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Customized On-site Food Safety Training In MN

On-site Food Safety Training in MN

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Not all restaurants, food production facilities and institutional kitchens produce the same product in the same way, so why should all food safety certification training take place in a location that doesn’t resemble your facility? We think there numerous advantages to scheduling an on-site food safety training class that takes place at your operation.

Customized On-site Food Safety Training In MN
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The Advantages of On-site Food Safety Training

Right off the top of our head, we can think of several benefits to scheduling an instructor led food training session at your facility:

  • Convenience
  • Certifying and training multiple staff members
  • Ability to ask questions relevant to your business
  • Training tailored to your needs

What can be easier than having your instructor come to you? You don’t have to worry about your GPS sending you to North Dakota when you’re searching for a training location you’ve never visited or finding parking near the training facility. It also makes it possible to train and certify multiple employees without worrying about scheduling conflicts or whether or not your employees have access to reliable transportation to the testing location.

A highly knowledgeable food safety expert knows the Minnesota food code in and out, and during a training session at your food production facility you’ll not only have the ability to have your questions answered, but you’ll have the advantage of having your instructor being able to give you real world answers that pertain to your facility and the type of food you produce. A school cafeteria has different needs than a restaurant and there are many different types of kitchens that have different food safety risks. Your instructor can take a look at your facility and answer questions accordingly.

Finally, you can choose which food safety training certification standard you want your employees to achieve. You may want your employees to receive ServSafe training, HAACP certification or any other MN accepted testing, but times and location for your preferred classes just don’t work. Having an on-site training session with all members of your staff that require a certain type of training solves this dilemma

Would you be interested in an on-site food safety training and exam session at your establishment? Let us know, and we’d be happy to design a course that suits your needs.

Seafood-Salmonella

Safe Food Training for Seafood-Salmonella

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Recently a Seafood- Salmonella outbreak has prompted the recall of frozen, raw, canned tuna. At last count, the outbreak has sickened at least 13 people, including one in the state of Minnesota. Raw canned seafood is popular in restaurants that feature raw dishes such as sushi, sashimi and ceviche. Salmonella is usually associated with undercooked eggs, chicken and produce from farms that use chicken manure as fertilizer, but this case shows that the danger of food poisoning from unlikely sources is a real risk and requires some extra food safety training for Seafood-Salmonella.

Image credit: Petr Kratochvil via PublicDomainPictures.net

Seafood-Salmonella from Contaminated Ingredients

The only sure-fire way to eliminate salmonella is through heating proteins to proper cooking temperatures, so what can food safety managers do about salmonella that shows up in raw or undercooked foods?

First, follow news stories such as this and pay attention to the FDA’s recall list. For your convenience, we also have a handy widget posted on the right side of our blog page that you can check out while you read this article. Keeping up to date on these types of news stories and recalls is vital if you serve sensitive products such as sushi, sashimi or other raw and undercooked products.

Once you’ve been alerted to these Seafood-Salmonella stories, check your inventory immediately to determine if your stock contains potentially contaminated product. In the case of canned seafood, these recalls usually include batch numbers which are printed on every can. If you have the same brand of canned seafood or a different product from the same manufacturer, but the batch numbers do not match, don’t just assume your product is safe to serve. Do a little more research into the recall or call your local health inspector to verify the extent of contaminated items.

Since many of these factors are out of the control of food service protection managers and cannot be countered by even the most rigid food safety training, be proactive if one of your guests is sickened by these types of products. Record batch numbers and work with your health inspector to determine whether or not your guest was sickened by tainted product or some other factor. If you do have such an incident, do not attempt to serve the same product to any other guests. It’s never safe to assume a food-poisoning case is an isolated incident.

Do you serve raw seafood in your restaurant? If so, do you prefer fresh fish or canned and frozen product?

Certified Food Protection Manager

Minnesota Certified Food Protection Manager Training Options

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The state of Minnesota requires most businesses that handle food to have a certified food protection manager(CFPM) on staff. There is no one-size-fits all solution, so this week, we’d like to take a look at what types of training options are available to become a MN Certified Food Protection Manager.

Certified Food Protection Manager
Tim Niles Lead Instructor For Safe Food Training

Qualifying Certified Food Protection Manager Training Programs

There are two ways to gain proper certification to become a certified food protection manager. You can take a course led by an instructor where you have the ability to ask questions, and discuss issues with a leading professional in the industry or you can choose an online version of the course.

There are advantages and disadvantages to either choice. Online food safety training offers convenience taking the training when and where you want, but deprives the student of the ability to participate in discussions with fellow food service professionals and ask questions concerning the material. Instructor led courses as well as all certification testing must be taken at the locations and times scheduled, so there is less flexibility in the timing of the training.

There are also a couple programs that you can choose from. You can take a standard certified food protection manager course which meets the requirements of the state of Minnesota and Wisconsin, or if you wish further education on food safety, you may elect to take the nationally and internationally recognized HAACP training. HAACP provides education targeting the identification and management of food safety risks.

Finally, certification must be renewed every three years. Recertification must occur within six months of the expiration date of your current certification. Recertification requires a minimum of four hours of approved continuing education but does not require you to retake the exam. Most CFPMs retake the standard training once again as a refresher. As with the initial certification training, the recertification can be done either on-line or at one of the scheduled instructor led courses.

Do you or any of your staff need food safety certification? At Safe Food Training, we offer instructor led and online food safety certification classes and exams. We can help with HAACP or even design a specialized class to meet the needs of your business.

Non-Continuous Cooking Steps

Online Food Safety Training Update on Non-Continuous Cooking

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Back in November, we covered an interesting addition to the Minnesota Food Code revision; non-continuous cooking- the ability to halt the cooking process and resume at a later time. At the time, we only had some basic information and a rough draft of the new food code, but now that the code is in effect, the Department of Health has released fact sheets and more detailed information about this procedure.

Non-Continuous Cooking Steps
Image credit: 123rf/Teerawut Masawat

Non-Continuous Cooking Procedures

The procedure for non-continuous cooking can be broken down into five steps:

  1. Cook product for 60 minutes or less
  2. Cool food properly within two hours
  3. Store product below 41 degrees
  4. Cook food completely when reheating
  5. Serve immediately, hot-hold or cool properly for later use

This process offers a solution for certified food managers who wish to partially cook raw animal product or other sensitive items and reserve under refrigeration or in the freezer until the time comes to cook and serve. Along with these five steps, the health department requires documentation for this process which must be reviewed and approved by the proper regulatory official, namely your health inspector.

Include the following vital information in your documentation and proposal to be reviewed:

  • The monitoring and implementation process of the five required steps
  • Corrective actions if the five steps are not met properly
  • How partially cooked product will be labeled or identified
  • Steps taken to prevent cross contamination with ready-to-eat foods

We have a few quick notes concerning these new rules. You may wish to review your online food safety training concerning cooling and temperature control and proper cooking temperatures. Remember, all product must reach the correct temperature before serving. The non-continuous cooking method should never be used for product that may be served undercooked at customer request. Undercooking previously partially cooked meats presents an increased food-borne illness risk.

We’ve found local health inspectors are more willing to work with food producers to ensure that these new rules are followed correctly. Feel free to contact your health department if you’re ready to have your proposal reviewed or if you have any questions.