Keep your Minnesota kitchen compliant. We track the latest food recalls and safety alerts so you can pull bad products fast and protect your customers.

Food Safety Indoor Farms Example

Can Indoor Farms Ease Food Safety Fears Over Romaine?

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With several outbreaks involving romaine lettuce over the past several years, food safety professionals are concerned with the availability and sustainability of leaving this ingredient on their menu. While studies have been inconclusive as to why the last outbreak occurred, we’ve heard some local industry professionals talk about a potential alternative to sourcing romaine from areas that have shown to be high risk. Can indoor farms be the solution the food safety industry is looking for?

Food Safety Indoor Farms

How Food Safety Training in Indoor Farms Reduces Pathogen Risk

While food safety in the farming industry is a little outside of our training expertise, we’ve dealt with numerous food safety managers who have considered giving up on serving romaine due to its poor track record concerning foodborne illness. The concept of indoor farming seems to have the potential for easing those fears and greatly reducing the risk of spreading salmonella and E.coli to the general public via crispy, delicious Caesar salads and other fresh dishes involving romaine lettuce.

One of the unique things about indoor hydroponic and aeroponic lettuce farming is that there is very little chance of cross-contamination. These farms grow lettuce in a sterile environment away from livestock and potentially contaminated irrigation systems.

At the present time, however, there appear to be numerous challenges for restaurateurs and other food production facilities when it comes to sourcing lettuce grown indoors and away from potential contaminates. The hydroponic industry has plenty of potential for growth, especially when it comes to farmers looking for a low-pathogen risk way to grow product which traditionally grows in the dirt, but there are very few farmers who produce enough lettuce in this manner to make headway into the national supply chain. Hydroponic and aeroponic growers tend to be smaller and local, and may not produce as much product as large outdoor farms. During our research, however, we did find a few farms in our state that utilize this method, and the future looks promising.

Would you pay more for romaine lettuce if you knew it was grown in a MN indoor farm environment with minimal risk of pathogen contamination?

Food Safety Date Labeling Example

Food Safety Guide to Proper Date Labeling

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The Minnesota food code states that all ready-to-eat foods must be labeled and dated. When the topic is brought up in our food safety training sessions, many students often share their strategies and how they make sure their products are properly labeled. This week, we’d like to outline the rules for date labeling product and provide a quick online food safety resource on the topic.

Food Safety Date Labeling Example

Tips for Food Safety Date Labels

The first thing we need to discuss is what types of foods need to be labeled. According to the Minnesota food code guidelines, food products meeting all of the following criteria must be labeled and dated:

  • Ready-to-Eat Foods
  • Refrigerated Product
  • Prepared Food Stored for 24 Hours or More

If your product meets all three of these criteria, then they must be properly labeled with the date they were produced. When labeling your food, it’s important to note that there is a seven-day limit on refrigerated ready-to-eat foods, but that doesn’t mean that every ready-to-eat food will be safe to serve for a full seven days, so rely on your food safety training for signs your product may be unfit for consumption.

It’s important to note that the date your product gets labeled should be the date the first cooked ingredient was prepared. For example, if you have a chicken salad sandwich on your menu and you cook your chicken on a Tuesday but don’t mix it with the rest of the ingredients until Wednesday, then Tuesday’s date should be the date on your label.

The food code does a great job of specifically outlining the what and how long of labeling, but they give food managers flexibility when it comes to the how. This is where you need to take steps that will best fit the food safety training that you’ve provided your staff to define a date labeling system. Make sure that your date labeling system is consistent and easy to recognize. Here are a few examples of effective systems:

  • Colored day dots
  • Date and time tags
  • Day of the Week Stickers

All of these systems are acceptable within the rules of the food code, but remember all employees must be able to explain the system during any routine health inspection. Our advice would be to incorporate a system that displays the exact date food was prepared rather than a simple label with the day of the week. This gives you an exact reference to know if your product is within the seven day limit rather than just using a day-of-the-week marker. Who knows? That chicken salad may have been mixed two Tuesdays ago and forgotten.

Do you have a well-defined date labeling system to protect food safety in your establishment?

Food Safety Training Hand Sanitizes

Food Safety Training and the use of Hand Sanitizers

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The FDA recently issued a warning letter to the makers of Purell sanitizer asking them to stop claiming their sanitizer kills norovirus, Ebola, influenza and other viruses. If you read the report closely, you’ll find that the FDA never said that sanitizers don’t kill these viruses, there just isn’t the scientific study to back up Purell’s claims. In light of this warning, how should we adjust our food safety training to teach food service employees the proper use of hand sanitizers?

Food Safety Training Hand Sanitizes
Image credit: Anna Earl on Unsplash

Hand Sanitizers and Food Safety Training

When delving into this topic, it’s important to start off with one vital truth:

Hand sanitizers are not a substitute for handwashing.

When discussing food safety protocols with your staff, it’s important that they understand proper handwashing is the most effective way to kill germs and prevent the spread of foodborne, viral and bacterial illness. While hand sanitizers may advertise that they kill viruses and bacteria, they can never take the place of handwashing. So is there any instance where hand sanitizers or antiseptics are allowed in the kitchen?

While the Minnesota food code is adamant that sanitizers are not an effective replacement for handwashing, they do allow for the use of sanitizers in the kitchen.

Foodservice workers can use antiseptic gels or liquids after they have washed their hands properly. This can add an extra layer of protection, but only when used properly after a good handwashing. They should never be used before handwashing, or when timing makes the washing of hands inconvenient. Remember, handwashing should never be inconvenient, and paying close attention to handwashing habits will help prevent the spread of foodborne illness.

When it comes to the norovirus, the flu or Ebola, it’s always good practice to teach proper handwashing techniques that can be used at work or at home.

Will food safety ratings be the defining issue of the 2020 election?

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In a recent interview on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon , Presidential candidate Mike Bloomberg mentioned health and food safety (3:34) as one of the pressing issues our country needs to address. During the discussion, he referenced New York City’s requirement to post food safety ratings in the entryway so customers can see just how well their favorite local restaurants performed on their last health inspection. New York isn’t the only city to post-inspection grades, as several states and municipalities also require restaurants to post their grades. It makes us wonder, would this requirement improve food safety in our state?

Food Safety Rating near entrance

Public Food Safety Ratings

When assessing the effects of any new regulation, our goal is to assess whether or not it will be effective in keeping food safe. Will an easily viewable public disclosure of health inspection results keep the food served in local restaurants safe and improve the overall risk of foodborne illness?

This is one case where certified food protection managers can use food safety training to not only to prevent foodborne contamination but to bring in more revenue. If your restaurant receives a two out of five stars, a C- or sickly gray face, customers may choose to move on, but if your restaurant is getting an A+, it won’t only be a deciding factor in drawing in guests, it’s probably something they’re going to tell their friends about.

This may also put added pressure on certified food protection managers to ensure that there are no lapses in food safety training. A health inspection usually comes unannounced and unexpected. If your staff is continually following health department protocols to the letter, you should have nothing to worry about. Without publicly posted food safety ratings, there may be less pressure to provide thorough training on every aspect of food safety. One slip could reduce your grade, and even if you take steps to address issues following your health inspection, potential customers will see your low grades until your next review.

How would you feel about having your restaurant’s food safety ratings posted where all of your guests can see?