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September 21, 2016September 26, 2016

The MN Certified Food Managers and a 15-Dollar Minimum Wage

MN Certified Food Manager and a 15-Dollar Minimum Wage

During the course of providing HACCP training certification classes, we hear many MN certified food managers discussing how a rising minimum wage may impact their businesses. This issue potentially affects local companies, especially in light of recent attempts to place a 15 dollar minimum wage initiative on the upcoming November ballot in the city of Minneapolis. Recently, the Minnesota Supreme Court ruled that a minimum wage increase cannot pass by a voter initiative, but control over the issue remains with the city council. Even so, since the food service industry hires a high number of minimum wage workers, we felt it beneficial to briefly explore the issue.

The MN Certified Food Managers and a 15-Dollar Minimum Wage

We hear several concerns from MN certified food managers whenever the topic of a higher minimum wage arises:
• Profit margins will drop
• Labor costs will force them to reduce the workforce
• They will lose tipped employees if customers refuse to tip
• They may have to close or move outside of city limits

The top two concerns that food service managers voice directly involve finances. Anyone who controls the books in a restaurant knows that the margin between cost and profit is extremely tight. While fears of being able to operate a restaurant in a high minimum wage environment are valid, restaurant.org suggests that states such as California, where higher minimum wages exist in cities such as San Francisco, are forecasted to see record growth.

While a high minimum wage directly affects labor cost, one theory suggests that adding more money into the economy will bring more customers into local restaurants. Younger workers tend to benefit the most from a higher minimum wage, and some economists feel that if the younger workforce receives more money on their weekly paycheck, they are more apt to spring for luxuries such as dining out. This unproven theory makes sense, but many business owners hesitate to risk their livelihood on something that has yet to be studied.

Finally, many tipped employees worry they will earn less due to customers not tipping in high minimum wage cities. Some restaurateurs suggest that a guest will be less likely to tip if they know that their server is making 15 dollars an hour. This can take a big portion out of a server’s paycheck, and we have heard that many servers feel that a high minimum wage will reduce the amount of money they make if they choose to stay employed in restaurants in Minneapolis should they raise the minimum wage.

Both advocates and opponents of higher minimum wages passionately argue their sides of this issue. If any changes to our states minimum wage laws take place, we will cover the ramifications and new regulations in deeper detail.

September 13, 2016September 13, 2016

Food Training Certification and Reducing Sugar

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Food training certification often overlooks the benefits of proper nutrition, but nutrition impacts many aspects of the food service industry. A recent report from the American Heart Association recommends children between the ages of two and 18 only consume 25 grams of sugar per day. We visit many different local restaurants, and we see that many kid’s menus contain options that potentially exceed the AMA’s guidelines.

Food Training Certification and Sugar Consumption in Children

by duplass – yayimages.com

Eating too much sugar will not create a food-borne illness risk for children, but certain health conditions such as hyperactivity, heart disease and obesity have been linked to sweetened foods and drinks. Should this concern kitchen managers and restaurant supervisors? Some feel that parents make choices for their children, so some feel that restaurants are not responsible for how much sugar their meals contain. That can be true to a certain extent, but with parents searching for health conscious choices for their children’s lunches and dinners it is advantageous to at least provide some low-sugar alternatives.

Finding a substitute for high-sugar ingredients can be a challenge, but replacing a few canned or prepackaged items with fresh ingredients will go a long way. Preservatives in canned items increase sugar content, especially in canned fruit that is a common side served to children. Providing fresh fruit or vegetables as a side offers a healthy and low sugar option.

Sauces also contain added sugars. Just by reading the label of readily available canned pasta sauce, you can learn that many of these sauces contain nearly half of the AMA’s recommended amount of sugar in as little as one serving. If you are considering reducing the amount of sugar you serve to children, we suggest you take the time to assess all of your prepackaged ingredient items and consider whether or not it would be beneficial to make these ingredients from scratch or find a fresh food alternative.

Finally, soda and other sweetened beverages contain plenty of sugar. We understand children love their soda and you cannot remove soda completely from your menus, but offering milk and fresh juices as an alternative will please parents looking for low sugar choices.

We love to explore health issues beyond food-borne illnesses and food training certification. If there is something that you would like to us explore that isn’t covered in an online food safety course, feel free to suggest a topic in the comment section below.

August 20, 2016August 20, 2016

Minnesota Certified Food Managers Alert: For Restaurant Fire Hazards

Minnesota Certified Food Managers Alert Regarding Restaurant Fire Hazards

As Minnesota certified food managers we are trained to create a safe eating experience for our guests. But owners and food service managers must bear in mind more than just food safety to protect employees and customers. This is the fourth in a series of blogs that look specifically at the hazards that Scott Futrell, a local fire protection consultant, has provided to assist you in protecting your customers, business and employees.

What can Owners and Minnesota Certified Food Managers do to protect your investment or your facility?

The Minnesota State Fire Code requires you to maintain your fire protection equipment in working condition. There are procedures you should establish for you and your staff in addition to hiring competent contractors to clean and inspect and test your systems and equipment.

Basically the Codes and Standards require you to inspect, test, and maintain your kitchen hood, duct, fan, and suppression systems in accordance with the manufacturer’s requirements. Thus it is essential you obtain from the contractor the minimum requirements for inspection, testing, and maintenance and then understand your responsibilities and the very limited, or minimal, portions of these requirements that the contractor will actually perform.

Checklist for Kitchen Fire Safety

The owner’s responsibility for inspection and maintenance of wet chemical systems on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis should include the following at a minimum:

It is very important to note that often the fusible links are wired shut during the cleaning process to prevent accidental activation preventing the system from operating automatically. It’s also possible that your system might have been disconnected, damaged, or has accumulated excessive deposits of grease causing your system to become inoperative, see Figure 1.

Minnesota Certified Food Managers Alert: For Restaurant Fire Hazards — Figure 1 – Post Grease
All Image credits: Futrell Fire Consult & Design, Inc

Both of these pictures were taken post-fire, where the suppression system did not operate because the expellant was disconnected. Note that the grease cleaning was not performed thoroughly. The fire occurred the day after the cleaning!

The bottom line is this:

Contractors that you hire for inspection, testing and maintenance do not perform all of the safety checks that need to be done on your systems on a daily, weekly, or periodic basis;
your responsibilities include staff education as well as performing daily, weekly, and periodic inspections;
your responsibilities include observing the hoods, ducts, and fire protection devices after the contractor’s complete their work; and
schedule the fire suppression six-month inspection, test, and maintenance immediately after the hood, duct, and fan cleaning.

If you want more information or have any questions about fire safety in the food preparation environment that you would like Scott to discuss leave a comment.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Scott A. Futrell, PE, FSFPE, CFPS, SET, CFEI, is a fire protection consultant with Futrell Fire Consult & Design, Inc., in Osseo, Minnesota and has over 40 years’ experience designing, specifying, and investigating fire protection system related losses and can be reached by e-mail at: scottf@ffcdi.com, or visit www.ffcdi.com.

August 3, 2016

ServSafe MN Training and the New GMO Labeling Bill

GMO- Lableing Effect on ServSafe MN Training — How will new GMO -Labeling Law Effect ServSafe MN Training?

Recently, the President signed a bill that calls for the labeling of all products that contain genetically modified ingredients. This is a hotly debated topic among consumers, produce suppliers and food industry professionals, and we feel that it’s an important issue and worthy of at least some discussion.

ServSafe MN Training and GMO Labeling

As current ServSafe MN training and Minnesota Food Code regulations stand, there is nothing that is mandated in regards to using GMO-modified ingredients in the local food service industry. As far as food safety and food-borne illnesses are concerned, the state does not feel that GMO’s pose any significant health risk.

There is, however, a growing trend among consumers to purchase food items that are certified organic or clearly labeled as non-GMO. This current bill appears to provide transparency as to where the ingredients in prepared items come from and will allow the consumers to make their purchasing decisions based on whether a product is GMO free or not.

GMO-Labeling Effects on the Food-Service Industry and ServSafe MN Training

This new bill forces us to consider how new regulations will impact local businesses.
Quite honestly, we do not have enough information at this time to fully address the long-term effects of this bill. The United States Department of Agriculture has stated that it may take up to two years for them to put any regulations in place.

While we know that these rules will play a role in how food is packaged on our grocery shelves, it may also have repercussions for our restaurants and smaller businesses. Most food-service managers will tell you that proteins and fresh produce often come from different suppliers depending upon availability. A lot of these ingredients are shipped in bulk and many times are only labeled with their farm or place of origin. In these cases, it is our view that the suppliers themselves will be responsible for clearly labeling these ingredients before they reach your facility. If you produce any item packaged for sale using ingredients previously labeled as genetically modified, you will probably be required to label your product accordingly.

One sector of the industry that does not seem to have been addressed in the early stages of this process is the restaurant industry. At this point we cannot tell you whether restaurants will have to include any form of disclaimer on their menus. If this does become the case, you can rest assured that Safe Food Training will cover it in an upcoming blog.