Category: Food Borne Illness

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How CFPMs Address The Foodborne Illness Challenge

CFPMs can meet the foodborne illness outbreak challenge.

In the last few months, we’ve seen numerous media reports on foodborne outbreaks caused by everything from baby carrots to McDonald’s Quarter Pounder. This publicity does not benefit the food and beverage industry. It can have a chilling effect and discourage customers from visiting your establishment. This week, we will begin a series of blogs that provide information on how CFPMs can meet the foodborne illness outbreak challenge.

First, let’s take a look at the problem. According to the CDC:

  • Over 45 million Americans get sick from foodborne illness each year
  • 128,000 are hospitalized
  • 3,000 die from foodborne disease
  • Foodborne outbreaks in the US have increased by 43% since 2013
  • Over 1/2 of the foodborne illness outbreaks reported to CDC are associated with eating establishments or delicatessens

There’s no debate that foodborne illness is a challenge that CFPMs need to address!

Tips On Preventing Foodborne Illness for Certified Food Protection Managers

Foodborne illness outbreaks are not a new issue for CFPMs, but they have recently become more acute because of all the media coverage. Let’s review the basics from a high level. There are a few essential components of a safely operating Food establishment.

  • Sick employees will be sent home
  • Provide a clean work environment
  • Ennforce personal hygiene among production and service staff
  • Stay up-to-date about recent food recalls
  • Choose suppliers with a proven track record for food safety and check all incoming supplies
  • Educate staff and enforce proper handling of food during storage, preparation, and presentation processes

Employees should be encouraged to call in sick if they have respiratory, stomach, or flu-like symptoms. If someone develops symptoms during their shift or comes in with symptoms, the CFPM or PIC should send them home before they contaminate customers and staff.

Certified food protection managers must ensure a clean work environment to deliver safe food products to their customers. Environment broadly means physical structure, equipment, and personal hygiene. Staff should wear clean uniforms and have an ample supply of gloves where appropriate. The kitchen staff should clean all production equipment after every use. Workstations, storage areas, and floors must be cleaned regularly. Don’t forget a clean and accessible bathroom.

Can you imagine how horrible you would feel if one of your customers became ill because you served a recently recalled product? CFPMs can quickly and easily check for recently recalled food products that could cause a foodborne illness outbreak in several ways. You can sign up for recall alerts from the Food & Drug Administration. CFPMs can also go to the “Safe Food For Thought” blog site and look in the right-hand column for the CDC Food Safety Recall (highlighted in red below).

How CFPMs Address the foodborne illness Challenge

Maintaining a High-quality Product

To minimize potential foodborne illness outbreaks, CFPMs should be very picky about food product suppliers, whether national suppliers or local farmers. All should inspect the product before delivery, monitor upstream suppliers, and have a system to identify and alert any questionable products. However, it is up to the CFPM to do a final inspection of the delivered products.

Finally, certified food protection managers should have regular team education meetings to reduce the possibility of an outbreak by emphasizing the clean, separate, cook, and chill processes. Safe Food For Thought will help you with this task. We will be posting a series of blogs that focus on how to identify the most common foodborne diseases and tips for cleaning techniques and equipment maintenance that will help prevent the spread of foodborne outbreaks.

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ServSafe MN Spotlight On The Scary Residual Pesticides Dispute

Pesticides and ServSafe MN

In an FDA report published this month for data gathered in FY 2022, “findings show that the levels of pesticide chemical residues in the U.S. food supply are generally in compliance with EPA pesticide tolerances.” Conversely, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) has reported, “FDA tests find U.S. food supply awash in pesticide residues.” While pesticides on fruits and vegetables may not be covered by ServSafe MN rules, ServSafe managers should still address this issue.

Pesticides and ServSafe MN

ServSafe MN and Pesticides

This topic can raise many questions and often sparks a heated debate. While we may not have the space to cover every aspect of this issue, we’d like to touch on some of the highlights and give tips on preventing your customers from ingesting potentially dangerous pesticides.

Just because the average levels of pesticide in our produce may not pose a health threat, that does not mean that every grower uses a safe level of chemical pesticides. It’s crucial to ensure that you get your fruits and vegetables from reliable sources that prioritize food safety. A popular strategy for many restaurants and food production facilities is using only locally sourced, organic produce. If you have ever been in charge of your company’s budget, you may be aware that this can be an incredibly costly choice. It would help if you also considered that organic growers can use certain natural pesticides and still label their products as organic.

No matter where you decide to purchase your produce, you should ensure that your customers’ food remains untainted by pesticides or other contaminants. Upon delivery, it is crucial to promptly inspect your produce. You may not be able to see pesticides, but if any of your produce has any unusual residue, it may have been treated at some point.

Always Rinse!

After checking your produce, it’s important to know which items need refrigeration. Storing produce that requires refrigeration at room temperature can cause surface chemicals to seep into the produce. Finally, always rinse and allow your produce to dry fully before serving. The water’s force removes hidden dirt or pesticides, making it safer to eat than unwashed produce.

How do you keep your guests safe from man-made chemicals in your produce? Do you rely only on washing, or do you prefer to order from organic farms?

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Easter Is Looming- Easy Tips To Prevent Food-borne Illness

prevent Food-Borne Disease at Your Easter Egg Hunt

Although the weather in the Midwest may feel like winter again, springtime has arrived, according to the calendar. This also means that Easter is fast approaching. While the Easter Bunny is busy taking an online course to become a certified food protection manager, we would like to provide you with some helpful tips to ensure the safety of your guests and avoid any food-borne illness outbreaks during your event.

Keeping Your Easter Festivities Safe from Food-Borne Illness

Easy Tips To Prevent Food-borne Illness
Image credit: kaew6566 via 123rf

The annual Easter egg hunt is one of the most exciting Easter events for the youngest enjoying the festivities. Just seeing a field full of brightly colored plastic eggs filled with candy and prizes makes every single youngster’s eyes widen with anticipation. With so many different hunts happening all across the world, the Easter Bunny is going to need some help setting them up. It is important to individually wrap every candy packed into plastic eggs to prevent the spread of food-borne illness.

Managing Outdoor Buffets And Food Stands

Serving food away from your main kitchen is common during spring and Easter events. However, it is important to remember that Minnesota’s standard food safety rules still apply even in such cases. Moreover, additional precautions and obtaining special permits may be necessary. If your restaurant or food preparation facility plans to set up a booth at an Easter festival or offer samples at a spring parade, it is advisable to consult with your local health department to determine if any special permits are necessary.

Another popular Easter tradition is attending brunch after morning church services. These brunches and buffets can attract an incredible number of guests, so it may be wise to refer back to your food manager training when planning your food production to prevent food-borne illnesses and ensure that every item you serve is safe for your guests.

Even though Easter can be a hectic time for food-service professionals, it is also a time to remember family and tradition. Outside of coordinating work events, what is your favorite Easter event or tradition now, or what special event does your family associate with the season?

Happy Easter/Passover!

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ServSafe Managers Use Revealing Study To Discover The Real Cost Of A Food-borne Outbreak

ServSafe managers use resource to Discover cost of a food-borne illness

Certified ServSafe managers are hired and trained to ensure the kitchen they manage meets the highest food safety standards and prevents food-borne outbreaks. Sometimes, it’s tough to convince others why sticking to these strict rules is crucial. But, at times, it’s hard to get others to see the importance of being picky about following these stringent rules. We recently found a tool that can help ServSafe managers emphasize the importance of creating and sustaining a safe food production environment.

Food-Borne Illness Continues To Plague The US Hospitality Industry

According to the CDC, “Each year in the United States, Salmonella, STEC, and Listeria cause an estimated 1.49 million illnesses, 28,000 hospitalizations, and 700 deaths, at an estimated cost of more than $6 billion.” These are scary numbers; no restaurant wants to be associated with a food-borne outbreak. However, there is a continuous struggle within every restaurant about how much prevention is enough. What is the cost/benefit of our spending on food safety is.

A Resource For ServSafe Managers To Help Measure The Cost/Benefit Of Food-borne OutBreaks

ServSafe managers use resource to Discover cost of a food-borne illness
Image credit: nuclearlily via 123rf

Don’t worry; we just found an academic peer-reviewed study that provides ServSafe managers answers to that exact question. “Estimated Cost to a Restaurant of a Foodborne Illness Outbreak” was published online in April 2018 in Sage Journal. The article’s purpose was “Although outbreaks of restaurant-associated foodborne illness occur periodically and make the news, a restaurant may not know the cost of an outbreak. We estimated this cost under varying circumstances.”

Attention, this document is an academic paper and hard to read. You can just scan the article to understand the complexity of the research and then go to the conclusions. The range of the cost numbers is due to a variance from a [5-person outbreak, with no lost revenue, lawsuits, legal fees, or fines}; spanning to a [250-person outbreak, with high lost revenue (100 meals lost per illness), and a high amount of lawsuits and legal fees ($1,656,569) and fines ($100,000)]. But here is the bottom line:

Type of RestaurantCost of a single foodborne illness outbreak 
Fast-food restaurant$3,968 to $1.9 million
Fast-casual restaurant$6,330 to $2.1 million
Casual-dining restaurant$8,030 to $2.2 million 
Fine-dining restaurant$8,273 to $2.6 million

Advocate For Proper Funding

This data highlights the substantial cost of a single foodborne illness outbreak to a restaurant. The illness cost can outweigh the typical expenses of prevention and control measures. ServSafe managers must advocate for proper funding to keep the operation safe and minimize the probability of a devastating food-borne outbreak. You can use this data:

  • when talking with decision-makers (owners) to justify additional funding
  • in conversations with managers to recommend changes in other parts of the operation, such as in front-of-house
  • to motivate your own staff

Certified ServSafe managers are critical in upholding the highest food safety standards and preventing foodborne outbreaks in their kitchens. Certainly, there are challenges in convincing others of the importance of strict adherence to these rules. This study sheds light on the staggering costs associated with foodborne illnesses. It underscores the urgent need for adequate funding to ensure operational safety and mitigate the risk of devastating outbreaks. ServSafe managers can leverage this data to advocate for increased funding, recommend operational improvements, and motivate staff, ultimately safeguarding both public health and your restaurant’s reputation.