergy Education

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As a ServSafe Food Manager it’s important that the staff be familiar with your allergy action plan. While most food service workers know about food allergies and feel they can accommodate customers with allergies who visit their establishment, educational gaps occur in some facilities concerning how allergies work and what to do in an emergency situation. The CDC recently conducted a study seeking to find how much restaurant staff actually knew about the topic and came up with some interesting findings.

Allergy Action Plans and the ServSafe Food Manager

One illuminating fact this study shows is that allergies are more common than many ServSafe food managers realize. One in 13 children suffers from some form of food allergy, while one in 25 adults must avoid certain foods. The severity of reaction varies from person to person, but some react by coming into contact with allergens without even ingesting the ingredient.

Since some of these reactions cause severe distress, and possibly death if emergency help does not arrive in time, having a plan in place prepares your staff to deal with guests with allergies. Some things you should teach your employees include:

  • What common allergens exist in your facility
  • Some customers cannot consume even small amount of certain items
  • How to react if a guest has a reaction

Knowledge helps keep your guests safe. Some of your patrons will not be able to consume common items such as nuts, dairy or shellfish. Teaching your cooks and service staff how these ingredients are used can help steer guests away from certain dishes.

If a guest has a reaction, get help immediately. Some reactions happen from minor contact and should not be waited out to see if the guest recovers. Call 911, and if a guest wears an allergy alert bracelet relay that information so that emergency responders can be prepared.

Integrate allergy training to make sure your staff feels confident in serving diners with allergies. Some outlets nominate one or two employees, one of them their designated ServSafe food manager, to receive extra training and pass that knowledge on to staff members and personally handle guests questions about allergens on the menu.

Do you have an allergy action plan? If so, feel free to share in the comment section below.

MN Food Manager Lookup Tools

How MN Food Manager Lookup Tools Can Help With Record Keeping

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Whether you’re an HR coordinator who hires and maintains records for multiple food production facilities or the owner of a small restaurant, it is sometimes hard to track food manager certification expiration dates or make sure that the new candidate for a supervisor position has the proper certificate for the job. Fortunately, the Minnesota Department of Health provides a handy resource that allows you to verify this information without having the physical paperwork in front of you.

MN Food Manager Lookup Tools

Uses for MN Food Manager Lookup

This tool can be invaluable during the hiring and interviewing process. If a job candidate’s resume shows that they already have the necessary certificate, you can make sure that is correct in a manner of minutes. It also helps you find out if your new hire needs his MN food manager certification renewed before he steps into the position. Just as a side note, hiring courtesy suggests that you inform applicants that you may be checking to see if their paperwork is in order.

This MN food manager lookup effectively assists you in managing your records if you have multiple outlets requiring a certified food manager. While the physical paperwork resides at the facility where the supervisor is stationed, records may also be kept elsewhere. If your business employs multiple certified managers, this resource will help you make sure that everyone’s paperwork is up to date according to state standards.

Finally, you should be aware that the Department of Health’s MN food manager lookup tool is not a substitute for properly posting your food manager certification on-site. The health inspector needs to be able to see it easily when they come for an inspection.

Hopefully, you find this resource useful. If you have any other tools you use to keep your records current, feel free to let us know in the comments section below.

A Minnesota Commercial Kitchen Inspection Checklist

A Minnesota Commercial Kitchen Inspection Checklist

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Whenever the health inspector arrives at your establishment for a routine inspection, they’ll more than likely pull out a clipboard with a kitchen inspection checklist of common violations to look for. We think that creating your own checklist is an important tool for certified food managers, and regularly scheduled self-checks of your kitchen will ensure you’ve maintained an environment that prevents the spread of food-borne illnesses.

 

Creating a Commercial Kitchen Inspection Checklist

Your checklist should resemble that of your local health inspector’s list. An inspector checks these common things shortly after they walk into your establishment:

    • The availability of soap, hot water and paper towels at handwashing stations
    • Cold storage refrigeration temperatures
    • The availability of probe thermometers
    • The availability of properly mixed sanitizer solutions
    • Hands free food-handling compliance
    • Proper posting of food handling certificates

Your local health department prioritizes these six things during an inspection, so you should make sure that your facility has these items covered on a daily basis. During an inspection, an official checks cooked and hot-held foods for proper temperatures. Include a review session with your staff to make sure they know their holding temperatures for all products.

Also, your staff’s handwashing technique will be observed. Posting a handwashing procedure chart helps remind your team to be diligent

Your checklist should not only include routine checks of your refrigeration temperature, but a reminder to make sure food is stored properly. Stocking raw proteins above produce or ready to eat foods results in a violation and increases the risk of cross contamination. Rules require proteins to be stored in descending order of final cooking temperatures. Raw chicken and poultry must remain on the bottom shelf. We recommend that you section off your cold storage so that raw meat and fresh produce have very little chance of coming into contact with each other.

Finally, your commercial kitchen inspection checklist should include a review of the maintenance of your equipment. Regularly inspecting equipment lets you know if any mechanical issues exist that could possibly cause problems in the future. This reduces waste in the event of a refrigerator malfunction, and prevents shutdowns due to faulty cooking equipment.

Tailoring your inspection checklist to your establishment’s specific needs is important. No two food production facilities are the same. What things do you regularly look for when inspecting your facility?

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ServSafe Food Safety and the Dangers of Undercooked Shellfish

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Shellfish selections tend to be plentiful on summer happy hour and appetizer menus for their versatility and fresh taste, but, with the heat of spring and summer warming the Gulf of Mexico, the Atlantic Coast and waters in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest, serving shellfish during the summer months creates a rise in the risk of spreading a food-borne illnesses due to Vibrio infections. This week, we’ll briefly discuss how to cook and store shellfish according to ServSafe food safety guidelines.

 ServSafe Food Safety and the Dangers of Undercooked Shellfish

ServSafe Food Safety and Vibrio Infections

Two closely related bacteria cause Vibrio infections. These bacteria thrive in shellfish from warmer waters and most frequently sickens people who consume contaminated raw and undercooked shellfish. The symptoms of infection include:

    • Vomiting
    • Diarrhea
    • Chills and fever
    • Skin rashes

While consuming undercooked shellfish increases the potential for spreading an infection, Vibrio bacterium also potentially spreads through contact with bare skin. These rare cases most commonly occur when raw shellfish comes into contact with a sore or open wound. Raw clams, oysters, scallops and mussels need to be handled in a hands-free manner.

When cooking shellfish, they must achieve an internal temperature of 145 degrees. Your cooked shellfish need to remain out of the danger zone after cooking, and we suggest that you serve them as soon as possible after they are prepared.

Proper storage also reduces the risk of spreading food-borne illness. ServeSafe food safety rules require shellfish to be stored below 41 degrees, and no two batches of shellfish should be stored in the same container. For example, scallops and clams cannot be stocked in the same containers prior to cooking. The same holds true with shellfish received on different dates. Combining two batches of shellfish increases the risk of spreading bacteria from one to the other.

The Minnesota Food Code also requires that tags from fresh shellfish be saved for 90 days. This requirement is in place to track down the source should an outbreak of Vibrio poisoning occur.

We love sampling shellfish from some of our talented local chefs. What are your favorite shellfish dishes?