Foodborne Illness Incubation

Certified Food Protection Managers and Foodborne Illness Incubation

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Foodborne Illness Incubation
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Certified food protection manager training teaches food management professionals the causes and prevention of foodborne illness, but sometimes the tracing of foodborne illness sources doesn’t get as much attention as it deserves. Foodborne illness incubation refers to the time that lapses between when contaminates are ingested and an infected consumer begins showing symptoms. We find foodborne illness incubation useful when trying to identify the type of illness and the product that caused outbreaks.

Using Foodborne Illness Incubation As A Forensic Tool

When people get sick from eating contaminated food, they’ll either call the local health department or the eating establishment they feel sickened them. When they do, there are three important questions that need to be asked:

  • What did you eat?
  • When did you begin feeling symptoms
  • How long did your symptoms last?

The what is important, but you’ll need more information besides what the guest thought sickened them. They could experience salmonella symptoms and assume chicken or eggs, but in reality, a shipment of tomatoes that had been recalled after they were served could have been the culprit. It’s vital to get as much information as possible, not just ask what they assume caused their illness.

Incubation times can also be an indicator. Here are some common times for frequent illness offenders:

  • E.coli: 1 – 10 days; most commonly 3 – 4
  • Salmonella: 3 – 60 days; most frequently 7 – 10
  • Norovirus: 12 – 24 hours
  • Marine toxins: 1 minute – 48 hours

As you can see, many common culprits have very different incubation times, so if you work with the health department you should be able to determine if the illness actually came from your establishment, or if the guest consumed tainted product at home or elsewhere. This is just a partial list, but the CDC has compiled an extensive table exploring incubation times for many foodborne illnesses.

You should remember that as a certified food manager, you may not be able to diagnose the source of foodborne illness from your restaurant or elsewhere. If you have guests call, especially if it’s several with similar symptoms, we strongly urge you to contact your local health department for help with the situation. They’re there to help protect the public from illness and help foodservice operators keep their food safe.

ServSafe Guide to Cyclospora - stool chart

ServSafe Guide to Cyclospora Illness

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According to a recent CDC survey, 1,600 people nationwide have been sickened by a parasite known as cyclospora since May 1st. Cyclospora isn’t commonly discussed throughout the food industry, and most outbreaks are often traced back to food and water consumed internationally. Due to the high number of recent domestic cases, some in our state, some in MN, we created a Servsafe guide to cyclospora illness in Minnesota.

Our Servsafe guideline to identifying Cyclospora are common symptoms such as:

  • Watery diarrhea (most common)
  • Nausea
  • Loss of appetite
  • Fatigue
  • Cramping
  • Bloating
  • Increased gas
ServSafe Guide to Cyclospora - stool chart
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ServSafe and the Prevention of Cyclospora Illness

Cycloporiasis is an intestinal illness caused by a parasite. This parasite is spread through contaminated food and water and has an incubation period of approximately two weeks, making it difficult to trace.

This parasite is spread through food contaminated with fecal matter. There can be a few ways that food can become contaminated:

  • Food prepared by unwashed hands
  • Food that has come in contact with sewage backup
  • Raw ingredients grown on farms with infected water supplies

ServSafe guidelines to prevent Cyclospora recommend CFPMsmust closely monitor and enforce handwashing policies in their facility. If one of your staff unknowingly carries the cyclospora parasite and fails to properly wash their hands after using the restroom, they could spread ill effects to your guests.

It should be common sense, but ServSafe managers need to be very careful whenever there are plumbing or sewage issues in their place of business. Even a small amount of contaminated water can infect food, leave parasites on boxes, equipment and food preparation surfaces. Always take care to dispose of the exposed product, sanitize work areas and ensure a clean working environment after any of these issues.

There are times where the spread of parasites may be out of your control. Make sure that you follow Servsafe protocol to inspect and wash all raw produce before using. If you or your staff handles unwashed produce, remember to wash your hands afterward. Dirty produce can transfer parasites and bacteria to your hands and potentially infect your guests if you neglect proper handwashing.

Are there any other foodborne illnesses you feel food safety community neglects?

Food Safety Training for Hygiene

Food Safety Training for Hygiene During Cold and Flu Season

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Food service managers and professionals all know that proper personal hygiene helps keep the food you prepare safe from contamination, and, as we roll into cold and flu season, it can boost your staff’s resistance to bugs and stop them from unknowingly spreading illness to your guests. This week, we’d like to provide a quick online food safety training refresher course on personal hygiene standards for food service professionals.

Food Safety Training for Hygiene
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Hygiene and Food Safety Training Review

While food safety hygiene training is important all year long, this could be the best season to review these important issues with your employees:

  • Handwashing
  • Care of Cuts and Sores
  • Hair Covering and Restraints
  • Proper Clothing
  • Jewelry
  • When to be Excluded from Food Handling

Your facility must be equipped with a functional and fully stocked handwashing station. During periodic food safety training, review handwashing procedures and instruct employees to wash often, especially during cold season. Posting a Minnesota food code handwashing fact sheet near all handwashing stations conveniently provides a reference to procedures and a reminder to wash properly.

Taking care of cuts, sores and burns serves two purposes. First, it prevents blood, loose skin and other fluids that result from an injury from coming into contact with the food your staff prepares. It can also help maintain the injured worker’s health by preventing possible infections that could cause them to miss work or become ill. Make sure you have a first-aid kit handy and check often to ensure that it’s fully stocked with bandages, antiseptic and burn creams.

Your clothing and jewelry do more than provide a good look. Dirty clothes can spread illnesses, foodborne and otherwise. Make sure that your staff understands the importance of clean uniforms. Jewelry should not be worn in the kitchen, with the exception of a properly covered wedding band. Jewelry can potentially be covered in contaminates and infect food.

Finally, know when to send staff home or tell them to stay home when ill. Any staff experiencing flu-like symptoms should not work. This will help them get the rest they need to recover and reduce the chances they spread their illness to fellow coworkers and guests. Beyond cold and flu symptoms, food service professionals should stay home if they feel any effects of foodborne illness.

Do you commonly review hygiene procedures?

ServSafe and Salmonella on Papayas

ServSafe and Salmonella on Papayas

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At Safe Food Training, we keep a close eye on food-borne illness outbreaks in the news and are finding more and more salmonella cases as a result of tainted produce. The most recent salmonella outbreak to hit the United States has come as a result of contaminated papayas imported from Mexico. While Salmonella is most commonly associated with undercooked eggs and poultry, ServSafe food managers should take extra care when handling produce like Papayas to avoid spreading illness such as Salmonella from unlikely sources.

ServSafe and Salmonella on Papayas
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ServSafe Food Managers and Salmonella in Produce

According to the FDA’s statistics from this most recent Salmonella outbreak, tainted papaya sickened at least 62 consumers with 23 of those requiring hospitalization across eight different states. This recall did not result in a mandatory recall, but FDA recommendations included in this alert advise throwing away any papaya from tainted batches.

It does not appear, however, that Minnesota has been included in the list of states that have reported illnesses, but cases like this can serve as a lesson that just because an ingredient isn’t often associated with a specific food-borne illness there’s no guarantee that it avoided any type of contamination during packing or shipping.

So far in 2019, the FDA has identified five major salmonella outbreaks in the United States. One from ground turkey, a familiar source of salmonella, one from frozen tuna and three from non-animal product. Along with papayas, we’ve also seen outbreaks in cut melons and tahini sicken customers who consumed these items. So how can ServSafe food managers in Minnesota keep their guests safe when foodborne illness, like salmonella, can come from papayas or just about anywhere?

First, wash all produce before processing. Even if the fruit has a rind or peel that will not be served to guests, contaminated peels can transfer bacteria to cutting boards, countertops and knives. An uncontaminated knife can pick up bacteria on the skin of fruits and vegetables and then transfer it to the edible portion as it slides through the flesh of the product.

Finally, pay attention to the news and check the FDA recall list often. We realize that ServSafe food managers have a lot on their plate, but taking a few seconds to frequently check FDA recalls could prevent your guests from consuming a product known to be tainted.

What precautions do you take to prevent spreading Salmonella infections from unlikely sources?